seatpost or stem

griffter18

Im stuggling to pop a wheelie or manual with my 09 stumpy.
Bike is a Large and riding position feels ok for my 6ft 1" height.
If anything I might be a bit too stretch out.

Im able to pop the front about 6" to clear small rocks but struggle to get the front any higher. I had no problems with previous ride but it definately had a shorter cockpit

Which would make it easier to get the front wheel up moving the seat/myweight back using a layback seat post or trying a shorter stem, or a combination of both?

I realise it could also be down to poor technique so would be interested if anyone else has had a similar problem and how theyve overcome it

gcwebbyuk

Funny, we have the same bike and neither of us can do it:

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/forums/vie ... ht=wheelie

It must be the bike and not us - surely 8)

GHill

A shorter stem may help, what size is on there at the moment?

How's the rebound on the fork, could it be damping out your "pump and lift"?

griffter18

I think the stem is around 100mm.
Rebound is set just to just allow the tyre to clear the floor after being compressed.
I can bunny hop the bike and get both wheels in the air just cant seem to get the front one upto the balancing point. Seems to take a lot more effort than it should.

Willl try n lock the front fork out just to rule out damping causin the prob.

mattyboy199

is the saddle to high ?

RealMan

Sell it, buy a chopper.

griffter18

Ok,
Locking the front suss out made no difference, so that rules out the rebound.
Stem is 110mm
Seat is about as high as the bars but even with it dropped makes no difference.

Chopper mode tried by extending the fox Talas to 140. Managed to get the wheel a bit higher but still not to able to get it high enough to fall off the back.

Seriously considering reversing the stem so that the bars are behind the post to see if a short stem would make a difference. Any other thoughts.

Chopper out of the question as I wouldnt be able to fit the basket on the front.

xtreem

It's not the bike mate, it's you. I've mastered the wheelie, so I can tell a few things.
The higher the seatpost the easier is to lift the front wheel because more weight is at the back.
Use this gear, smallest ring upfront, and third or second sprocket at the back.
Pull on the handlebars a bit hard as you push on the pedal, but keep your arms straight.
Then wheelie.
I also recomend to hold the rear brake with one or two fingers,
just in case you you press a bit more on the pedals, and fall at the back.

But when manualing, geometry does make a big difference.

So about wheeling, this not to sound like crap, here are some evidence.
I can wheelie my cheap steel fullsuspension bike with super long wheelbase
and long stem, not to mention the weight on the front end.
Plus my cousin can wheelie his Trek 4300 with his super long stem.

griffter18

Thanks for the advice Xteem.

Out of interest I turned the stem around (felt very wierd) as the bars were a lot closer to the back end.
Front wheel poped up with ease everytime which would suggest that a shorter stem will help a bit.
When I switched it back and the wheel came up but I needed to pull a hell of a lot and try to throw myself off the back.

My guess is that with a slightly shorter stem &/or a layback seatpost (to move the weight a bit further back) my problem will be sorted.
I'll need to fine tune the rebound as part of this and do lots of practice for balance.
As you said practice will make perfect.