Front wheel lifts off ground when really pushing it.

NITR8s
NITR8s Posts: 688
edited September 2012 in Road beginners
When I really push it on my bike. I.e push it up to 30mph on a flat. I can feel the front wheel physically lift off the ground with each pedal stroke. Is this normal or do i need to work on my pedalling technique.

Comments

  • jibberjim
    jibberjim Posts: 2,810
    No you need to work on your body position. Get more weight forward, it's also likely more aerodynamic.
    Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/
  • Zoomer37
    Zoomer37 Posts: 725
    It doesn't really does it. Come on. Just say sorry and lets move on.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    NITR8s wrote:
    When I really push it on my bike. I.e push it up to 30mph on a flat. I can feel the front wheel physically lift off the ground with each pedal stroke. Is this normal or do i need to work on my pedalling technique.
    As previously said - you need to get your weight forward ... and smooth out that effort on the pedals ...
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Zoomer37 wrote:
    It doesn't really does it. Come on. Just say sorry and lets move on.
    It does ... but when he gets to 40 the whole bike lifts off the ground ... he needs to get a private pilots license!
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    It's all that power you are pushing out mate, thought about taking up racing?, if you are producing the amount of power that is lifting the front wheel at 30mph, I reckon you'd do well.

    Either that, or stop pulling up on the bars............
  • NITR8s
    NITR8s Posts: 688
    I am being serious, it almost feels like the front of the bike is skipping along the ground. Its proberbly only mm's but I would assume that it is no doubt wasted power as it is resulting in an upward motion rather than forward motion.
    danowat wrote:
    It's all that power you are pushing out mate, thought about taking up racing?, if you are producing the amount of power that is lifting the front wheel at 30mph, I reckon you'd do well.

    Either that, or stop pulling up on the bars............

    I only weigh like 9 stone, so could it be due to a high power to weight ratio, rather than high power and as said above I need to smooth pedaling and try and shift more weight forward.

    I am obviously down on the drops at that speed so it would be quite hard to pull up on the bars, I cant sustain that sort of speed for a longtime and is something I only really do if on a segment or deciede to race a car or somit.
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Phone is ringing mate, its Brailsford for you.
  • NITR8s
    NITR8s Posts: 688
    Fine, whats the point for asking for advice on an issue if it is met with sarcasim. I am not saying that I am really fast, all I am asking is, if it is normal for the front end to lift slightly or is it due to poor technique, obviously something i can work on.

    Oh wait thats what the internet was invented for.
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Of course its not normal, do you see pro riders riding at 30mph with their front wheels lifting off the ground?

    My mind is still boggling TBH, you are riding along, on the drops, at 30mph and you are pushing so hard that the front wheel is lifting?, sorry, can't get my head round that.

    I can do 1000watt+ sprint intervals and never feel the front wheel lifting.
  • cgraley77
    cgraley77 Posts: 66
    danowat wrote:
    Phone is ringing mate, its Brailsford for you.
    :lol:
  • NITR8s
    NITR8s Posts: 688
    Im not talking about doing a wheelie or somit stupid like that, I am talking about just a mm of lift so the front wheel which each pedal stroke so it almost feels like the front end is skiming along the road like a peble skimmed on water rather than rolling.

    I am proberbly not explaining it well.
  • rhext
    rhext Posts: 1,639
    So the advice is:

    1) No, it's not normal. It's completely normal climbing a very steep hill in a very low gear, but not on the flat going at close on 30MPH

    2) The 'usual' reason your front wheel lifts off is that pushing hard in a low gear has a tendency to rotate the bike (it's a lever action). You fix that by shifting your weight forward. But being able to do that in a high gear (as you would be using around about 30MPH) would require superhuman strength, hence the sarky comments and suspicion that you're perhaps winding us up. It's easy to spin the wheels on a car between 0 and 5 MPH, but it's a rare and expensive car that can do it between 95 and 100 MPH.

    It's perhaps more likely that you're pulling upwards on the handlebars as you stamp hard on the pedals, and you need to think about what your upper body is doing at the same time as your legs are trying to pedal as hard as they can. If you're really pedalling smoothly with your upper body leaning forward, not pulling on the bars and your front wheel is still coming up, then it's time to give Team GB a ring!
  • jibberjim
    jibberjim Posts: 2,810
    Almost any rider can produce enough power to jump their front wheel - I know I can, but you shouldn't be doing it on the flat unless you have your weight very unevenly distributed on the bike with most of it at the back, which it might be if you're sprinting uphill. If you're doing it on the flat it suggests your weight distribution is very uneven and probably worth looking into.

    Watch wheelchair sprinters they almost always jump the front wheel and are doing less than 1000w sprints but the frontwheel carries so little weight that it's expected.
    Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Are your tyres massively over inflated ? That can cause a skipping - but you're not lifting the front wheel with your power. No way.
  • richh
    richh Posts: 187
    cougie wrote:
    Are your tyres massively over inflated ? That can cause a skipping - but you're not lifting the front wheel with your power. No way.
    Well he could be but just not only because of the power that's going into the rear wheel. I think what he's doing is having his weight a bit too far back, and simultaneously pulling on the bars every time he puts down down through the pedals which with an already slightly unweighted front wheel would make the front wheel feel very light.

    I've had the same thing but only on very steep slopes when very tired (leading to bad technique) I've never felt it on the flat though as the difference in road slope automatically puts your centre of gravity further forward but I'd guess that this is what's happening.

    I'm no master of technique, but I'd try to concentrate on keeping your body as steady as possible and focus getting your power though your legs, rather than your whole body manically bobbing up and down or side to side. See if that makes difference to how the front of the bike feels.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    NITR8s wrote:
    Fine, whats the point for asking for advice on an issue if it is met with sarcasim. I am not saying that I am really fast, all I am asking is, if it is normal for the front end to lift slightly or is it due to poor technique, obviously something i can work on.

    Oh wait thats what the internet was invented for.

    It's perfectly normal - it's indication of poor technique !!
    I know what you mean - I can do exactly the same accelerating up - but usually at much lower speeds! But it's not a good technique really ...
  • Crawlinguphills
    Crawlinguphills Posts: 95
    danowat wrote:
    Of course its not normal, do you see pro riders riding at 30mph with their front wheels lifting off the ground?

    My mind is still boggling TBH, you are riding along, on the drops, at 30mph and you are pushing so hard that the front wheel is lifting?, sorry, can't get my head round that.

    I can do 1000watt+ sprint intervals and never feel the front wheel lifting.

    I think you are being a little harsh here mate, he is not claiming he is stupidly powerful or fast, and actually, I can totally visualise what he is doing. I imagine he is not on the drops, but on the hoods, and everytime he pushes down, he pulls back meaning the wheel lifts slightly. He just needs to get more weight forward. At a guess I would think it is a very 'jerky' style when he is going for it.
  • Crawlinguphills
    Crawlinguphills Posts: 95
    I am also relieved this is a problem I dont have. Being so overweight there is plenty of weight on both wheels at all times...*sigh*
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Crawlinguphills wrote:
    danowat wrote:
    Of course its not normal, do you see pro riders riding at 30mph with their front wheels lifting off the ground?

    My mind is still boggling TBH, you are riding along, on the drops, at 30mph and you are pushing so hard that the front wheel is lifting?, sorry, can't get my head round that.

    I can do 1000watt+ sprint intervals and never feel the front wheel lifting.

    I think you are being a little harsh here mate, he is not claiming he is stupidly powerful or fast, and actually, I can totally visualise what he is doing. I imagine he is not on the drops, but on the hoods, and everytime he pushes down, he pulls back meaning the wheel lifts slightly. He just needs to get more weight forward. At a guess I would think it is a very 'jerky' style when he is going for it.
    I am obviously down on the drops at that speed so it would be quite hard to pull up on the bars

    He isn't pulling on the bars (his own words), so that leaves pure power that is lifting the front wheel.......
  • Crawlinguphills
    Crawlinguphills Posts: 95
    danowat wrote:
    Crawlinguphills wrote:
    danowat wrote:
    Of course its not normal, do you see pro riders riding at 30mph with their front wheels lifting off the ground?

    My mind is still boggling TBH, you are riding along, on the drops, at 30mph and you are pushing so hard that the front wheel is lifting?, sorry, can't get my head round that.

    I can do 1000watt+ sprint intervals and never feel the front wheel lifting.

    I think you are being a little harsh here mate, he is not claiming he is stupidly powerful or fast, and actually, I can totally visualise what he is doing. I imagine he is not on the drops, but on the hoods, and everytime he pushes down, he pulls back meaning the wheel lifts slightly. He just needs to get more weight forward. At a guess I would think it is a very 'jerky' style when he is going for it.
    I am obviously down on the drops at that speed so it would be quite hard to pull up on the bars

    He isn't pulling on the bars (his own words), so that leaves pure power that is lifting the front wheel.......

    Ahhhh ok, I stand corrected, sorry danowat. I still think he must be pulling up though, which makes for an incredibly interesting riding style, and must also be incredibly unstable
  • MarksMintness
    MarksMintness Posts: 484
    et3.jpg
    Current bike: 2014 Kinesis Racelight T2 - built by my good self!
  • bottom_bracket
    bottom_bracket Posts: 76
    MarksMintness wrote:
    et3.jpg

    :D
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Crawlinguphills wrote:
    danowat wrote:
    Crawlinguphills wrote:
    danowat wrote:
    Of course its not normal, do you see pro riders riding at 30mph with their front wheels lifting off the ground?

    My mind is still boggling TBH, you are riding along, on the drops, at 30mph and you are pushing so hard that the front wheel is lifting?, sorry, can't get my head round that.

    I can do 1000watt+ sprint intervals and never feel the front wheel lifting.

    I think you are being a little harsh here mate, he is not claiming he is stupidly powerful or fast, and actually, I can totally visualise what he is doing. I imagine he is not on the drops, but on the hoods, and everytime he pushes down, he pulls back meaning the wheel lifts slightly. He just needs to get more weight forward. At a guess I would think it is a very 'jerky' style when he is going for it.
    I am obviously down on the drops at that speed so it would be quite hard to pull up on the bars

    He isn't pulling on the bars (his own words), so that leaves pure power that is lifting the front wheel.......

    Ahhhh ok, I stand corrected, sorry danowat. I still think he must be pulling up though, which makes for an incredibly interesting riding style, and must also be incredibly unstable
    Of course he's pulling up ... unless he's actually an orang-utan with the long arms - or a Chris Hoy look-a-like then he's not going to be able to get his weight back far enough and put enough power through the pedals to create the torque required to lift the front wheel ...
    So - back to the original advice - weight forward and try to smooth the power through the whole stroke ...
  • ben@31
    ben@31 Posts: 2,327
    I hate it every time I'm on my mountain bike I bought from Tesco and I go to attack Contador on la Vuelta a España and the bike pulls a massive wheely. Hate it when that happens.
    "The Prince of Wales is now the King of France" - Calton Kirby
  • rhext
    rhext Posts: 1,639
    ben@31 wrote:
    I hate it every time I'm on my mountain bike I bought from Tesco and I go to attack Contador on la Vuelta a España and the bike pulls a massive wheely. Hate it when that happens.

    I used to have exactly that problem, but then I tried using the track bike instead of the mountain bike and it went away.
  • ♠ChumBucket♠
    ♠ChumBucket♠ Posts: 388
    I reckon you've got an oval front wheel! :)
    B'TWIN Triban 5A
    Ridgeback MX6
  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    danowat wrote:
    Crawlinguphills wrote:
    danowat wrote:
    Of course its not normal, do you see pro riders riding at 30mph with their front wheels lifting off the ground?

    My mind is still boggling TBH, you are riding along, on the drops, at 30mph and you are pushing so hard that the front wheel is lifting?, sorry, can't get my head round that.

    I can do 1000watt+ sprint intervals and never feel the front wheel lifting.

    I think you are being a little harsh here mate, he is not claiming he is stupidly powerful or fast, and actually, I can totally visualise what he is doing. I imagine he is not on the drops, but on the hoods, and everytime he pushes down, he pulls back meaning the wheel lifts slightly. He just needs to get more weight forward. At a guess I would think it is a very 'jerky' style when he is going for it.
    I am obviously down on the drops at that speed so it would be quite hard to pull up on the bars

    He isn't pulling on the bars (his own words), so that leaves pure power that is lifting the front wheel.......

    Unless he's riding a chopper, no one's thought of that !
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved

Categories