Mountain Bike Skills - How To Wheelie drop

1 - Wear a helmet & protective gear, ride at your level.  Start small on a one foot drop and slowly work your way up.

2 - Before you should attempt a wheelie drop, you must be have the art of riding a wheelie in your bag.

3 - Gear selection is very important.  There is a range of possible gears to wheelie drop in, but for starters on a flat to flat drop, a good gear to start in is middle one (32 front, 32 rear).  As you advance you may want to try other gears for more technical drops, a steep uphill drop might work with granny 2 while a downhill drop might be well suited for middle 2..

4 - Cadence or how fast you are pedaling, is crucial to a properly executed wheelie drop..  If your in middle one, pedal slowly toward edge of drop, when your front wheel is about 2 - 3 feet from edge you may want to adjust your speed with a brake check..  Then about 1 foot away from the edge you should initiate the drop by accelerating your cadence and lightly tugging on the bars, just like you do to pull a wheelie..  Think about the tension in the chain, after all its what makes the front end come up and stay up.

5 - Don't stop pedaling till you hit the ground, keep your eyes on the landing area.

6 - Although full suspension is nice, concentrate on absorbing the drop with your body..  Landing stiff and using all of your suspension on the small drops may lead to harsh landings when you raise your game..

To summarize, a wheelie drop is a delicate move to master.  There are several

Frequent Mistakes of first time wheelie droppers..

1 - Many first timers seem to think the wheelie drop is all about the handlebar yank..  There first time, they ride up to the drop, having no idea what gear there in, how fast there cranks are revolving and right at the edge yank up on the handlebars like an olympic world record clean jerk attemp..  The result is usually landing on ones back which isnt fun, funny or fun..

2 - Another common mistake while learning is to stop pedaling before you land..  The wheelie starts perfect, your front wheel is up and about 2 feet off the edge, YAY, but your success is cut short when you stop pedaling, chain tension goes to ZERO and your front end drops like the stock market during the crash (no pun intended) of 2000.  Till your a pro, keep pedaling till touchdown..

3 - When wheelie dropping larger ledges, it doesn't mean you have to pedal harder, or pull harder..  I've made this mistake many times, even recently..  Result is landing either on your back or like a 747..  As long as you land on your rear wheel, you can grab some brake to make the front drop, but still a good thing to avoid.

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WHEELIE DROPS GONE BAD.

SAMPLE #1

Advanced

-FWO to wheelie drop

-Short Takeoff Wheelie drops