Tuesday, September 13, 2011

How to increase my bicycle's ';acceleration';?

I want to do a wheelie and when i lift my front wheel high enough, i can't paddle fast enough to gain speed to keep the front wheel in the air. Btw, im using a freestyle bike, not a mountain bike so i can't change gears. Pls help me, thnk u %26lt;3How to increase my bicycle's ';acceleration';?
It's not about ';acceleration'; it's about balance!!! Work on your balance, once you get your balance under control you can ride a wheelie for a long way.How to increase my bicycle's ';acceleration';?
If you cant change gears the only option is to lean really far back and pull up hard. sorry.
Question: So what is a appropriate gear ratio to use on a mountain bike to do a wheelie?
yeah its all about balance, the faster you start pedalling the harder it is to keep up because you just keep getting faster
You don't need to increase your acceleration, you need a higher top end gear. However, you need to get that wheel up a little further and worry more about your balance so you dont end up doing 45 mph on a wheel stand! lol
I've seen people do wheelies on top of picnic tables. It's balance, not acceleration.



Practicing balance = get ready to fall and get back up.
You'll need to work out what your gear ratio is. If it's too high (over 3.1 - don't worry the numbers will make sense soon) then you will probably need to change cogs to do wheelies/catwalks but not manuals (I'll explain the tricks later too).



First to work out your gearing:



To increase acceleration (but lower your top speed) you can change the size of your chainring (front cog also known as a sprocket) and/or cassette/freewheel (back cog)



You'll need to do a little math to work it out. Here we go:



Divide the number of teeth (T) on the front cog (chainring) by the number of teeth on the back cog (freewheel or cassette) and see what you get.



eg 33T on the front 12T on the back equals 2.75



If you take 2.75 as the ';average'; value as a lot of stock bikes have this. It basically means that it's not too hard to pedal and you get a reasonable top speed. Now you should be able to wheelie (also known as catwalk) on that gearing.



Flatlanders like to pedal very easily and don't need a high top speed so they would reduce the number of teeth on the front cog whilst keeping the back cog the same. Then if you do your sums you will have a value of less than 2.75.



I personally like to go fast and currently have 36T on the front and 12T on the back equaling a value of 3. To save weight I'm changing my cogs down to 30T and 10T, I'll have smaller cogs but the sums still make 3 so my bike will have the same acceleration and top speed. A sum of 3 is a less popular but although I found it difficult to pedal at first, my legs were used to it in a week and now anything lower that 3 (I have a 2.75 bike too) doesn't feel fast enough! I can still wheelie and manual (a wheelie without pedaling) with that gearing



I hope this helps you but if you're unsure before you change anything just go to a probike shop that sells good BMX parts.

Sorry for the long post but I remember the stress I had trying to work out gearing for the first time and there's more!



You can also improve your technique if after working out your gearing ratio it's under 3.1 you'll have enough acceleration.



Practice on short grass as you'll loop out a bit at first (fall on your bum with the bike shooting out under you).



Go at a moderate speed and when you're ready, in a smooth motion pull your bars up and move your bum over the back wheel. Keep your knees bent so you can edge your bum forward and back to keep your balance point. You can pedal in order to help the front end up and you'll be doing a catwalk or just keep your balance and you'll be doing a manual.



Manuals are cooler, but harder!

Good Luck!
I remember doing this a lot as a kid

Mountain bikes are aboviouslly easier as you're pointing out.



Okay, with acceleration, the key is to pace yourself. You just need to pick up the front end and pedal enough to get the back wheel moving. At that point, gradually accelorate, and try to make it last as long as possible. Also, do it from a dead stop, instead of while you're moving

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