[Cash-Money]

i just built up a ghetto-trials rig but it handles well enough that i can learn on it. i need some tips on how to pedal kick the bike forward. i can hop around on the rear whell, but only backwards or in place. any help would be much apreciated.

-simon

the bike is a redline dually (26" slalom bike) with a kona rigid fork, tall/long stem, etc. head angle feels 72/73ish

 

[TyF]

learning to pedal kick is just a matter of timing. you want to release the rear brake and push on the peal all while the rear tire is off the ground. to get more distance let the front wheel come down a bit and then kick, its easier to see than it is to explain, go to www.observedtrials.net there are many vidoes you can watch that should help you get the hang of pedal kicking

 

[Ascentrek]

TyF is pretty much right.

The big question is can you get to the rear from pressing the pedal down? That's the important key. Yarding back on the bike to do rear wheel hops won't help you a ton in this department.

Things to try.

Find a sidewalk with cracks. Ride up to the crack, stop short of your front wheel going over. Pedal up to your rear, locking the rear wheel up just before the crack (same spot your front was originally at). Practice this manuver for a few days as a warm up, or just for skillz. It will help your timing on the braking, and get you used to pedaling up to the rear.

Once you do that, drop your front a little bit and push your forward pedal down a little. You may not 'hop' but you will move forward on your rear a little. Again, lock up the brake after you've done the kick. Practice that move.

Find a curb. Do the same as above, but now pedal up to the edge of the curb and push the pedal for the second time. Walla, your first pedal kick.

The above directions are what i concocted. I practiced for 1 hour for two days just doing the sidewalk gig. I also practiced just riding up to the crack and learning how to 'return' the pedal (that takes practice as well) without pulling the front end up. Just do these exercises and nothing else for a few days. After that, just put them in your 'warmup' routine before you ride for the day.

Long winded, but I hope this helps. Watching body movement in video's is key. If you can video yourself, you should... and then watch some people that are better than you.

 

[Cash-Money]

thanks for the tips, i'll give that a try. i assume when you say to use a curb to replace the crack, u mean to pedal off the curb, not up it

 

[TyF]

either way, eventually you will want to start going up stuff by pedal kicking, the best idea is to start small and work your way up.

 

[Chutney]

Originally posted by Ascentrek
TyF is pretty much right.

The big question is can you get to the rear from pressing the pedal down? That's the important key. Yarding back on the bike to do rear wheel hops won't help you a ton in this department.

Things to try.

Find a sidewalk with cracks. Ride up to the crack, stop short of your front wheel going over. Pedal up to your rear, locking the rear wheel up just before the crack (same spot your front was originally at). Practice this manuver for a few days as a warm up, or just for skillz. It will help your timing on the braking, and get you used to pedaling up to the rear.

Once you do that, drop your front a little bit and push your forward pedal down a little. You may not 'hop' but you will move forward on your rear a little. Again, lock up the brake after you've done the kick. Practice that move.

Find a curb. Do the same as above, but now pedal up to the edge of the curb and push the pedal for the second time. Walla, your first pedal kick.

The above directions are what i concocted. I practiced for 1 hour for two days just doing the sidewalk gig. I also practiced just riding up to the crack and learning how to 'return' the pedal (that takes practice as well) without pulling the front end up. Just do these exercises and nothing else for a few days. After that, just put them in your 'warmup' routine before you ride for the day.

Long winded, but I hope this helps. Watching body movement in video's is key. If you can video yourself, you should... and then watch some people that are better than you.

I was in the same situation as you, sven, a couple of months ago - could hop on the back wheel for a long time, but wasnt able to disengage the brake and do the hop very well. I followed basically the same guidelines as those outlined by Ascentrek. My first "pedal kick" came from having both wheels on the ground, pulling up on the bars and cranking the pedals. Also, I agree that body movement is key. Watching trials videos helped me a lot too, i would guess.

The most important thing for me though was changing from two finger to one finger braking in the back. I also have a pretty ghetto rigged trials bike, and the rear brakes are pretty weak. I fixed it by getting softer pads, and doing a cheap (but bad) grind on my rims with a table knife and a file. If you havent switched to one finger braking yet, it will make a huge difference.

Good luck,
Jon

 

[oxygen_77]

I have a different solution that worked for me. First I learned a Pedal-up (i.e. from almost stopped or stopped with your bad foot forward, pedal through a half revolution while lifting the bike into a wheelie position then hop up an obstacle from there). Once I became consistent with my pedal-ups, I started learning to land on the rear wheel and stick there. Then I learned to pedal kick from that position. I don't know if it'll help you, but it works for me.

 

[iridebikes]

the first time i learned to pedal kick was off a curb with a 40 pound freeride hardtail with a 6" fork. i would roll up to the edge and give a hard quarter turn to get the front wheel up, then i would release the brake at the same time as i would give another pedal kick to get off the curb. its the same kind of idea. from a stop, i give a good kick to get the front wheel up, then i start hoping on my rear wheel, every time i'm about to leave the ground i let up on the rear brake and give about a 1/4 or 1/8 pedal kick to move forward. its a good idea to let the front end lower down a little bit every time you're about to kick, that way you wont' fall backwards. hope that helps