pedal ups

[denib]

So I'm having trouble with pedal ups, and was wondering if anyone can tell me wtf I am doing wrong
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tgZQnn0tEx0

[rocpyro]

Your not crouching and exploding at all. That will help alot. You don't need more speed, but for learning, it might help.

[xsv4crob]

One thing I noticed is your pedal stroke timing. In the first two attempts, you are early with finish of the pedal stroke. Watch the arc of your rear wheel - you come up and then down, landing on the pallets. The last shot (where you end up falling forwards) was timed much better - one motion up to the pallets and smooth.

[KeepRollin]

You need to get the bike a lot more vertical before you jump. Your nuts should be in your stem when you start to lift the rear wheel.

[ramnation1]

If You are a left foot forward (as I am) try this. Ride up to your object with your feet level, but your right foot forward. When you are a wheel length away from the object, crank (hard) so your left foot is in it's normal riding position. At the same time, you're building up momentum, you're bunny hopping in a sense as well, and you'll either over shoot the landing, or land just on the edge. EITHER way... wear your lid. Watch a couple of vids, ride with others, help each other out. Second party eyes and constructive criticism are great for learning. Good luck. I have faith, from looking at the video, you're on your way to getting it...

[carnagr]

You need to get the bike a lot more vertical before you jump. Your nuts should be in your stem when you start to lift the rear wheel.

Lean harder. Use your pedal stroke to push you back. Think about it like this: if you get down on all fours, and try to jump, you are not going to get very high. When you jump from 2 feet however, you can go pretty high. It's the same thing on a bike - if you're leaning too far forward when you try to jump, it's like jumping from your hands and knees.

[tubender]

this is where I am at right now also. I have been starting further away from the object (like in the vid). I am going to try starting a bit closer to work out the pedal timing.

[tra la log]

it looks like your pushing the front end down too much. when you go to plant the rear wheel, push the bike up and from underneath you. thats how ive gotten past slamming the front on pedal-ups

[AgrAde]

can you bunnyhop? if so, do that more. here you're basically just pulling a wheelie and then lifting the bike up.

[Mordax]

ya, everything i was going to say has been mentioned pretty much.

i'm not sure about the "more speed" thing tho. i find a lot of times when i screw up pedal ups its because i'm going at the wall too fast and don't have time to get the timing right, if that makes sense.

pedal ups are a pain imo...i'm so day to day with me. keep practicing and you'll get it

[bigdonut]

So I just got a halfway working bike to ride trials on again and was practicing last night. I decided to try and do a pedal up as I have been just bunnyhopping onto stuff. I'm visualizing the move as a kind of a wheelie with a bunnyhop at the end of the pedal stoke. Is this correct? I kinda got one but it feels really weird so far.

[carnagr]

Really just watch videos. All the advice that can be given is here. If you watch someone like James or Vincent, you'll see theyre technique. It's all about the last 1/4-1/2 pedal stroke and timing. You gotta push really hard right at the end and jump as high as you can. Videos FTW.

[FDS2223]

ryan leech breaks down the amount of pedal stroke you need pretty well, watch it on youtube.

[lucky13]

Really just watch videos. All the advice that can be given is here. If you watch someone like James or Vincent, you'll see theyre technique. It's all about the last 1/4-1/2 pedal stroke and timing. You gotta push really hard right at the end and jump as high as you can. Videos FTW.


Slow Mo FTW:x:

[thefool808]

this is where I am at right now also. I have been starting further away from the object (like in the vid). I am going to try starting a bit closer to work out the pedal timing.

Yeah... me too. I've found I have better to success if I start lifting my wheel a little earlier which also means I start farther back, but this doesn't really seem correct especially after looking at the vids. It probably has to do with me not getting the bike vertical enough.

Also, I've found it a little easier if I actually try to go up something a little higher. I'm about at a 1.5', but doing curb like stuff seems a little more unnatural. My main problem right now seems to be sticking the rear wheel and not falling forward. I just try to concentrate on going up more than going forward.

[Muerto]

My main problem right now seems to be sticking the rear wheel and not falling forward. I just try to concentrate on going up more than going forward.

Force yourself to committing to the rear by upping to walls, rocks, etc. where you can't put your front wheel down.

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And imho. pedalups are nothing like bunnyhops as you rely on the drivetrain when doing a pedalup which is totally different from bunnyhopping which can easily be done without a chain on the bike, as you know... :)

[FDS2223]

And imho. pedalups are nothing like bunnyhops as you rely on the drivetrain when doing a pedalup which is totally different from bunnyhopping which can easily be done without a chain on the bike, as you know... :)

I'm glad someone said it because they don't feel similar at all to me. I thought it was just a personal thing though.

[denib]

Thanks for all the input, now I have a good idea on what i need to work on.

[tubender]

the "explosion" is always where I have difficulty. To do any of this you need to really bend deep and nail the timing.

[stpatr3k]

Frank, its just a pedal kick at the end of a stroke, sometimes if you relax your mind and don't think about it you can get it. Its simpler said than done yes, but think of it as leaping with your forward foot lower than the back foot. Then theres a matter of pushing the bike up and away from yourself.

When I was starting to learn the move I laid on my back and did my coordination exercise. Like I had the bike I practiced the motion (on my back), the badfoot rotation to pedal kick (explosion) then the push thing. Helped me a lot to get the motion.

You can start also doing a pedal-gap, the motion is almost the same except its for a gap (more distance than height).

[AgrAde]

Force yourself to committing to the rear by upping to walls, rocks, etc. where you can't put your front wheel down.

---

And imho. pedalups are nothing like bunnyhops as you rely on the drivetrain when doing a pedalup which is totally different from bunnyhopping which can easily be done without a chain on the bike, as you know... :)
the only difference is that with a bunnyhop you're leaning back to get over the front wheel before you jump up. with a pedalup you're coming up from the centre of the bike and relying on the pedals to get your weight over the back.

with my BMX i barely even have to lean back because the front pulls up so easy, it's even more similar.

i find the timing of the crouch/jump the same in any case.

[tubender]

Frank, its just a pedal kick at the end of a stroke, sometimes if you relax your mind and don't think about it you can get it. Its simpler said than done yes, but think of it as leaping with your forward foot lower than the back foot. Then theres a matter of pushing the bike up and away from yourself.

When I was starting to learn the move I laid on my back and did my coordination exercise. Like I had the bike I practiced the motion (on my back), the badfoot rotation to pedal kick (explosion) then the push thing. Helped me a lot to get the motion.

You can start also doing a pedal-gap, the motion is almost the same except its for a gap (more distance than height).

I am getting pretty good forward distance on the kick, it's the "up" that isn't happening, I will try the exersize you mentioned.. thx

[aki]

The very first part of the clip looks good. You just need to jump straight up at the last stroke. You & the bike is going horizontal almost since that jump is missing and the locked leg is pushing the bike forward rather than up. Since you're trying to get more height you want to bring the bike more vertical & pull the handlebar towards you as you leap upwards.

If I confused you, it's like running on the ground with your feet and trying to jump with the leading foot. The only way to get any height is to bend your knees at the last step & explode upwards.

[tubender]

I really hammered on the pedal-ups yesterday. I didn't nail anything perfectly but it was much better. I got up and balanced on the rear and it was sweet! I am not sure who said it but getting my stem to my nuts was the key for me. I noticed after putting a lot of effort into pedalups rolling up the object was super easy but no longer very interesting! ha!

[tra la log]

I am not sure who said it but getting my stem to my nuts was the key for me

this is the part im struggling on with pedal-ups and pedal kicks

[stickyworm]

I've posted these thoughts before, but I thought I would share them here again.

Can you balance on the back wheel? Yes, then can you hop on your bak wheel? There is a key motion used to do so, and it is in the hips, oh and in the arms and in the legs, well it involves a lot of your body. It utilizes separation of movements in the body and timing. As your hips drop, move forward and upward, the direction of the bike will change. Try it sometime, balance on the rear tire and move your main body mass around, your torso, and don't be afraid to exaggerate. To hop in place, you will actually hop your hips up and down, and if you wanted to go really high, you drop your hips, and surge them upwards, using a pedal kick to get more height like in a stationary bunny hop. This gives the upward momentum that you are lacking in the video.

This is the same motion used in the last stroke in your pedal up. Your body drops, preloading your legs and the bike, and from a side view, if you were to watch your hips, they draw a quick "U" in the air from right to left. At the top of the left side of the "U", your stem is in your balls, which means your hands will touch your hips literally in some cases, then using your momentum of your body which weighs more than the bike, your "punch" your fists upward into the air, being careful not to limit the bikes movement with your feet, lifting the bike above the obstacle and placing the rear tire up and onto the edge of the obstacle.

Some specific tips on the video, start from a standstill. Your front tire should be same the distance away from the obstacle as the height of the obstacle. (24" high, 24" away to front tire). When you are coasting without 108 engagement points, you cannot predict when you will engage your freewheel and so the distance from the obstacle that you begin the pedal stroke will always change. Starting from a stationary position gives 100% predictability every time and any slight variation can be compensated for in the move. Also have you ever noticed that it is easier to catwalk from a slow speed than fast, well low gearing means that from a standstill, it is easier to use the drive train to raise your front tire from a standstill than moving.

Lastly for the height of the obstacle, start with your bad foot forward and do one complete revolution, involving two strokes of the pedals, so that you land with your good foot forward and level to the ground. The first stroke gives forward momentum and the last stroke is that motion described above that gives height.

I hope this helps someone, and I apologize for the length of the post.
Happy hopping,
-Josh-

[denib]

Epiphany time, I got a couple of solid pedal ups in...nothing big, but I felt the timing.
I also noticed that I was jerking on the bars during the pedal stroke instead of leaning back and being smooth. And I was also tapping the rear brake before the pedal kick. Not using the brake seems to help a lot. Now to work on the crouch and explosive lunge.

Thanks again for the help

[alexzero13]

lol pedal oops, clever :D

Watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cuo7BslZXz8

[thefool808]

Two things that have been helping me lately with this move:

1. Maybe I've watched too many slo-mo vids or something, but I think I was doing the entire pedal stroke too slowly. Once I forced myself to speed up the pedaling part it seemed to help with everything else.

2. Sometimes to work on the movement, I'll do vertical jumps in place from two wheels using a pedal stroke ending with a strong kick (not actually trying to go up anything). It seems to be virtually the same move with no real forward movement and seems a little more controlled (or at least I feel less likely to loop out). I'll have to post a vid of this or something, but mainly I use this move to rebuild confidence after a bail...