Running Into Rocks & Roots with your Wheel

Popping wheelies can be good for your bike. A wheelie is when a rider lifts the front wheel high enough into the air that the center of gravity moves over the rear wheel, allowing the rider to balance the bicycle as if on a unicycle. To do a wheelie or to “pop” you need to use a combination of pedal thrust and weight shifting to raise the front wheel in the air.

*Although wheelies cause a lot of stress on a bicycle's fork when the from wheel comes back down, it is a useful technique off-road to avoid running over rocks or roots head on.