How to do a "Manual"

Manual, simply put, is a wheelie that you do not crank your pedals; you simply ride a wheelie from balance. Manuals are a great way to control your bike and your cruise speed. Parts of some courses require a manual to effectively navigate the track. I will give you a step by step guide to be able to master this necessity.

Steps
1. Get up to a reasonable speed. You want to go fast enough to provide momentum, but not so fast that you can not control yourself.
2. When you are ready to manual, get your pedals parallel to the ground.
3. Load the front wheel.
4. Pop the front wheel off the ground and shift your weight back on the bike in one motion. Your arms should be straight when you lean back. You are not holding the front wheel up with you arms. You are shifting your body weight to balance the front wheel in the air. Your center of gravity should be right over the rear axle.
5. See how long you can keep your balance.

Tips
1. Manuals are easiest to do on lightweight BMX bikes and hard-tail mountain bikes.
2. If your front wheel is not getting high enough, try leaning further back. If your front wheel gets too high, then lean less. Experiment with this and find out what works for you.
3. Keep a finger on the back brake while your font wheel is in the air. If your bike wants to drop you off the back, you can grab the back brake and your front wheel will come down.
4. On your next mountain bike ride, use the manual to float over root, rocks, small drops, small animals, or anything else on the trail that you do not want your front wheel hitting.