Celebrate Bike to Play Week with Bicycling! Between Monday, June 27, and Sunday, July 3, we are encouraging you to break out of your usual routes and make your rides more fun this week. Whether it is a big adventure, or a day of small pleasures; solo, with family, with friends, a dog, just you and your social media friends ... the possibilities are endless and completely up to you.
Just don't forget to document your ride, and share it with us using the hashtag #BIBiketoPlay .
All cyclists can agree that riding a bike is just plain fun. But adding some cool bike tricks into your riding repertoire can up the enjoyment factor even more. And better yet: You can improve your bike handling skills in the process of learning these bike tricks, while impressing your friends when the work pays off.
Below, we've rounded up some of the cycling world's most popular bike tricks, including wheelies, trackstands, and more. Many can be performed on any type of bike, though some are easier done on mountain bikes, dirt jumpers, and BMX bikes. Some require skill and some require guts; half will save you time, the other half are just a waste of time. Point is, there's something here for everyone, whether you're a beginner or an avid racer. Pick your fave—then learn it and do it.
Difficulty: 1 to 3 (easy to hold briefly, harder to sustain)
Dazzle your friends: No foot-downs needed, just pure style and skill.
How it's done: Find a nice quiet spot to practice on or off the road; facing up a slight incline will help. Start to come to a slow stop, and stand out of the saddle with your pedals level. Turn your front wheel and lightly press into your forward pedal to hold your position. Feather your brakes if needed. Don't try to stay perfectly still at first, practice gently rocking backward and forward—the movement will help you balance and stay upright.
For more tips, check out our full guide on how to do a trackstand.
Difficulty: 2
Dazzle your friends: Catch air off of your natural surroundings, no built jumps needed.
How it's done: Look for a small, raised obstacle; roots and small- to medium-sized embedded rocks work great on the trail and root-lifted pavement cracks are perfect on bike path rides. Approach the obstacle—the "bump"— straight and with some speed. As you hit the bump, pull up and back on your handlebar and shift your weight back. Your front wheel should lift off the ground, then your rear wheel should hit and lift off as well. Bring your legs up under you as you catch air (keeping feet on pedals), stay loose, and land straight. Progress by building up to bigger obstacles and jumping higher—and get creative with finding bumps!
Difficulty: 2
Dazzle your friends: You'll look like you belong in the pro peloton (... maybe).
How it's done: Find a quiet section of road or trail. You can start by practicing riding with only one hand on the handlebar. Once that feels comfortable, practice hovering your hands over the handlebar for as long as you can, touching the bar as needed. Sit as upright as you can, roll your hips back to weight your saddle, and engage your core for stability. Once you can ride with no hands and sitting fully upright, practice steering the bike by shifting your weight and pointing your hips in the direction you wish to go.
For more tips, check out our full guide on how to bike with no hands.
Difficulty: 3 (easy to pop, hard to roll)
Dazzle your friends: Feel like a kid when you pop one; look like a pro when you roll along on one wheel.
How it's done: Find a slight incline; the resistance will help keep your front wheel up. Use flat pedals for easy escape, or don't clip in. Pedal in a low or medium gear, then push down on one crank while pulling up on your handlebar. Slide back on the saddle so your weight is over the rear wheel. You wheel should pop up. Once that's easy, pop up and keep pedaling, feathering your rear brake for control.
Difficulty: 3
Dazzle your friends: Fly over logs with finesse.
How it's done: Roll along with some speed in the ready position: stand out of the saddle with level pedals; keep arms, legs, and hips slightly bent; and stay loose. Lean into your handlebar to load the front suspension (if you have it), then push your feet into the pedals and pull up to lift the front wheel. Once your front wheel is lifted, lean forward and push your handlebar forward, and bring your legs up under you to lift your rear wheel. Don't touch your brakes, especially while landing. Use something small, like a branch or water bottle, to practice jumping over before moving on to bigger obstacles.
For more tips, check out our full guide on how to bunny hop.
Difficulty: 3 to 5 (it's all in the lift)
Dazzle your friends: Be a hero as you clear debris with a quick flick (or not, as you use your friends for target practice).
How it's done: This trick works best on baseball- to softball-sized rocks and pinecones. Ride to one side of the object, as close to it as possible without touching it. Just as the part of the front tire in contact with the trail passes the object, slightly unweight the front end of your bike and flick the handlebar toward the object, in one smooth motion. Lift too much and the wheel rolls over the target; lift too little and you'll end up in the bushes as the front tire grabs and darts to the side. Just right, and the tire's rotation will fling the object up and to the side. Note: Pinecones and rocks have the potential to rip tire sidewalls. Bottles and trash? Flick 'em for fun, but pick them up off the trail afterward.
Difficulty: 2 to 4 (easy to pop, hard to roll)
Dazzle your friends: Show off your moves on the trail or at the pump track.
How to do it: A manual looks like an out-of-the-saddle wheelie, but the techniques for doing each are different. To prepare to do a manual, coast along with your seat lowered, stand out of the saddle, and keep your pedals level. Compress your weight down, then push through your feet into both pedals with heels down, while simultaneously sending your hips back. Your front wheel should lift off the ground as you continue to roll along while out of the saddle. You may only be able to lift the front wheel slightly and briefly, but keep at it. Going down a slight hill can help with this move. Try holding it for as long as you can—finding your balance point takes practice!
Difficulty: 5 (it takes guts)
Dazzle your friends: This trick tells the world, "I know how to handle this bucking carbon bronco!"
How it's done: Build up speed, then shift your weight back and gently feather the front brake, lifting the rear wheel upward. Let your body weight roll forward as the back end lifts. The key is braking control: Too much brake and you pile-drive yourself, too little and you just slow down. Don't lock up the front wheel; let it keep rolling. Done perfectly, you'll stop just as your weight reaches the balance point. Hold for a second, and enjoy the cheers.
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