No Handed Wheelies

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by SilentGTboy
Having fun on the bike today. Full suspension mountain bike with disc brakes.. I've been practicing one handed wheelies the last two days and all of a sudden today while doing a wheel I decided to let go. Wow, it's really easy and I can land it no handed and keep riding. Now I'm playing around with doing wheelie without using hands at all. Pretty fun around the house when it's 90 degrees F and humid for riding any sort of distance

pino morroni used to do no-handed wheelies in the parking lot of kinetic systems when he was in his 70's.
he was pretty abnormal though....

I am only just mastering, at the age of 35, the art of "Look, Ma, no hands!" So I can only imagine that you are pretty proud of your most recent exploit. Go, Silent, go...

I've never heard of anyone doing a wheelie no-handed, how is the front wheel kept in the air and balance achieved? A photo would be of interest.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by BLDR
I've never heard of anyone doing a wheelie no-handed, how is the front wheel kept in the air and balance achieved? A photo would be of interest.

Yeah, how do you stop the bike looping out if you aren't using the rear brake?

How long can you hold these no-handed wheelies?

How do you stop from slipping off the back of the seat?

VIDEO! That's what we need! Is there a vid of anyone doing
one of these?

Mate of mine can do one-handed, no-footed manuals (wheelie without any pedaling basically) which is the closest thing I can think of... and these are insanely hard (for me!) 🙂

hippy

I have seen a really old video that basically had racing on it. It must have been about the first ever mountain bike nationals in Australia as there was an enduro, DownHill, UpHill, XC and trials events and most of the bikes (even the DH) didnt have suspension, it was more like a grass track slalom race.......Anyway, back to the story! there is a section at the end of the video with a wheelie competiton and one guy actually rides off into the bush doing this wheelie and basically steals the show, until that is another guy comes along and does a no handed wheelie. it only lasts about 4-5 pedals but in my mind that is a lot harder than a wheelie that goes for a hundred metres or more. Now i have tried this myself and i can honestly say that i have never fallen off doing it, as it is surprisingly easy to balance while ever the front wheel is still spinning, and clipless pedals help to keep your bum on the seat but my best is about 1 full rotation of the pedals. Nothing like my best standard wheelie of a few hundred metres. If i can find my mate who has this video i will try to get it onto a computer somehow.....very little chance of that im sorry.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by BLDR
I've never heard of anyone doing a wheelie no-handed, how is the front wheel kept in the air and balance achieved? A photo would be of interest.

old man pino would grab the saddle with his thighs and hop, pulling the front up and then balance by moving his mass.
like i said he was abnormal: a pro soccer player and cyclist prior to WWII and a fairly sucessful auto racer in the 1960's.
i was used to seeing him do things that i shouldn't try!
b/t/w...he was on a road bike with a short wheelbase (38"😉

here's a brief article on the guy.....

Cyclingâs Mad Scientist
- Pino Morroni - by Russell W. Howe
Special thanks to Mike Fraysee and Wayne Stetina and of course Pino.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pino Morroni invented and developed more cycling parts than any man alive! Or so the discussion went one day, while I was at work talking about last yearâs bike show at Anaheim. I heard that Pino had the most incredible booth filled with interesting and sometimes strange looking components. I decided to investigate. I contacted Mr. Morroni and we had a lengthy conversation. It was then that I decided Pino is truly cyclingâs Mad Scientist.

I recently met Pino at this yearâs Interbike show at Anaheim, CA. One evening, we sat down to talk. Of course, one doesnât really talk with Pino, you just try to hang on for the ride. In a machine gun-like burst, Pino spits out that his parts have been ridden by Merckx and Moser (during their setting of their Hour Records), Felice Gimondi, Gianni Bugno, Wayne and Dale Stetina, Greg LeMond, Andy Hampsten, and the list goes on. As we continue to talk, Pino bounces from one topic to another, never giving me a chance to digest all of his amazing stories.

I learned that Pino was born in Italy in 1920. As a young man, his first love was soccer and he played professionally. He was awarded the title "Journeyman lathe hand" at age sixteen for displaying talent as a machinist. At the insistence of some friends, he entered his first bicycle race. He broke away and was caught four times. On his fifth breakaway attempt, he was caught at the line and finished eighth. He progressed and won his share of races but WWII brought an abrupt end to his brief racing career. In the war, he served as a paratrooper in the Italian Army.

Although he was a prisoner of war for a period, the experience wasnât as terrifying as one might imagine. According to Mike Fraysee, "Pino is swapPinog war stories with my uncle. The pair are playing one-upmanship, trying to prove who had it harder. Pino tells us that he was captured and taken as a POW and was relating how hard it was to be a prisoner. Just when we began to feel sorry for him, Pino shows us a photo of himself playing soccer with British troops in North Africa!"

In 1958, Pino immigrated to the USA. He worked as a machinist for Chrysler in Detroit. On the weekends, he raced cars. Driving an old 1500cc Maserati, which he reworked in his backyard, Pino won his class at Indianapolis. In one race, he passed eighteen cars in one lap, a record that has never been broken at Indy. His performance was so spectacular that it caught the attention of Mr. Enzo Ferrari. Mr. Ferrari contacted him to discuss the possibility of driving for the Ferrari team. As Pino tells it, "Iâm not a blue blood, so I never got to drive for Ferrari". Yet, it was the thought of driving for Ferrari that brought Pino back to cycling. He says, "I got back into cycling in 1968-69 for physical fitness; Iâd hoped to drive for Ferrari." After a 24 year hiatus, he was back.

Pinoâs talent as a machinist is legendary. As word of his ability spread in the industry, a Swiss company which manufactured pacemakers, contacted him. The company was struggling with a stainless steel part inside their pacemaker. After approximately eight years of being implanted in the human body, it would corrode with potentially lethal results. They approached Pino to see if titanium held the answer. He went to his shop. One hour later, Voila! Pino accomplished what the Swiss believed was impossible. From titanium, he machined a very intricate and delicate screw with a threaded hole in the middle. Pino said, "that will be eight dollars". Curiously, the Swiss company would not pay Pinooâs price. The Swiss would only pay three dollars. Pino stood his ground but the Swiss needed more time to think it over. A week later, they finally called Pino and agreed to eight dollars but Pino declined the offer as he was tired of dealing with the company.

As Pino focused his genius and machining skills on cycling, there was no holding him back. Clearly, he designed and created frames, saddles, headsets, and bottom brackets that were twenty years ahead of his time.

Once again, he put his incredible machining skills to the test when he teamed up with Cecil Behringer. In the early seventies, they developed an eleven pound titanium track bike. Pino machined the lugs and tubing from solid bar stock. This would be a tremendous feat today, an impossible one over twenty years ago. Cecil did the brazing and the resulting bicycle was named the "PinoBehr" after its two creators. Pino took the bike to Rome to show it off. The conservative Italian cycling industry snickered. To prove the bikes strength, Pino threw down a gauntlet. He challenged all comers to a bike ride down all 138 of the famous Spanish Steps staircase in Rome. Pino rode alone as no one was willing to follow on their own bicycle.

In Brussels, Pino won two silver medals at the 1972 Invention show. One for his new shoe/cleat design and the other for his innovative magnesium railed saddle design. Pinoâs brother proudly sent photos of the awards ceremony to the mayor of Brussels. The mayor passed the photos on to Eddy Merckx. Somehow, Ernesto Colnago ended up with the photos and wrote to Pino requesting a headset, stem, BB and chain. This explains how Pinooâs parts ended up on Merckxâs hour record bike. Although Pino is a prolific inventor, he has never enjoyed any financial success. According to Mr. Clyde Forney (the materials consultant for the PinoBehr project), "Pino gave away many of his ideas. If he was paid for all of his innovations he would be a very rich man today." Wayne Stetina mentioned that "Pino was always too quick to move on to the next project." Mike Fraysee pointed out that Pino never had the capital required to obtain patents for his ideas and thus was not able to fully develop his products from the prototype stage.

For example, Pino developed a cartridge bottom bracket in 1970. The single piece unit required the bottom bracket shell to be tapped completely from one side to the other. The BB was then screwed into the shell and held in place by lock rings on each side. Problems occurred with the chainline whenever the threads were not tapped perfectly straight or if the frame was not straight (quite often the case). The industry was not operating with the same precision and close tolerances that Pino demanded. This prevented him from mass producing his unique bottom bracket.

Wayne Stetina and his brother, Dale, used Pinoâs products with great success. I recently spoke with Wayne and he stated that Pinoâs wheels carried him to victory in several races. He road them in the TTT at the Montreal Games and Dale rode them at the Junior World Championships. Wayne said, " the wheels were very fast but occasionally broke spokes." Mike Fraysee confirmed that Greg LeMond won a silver medal at the 1979 Junior World Championships astride a bicycle shod with Pinoâs wheels and a bottom bracket.

Additionally, Wayne used Pinoâs bottom bracket when he won the Nationals for the 1975 Time Trial and the 1976 and 77 road race. Dale was using one when he won the 78 road race. Wayne was quick to point out that Pinooâs first BB is the predecessor of todayâs cartridge systems.

Pino was always twenty years ahead of his time!

Decades ahead of the rest, Pino was building radially laced wheels that used straight pull spokes which threaded into the hub flange. Hours upon hours of labor are poured into each wheel. Imagine machining every hub and each spoke from solid titanium bar stock. Special rims were made by Ambrosio due to the hubs offset. All in the pursuit of producing wheels that are faster and rounder than any known to man.

Pino offers some interesting ideas on frame design as well. He believes that larger riders are handicapped because they are positioned further over the rear wheel. Placing so much weight over the rear wheel slows the rider down. As Pino tells it, "I said that the frame should be as short as possible. They sorta laugh at me for over twenty years on this subject; the new hour record confirms my belief."

Pinoâs proof is the hour record set by Moser. He showed me a photo of himself in which he is adjusting a saddle for Francesco Moser. Professor Conconi is with them at the Rome Velodrome on July 2, 1987. In another photo, Moser is riding a Pino-built track frame. The frame is significantly smaller than Moserâs regular bike and the top tube measures a measly 50cm. The left hand drive bike is adorned with Pinooâs radial wheels and a 185mm stem. Pino machined the stem from titanium and to support this stem of unusual length, he ran a thin supporting rod from the brake hole in the fork to the stem binder bolt. Just like stem used by gold medalist Andrea Colinelli at Atlanta, only ten years later.

As I was leaving the Anaheim show, I ran into Pino for the last time. I asked him, "So what did you think of the show?" He responded, "Let me tell you something, if I get some money to develop my ideas· I will hit it so big, there wonât be another show because there will be nothing to look at!" Obviously, Pino has a lot to say about the bike industry. In fact, Pino always has a lot to say and with each encounter I am left with another memorable quote. What can be said about a man who hangs a sign in his booth at the Anaheim show that reads Welcome to the ugliest booth, where the suit does not make the man!!"

For more info contact Russ Howe 360-438-9343 or E-mail

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Quoted post said:

Originally posted by drewjc
I have seen a really old video that basically had racing on it. It must have been about the first ever mountain bike nationals in Australia as there was an enduro, DownHill, UpHill, XC and trials events and most of the bikes (even the DH) didnt have suspension, it was more like a grass track slalom race.......Anyway, back to the story! there is a section at the end of the video with a wheelie competiton and one guy actually rides off into the bush doing this wheelie and basically steals the show, until that is another guy comes along and does a no handed wheelie. it only lasts about 4-5 pedals but in my mind that is a lot harder than a wheelie that goes for a hundred metres or more. Now i have tried this myself and i can honestly say that i have never fallen off doing it, as it is surprisingly easy to balance while ever the front wheel is still spinning, and clipless pedals help to keep your bum on the seat but my best is about 1 full rotation of the pedals. Nothing like my best standard wheelie of a few hundred metres. If i can find my mate who has this video i will try to get it onto a computer somehow.....very little chance of that im sorry.

First day I did the no handed wheelie I was doing a good 2 rotations by the end of the day. I have a full suspension mountain bike, 27 speed, disc brakes and the wheels are exactly true. Do ride normally no handed I have to lean really far over the left side of my bike. My BMX bike however is true and I have ridden miles on mile no handed. The bars are bent anyways from doing drops off this wall.. It's funny that I can't find the money to replace it but I'm looking to get a Giant OCR 2 or a Trek Equivelant. Anyways, I'll see if I can get my friend to get some pictures. Doing the no handed wheelies is actually pretty fun but being clipped in at the same time could hurt when it goes wrong :p

That'd be kool to get some pics. Just a question, you guys are talking about how easy it is to do 100m wheelies normally, I struggle to do 4 revolutions, ending up at about 2-3m, how long did it take you's to master this skill? I always end up coming off the back, or not getting the front wheel high enough.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by BLDR
That'd be kool to get some pics. Just a question, you guys are talking about how easy it is to do 100m wheelies normally, I struggle to do 4 revolutions, ending up at about 2-3m, how long did it take you's to master this skill? I always end up coming off the back, or not getting the front wheel high enough.

Basically you have to commit to getting the front wheel high enough that you hit that nice balance point over the back
wheel. If you have to keep pedaling faster and faster to keep
it up, you are not far enough back...

You will feel like you are going to fall off the back. To stop this
you GENTLY touch the rear brake. Doing this will drop the front wheel and stop you 'looping out'.

See here:
http://free-du.htnet.hr/trials/lawnmms-howto.html

After all this, let me tell you that I cannot wheelie for more than
a few 'pedals' even though I KNOW exactly what I need to do 🙂

hth
hippy

It took a few months of practice from the day i first bought my first MTB to master the wheelie. Originally my challenge was to wheelie the length of the street (200m or so) then when i consistently did that i learned that the back brake could be used quite effectively to keep the speed under control and continue the wheelie for much longer. Once this was mastered i took to the local track (420m flat track) and have since been able to complete a full lap on a number of occasions. I now practice on my road bike and find this just as easy to wheelie as the MTB but with much greater care taken on landing with narrow road forks being quite fragile. I think learning when you are young definitely helps (forgetting the pain of landing on your back/bum a couple of times!) Good luck with the wheelies!