Manuals - Cracking the Code! | MTB Skills: Practice Like a Pro #22
Have you always wanted to manual, but struggled to get the front end up?
In this episode, @linnearooke shares the key elements that finally helped her get the bike to the balance point.
Want to learn more? Check out the full episode (23:44) on fluidrideonline.com/
🎥 Filmed and edited by Kyle Ilenda
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ABOUT SIMON LAWTON
Following his own Pro Downhill mountain bike racing career, Simon Lawton (Owner and Founder) has spent the last 25 years analyzing the top riders in the world to understand the tiniest details that contribute to their greatest successes, and also any weaknesses that are holding them back. With an exceptional understanding of kinesiology, Simon has developed his own teaching curriculum that explains the incredible relationship between human and machine. He has trained top pro mountain bike racers across the world, and his foundational techniques apply equally to beginner riders. His on-bike drills allow you to break down complex skills on the bike and develop correct techniques.
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ABOUT LINNEA ROOKE
Linnea has been racing locally in the pro category, but until this year she had almost no formal training and was held back by major gaps in her technique. While she was able to carry speed well on straight downhills and high-bermed turns, she lacked foundational cornering skills and was timid in the air. In Feb 2020, she met up with Fluidride to help with a filming trip in Baja, and was fascinated by Simon's teaching methods. Wanting to be part of this mission, she left her career in healthcare in July 2020 to officially join the Fluidride team as COO. We started filming this series to document her journey of cleaning up bad habits, adding new skills to her toolkit, and chasing her dream of riding with style.
Linnea rides for Evil Bikes: www.evil-bikes.com/
Literally making me want to go to the parking lot up the street to practice manuals at 3:00 am. Lol. Great stuff and thank you.
Hahahaha I love this so much! -Linnea
Yeah bro ik this feeling after watching these vids. Funny thing is that it’s not only in your mind if you feel like that and try you will see that it will be one of the good days in most cases where you imporve
Same
That's me now at 4am 😂
I have never seen anyone talk about the upper body for manuals! This has been eye opening, thank you so much👊🏻😎
Gary - thanks so much for watching! I hope the tip helps; it was the only thing that made manuals tangible for me 🤪 -Linnea
@@Fluidride Great series of videos, very helpful👊🏻😎
Me too!! I tried it today and it helped me a lot! It was truly a revelation!! Having focused up 'till now on the L shape and the hip movement backwards this felt really different. It actually felt much closer to a wheelie (which I can do), it seems obvious now, but after lots of practice this was the first time I've ever done this and the results were instant. Can't wait for my next sesh!
Her problem was not in the upper body or shoulders, her butt was higher than saddle but in the last attempts she moved her butt lower than saddle, closer to the wheel. No magic or secret technic but just physics🤷♀️
Getting into the "weightless" zone is where many become uneasy. Getting accustomed to that sensation is challenging. Then the balance check by modulating weight bias... Subtle movement is the tuning that we all need to become one with. Great coaching session. Thanks for sharing!
I love it that the side note was put in that this isn't learned in 5 minutes but takes months to practice. Makes me so much more hopefull when I'm doing my practice!
YES expectations are everything. Every little bit of practice adds up! -Linnea
Totally, I’ve been trying to manual with no real progress for about a year but the last week I’ve practiced 2-3 hours every day and I’ve improved so much, makes me so proud and hopeful for the future!
one of the biggest key points/tips for ppl trying to wheelie or manual is to keep the chin UP, keep yours eyes looking forward. Don't look down or at the front tyre. Feel it, don't look for it.
Most intuitive manual instruction.
This was an absolute revelation! I couldn't work out what I was doing wrong for the past twelve months and simply focusing on my upper body position, open chest and chin up was the difference. Confidently practicing again, I wasn't a lost cause! Thanks so much
That rowing comparison is absolutely enlightening. Bum-shoving is what we called it in rowing, and that's exactly what I'm doing with my manuals.
I've seen a lot of manual video's, but this one explains things that I haven't seen in others. Thanks!
Thanks for watching, Steve! -Linnea
Totally agree, especially the part about your upper body staying up.i think i do the collapse thing too.i will totally going to practice on the weekend.thx for this great tutorial
A great example of coaching and being teachable! Also great progress.
Thanks for watching, and for the support! -Linnea
Of all the vids on manuals ive ever watched this is the FIRST one mentioning anything about the shoulders that I can remember. This appears to be a key factor that is overlooked and not talked about much if at all. And the head thing,,,,, GOLD!
So pumped to read this! I hope it helps! I was struggling for a long time and this is what finally made manuals a reality. Thank you for watching too! -Linnea
This was the most informative video on manuals that I have ever seen! Well done!
I learn so much from this channel. It's awesome to have someone who is learning the trick, is guided by an excellent teacher, pointing out where to focus etc. Thank you!!
What a nice sesh! She's Sooo nice, she have a very good presence... and talent is there, those manual were just plain steezy!
One of the best instructional videos I have found on this. Good job!
So happy to hear it's helping - and thanks for watching!
I always respect an MTB instructor that is in really good shape. Not sure why. Great video!!!
Great teacher.
I really appreciated this video! Another thing I feel like isn't talked about all that much is flexibility - if you look at 10:06 - it takes a lot of flexibility in that leading leg to keep your back straight and strong ~ I think this is a big part of why it takes months or even years to learn, especially when you're older, your body cannot easily have a straight back and straight leg out like that without being at the end of its range of motion.
Great videos and you definitely analyze all aspects of everything about every skill for mountain biking. Thanks for sharing!
This is great information.!! The upper body position and shoulder tips are awesome!! And makes total sense! And the final comparisons are a nice touch to visualize. 🤘🏾
I'm learning to manual at the moment so I'm gonna try these tips.
REALLY great video! Thank you for sharing!
Great tips and awesome showing the profile view of your body/head/shoulders.I think this is my problem and you are showing this off the bike and it super helpful to see. Keep the head up!
The only video, that explains what to do with upper body. Not just “move your ass back and do not bend your arms”. It makes my day. I tried to do it like humpback worm
Glad you're enjoying our videos Alphadoub! Would love to hear your progress as you practice! - Coach Kagen
Great instruction, great progression.
More gold here. I love this detailed analysis. It's great to see people who really break down and understand what they are doing.
Thanks for this awesome feedback!
Best in depth manual lesson I've seen ever!! Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
The audio video quality is excellent and is not superfluous, you are awesome. It has been profitable for me and had a great time with you guys !
Thanks for your great feedback, we appreciate it! -Linnea
Shoulder tip is great. Thanks
Watching the video helped me a lot.
Raise your bars, shorter stem, lower saddle, light weight front tyre, open fork rebound, cover rear brake with index finger, keep arms straight once pulled on bars.
Really enjoying the way things are explained with this channel, this is awesome!
Thanks so much for watching! We’re pumped to hear it’s helping
Thank you so much for this awesome content. I'm going to commit to learning manuals this summer at 46yrs of age. Cheers from Rotorua New Zealand 🇳🇿.
Nice Tuchus!! Also, the tuchus pack full of rocks is pure genius!
hahahaha take every advantage you can get, right? 🤣
@@Fluidride can't blame her!!
Woww i want to learn those MTB bike skills..love mtb cycling here.
Love the detail for the upper body and head position. Makes a lot more sense. Brilliant video.
Thanks so much for watching, Khris!
That was an excellent lesson illustrating the difference in body position and its effect on the manual. Thank you for the great content!
Thanks for watching, and for the support! 🙃 -Linnea
Great coach, great student and beautiful progress, congrats Linnea!! you're so awesome!!
Thanks for all your support!! And for watching! 🥳
@@Fluidride Thank you, I'm learning a lot!
Yep, I look exactly like the "before" video. Great lesson, and words of wisdom about the persistence needed.
So stoked to hear that this is helpful - and thank you for watching! -Linnea
Great.. Thank you. I’ll keep practising
Ha ha, I’m sat here about to head out into rain on a marshy wet peat ride in Wales. I’m envious of what looks like a nice warm morning. Manuals in mush are a hoot, good for stopping the front wheel digging. But if you’re too slow the back wheel sinks in and your mates get a good laugh. Great videos, I always walk away with a couple of top tips & agree, you cannot practice too much 😎
We're a tad envious of you too Dewin, we would love a little bit of rain here in the Pacific Northwest right about now. 😆 I'm glad you're able to walk away with some new tips! Practice, practice, practice. 🤘🏼- Coach Kagen
Another banger ...... that is exactly it. It took me ages to work that out. I love that description to help people understand, unconscious "guarding". It took forever for me to realise, even though I was correctly keeping my arms straight, I was heavily rounding my shoulders and heavily lent forward with the spine from the hips
Ah I'm so happy you picked up on the guarding. This was actually brought up by one of our awesome coaches, Dave Thoms, who is an expert in the mental side of riding. It made so much sense all of a sudden, and how it shows up in subtle body movements! Thanks for all your support and for watching 🥳 -Linnea
Nice edit buddy. Keep it up and have fun!
Love the diagrams and split images.
As always, the analysis of skills on this channel is top notch. Really appreciate the detailed breakdown. Thank you for posting.
Thanks for the kind words Corey - means a lot to us. -Simon
I have looked at MANY manualling videos and this one is just THE best!!
Thanks so much Suzette! We're glad you liked it and learned something from it :) have you been practicing? - Coach Kagen
If you practice almost daily, you can learn manual in 4-6 months. I did it this year.
this is such a good video. I'm learning the manuel myself af the moment. And the small tips you get in this video makes such a great difference for me. Thanks!
We're pumped to hear this - and thank you for watching! Every little bit helps with manuals -Linnea
This is the only manual video I've seen that addresses upper body movements. Thanks! Really good info. I subbed!
Thanks for the props! And the Sub!! Cheers for now. -Simon
Thank you so much! I've been trying to learn how to manual for months, watching all the videos and even bought a manual machine but to no success. And then this video comes along, the shoulder and posture tip worked wonders and I even fell off the back of the bike! Lots to learn, thank you :)
Oh my gosh well I'm happy to hear it was effective, maybe too effective 🤣. Great job getting out there and practicing!! Makes me stoked -Linnea
Great tip! Gonna strengthen my serratus anterior muscles.
What they are talking about at the 6 minute mark. That is where I currently am. When Linnea says “when i get to the balance point, I don’t know what to do.” I related to that so much. This is why teacher / student dynamic is better for instructional videos because the right questions come up. This series has been fantastic!
Thanks so much Dennis! This makes me so happy to hear - it's exactly the goal of these videos. Let us know how your practice goes! -Linnea
@@Fluidride as soon as the 2 feet of snow outside melts, I’m on it!
I have to write it. That's the best tutorial for learning the manual. Period! So useful for me to acknowledge my upper body position and not to lean too much on the bike
I think this is the best video on doing a manual. It made sense to me and I really like seeing the difference of angles and body positions. Thank you to both of you for sharing and teaching us to improve our skills.
Thanks so much for watching, Phillip! And really stoked to hear that it's helpful 🥳
Great tip about the shoulder thing. Linnea is looking good !
Thanks so much Jeff! -Linnea
And very good looking 😍
Totally underrated series! teacher / student / camera / additional slomo footage - everything is on point. very well done. I ride since for ever but still lern new stuff every time you guys make a video!
Thanks for this awesome feedback - we really appreciate it! -Linnea
This is probably the best tutorial I've seen on anything ever. Amazing!
Wow. Thank you so much John! -Simon
this is probably the best manual instruction video I've seen!
So pumped to hear this - I'm happy it's helpful! -Linnea
Great cue! The catch in rowing comparison just made it click for me
Oh I was hoping someone would relate to that!! Rowing was a huge part of my life for a long time and it's cool when concepts overlap 🤣 -Linnea
I had no idea Neil Peart’s brother was a MTB instructor. This is so exciting!
RIP
nice one guys, good effort!
transferring the rowing catch technique to manuals is brilliant! thanks
I'm so pumped this resonated with you. And thanks for watching! -Linnea
great tips. thank you!
That is honestly the best video I have seen about manuals, and I saw a ton. Just in the first minute the way she explained how she was doing it wrong just hit with me. And Simon brings a lot of nuances about the little details like isolated shoulder movements. Can't wait to go practice tomorrow on my freshly rebuilt and pimpep up bike. Glad to have stumbled onto this channel. Will subscribe. Cheers & ride on from Québec,Canada.
Thanks Matt. I hope your ride was good! Thanks for joining us! -Simon
Loved the rocks
This is such a a great series.
Thanks so much Scott! We're glad that you're enjoying it :) - Coach Kagen
After spending an eon learning the wheelie... I'm really impressed you mentioned that these things don't happen over night. Well done on being honest about that! Great tutorial as well... Thanx for doing this video. :D
Thanks for watching! Yeah expectations change everything 🤣 Good work committing to the wheelie!! -Linnea
Learning so much! Thanks! I've been trying to crack this for awhile.
So awesome - hopefully this helps a bit!
Awesome tutorial guys! Definitely going to take this to my manual training!
Awesome - we hope it helps!
Great video. Makes a lot of sense about too much hinge and keeping the head forward. I will definitely try keeping my upper body more open.
Let us know how it goes!
Awesome! Thanks a lot!
Thanks so much Gilles! We're glad that you enjoyed it :) Have you been practicing? - Coach Kagen
Brilliant! I bend my body like you were doing to start with. I will try thinking about the shoulders. Great tips and great riding 👌
Stoked you liked to video - let us know how it goes with the stronger body position and peeling the shoulders back!
I would think even if you can't do long distance manuals.Just having the ability to feel that balance point in the bike will allow you when you're trail riding to make more adjustments and still make you a much stronger rider.
Amazing 👏
as a snowboarder that can butter for days biking Is such a different feeling. thanks for such a great vid. hoping to progress in mtb as well
snowboarding & mtb are such a perfect combo! thanks for checking out our channel too 👍 -Linnea
Thanks for your outstanding content - this is great - esp the realistic comments on practice. Will check out the online school once the snow melts.
Russ - Thanks so much for watching, and for the support! We definitely hope you check out the school this spring or summer, we'll just be adding more and more content by then :P -Linnea
I finally know where my problem is. Thanks 👍
It's always a joy to see someone progressing in their biking skills! I know that feeling of accomplishment and it's AWESOME no matter what the accomplishment is!! Thanks for the video and the lesson :-)
Thanks so much for watching, and for all the support! - Linnea
Yeh agree
Thanks so much for these. It is unlocking my riding piece by piece for me. Doesn’t hurt that you ride an Evil either.
So stoked to hear this!
This is spot on! I’ve been looking for advice on what to do with the upper body since I’ve noticed that I sometimes do as Linnea beginning and sometimes as after her practice. Now I know which variant to focus on!
So pumped you can relate to this. Let us know how your practice goes!
Really great breakdown!
Thanks so much Doug. We're glad that you're enjoying it :) - Coach Kagen
I'm working on getting wheelies before the manual. The shoulder thing is really helping.
So awesome! Same shoulder concept will definitely apply for wheelies 🥳 If you get stuck, here's a video I made as a covid project when the trails shut down... worst production value ever 🤣 kzhead.info/sun/mq6QY9CesIGLaHk/bejne.html -Linnea
This is the best manual tutorial video I've seen on KZhead. I can't believe no one seems to talk about the shoulders or collapsing. If they do seems like it is mostly glossed over. Thanks for the tips.
Glad it was helpful Walter! Everyone teaches a little different but we strive to make sure the most important topics are thoroughly covered for each skill that way our viewers and riders can come away with information they may not have heard before, thanks for watching! - Coach Kagen
Simon, just wanted to drop and line and tell you that of all the coaches that I've watched, YOU SIR are by far the most influential in my growth. I've learned and applied much of your teachings as there is always technique and reasoning behind the technique. I also appreciate the honesty about how much time is involved. Unfortunately that's what the masses don't want to hear, hence all the 5min tutorials that end up doing more harm than good. MTB is hard, period. There are no shortcuts like other "coaches" or riders would want people to believe.
Thanks for your kind words. I really appreciate your taking the time to drop this note. Messages like this keep me inspired in doing the work I do. I have the best job in the world thanks to people like you! -Simon
@@Fluidride from hip flexion, turn with one leg to teach you how to turn your hips, counter steering in air, letting the corner/lean of bike to determine dropping of outside foot on turns, you sir know what you’re talking about. I didn’t start riding till I was almost 40 and if I didn’t see your videos, no way I’d be riding like I do today. Please don’t stop as you are among the best at your trade.
Great tutorial 👌
Thanks so much Desmond! We're glad that you're enjoying it :) - Coach Kagen
This is brilliant. I am making exactly the same mistakes and fail each time. No other video on yt mentions these. Thanks a lot!
So excited this is resonating with you too! There are so many intricacies that can cause your manual to fail... taking lots of video really helped me identify where my movements were losing energy. I hope your practicing goes great! -Linnea
An old rower! I'm currently debating whether to go out and practice manuals in the cold... or just erging indoors!
super helpful!
Thanks so much for watching!
Honestly guys, this is the most helpful manual video I've seen. The shoulder and upper body position thing makes a ton of sense. Reminds me of seeing riders trying to learn to wheelie, but counteracting any potential progress by hunching their torso, leaning forward and pulling. That's it.. I'm totally coming to visit. I wanna ride with Linnea! (Simon, you can tag along if you bring the snacks) 🤣
😆 hah I'm honored you want to ride with us!! And you're spot on with the wheelies too. You can see it in so many videos where the shoulders are hunched and it doesn't look right. Come join us for a class or tour! Plus the trails here do not disappoint 🥳 -Linnea
about to apply what I learned from this vid thanks. I've been practicing for about a week now, and I took some notes whenever I come across some Manual tutorials. Hope I could do it within a month.
This is a great approach! Good work taking notes and trying it all out to see what clicks for you. Rooting for you!
I had the same problem colapsing my body for a really long time! If only I had saw this video months ago. Thinking to take the course 💪🏻
Let us know how your practice goes! We hope the tips help!
Great stuff.👍
Thanks so much MTB AshLim. We're glad that you're enjoying it :) - Coach Kagen
Absolutely fantastic tutorial on “how to do a manual”👏👏👏 thanks 🙏🏻
Thanks for watching Donnie!
Started wheeling early 80s riding BMX thanks to ET movie. Thewn grew up (6' 2"), BMX became too little, MTB became popular, still learning. Thank you for posting. Ready for workout!
Very cool Fulvio! Well we're glad you're on a MTB now :) Thanks for watching! Have you had a chance to practice? - Coach Kagen
@@Fluidride yes, and found easier on dirt than on tarmac!
Thank you for this video, very inspiring. Linnea, you might remember that I’ve also been trying hard to learn manuals, but with little improvement. There are lots of videos out there teaching how to manual, but I believe that you really nailed the issue. I’ve just re-watched my manual practice videos, and in all of them I lean way too much forward (while keeping only my head straight...). Possibly a self-preservation mechanism. As soon as it stops snowing here in England I’ll go back to practising manuals following your advice. Something tells me that this time there will be a breakthrough. Gaetano
Hi Gaetano - love hearing from you and your enthusiasm for always building more skills. Honestly manuals felt impossible for a long time (especially on a big enduro bike!) but now I'm a believer 🤣 Keep me posted on your progress when you're able to get out and practice! -Linnea
Really good tutorial and I appreciate Simon breaking the 4th wall to throw in a dose of reality (Won't happen quickly). Thanks for another great video.
Thanks for watching, Jason! And yeah, expectations are everything 🤪
Ohh heck yeah!!
This is really useful. There are so many videos out there explaining how to wheelie and manual, but 99.9% of them devote all the time to the basics and barely touch upon the all-important nuances. With wheelying, two of the key nuances are (1) how to bring your front wheel up whilst keeping your left/right balance and (2) how to steer/balance when you're up. Linnea's second wheelying video is one of the very few on KZhead which actually have anything useful to say about these and it helped me out a lot. Although I haven't yet started to seriously practice manuals, I can imagine how all that forced generated by throwing your weight back can be 'absorbed' if your shoulders just flop forward - that's the weak link in the chain from your hands to your butt. Thanks for the great content.
Oh thank you for watching those wheelie videos! I know the production value is painfully zero 🤣 I'm happy they're helping. And yes you're spot on with how the power transfer is lost through shoulders- I think all your wheelie practice will really pay off when you dive into the manuals more. Let us know how it goes! -Linnea
This is a brilliant video, just the missing piece I need. I'm making the same mistake as Linnea, thank you so much!
I'm so pumped to read this 🥳 And thank you for watching! -Linnea
i push my legs forward when starting manual on my hard tail,seems to works fine,nobodys talking about it,i found about that trick myself,i can hold on for few seconds still but i will keep improving,