Author Topic: tailwhips progress  (Read 15813 times)

Offline mad.scientist

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tailwhips progress
« on: October 04, 2012, 04:48:55 AM »
ok so this is my progress post or something like that, i've been trying out tailwhips for 3 days now.
so far i almost land one :P anyway i have some trouble keeping my balance once the frame goes further the 90 degrees, either that or it wont spin fast enough.


any tips? i'll try to post a video if i get to practice at day when my phone gets enough light to get a nice image.

Offline OldYeller

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2012, 07:36:47 AM »
A lot of it's in your arms.


Stand on the ground and hold the front brake.  Then try to do it without using your foot, just tilt the bars to make the frame rotate around.  Stand there wagging the frame around until you get the motion down.


Then when you really try to do it, your arms will be assisting the kick.


The kick doesn't have to be so hard, in fact I've seen people kick so hard that they can't balance it.


Just give it a good push and work your arms around the circle leading the frame around.


When it gets back to the other side, just step to the frame close to the seat post.


A tip for getting back on and riding away is that when you kick the frame, push your foot backwards so that the crank rotates back to level.  Then when you step on the frame, you've got a pedal to step down on that will start you rolling.

Offline mad.scientist

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2012, 04:55:06 AM »
i'll keep that in mind, that explains why my arms hurt


im pushing from the back peg, it felt easier that way so my cranks are ready to ride away

Offline mad.scientist

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #3 on: October 06, 2012, 12:20:00 AM »
me trying out tailwhips
Tailwhips Small | Large



im still not sure what's going wrong, and i was so tired i could barely keep myself up :P

Offline OldYeller

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2012, 02:37:36 AM »
A couple of tips...


Starting from the back peg is giving you less speed on the spin.  If you do it from the pedal with the same kick, I think you'll see the frame spin with more momentum to carry it around.  Pushing it from the pedal is like having a higher gearing on your bike, it will move faster and farther for the same foot movement.


Turn into the spin so you can put your body into it a little.  It's subtle, but it works.


With no spinning momentum, it's hard to just stand in that position.  Static balance is seriously hard, you need movement.


I'd work on getting it moving better (all my previous tips, especially the arms thing) so that when you're in that position, you can actually feel yourself pulling it around.  As it is, you're starting it then just waiting with hope that it finishes.  You'll be actively moving the frame once you figure it out instead of just waiting for it.


Even with your brakes on, you're pushing the tire back.  When I learned it in like 1984(?) you couldn't do it with front brakes (no cables through the fork yet) so you pretty much had to do it brakeless.


I think this helped teach me how to prevent what's happening to you.  Doing it brakeless you naturally lean the bike forward a bit more and actually push the tire forward.  It's sort of like if your handlebars slipped, and you put your foot on the stem to pull them back into place.  If you look closely at most people, they probably have the same body positioning as if they had no brakes.


Keep it up man, you'll get it!


Offline mad.scientist

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #5 on: October 09, 2012, 09:26:07 AM »
took my front breaks off to practice :D also i dont get distracted about the bolt that goes through the fork which i keep getting my foot jammed into

Offline OldYeller

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2012, 01:20:13 AM »
Hey, whatever it takes, right?


It's probably harder without, but it's also easier in some ways.


Good luck, shoot us some videos when you get it!


Offline danger-us

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2012, 02:34:58 AM »
Mad Scientist,

 What Old Yeller is telling you about the arm motion is right. To put it in different words, he means to say that when the frame is about half way around, you need to tug on the bars in a way that pulls the frame around to you.  After watching your video i also noticed some very common mistakes people make on that single style tailwhip you're trying. If you notice, your rear wheel is almost always high off the ground at the midway point. It should be very low like a couple inches from the ground. To make this happen you need more horizontal follow through with your kick. People often kick the frame up and they don't even realize it. Just as you go to kick it around, you should be simultaneously be shifting your upper body weight forward as you kick the rear peg and really follow through with your foot/leg so you don't release the peg until 1/4 way around. Because your bike is tilted up with your rear wheel higher in the air, your body naturally is not hovering over the bars like it should. I also notice that you are twisting your body to go and meet the frame because your starting technique is off and the frame never really makes it around to you. NEVER give in to twisting your body. You want to do a full proper 360 tailwhip so when you are done, you pedal away facing the exact same way you were when you started. Start at a medium or even slow speed and work on technique as opposed to speed and luck. The whip should happen very fast and you should start by traveling slow. If you're doing it right you should be able to do it from a dead stop. Keep that rear end low, really follow through on the kick, and pull the bike around to you with the bars and don't twist your body. The advantage to kicking off the peg is that you can set your pedal for an easy ride out, but try kicking from the pedal if you think it initially helps technique and then go back to the peg later. Good luck.

chase gouin
« Last Edit: October 10, 2012, 02:48:58 AM by danger-us »

Offline CatWeasle

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #8 on: October 10, 2012, 06:07:45 AM »
I used to be able to do this.
Just had a quick try now,
didn't pull it, but I got much closer by focusing on
balancing on the front wheel.
Oh yeah, I definitely find it easier with brakes bud  :beer:

Offline jamesteo

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2012, 05:17:40 PM »
Hi Mad Scientist,

Here's a video specially made for you, my trick is a bit rusty because i just come back for riding recently but i hope this video can help you to Master Tail whip in one day.

If this is not enough, below there's another Tail whip handbook.

Flatland, How to Tail whip


http://www.scribd.com/doc/109598990/How-to-Tail-Whip-Series-1#fullscreen



« Last Edit: October 10, 2012, 05:21:30 PM by jamesteo »

Offline mad.scientist

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2012, 10:49:54 PM »
thanks for all the tips :D i just have a question cause i cant manage to keep the back wheel low :S, but could it be that my bike is not flat dedicated? i think i get the wheel high to get the fork at a 90° from the ground
here's a picture
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/r90/3391_10151259080380803_823780616_n.jpg


i'll keep trying to do it from the pedals though i find it harder not sure why.
anyway i'll keep trying and thanks for the tips i'll put them to action and see what happens

Offline OldYeller

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #11 on: October 11, 2012, 01:18:21 AM »
It's not the bike, although some bikes make it slightly easier than others.


I used my park bike to make a video for you, so we're on a level playing field.  The freewheel sound bothered me, so a lot of it is muted.  I don't miss those noisy things...


I just got my daughter to shoot it real quick and I regret some of my wording.  Especially the part about "how I place my hands on the bars". I should have said "how I use my hands to move the bars".


It's in a circular motion, with an especially pronounced pull when the frame is 180 degrees from you like Chase said.


The problem is that the better you get at this trick, the less noticeable that pull is.  In jamesteo's video, he's smooth enough it's really hard to see.  Maybe I'm not as good so you can kind of see it.


I'm sure there are other mistakes and I also forgot to do one with no brakes, but it is what it is.


Don't worry about having your forks at some exact angle, that doesn't matter.  What matters is that you've got the wheel where you want it, the fork angle will change throughout the trick.  It sort of angles toward the frame, where ever you need the frame to go in the next fraction of a second.  Think hula hoop.


Anyway, maybe this will help some.

Tailwhip How-to for mad.scientist

« Last Edit: October 11, 2012, 01:24:40 AM by OldYeller »

Offline mad.scientist

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2012, 02:14:11 AM »
that last variation was awesome!


now i get it! and now i see the part where my wheel is too high.
 aaand my bike looks huge. :P it's not really big but it does look big...
ok, i gotta get this down and practice and i'll get some progress video :) thanks for the tips and videos guys! :D

Offline OldYeller

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2012, 08:30:14 AM »
Thanks!


That bike has a 21" top tube but I'm fairly tall and very skinny so it's probably deceptive looking.


You could use a smaller bike, but if you keep it up, you'll have a few tricks down by the time you get one.


Good luck!

Offline Keneken

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Re: tailwhips progress
« Reply #14 on: October 11, 2012, 10:45:45 AM »
Been watching this topic and after watching old yella's vid I think I need to put some work in on my tailwhips :/ I must be the goofy-ist? Rider ever everything I'm doing is sorta working for me but it's not the way most do it lol i noticed I whip the other way for that last tailwhip you did yella so I'm whiping in both directions???
Anywhoo il try get a vid together but it's not really a how to more of a why do as in why do I chuck em both ways!?

Mad-scientist; keep it up fella you don't look far off doing them and don't be put off by your bike! I was a lot smaller than what you look on that bike when I started riding park years ago. The time I started riding bikes were heavy and over the first few years they only got heavier! Keep at it matey you will have them before you know it :)
''let me tell ya something i did a front n rear wheel hang on the cloping on the slide of the spine, now i stick to street!''

''do you freestyle?''

However serious you take it general public sees us as just dicking about on 'kids' bikes, some people could do to remember that and smile a little.