Post by FreeEnterprise on Feb 7, 2007 10:04:28 GMT -5
Over the years I have seen many instances where newer riders are interested in the different types of tricks. I have compiled a list of the major different fundamental skills needed for flatland.
Flatland Fundamentals
I put these in the original order that they were learned, this will help you understand the basic learning order, of course you can learn them in any order you wish, but this was the natural progression of the sport of flatland.
1. Hopping tricks,
Hopping tricks, many believe hopping tricks died in the 80’s but, I don’t agree. I see hopping often done today, especially with brakeless riders. The skill in hopping is to keep your body centered over the wheel. A good starting hopping trick is rear or front pogo hops. When you are learning hopping you will make quick tiny hops, a skilled rider will make less hops and be able to make large movements with each hop. Brakeless riders use hopping when they are off balance to correct the bike position. Typically it is only 1 hop, but it is the same skill being used, to regain balance.
2. Brake tricks,
This is any trick which needs a “full on” brake to complete. For example, Miami hopper, lawn mower, static boomerang (not rolling), most hopping tricks use the “full on” brake. These types of tricks teach balance points, helping the rider learn that leaning will cause the rider to fall one way or the other. Great for teaching rider to stay centered on the bike.
3. Tire kicking tricks,
These are not scuffing tricks, but actual tire kicking to give the bike momentum. Examples; squeakers, infinity rolls, side glides, ect. This was learned before “scuffing” came into being, as a way to make tricks, move. These were the first real “rolling” tricks that allowed flatlanders to actually start to do tricks in larger areas.
Dino Diluca squeaker in 87.
4. Scuffing tricks,
A scuffing trick is where the tire is “moved” with constant contact with a shoe, can be done with either foot, but to learn to scuff with both feet is very difficult, typically riders scuff with one foot, most scuff with the right foot. A rider that scuffs with their left foot is called a “goofy footed” rider. A rider that can scuff with left and right foot is called a “doublefooted” scuffer. Examples of tricks, front yard, backyard, locomotive, funky chicken, side yard, ect.
5. Mental tricks,
These tricks are considered mental. Meaning that you need to force yourself to do them, they are not that hard, but in your mind you have to decide you are going to “go for it” before you will land them. Some examples include; decade, cliffhanger, rope-a-roni. Many times riders have the skills for these tricks, but their mind keeps them from learning them, and they chicken out.
decade by gm
6. Power tricks,
These include gut levers, and tricks that you balance on the bike, while holding your body in a rigid position. These take lots of physical strength, but are pretty easy.
7. Balance "stalled" tricks,
Lots of regular tricks can be done as a balance trick, for example, a lawnmower that is stalled for more than 30 seconds is now a balance trick, before it was just a lawnmower. Other examples, include multiple decades, bar rides, grip rides, surfer, scurfer, ect.
"The Thinker" balanced lawnmower variation by gm
8. Rolling tricks,
This includes any trick where the bike is rolling on one wheel, in circles or in a straight line. To master these types of tricks you need to be able to control the direction you are going, you should be able to turn in any direction and “steer” while riding on one wheel. Examples, wheelie, peg wheelie, steamroller, hang 5, whiplash, rebate, halflash, ect. The trick to these tricks is counterbalance. You have to learn to use a part of your body to be the counterbalance. Just like when you lean back and balance in a chair, you use your legs to counterbalance…(ps, leaning back in a chair will help you learn to counterbalance on a bike…) On a bike when doing a hang five, you have your right foot swinging and acting as the counterbalance, with your left foot on the peg. More difficult rolling tricks change the counterbalance from a leg to another part of the body, like a hang 10 (both feet on the pegs) with this trick you use your upper torso to act as the counterbalance. Other variations include the cliffhanger, where both feet are on the pegs, and you use your arms to be the counterbalance. When doing a rolling trick the only part of your body that should move around it the part that is the counterbalance. Actually, double footed rolling tricks should probably be their own catagory...
9. Brake feathering tricks,
These tricks are totally based on your skill to “feather” the brakes. Good brakes are a must for “feathering” and they have to be dialed. A rider that can feather their brakes can do a hang 5 with the brake barely on, and it will slowly decrease his speed without flipping over the bike. Any trick that uses counterbalance can be done with “feathering” instead. Feathering looks smoother than counterbalance because only the brake lever moves so the rider is not moving all around to keep their balance.
10. Bar flipping tricks,
Any trick where you flip the bars while doing the trick, these started out with tricks like bar spins, and have evolved into bar flipping steamrollers, and wheelchairs..
11. Foot feathering tricks,
There are tons of these types of tricks that have not been invented yet. This is a difficult skill to master. It is the same concept as brake feathering, except you use your foot as the brake pad, adding and reducing pressure to keep the bike in balance. An example of this type of trick is called “The Fly”. To do this trick you start out going fast, and do a hang 5. Put your foot in front of the forks, while keeping your leg behind the bars, taking both hands off the bars, you use pressure of your foot on the tire to keep the bike vertical. To much pressure and you stop, or flip over, to little pressure and the back of the bike falls down.
The Fly by gm
12. Links, and jump link tricks, also called switches.
These include tricks that are combined together, without going back to the pedals for the “ride out”. There are tons of variations possible when you start linking tricks, the more skill you have on the bike, the easier it is to link the tricks together. After years on a bike you start to naturally recognize different bike positions, and you will start to just go into tricks based on the bikes position.
13. Pumping,
Any rolling trick can be sped up by pumping the tire, this involves carving the tire so hard that it causes the bike to speed up, while pumping down with your body. (similar to pumping on a ramp) Increased speed can than be used to increase the number of links, or switches in your run.
14. Kick flipping tricks,
These are done with the feet acting as the flipper, using down pressure on the wheel and then jumping up while one foot pushes down and the other foot helps to spin the wheel as it flips. Example, hitch hiker kick flip, half hiker kick flip, ect.
15. Brakeless tricks,
Take your brakes off, and you will see that brakeless riding is hard. The reason is that you must now do all your counterbalance with your body, instead of using the brakes to keep the bike in position. Most tricks can be done brakeless, but there is less tolerance for error. So your skill must be high enough that you can still do tricks without getting discouraged. Typically “master” level flatlanders take off their brakes. As they have the balance and control of their bikes to be able to do tricks without the help of brakes.
16. Cross footed tricks,
Crossing your feet on a rolling trick changes the "feel" and difficulty by a ton. Example crossfooted steamroller, wheelchair, ect. not for the faint of heart, as you will end up crashing while learning these until you figure out how to keep your legs off the tires...
17. Pedaled tricks,
Examples, blender. I have no clue how to do these, but they look like a combination of torque from the pedals, combined with leaning into the spin while balanced precariously on top of the head tube. In my opinion one of the coolest looking types of tricks in flatland. (I can't believe I forgot these...)
18. Bike flipping tricks,
I don’t have a clue how these are done… But, they are amazing! They are done with the body off of the bike while jumping over or around the bike. Examples, Katrina, ect.
You are welcome to add to this list if I left any off, but this is a good starting point. When learning flatland it is good to work on a couple of these at a time. When you are having a hard time with one type of trick, move to a different type of trick and it will increase your progression.
Glenn M
Flatland Fundamentals
I put these in the original order that they were learned, this will help you understand the basic learning order, of course you can learn them in any order you wish, but this was the natural progression of the sport of flatland.
1. Hopping tricks,
Hopping tricks, many believe hopping tricks died in the 80’s but, I don’t agree. I see hopping often done today, especially with brakeless riders. The skill in hopping is to keep your body centered over the wheel. A good starting hopping trick is rear or front pogo hops. When you are learning hopping you will make quick tiny hops, a skilled rider will make less hops and be able to make large movements with each hop. Brakeless riders use hopping when they are off balance to correct the bike position. Typically it is only 1 hop, but it is the same skill being used, to regain balance.
2. Brake tricks,
This is any trick which needs a “full on” brake to complete. For example, Miami hopper, lawn mower, static boomerang (not rolling), most hopping tricks use the “full on” brake. These types of tricks teach balance points, helping the rider learn that leaning will cause the rider to fall one way or the other. Great for teaching rider to stay centered on the bike.
3. Tire kicking tricks,
These are not scuffing tricks, but actual tire kicking to give the bike momentum. Examples; squeakers, infinity rolls, side glides, ect. This was learned before “scuffing” came into being, as a way to make tricks, move. These were the first real “rolling” tricks that allowed flatlanders to actually start to do tricks in larger areas.
Dino Diluca squeaker in 87.
4. Scuffing tricks,
A scuffing trick is where the tire is “moved” with constant contact with a shoe, can be done with either foot, but to learn to scuff with both feet is very difficult, typically riders scuff with one foot, most scuff with the right foot. A rider that scuffs with their left foot is called a “goofy footed” rider. A rider that can scuff with left and right foot is called a “doublefooted” scuffer. Examples of tricks, front yard, backyard, locomotive, funky chicken, side yard, ect.
5. Mental tricks,
These tricks are considered mental. Meaning that you need to force yourself to do them, they are not that hard, but in your mind you have to decide you are going to “go for it” before you will land them. Some examples include; decade, cliffhanger, rope-a-roni. Many times riders have the skills for these tricks, but their mind keeps them from learning them, and they chicken out.
decade by gm
6. Power tricks,
These include gut levers, and tricks that you balance on the bike, while holding your body in a rigid position. These take lots of physical strength, but are pretty easy.
7. Balance "stalled" tricks,
Lots of regular tricks can be done as a balance trick, for example, a lawnmower that is stalled for more than 30 seconds is now a balance trick, before it was just a lawnmower. Other examples, include multiple decades, bar rides, grip rides, surfer, scurfer, ect.
"The Thinker" balanced lawnmower variation by gm
8. Rolling tricks,
This includes any trick where the bike is rolling on one wheel, in circles or in a straight line. To master these types of tricks you need to be able to control the direction you are going, you should be able to turn in any direction and “steer” while riding on one wheel. Examples, wheelie, peg wheelie, steamroller, hang 5, whiplash, rebate, halflash, ect. The trick to these tricks is counterbalance. You have to learn to use a part of your body to be the counterbalance. Just like when you lean back and balance in a chair, you use your legs to counterbalance…(ps, leaning back in a chair will help you learn to counterbalance on a bike…) On a bike when doing a hang five, you have your right foot swinging and acting as the counterbalance, with your left foot on the peg. More difficult rolling tricks change the counterbalance from a leg to another part of the body, like a hang 10 (both feet on the pegs) with this trick you use your upper torso to act as the counterbalance. Other variations include the cliffhanger, where both feet are on the pegs, and you use your arms to be the counterbalance. When doing a rolling trick the only part of your body that should move around it the part that is the counterbalance. Actually, double footed rolling tricks should probably be their own catagory...
9. Brake feathering tricks,
These tricks are totally based on your skill to “feather” the brakes. Good brakes are a must for “feathering” and they have to be dialed. A rider that can feather their brakes can do a hang 5 with the brake barely on, and it will slowly decrease his speed without flipping over the bike. Any trick that uses counterbalance can be done with “feathering” instead. Feathering looks smoother than counterbalance because only the brake lever moves so the rider is not moving all around to keep their balance.
10. Bar flipping tricks,
Any trick where you flip the bars while doing the trick, these started out with tricks like bar spins, and have evolved into bar flipping steamrollers, and wheelchairs..
11. Foot feathering tricks,
There are tons of these types of tricks that have not been invented yet. This is a difficult skill to master. It is the same concept as brake feathering, except you use your foot as the brake pad, adding and reducing pressure to keep the bike in balance. An example of this type of trick is called “The Fly”. To do this trick you start out going fast, and do a hang 5. Put your foot in front of the forks, while keeping your leg behind the bars, taking both hands off the bars, you use pressure of your foot on the tire to keep the bike vertical. To much pressure and you stop, or flip over, to little pressure and the back of the bike falls down.
The Fly by gm
12. Links, and jump link tricks, also called switches.
These include tricks that are combined together, without going back to the pedals for the “ride out”. There are tons of variations possible when you start linking tricks, the more skill you have on the bike, the easier it is to link the tricks together. After years on a bike you start to naturally recognize different bike positions, and you will start to just go into tricks based on the bikes position.
13. Pumping,
Any rolling trick can be sped up by pumping the tire, this involves carving the tire so hard that it causes the bike to speed up, while pumping down with your body. (similar to pumping on a ramp) Increased speed can than be used to increase the number of links, or switches in your run.
14. Kick flipping tricks,
These are done with the feet acting as the flipper, using down pressure on the wheel and then jumping up while one foot pushes down and the other foot helps to spin the wheel as it flips. Example, hitch hiker kick flip, half hiker kick flip, ect.
15. Brakeless tricks,
Take your brakes off, and you will see that brakeless riding is hard. The reason is that you must now do all your counterbalance with your body, instead of using the brakes to keep the bike in position. Most tricks can be done brakeless, but there is less tolerance for error. So your skill must be high enough that you can still do tricks without getting discouraged. Typically “master” level flatlanders take off their brakes. As they have the balance and control of their bikes to be able to do tricks without the help of brakes.
16. Cross footed tricks,
Crossing your feet on a rolling trick changes the "feel" and difficulty by a ton. Example crossfooted steamroller, wheelchair, ect. not for the faint of heart, as you will end up crashing while learning these until you figure out how to keep your legs off the tires...
17. Pedaled tricks,
Examples, blender. I have no clue how to do these, but they look like a combination of torque from the pedals, combined with leaning into the spin while balanced precariously on top of the head tube. In my opinion one of the coolest looking types of tricks in flatland. (I can't believe I forgot these...)
18. Bike flipping tricks,
I don’t have a clue how these are done… But, they are amazing! They are done with the body off of the bike while jumping over or around the bike. Examples, Katrina, ect.
You are welcome to add to this list if I left any off, but this is a good starting point. When learning flatland it is good to work on a couple of these at a time. When you are having a hard time with one type of trick, move to a different type of trick and it will increase your progression.
Glenn M