How To Pedal Kick On Your Bike: One Element To Unlock Everything

This video will show you exactly how to pedal kick on your bike - the trials skill which forms the foundation of EVERY other technique that you'd ever want to learn.
Most people try to learn pedal kicks from the back wheel, which requires a starting point of being able to hop on the back wheel (or at least have solid back wheel balance). With the two drills that I've outlined here (surge and sidewhip), you can learn pedal kicks without needing to be on the back wheel.
The main part of this skill is the connection between your rear brake and pedals, no back wheel skill required! We can start with that and you'll eventually progress to back wheel pedal kicks, but this video goes deep into forming a strong connection between your brakes and pedals - which I believe is the most useful element in all of trials riding.
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#pedalkick #trials #mtbskills #streettrials #sidewhip #surge #backhop #sidehop #pedal #pedalup #biketrial #biketrials

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thanks for watching! If you're learning Pedal Kicks, you're also ready to dig into the rest of the Intermediate Trials Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLycZkTUrZFP6YhyR8hXtwYBDOhVcVG3oJ

[@ProGaming-tc9jp]

Thanks I’m learning from your channel it’s inspiring. I’m going to buy a trial bike when snow comes to play inside

[@SuperRiderTV]

That's awesome!! So glad to hear it! I spent all of my winters in my parents basement practicing trials - just me, a bike and four pallets!

[@ampfrog001]

This video unexpectedly resulted in me finally getting up to stable back hops starting from track stand (previously had to start with front wheel up on something, or standing with front wheel really high and step on if unsupported). Wasn't 'kicking' hard enough to get the pop after watching this, but noticed it still got the front wheel really high. Many, many tries later, got stable back hops from track stand. That brake/pedal relationship is definitely key! (As well as keeping the body way back, at least as a noob) Now I just need to learn to pedal kick while on the back wheel to make it useful :)

[@SuperRiderTV]

That’s awesome!! I’ve heard from a few people that learning pedal kicks unlocks the back wheel hop, which is great! Most people wait until they can back wheel hop before even trying pedal kicks, so you’re already a step ahead - this next phase of progression should come a lot easier as a result. Stoked for you!

[@coreycanuck1315]

Man. I am so glad I found this channel. Great teaching. Best channel I belong to. Keep up the great work!!

[@SuperRiderTV]

Wow, thank you so much! That means a lot! 🙏

[@lektro808]

Awesome video! Looking forward to practicing this! Thanks you!

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thanks!! Check out Teracis’s comment above, he asked some really detailed follow up questions that might help even more as you learn this. Have fun!

[@dewindoethdwl2798]

Thanks, this was a bogey skill for me. Try as I might it would not click. I’ve used the progressions you discuss and now I’m popping off gentle downslopes on the estate. Bigger will come with practice but the key. Link has been made. Well exited 🤘🏻

[@SuperRiderTV]

Awesome, I’m so glad this was helpful!

[@albertp.9746]

​@@SuperRiderTV 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😮que es el 😂meu cas he

[@juniorlockpicker9919]

Awesome video, very informative especially for a move that's not super easy to see by just watching trials. Thank you

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thanks!! Most people learn it with the back wheel, so it comes later in their progression. Ideally this version will bump it up and help everyone master it earlier - it makes such a huge difference once you’ve got it locked in!

[@PEduO]

Always with excellent explanations! Thanks.

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thank you!! 🙌

[@diegopungitore9980]

Your videos are the best trial tutorials on the world! Greetings from Argentina!

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thank you so much!! 🙌

[@martind.almonia4849]

Thanks a lot for tutorials sir ,im inspired to do so....

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thank you! Glad to hear they are helpful. Have fun!!

[@TheMushingMountainBiker]

I love the way you explained this! I've tried a pedal kick out of curiosity (mtb) on flat ground before and just laughed at how much Nothing happened, but I wasn't coordinating the braking at all or making the connection to something similar to surges that I've done when scouting rutted out trails. The steep downslope there made braking timing obvious for stopping to peek over ledges and then using body movement + letting go of brakes to make sure the back wheel got clear of the square edge on the way down. Time to find a smoother slope and see if I can add in the pedal ratchet part to get a little loft :)

[@SuperRiderTV]

So awesome! Once you have that connection in place between the pedal and brake, all the doors open up…it’s a huge game changer for so many riding techniques.

[@admeister8]

Great new insight💪🏼

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thanks! Hope it’s helpful!

[@Bengkelmasung]

Thanks for sharing again sir

[@SuperRiderTV]

My pleasure! I hope this is a helpful way to learn this move!

[@Bengkelmasung]

this move is hard to learning, but i never stop to try and try

[@SuperRiderTV]

This method removes the need for rear wheel balance, hopefully that makes it easier to practice the main skill of brake/pedal connection

[@michaelmanbeck]

super helpful thanks

[@SuperRiderTV]

Right on, stoked that it was helpful! 👊

[@everjit]

Thanks for excellent explanation! Do I need to push handle bars or weight shifting does the job of getting back wheel up in the air

[@SuperRiderTV]

Shifting your weight should do most of the work - if you’re doing it correctly, you won’t need to pull hard on the bars, you’ll just be guiding them up. Have fun! This move unlocks a lot more!

[@saramudallal]

BRB gonna go try this

[@SuperRiderTV]

You got this!

[@jasonlorance1918]

Great video! I must be weird, cuz when I snowboard, I'm goofy (right foot first) but feel more confident with my left foot first when mountain biking. :)

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thanks so much!! I’ve thought about this a lot in the past year, and after doing a DEXA scan to confirm it - realized that although I ride right foot forward, my left leg is the stronger leg. So maybe it’s not so weird…my back foot is technically my stronger foot, which makes sense in the context that I ride regular stance on snowboard and right foot forward on bikes.

[@jasonlorance1918]

@@SuperRiderTV guess we’re the same, but opposite! 😊

[@DavidR8]

This is definitely all about the timing!

[@SuperRiderTV]

Hopefully easier to learn when you don’t also have to worry about back wheel balance, too!

[@captjerski4165]

I have a 27.5 xc bike with a 26er rigid fork, hoping it would be a bit good for some trials. I did the brake pedal kick on a slope skipping over a 6 inch road crack with good results, but when I do pedal kick on flat ground with the same gear as in the slope it lifts just a little bit with lots of effort in the pull, my question is, do you think I need a longer fork and high rise h-bar? maybe pair with 45 deg 60mm stem. Your tip will be well appreciated.

[@SuperRiderTV]

I use an 80mm bar from Deity on my bikes, and that gives me a lot of leverage over the wheels. If you're riding a MTB, you might try it one gear harder, just to see if that gives you the results you're looking for. Have fun!

[@alimantado373]

Summer of 2023 This has to be learnt! been riding for 2 years , I still cant lock this trick in!

[@SuperRiderTV]

You got this for sure! Join our Discord if you haven’t already - there are a ton of people working on pedal kicks right now on the channel!

[@user-dw9ss8rh9o]

I have the i9 hydra hubs I got them with my reserve 30 and I can say 690 poi is definitely a huge difference between my original hubs ..

[@SuperRiderTV]

Huge boost for sure - I just put one of those hubs on my competition trials bike and it's awesome!

[@user-dw9ss8rh9o]

@@SuperRiderTV and great videos btw definitely been practicing some of your videos I’m still trying to learn the endo 180.. definitely not a first time trick to learn.. and as far as the hubs I like loud hubs so it was a toss between the onyx hubs or the hydra and I picked hydra plus there a little cheaper and weigh less..

[@goaserchomp664]

Hey Bro great video. What is the gear ratio on your trials bike? Is it 1 to 1? I could find a similar gearing on my MTB if I knew that. Another way to ask this is, could just tell me what the teeth count is on your chain ring and sprocket? Thanks.

[@SuperRiderTV]

It’s usually an 18-14 gear ratio (18t on the chainring) - I’ve normally used the 3rd or 4th gear down on my MTB to get a similar ratio in the past. Hope that helps!

[@goaserchomp664]

@@SuperRiderTV Sure does. Thanks man.

[@SuperRiderTV]

Check out the video I just posted Friday about wheelie gaps too, if you haven’t already. Super applicable to MTB setup. 👊

[@parappathekappa]

Sounds like I'm in about the same boat as Ampfrog. My front wheel gets very high, but the back wheel doesn't quite yet want to move. Sometimes I can get a little movement in the rear wheel by leaning way back after kicking, but it only moves a tiny bit. I'm still not super comfortable on the balance point yet so I'm sure that has something to do with it. If you have any other tips for getting super comfortable on the balance point, and getting that rear wheel to rocket away please share!

[@SuperRiderTV]

Yes, definitely! I'm working on a troubleshooting guide for exactly this now - hoping to have it out in the next few weeks. How's your pedal/brake connection, do you feel confident letting off the brake when you push the pedals? That's usually where most people find the majority of progress..

[@parappathekappa]

@@SuperRiderTV Oh man, the brake connection was a huge unlock! Getting the front wheel up high and onto obstacles is my favorite thing to practice now, and it feels very smooth and effortless. My balance is still terrible though 🤣. Sometimes it feels like my pedal kick is just going to cause my bike to flip out from under me. I noticed on your video that your front wheel doesn't actually get very high all the time before the back wheel comes up. A troubleshooting guide would be awesome to figure out how to make that back wheel move. Maybe I still need more practice with the brakes.

[@SuperRiderTV]

I got you!! I do drop my front wheel when I’m about to jump forward, that helps set my body position and pedals just right. I’ll dig up the gap tutorial and post it here for you - that should help!

[@Teracis]

*skip skip skip* This video has made me understand something you'd already mentioned but I didn't try yet, using the brake as a pre-load mechanism. I am so excited to practice! Thank you so much for this one!!!

[@SuperRiderTV]

That’s a great way to think about it, as a preload mechanism! I really feel like pulling the back wheel balance out of the technique should help everyone learn it faster, too. Let me know how it goes!

[@Teracis]

@@SuperRiderTV I definitely will!

[@SuperRiderTV]

🤘🤘

[@Teracis]

@@SuperRiderTV Only got about 5 minutes on the bike this morning but tried the pre-load with brakes for pedal kick, flat, surge and trying it to get onto the back wheel. I haven't been using the brake at all to pop to the back wheel, it's different but I can totally see how it works, just need to put in the time now.

[@Teracis]

It does feel very different to start pushing on the pedal before letting the brake off though, I'll get used to it though. I'll need to work out the timing to see how much pre-load to use and when.

[@willienillie6337]

can you demo those same techniques on a MTB?

[@SuperRiderTV]

This is a great idea, I'm definitely going to make a pedal kick MTB video. Thanks for this!

[@pipelineaudio]

on 30 tooth 10 tooth gearing x 26" wheel, I have no hope right?

[@SuperRiderTV]

That's a heavy gear on a 26" - but you'd still be able to do quite a bit of trials (or street) moves on a bike with that gear ratio. All the rolling moves featured on this channel would be easy with that ratio!

[@seancamilon7460]

I can do pedal kicks but I guess I need improvement can u make tutorial on how to pedal kick a gap?

[@SuperRiderTV]

I think I may make another video soon, but here's the first one I made for pedal kick gaps: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZfYaKN5ebl1fsk

[@seancamilon7460]

@@SuperRiderTV nice thanks bro

[@SuperRiderTV]

Have fun! 👊

[@seancamilon7460]

@@SuperRiderTV can i ask one more? Is there a problem to ride trials using dirt jumper ? Tia

[@SuperRiderTV]

No problem at all - you can definitely do it. The geometry of a trials bike will be slightly better (higher bottom bracket, longer top tube and shorter chainstays), but you can ride a dirt jumper with no issues. I rode an XC bike for trials during the first 10 years of my riding career - you’ll be totally fine!

[@user-ju9nj8sb9x]

The thought of falling backwards is still terrifying me. I think this alongside with difficulty to lean back while standing still is the main obstacle to push pedal hard enough.

[@SuperRiderTV]

Maybe try to think about it not as "leaning back" but as "unweighting the bike". You don't have to lean back necessarily, you just have to get behind the bottom bracket so the front wheel can come up.

[@user-ju9nj8sb9x]

@@SuperRiderTV Recently I've noticed that usually (either with help of endo or not) I try to lift the front wheel mostly with hands (I meen by moving weight backward, but without help of foot). So that I find myself in about right position, but with front foot much higher that other one. Im I right thinking that the movement is all about pushing the pedals, not pulling handlebar? And the other barrier to do a right kick is difficulty to put front wheel straight. 8-D

[@SuperRiderTV]

You’re making progress! Exactly right, it’s all about unweighting and pushing the pedals instead of pulling up on the bars. One way some people like to explain it is like opening a pair of scissors - it’s just a mixture of putting pressure in the right places and unweighting other areas. You’ll have it in no time!

[@user-ju9nj8sb9x]

@@SuperRiderTV 🙂 Thanks for cheering up. You're always pretty friendly.

[@SuperRiderTV]

Thanks!! 🙌

[@hellflame22]

Can you pedal kick, to engage a manual?

[@SuperRiderTV]

Definitely! It's another way to learn manual basics, too!

[@hellflame22]

@Super Rider awsome can't wait to try this tomorrow. On my day off been, dailing in wheelies. It's helpful for balance point but, for some reason, can't engage the manual properly.

[@SuperRiderTV]

Keep me posted!

[@detlefharms2594]

I made it

[@SuperRiderTV]

Sweet!

[@JohnathanIplik]

You are so good explaining things but today i tried that and i popped 1mm . There's clearly something missing that you do but you missed to include it in the video. Try together with a beginner or try to include possible mistakes like body position.

[@SuperRiderTV]

Right on - I recommend joining us in the weekly Twitch livestream (Tuesdays + Thursdays), let's chat about it live with the crew, that's the best way to get more detail and information about all the techniques!

[@JohnathanIplik]

@@SuperRiderTV we have big time difference. Won't work.

[@SuperRiderTV]

It’s 5-7am in my time zone, it might actually be late afternoon or early evening where you are?

[@JohnathanIplik]

@@SuperRiderTV Greece. The live stream is 5-7 in the morning there???

[@SuperRiderTV]

Yeah! I do the livestream before I go to work in the morning - so hopefully that’s mid-afternoon for you?