POGOS

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Pogos are better known as hopping on the back wheel...  Or hopping on the front wheel...  While standing on the pegs.  It is possible to step this trick up and stand on the PEDALS while hopping on the front or back wheel but it is MUCH more difficult to do that.

Hopping on either the front or back wheel is really not much different you use your brakes and hop...  JUST like a pogo stick.  The main difference is that you have to pull up HARDER because the bike doesn't have springs on it- just a rubber tire.  You should be able to do endos before doing this trick as well as track stands (or fire hydrants).

NOTE:  Front wheel hops method 2 is possibly the EASIEST version of pogos to learn!

REAR WHEEL:

• Begin by rolling at a VERY slow speed while holding the grips normally and standing on the rear pegs.
• Do a SMALL endo (about an inch or two high) while grabbing both your front and rear brakes HARD.
• When the back of the bike hits the ground lean back far enough so that the front wheel comes up off the ground and toward you.
• Bend your elbows to help bring the bike closer to you and begin hopping on the back wheel.
• This sounds EASY- but it can be very challenging at first.
• If you JUMP while standing on the pegs you will jump OFF the pegs and the bike will stay on the ground and will fall over.
• You MUST use your arms and your feet to help lift the bike off the ground and put it underneath of you to maintain your balance (JUST like a pogo stick!).
• This is hard to explain so you will have to try it for several days to get the feel for it...  But to lift you shoot your body upward and instead of letting your arms push away from the bars you pull UPWARD (toward the sky) on your handlebars.  This will pull the bike UP into your feet and off the ground as your jump.
• To keep your balance you must learn to PUT THE BIKE WHERE YOU WANT IT...
• For example- if you are falling to your left- you are leaning left... don't try to jump RIGHT- this will only lean the bike further to the LEFT...
• You must jump to the left and put the BOTTOM half of the bike futher to the left then the top half of the bike.  That is you shift your feet under you.
• It is the same thing as leaning forward to jump and landing leaning backward. (like long jumpers do)
• To ride out you just lean forward and as soon as the front wheel hits the ground you release the brakes and coast forward.  Step to the pedals.

ON THE FRONT WHEEL- METHOD 1

• While rolling at a fairly slow speed holding the handlebars normally and riding with both feet on the pedals.
• Put one foot on a front peg (either foot)
• Grab the front brakes HARD- this will shoot you up into an endo.
• As soon as the bike starts to go up put your other foot on the front peg. (ie you start with your left foot on the left front peg- now bring your right foot onto the right front peg)
• Now begin hopping...  The seat of the bike needs to be close to your butt...   If it isn't you should do a bigger endo and lean back slightly so you don't flip forward over the handlebars.
• To hop follow the same rules as above-  Jump but use your arms to pull the handlebars straight up into your feet.
• Riding out is MUCH harder than back wheel hops...
• You must sit down on the seat very quickly and put both feet on the pedals.
• As you fall backwards out of the endo level your pedals.  THIS is the hard part of the trick- because you tend to fall to the left or right a little bit and this will throw your ride-out off.
• When the rear wheel hits the ground release the brakes and immediately pedal forward and ride away.

On the Front Wheel - Method 2

• Do a track stand or the very first part of a fire-hydrant.
• As you ride into the track stand don't stop 1/4 of the way around- turn the bars so that they are backwards and you are standing on BOTH front pegs at the same time facing the bike.
• Hold BOTH your front and rear brakes and begin hopping on the front wheel... 
• BE READY-  The back wheel will come up off the ground!!!
• This is normal when you are learning the trick- it means that you are jumping UP and leaning BACK....
• You need to jump up and slightly forward.  This will keep the rear wheel on the ground and make the trick easier.
• Because BOTH wheels are on the ground you only need to worry about balancing side-to-side while doing the trick so it is possibly easiest to do- but it is hardest to ride into and out of.
• To ride out hop until you have the bars turned about 1/4th of the way...   Now you are in the position of a track stand.
• Ride out as you would a track stand.

All variations of this trick become very easy to do and you should try to mix them up into other tricks as soon as you can.  If you are in variation 2 of front wheel hops then try to walk over the handlebars so you are riding backwards...  Or if you are doing method 1 of front wheel hops try to do squeakers out of the trick!  For back wheel hops try to do a dork wheelie into front wheel hops then pull back and do a backwards wheelie!

If you have a question about this trick please feel free to e-mail it in...