To learn how to manual in BMX racing, start with short, controlled attempts on flat ground before progressing to track rollers. You balance on the rear wheel without pedalling, using your body position and rear brake to control the front wheel. Build consistency with small targets and work with a local coach before trying the skill on larger obstacles or at race speed.
What is a manual in BMX racing?
The whole concept behind manualing is simple: lean your weight back off the rear of the bike, get your front wheel off the ground, and find the sweet spot where you can travel along while keeping it there.
Some riders have an exceptional range — they can manual for large distances with ease. These riders are usually very skillful on the bike overall, and it transfers directly to the track. Other riders have a small sweet spot and can only hold a manual for a short distance. For most riders, that's enough. Their energy goes into other parts of racing — sprints, gates, gym work, and specific track skills. Both approaches are valid. But the more comfortable you are with the manual, the more options you have on the track.
How to Start
Start simple. Practise on flat pedals in a clear, traffic-free area with your helmet on and a working rear brake. Lean back slightly and lift your front wheel. It'll stay up for a short distance, then drop back to the ground. That's fine. Repeat it. Each time, try to keep the wheel up just a little longer.
Put a marker in your practice area — a crack, a line, anything — and try to beat it each time. That's it. That's how you start. Small targets, consistent practice, and the wheel starts staying up longer without you even noticing.
Use flat pedals while you're learning. You want the freedom to put a foot down without thinking about it.
How to Progress
Getting better at manualing takes time and nothing else replaces it. What you're building is feel — knowing how far you need to lean back, how far forward, how your hips adjust to keep the wheel in the air.
Shifting your hips forward and back is what maintains your balance during the manual. Your brake controls wheel height — a light touch brings the front wheel down, a hard pull sends it crashing. Learn to use it with a light hand.
As you improve, set yourself small challenges. Manual a set distance. Manual down a slight decline. Try it on your opposite foot forward. These small challenges build your manualing range faster than just rolling around hoping it gets better. Make it deliberate.
Manualing on the Track
Taking a manual onto the track requires confidence. Start small and progress to deeper, larger doubles as the skill becomes more natural.
As you approach a double, stay calm and reactive. Your body wants to absorb the face of the jump — let it. Start tall, arms straight with a slight bend at the elbow. Absorb the jump through your arms and legs, keeping your weight slightly centred on the bike.
As you pass the peak of the first roller, shift your weight back slightly and extend your legs. The harder you extend, the higher you can lift your front wheel. It's a balancing act — weight back off the rear of the bike, legs extending to generate height and carry speed. You want the wheel just high enough to clear the next roller. No higher than you need.
If the wheel gets too high, feather the brake — a light touch, not a grab. Pull it too hard and the front wheel drops straight into the face of the next roller. Light hands. Always.
Variations
Once you've got the basic manual dialled, there's a whole range of variations that open up:
Pick-up manual: Lift your front wheel before the jump, wheelie up the face, and carry it over the entire jump. Some riders pedal through this, which can be faster in certain situations.
Triple manual: Keeping the manual up across three rollers or a full triple. A serious skill that takes significant time to develop.
Jump manual: Jump a jump and land in a manual down the landing. Effective in rhythm sections for maintaining speed and moving through tricky jump combinations without losing momentum.
Rhythm section manual: Keeping the wheel up and manualing an entire rhythm section. This is elite-level ability. Only the most skillful riders have it mastered at race speed — and when you see it done right, it's fast.
How does manualing fit into your BMX training plan?
Use short, focused skill sessions alongside your gate practice and sprint work. If you are deciding when to manual or jump a section, read our guide to jumping for BMX racing and discuss the options with your local coach. HRVfit's BMX coaching online can help you connect skill practice with a structured training week.
Build consistency through practice
The secret to becoming good at manualing is time. There's no shortcut. It's about becoming one with your bike — developing a feel that only comes from hours of deliberate practice.
Make a conscious effort to work on it. Practise in your traffic-free area. Set targets. Progress the challenges. The riders who put the time into manualing off the track are the ones who make it look effortless on it. And effortless on the track means fast.
It's one of the best investments you can make in your bike control — and your racing.
If you want a training system that builds all of this into a structured program around your race calendar, the HRVfit Speed Method gives you individualised monthly programs, weekly check-ins, and video analysis on your gates, sprints, and track skills. Built for serious riders who want to get faster without the guesswork.
See you on the gate.
Tony Harvey
6x Australian BMX Champion | Founder, HRVfit