How to Do a Bar Spin on a Bike

A BMX bar spin, or the art of spinning your front handlebars in a circle during a trick, is one of the easiest and quickest-to-learn tricks for an amateur BMX rider. It doesn't require you to jump in the air, or be on a ramp; all it requires is flat ground and a one-pedal push worth of speed. A Gyro cable kit is necessary to perform the bar spin as it's a mechanical option on most BMX bikes, so your front brake cables don't get bundled up when performing a bar spin.

Things You'll Need

  • BMX bike
  • Gyro cables
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Instructions

    • 1

      Ride around on your BMX bike and get used to the balance. Ride very slowly and try to stay on the pedals for as long as you can while going as slow as you can. This is necessary to learn your bike and your tendencies of which way you lean when going slow.

    • 2

      Coast on your bike at a slow speed. Put the pedals horizontal to each other so your feet are on the same horizontal plane. This will help with balance and give freedom to your knees.

    • 3

      Clench the front of your seat, while standing upright on the pedals, with the insides of your knees. Wearing jeans helps best when learning this trick because if you wear shorts you may get a burn on your skin from holding onto the seat. While clenching the seat, practice a small "wheelie." A wheelie is lifting your front tire off the ground a couple inches by lifting up on the handlebars.

    • 4

      Perform all the aforementioned together. Coast slowly in a straight line, clench the seat and perform the wheelie. During the wheelie spin the bars with one hand as hard as you can. Your handlebars must do a complete rotation before your wheelie lands the front tire back on the ground. Catch the spinning handlebar with the other hand you're not using to spin.

    • 5

      Practice this technique on the ground, and eventually you can speed up the process and possibly do it in the air or maybe even a double bar spin.