Brandon Semenuk - How To Tailwhip

by Jordan Holmes
Mar 5, 2010

Brandon Semenuk is at the forefront of the Slopestyle and Dirt Jumping portions of our sport and has a style that no one can copy. During his busy summers, you will find him at competitions around the world or at home in Whistler teaching for Summer Gravity Camps. In this video he'll go over some key points on how you can learn to tail whip too!

Read on for a How to Tailwhip, with Brandon Semenuk...

If you missed the first SGC how to with Cam McCaul on Supermans, check it out here.

Andrew Shandro just sent through a clip of Brandon Semenuk showing us all How To Tailwhip. Tailwhips are one of the more known, but not executed tricks due to their complicated nature. Not only are you suspended from your bike, but you're trying to get your bike to do a full rotation under you with nothing but your arms to move your rig in a circular motion.

Here's Brandon's break down of how it's done.
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Now that you've got an idea of how it's done, you can go try it. If you need a little more coaching to make it happen, I'd suggest looking into a camp or a spot where you can go to try these kind of things, and not get hurt. A place like Summer Gravity Camps. Based in Whistler BC you have access to one of the most dialed training facilities, the Whistler Air Dome. We're talking about foam pits, resi ramps, hips, jumps, and lines out the ying yang. The best part about it? Brandon Semenuk, along with Cam McCaul will be there walking you through each trick!

Style for Days
Style for Days

If you're interested in getting some training time with Cam, Brandon, and many other pro's this summer take a look and register at Summer Gravity Camps dot com.

Cheers!
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81 Comments

  • + 9
flag timmers (Mar 5, 2010 at 17:49)
 That trickster he has installed is sweet!
  • + 3
flag stinkyrider95 (Mar 5, 2010 at 17:55)
 is the crank stopper just a used dh tube?
  • + 5
flag PAfreerider310 (Mar 5, 2010 at 18:03)
 most people that i have seen use the flanges off some old grips
  • + 6
flag hendu (Mar 5, 2010 at 18:17)
 transition actually makes a designated crank stopper that works great!
  • + 3
flag reecewallace Plus (Mar 5, 2010 at 19:50)
 they are just any peice of random rubber with a hose clamp
  • + 13
flag Filipei7 (Mar 5, 2010 at 20:20)
 i dont get it. does having the transition crank stopper mean u cant pedal backwards?

aside from that his bike is sooo rigged for spins. front brake down the headtube, rear break trickster, gears on the downtube (i dont get how that could be convenient in slopestyle. i shift alot
  • + 17
flag Gsnickets (Mar 5, 2010 at 21:43)
 I love it when people confuse 'break' and 'brake' ..... makes me worry about the future generations in america.
  • + 1
flag sashamtbrider (Mar 5, 2010 at 21:44)
 okay, i found this picture on google... http://www.transitionbikes.com/BlogImages/Crankstopper_studio.jpg
and.... is it hard to pedal with it?
  • + 1
flag teamn2 (Mar 5, 2010 at 21:57)
 they dont effect your pedaling forward or back wards it may make it harder to pedal depending on how tight you strap it on there but it just helps your cranks so that they do ont mave when there is not force and they are just swinging free
  • + 1
flag alexdjer93 (Mar 5, 2010 at 23:42)
 yeah nice way to pump a tailwhip!
  • + 13
flag kaibrabo (Mar 6, 2010 at 0:09)
 MOST POINTLESS "HOW-TO" EVER!!!!!!!!! he just talks about how he does it. absolutely no learning here, just explanations
  • + 0
flag Konanemia (Mar 6, 2010 at 5:43)
 dude i have a lot o friends that have crankstoppers and they work just fine at whips, can cans and supermans... the only thing that the people say that it is harder to pedal... it's a LIE! it only depends on u, if u make a bad crankstopper obviously it will work like a piece of shit
  • + 0
flag joeljsh (Mar 6, 2010 at 19:46)
 what is a crank stoper and can you bye one?
  • + 1
flag teamn2 (Mar 6, 2010 at 21:08)
 the thing on the movie and yes you can but a transition one or else you get an old tube wrap it around your crank/bb the zap strap in on there or you can use a hose clamp
  • + 1
flag Jordy-Clarky (Mar 7, 2010 at 6:25)
 I live in the UK, how can i get one?
  • + 2
flag NWray (Mar 7, 2010 at 8:38)
 take a tube... cut it down a bit(get rid of the valve stem) and use a big hose clamp to hold it around ur non drive side bb shell. if u set it up right it shouldn't be any harder to pedal but still stop your crank from going spinning out of control when u kick off the bike
  • + 1
flag Jordy-Clarky (Mar 7, 2010 at 13:01)
 ok thx mate
  • + 1
flag xpirimint (Mar 7, 2010 at 20:15)
 Crank stoppers ad friction to your pedaling, thus making it harder for it to rotate and therefore harder to pedal!

whether you notice it or not is the question, but konanemia, thats the truth
  • + 2
flag scrippsranchDJ (Mar 7, 2010 at 23:59)
 fr3erid3r, it probably slows you down about as much as a playing card in your spokes.... aka barely anything.
  • + 3
flag xpirimint (Mar 8, 2010 at 2:10)
 whether you notice it or not...

so yes, I made that pretty clear but thanks for stressing my point
  • + 1
flag DHbyker12 (Apr 18, 2010 at 21:40)
 How does he have that trixter set up that way? im guessing, but it looks like the metal piece (that keeps the bottom half of the twister stationary) is pressed between the frame and the top cup/headset. is that correct? or what?
  • + 1
flag reecewallace Plus (Apr 18, 2010 at 22:25)
 yeah its just like that. i rode one of brandon's bikes in the summer for a while and his trixter works pretty well, makes braking power a little bit less but not by much.
  • + 1
flag zyx8910 (Apr 15, 2012 at 21:26)
 nonono, go to home depot look for the abs piping isle get a rubber 1. 1/2 rubber tube thing with two hose clamps, cut it in half
then put it on .
[Reply]
  • + 8
flag waterfall99 (Mar 5, 2010 at 17:57)
 theres no resi at whister wtf??
  • + 1
flag jmh7 (Mar 5, 2010 at 18:29)
 true dat
  • + 3
flag jmh7 (Mar 5, 2010 at 18:29)
 or maybe it's in the plans
  • + 3
flag viccityburner (Mar 5, 2010 at 18:32)
 theres the worlds most well known foam pit.... They also have a mulch jump with is probably softer then landing on a resi... just dirty
  • + 4
flag waterfall99 (Mar 5, 2010 at 18:56)
 the mulch jump was terrible cuz it was completely flat.
  • + 1
flag teamn2 (Mar 5, 2010 at 21:58)
 ya true i 360 it on my big bike and it hurt when i crashed because it is flat
  • + 1
flag bikerdude012 (Mar 6, 2010 at 9:11)
 i ditched out of a 3 on that mulch pit and when i landed i broke my ankle...it was the worst thing ever, they either needed to make the step up bigger or the landing more slanted
  • + 1
flag waterfall99 (Mar 6, 2010 at 11:19)
 yeah they needed another 3 foot of dirt and then have the mulch on top.
  • + 1
flag viccityburner (Mar 6, 2010 at 22:20)
 Well if you're gonna brake your foot on mulch you'll break it on resi and for sure dirt, Most people 3 years ago would learn everything straight to dirt for everything and thats how most people half to do it these days still.
  • + 1
flag teamn2 (Mar 7, 2010 at 13:56)
 no most/all do it into foam then to dirt (im talking abotu the pros)
  • + 0
flag Phil-rides-a-bike (Mar 11, 2010 at 2:15)
 No they don't. Stuff all people use foam for learning all their tricks (the smart ones anyway). Foam is useful for learning flips but thats about it. Learning straight to dirt helps because you know it takes full committment but in foam you know you dont have to get it so dont commit anywhere near as hard. If you're gunna ride foam to learn all your tricks you wont get very far when it comes to tricking through sets of tech jumps. You pretty much have to start all over again.
  • + 1
flag teamn2 (Mar 11, 2010 at 8:46)
 hmmm really well it looks like cam mcCaul and semenuk have gotten prettyfar
  • + 1
flag Phil-rides-a-bike (Mar 11, 2010 at 12:21)
 the didnt spend forever learning every single trick they do in foam pits 1st. Foam cant help you to learn dumped 3s properly can it? You can spend time using foam pits to learn crazy shit like flip combos and 3 combos but i highly doubt any great pro has spent their time learning no foot cans, supermans and tucks in foam pits.
  • + 1
flag teamn2 (Mar 11, 2010 at 22:04)
 im not saying small stuff like no foot cans ans tucks and well supermans are an iffy trick but you have to say for trying flip whips and other crazy trick combos along those lines.... well im pretty sure that some one would have tried it into foam before dirt even to just get the feeling of the trick
  • + 1
flag viccityburner (Mar 11, 2010 at 23:07)
 You cant really learn style into foam is what hes trying to say in the general and NO Mccaul and Semenuk got good by spendind summers days on the chairlift and summer evenings riding jumps.
[Reply]
  • + 6
flag Maksimbike (Mar 5, 2010 at 19:36)
 not to be a douche.... but that was a pretty bad explanation...
  • + 7
flag haroguy22 (Mar 5, 2010 at 20:18)
 I guess, but if you think about it theres only so much you can say about how to do a trick.
  • + 5
flag teamn2 (Mar 5, 2010 at 21:59)
 espically a tailwhip you kinda just do them like a backflip there is only so much you can explain
  • + 2
flag Maksimbike (Mar 5, 2010 at 22:40)
 true dat... but there are always these tiny tips that are very useful...
  • + 5
flag cyrix (Mar 5, 2010 at 22:41)
 There's really a limit on how much you can explain in regards to doing a trick. I've done inline skating, skateboarding, snowboarding, and mountain biking and pretty much all of the how to videos I've seen were similar to this. They could spend hours on how to do it, like I've seen before, and at that point things just get kind of confusing.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag bike4christ (Mar 7, 2010 at 23:47)
 In regards to the down tube shifters... Having them eliminates the possibility for the bike to ghost shift when doing a whip or bar spin. When I had my geared street/DJ bike a few years back no matter what I tried, it always shifted when I spun the bars. Now I go mostly single speed on my bikes, with the front brake running through the stem cap and no worries.
[Reply]
  • + 5
flag dmrchris (Mar 6, 2010 at 10:17)
 one of the best riders out there, but are those jeans really necessary?!
  • + 2
flag rosspecialized (Mar 6, 2010 at 13:53)
 its style man, i dont get the big deal with wearing skinny jeans ?
  • + 5
flag bullitvt (Mar 6, 2010 at 18:30)
 guys dont belong in tight jeans. there i said it. i dont care what anyone says lol
  • + 0
flag never-stop (Mar 6, 2010 at 22:10)
 try em, mite like em
my pears dont squish my package at all Razz , i actualy hate baggys now, feal so stupid n in the way
  • + 5
flag bullitvt (Mar 7, 2010 at 0:02)
 in a few years (hopefully sooner) when the fad has worn off you will all realise how ridiculous you looked. i cant even go to the grocery store and half the guys are dressed like ewen mcgregor in trainspotting. except not entertaining in the slightest.
  • + 1
flag rosspecialized (Mar 7, 2010 at 11:06)
 well fashions go in and out all the time, you just look like your still wearing clothes from the 90's
  • + 1
flag never-stop (Mar 7, 2010 at 12:04)
 they wer around in the 80s with all the classic rock,so dont think ther going away,
i used to hate but now im converted, maybe you will to n moove with the times...
  • + 3
flag bullitvt (Mar 7, 2010 at 12:50)
 i will never in a million years wear tight pants i can promise you that lol
  • + 1
flag rosspecialized (Mar 7, 2010 at 12:54)
 why dont you just grow up and accept that people dress differently to you ?
  • + 2
flag dmrchris (Mar 7, 2010 at 14:16)
 i've accepted it, i'm still wondering why though!
  • + 1
flag bullitvt (Mar 7, 2010 at 15:54)
 i realise that im just expressing my opinion on it
  • + 1
flag never-stop (Mar 8, 2010 at 9:12)
 ok,skinnys that fit rite are comfy and more practicle, skinnys to tight is to far....
  • + 1
flag bullitvt (Mar 8, 2010 at 15:25)
 yeah like i can see the usefulness in slimmer fitting jeans that are just tight enough they dont get sucked into the chain, but still have some baggyness to them lol
  • + 1
flag never-stop (Mar 9, 2010 at 3:13)
 well my rule is if i feal violated by my jeans i dont wear them, loose on top tight on the ancles
  • + 1
flag Phil-rides-a-bike (Mar 11, 2010 at 2:21)
 Tried skinny and they were alright, quite good for dirt + park riding really. when i put on baggy jeans they just looked horrible so coulding wear them again, then ended up trying straight cut jeans. Perfect, not so tight you look like a girl but not all loose and crap either. + you can fit pads on under them too if you need to.
  • + 1
flag never-stop (Mar 11, 2010 at 8:10)
 yee what i use! ther "skinny fit" but dont look like im wearing my girlfreinds jeans
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag erikkellison (Mar 7, 2010 at 17:43)
 Wow, those pants are terrible. I do not want to see another man's anatomy.
And yes, a crank stopper will make it harder to pedal. By it's very nature it will increase resistance, which is why it stops the cranks from spinning. Physics, anyone?
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag PAfreerider310 (Mar 8, 2010 at 12:27)
 uh ive never really seen a "trickster" hydraulic gyro before but i know you can get something similar by atomlab except it has the rear brake integrated into the system. BTI has them so you can order it from almost any bike shop
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag EndubGuy (Mar 6, 2010 at 20:14)
 tight jeans make your balls feel bigger and your meat has no room and it will make you do amazing thing like tail wips

YOU DONT NEED RESI TO LERN WIPS SORRY!!!! fyi
  • + 0
flag never-stop (Mar 6, 2010 at 22:10)
 skinnys are the cool mans lycra hahaa
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag noodle13 (Mar 6, 2010 at 14:57)
 how can you make a crank stopper ?
[Reply]
  • + 3
flag nightfox (Mar 5, 2010 at 20:10)
 he makes it look easy
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag albertadirtrider (Mar 5, 2010 at 19:15)
 since when did whistler airdome have Resi ramps? unless their talking about the wooden box jumps
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag reecewallace Plus (Mar 5, 2010 at 19:46)
 yeah B. whips are looking dialed like usual.
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag patto (Mar 6, 2010 at 8:23)
 so simple, and yet so hard to learn and get right the first time! good how to but!!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag BeastBassPlaya (Jun 23, 2011 at 17:45)
 What jean brand does semenuk wear?
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag Foxworld (Mar 6, 2010 at 8:11)
 its dirt. for sloupstyle its very smal
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag airwin88 (Mar 6, 2010 at 8:53)
 anybody knows which cranks on his bike? (i think its not truvativ)
  • + 1
flag Branman (Mar 6, 2010 at 10:47)
 It is. He rides polished stylos.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag gooksalot12 (Mar 8, 2010 at 12:14)
 how can you get a trickster?
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag curlyjim (Mar 8, 2010 at 6:03)
 this trick is piss and this rider is shit his style sucks ass and he should get a bmx and not be such a jew!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag justride17 (Mar 7, 2010 at 0:22)
 what bike is he riding?
  • + 0
flag NWray (Mar 7, 2010 at 8:43)
 fail.... custom 4 inch travel trek remedy... and no u cant buy one its CUSTOM for him Rolleyes
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag potash (Mar 6, 2010 at 8:31)
 i`ll try it!!
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag Branman (Mar 5, 2010 at 20:12)
 O my gosh. I tried one after i saw this. It almost worked!
[Reply]
  • - 3
flag j-maul (Mar 6, 2010 at 2:49)
 Whats he riding
  • + 7
flag superdupertroper (Mar 6, 2010 at 3:09)
 A SLOPESTYLE bike, it's so he can ride SLOPESTYLE tracks and do SLOPESTYLE tricks.... SLOPESTYLE!
[Reply]

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