This photo of the late, great Dean Jones reminded me of an important discussion I recently had with a friend: When growning up, was it "riding a wheelie" or "doing a catwalk"?
This photo of the late, great Dean Jones reminded me of an important discussion I recently had with a friend: When growning up, was it "riding a wheelie" or "doing a catwalk"?
Popping a wheelie.
Popping a wheelie. (Northern CA)
In reply to Turboeric:
This. Never heard of catwalk being used in this form.
I remember the term catwalk, but we didn't use it much. I think it was more from the Stingray crowd.
And speaking of wheelies: https://youtu.be/ir9m2MymPBQ
Don't worry, professional driver on closed course.
Catwalk wheelie?
Eggcellent wheelie!
I've used both....Catwalking seems like for longer ridden wheelies vs just popping the front end off the ground.
aircooled wrote: Popping a wheelie. (Northern CA)
Same in southeast Michigan
How do you like my wheelie? 
(just popped the front end over a bump going uphill at full power)
Never even heard of doing a catwalk.
As kids, popping a wheelie was different from riding a wheelie. I was one of those who could easily pop a wheelie, but never mastered riding a wheelie.
popping a wheelie is just getting the front wheel into the air... riding a wheelie is just that, riding on just the rear tyre for some distance.
there was this kid my grade school.. he was two years ahead of me.. he could (I saw him do this) ride a wheelie for miles
Wheelies.
Never in my entire life have I heard catwalking, popping a wheelie for just bringing the front end up or riding a wheelie for any distance.
Definitely "doing a catwalk" up here in canuckland if it was continuous. You "popped" a wheelie, which transitioned into a catwalk.
HiTempguy wrote: Definitely "doing a catwalk" up here in canuckland if it was continuous. You "popped" a wheelie, which transitioned into a catwalk.
Well, you polite wankers are behind the times anyways, its like its 1770 up there....
ICEEEEE Wheelie? See, what better way to assert your dominance over THE WIDOWMAKER, than do 100+ mph wheelies on ice.... 
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TChLBTkIL2E
G. P. Snorklewacker wrote: Catwalk wheelie?
Poor girl is so thin she can't even stand up!
Put me down in the camp that never heard this referred to as a catwalk before this thread.
Never heard of a catwalk ever. We didn't really differentiate between popping a wheelie and riding a wheelie, though riding did imply longer duration.
There was a weird subset of kids who used 'pop-a-wheelie' like a noun. As in "Then I did a pop-a-wheelie..." It always sounded weird to me.
Never heard this catwalk gibberish before. There were "manuals", "wheelies" and by brother could do a killer "sitter" for miles.
Ridiculous.
I'll have to ask some of the other 80's bmx crew I know but I don't believe the catwalk thing was used on the west coast.
I might still have some old school Flatland "zines" from the east coast. If I can find them I will look for the phrase.
Oregonian born in '76 here and never once before this thread ever heard of a catwalk having anything to do with a wheelie. As others have reported, popping a wheelie is likely shorter than riding a wheelie, and a manual is done with weight shift rather than pure acceleration, regardless of duration.
When I was a kid I had am old Schwinn spring with a neck like the one on Dean Jones' bike. The neck snapped right at revolution 16 (kids were counting) and I got 8 stitches in the back of my head.
Reintroduced to the air conditioning of the emergency room a few years later after building my first hi-bike.
I'm a slow learner....
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