Drops, the physics explained
by:
Sam from Canberra, Australia
ok, a lot of people think the best way or the 'proper' way to do drops is to land rear wheel first and then let the front wheel hit 2nd. while this works great on some drops, when you start to hit the bigger stuff that technique will almost certainly hurt you and your bike. this style causes so many smashed front wheels it's not funny! what happens is all the downward force gets transfered straight to the front wheel, with very little being distributed over the back of the bike. it creates a sling shot effect causing the front wheel to smash into the ground and take an incredible amount of downward force, which i have known to be enough to shatter a rim on as small a drop as 4 1/2 feet (that was on mavic)! another sling shot repercussion is of corse being sent way over the bars, although this is a lot worse on duallies - but hardtails arn't immune. as the rear wheel sets down the rear shock compresses absorbing the shock, and as the front wheel touches down the force is transfered to the front, meaning the front shocks now compress. haven't figured out what is bad about that yet? well, because the force is on the front, the rear shock will now rebound. so you end up with the front end of the bike sitting down into the travel as the rear pushes out of it. if you know anything about physics then you know that that means you're gone! you should really land with both wheels at the same time, if on a bike with 6-7 or so inches at both ends then try and get the front to land about 1-2cm before the rear. this will create the smoothest of smooth landings. of corse, you already know that your elbows and knees have a lot of super plush travel in them, so always make sure you use that as best you can, because in the end that's what makes the difference between you and the next guy!
