[rightguard]

So last time I went on a ride, I was messing up every jump I tried. When I would take off it seemed like I was springing off, and it would make me tip to the side. I could manage to recover on the landing, but it was not pretty.

I kept messing with the shocks trying to get things right. Less rebound.... that kind of thing, but it never got better. I did put more air into my shock before the ride. Could I just have too much air?

What does having too much air in the shock do?

Thanks for any help.

 

[WereBot]

I ride a hardtail so I am not too well versed in rear shock adjustments but I don't believe the springing feeling on the takeoff is your shock. I would recommend going ahead and adjusting the air pressure in your shock to what ever you had before that felt comfortable on the trail. I would said that the springing feeling is coming from improper stance/technique on the takeoff.

Remember, attack position. Arms bent, chest a little low, butt off the seat, legs bent ready for the face of the jump and then to absorb the landing. It helps me to think about riding the bike off of the jump rather than thinking about it like jumping on flat ground. I have seen a lot of people when they are learning to jump actually try to jump with their legs off of the face of the jump and it never works out well. Ride the bike off of the jump, let the jump do it's thing to get you in the air.

 

[1SPD]

You tend to lean to one side or the other as one arm is pulling up harder. As a result your weight starts to shift to one side or the other thus causing you to start leaning in the air and trying to figure out how the hell you are going to ride out of it.

I notice this happening to me every once in a while trying to get my manuals (no pedaling while doing a wheelie). You can use your knees to help counter balance but the big thing is to try to stay centered over the bike.

As for the springing off the top of th jump, I am guessing that deals with the shock. I too ride a hardtail and just don't have any experience with that.

 

[rightguard]

Yeah leaning to one side is exactly what I'm doing.

I thought I should just ride off the jump and not attack the jump. Then I was talking to a guy up on the hill, and he said that you should compress your shocks right before take off. That the spring back would help keep your feet on the peddles. I feel like people are telling me different things. I guess I just have to keep trying.

 

[1SPD]

Well, like I said, I don't have a ST but I can say that you do compress slightly down into the bike (which on a ST would compress or preload your shock) and then explode out as you hit the top of the jump. Suck the handlebars up into your chest pulling the front wheel up and then pushing them out in front of you to level the bike out. Just remember to stay over the bike. You can practice this pulling up movement while riding on flat ground. Think of it as pulling a wheelie but trying to keep your chest over your bars. You sort of look like you are doing a stand up wheelie on a motorcycle. This will help with getting you in the air at take off.

 

[upNdown]

I'm okay at jumping; my problem is that I suck at landing.

 

[quietcornerrider]

I have been battling this for a long time, and just recently got it corrected. I was always pulling harder with my left arm. Why? Beats me. I'm right handed.

But for whatever reason, that's what I was doing. So I found a nice spot on a local trail with a clear landing zone, and practiced. And practiced. Let your arms go loose. Relax.

In my opinion, the rear shock has little, if anything to do with your technique. It moves on one plane (vertically), while your problem has to do with the horizontal plane. It's your body mechanics, not your shock.

 

[rightguard]

I was thinking it had more to do with the rebound in the front forks. Although today I changed it back to what it was and tried again. This time I really sucked and came down sideways. I don't know how, but I didn't go down. So then I was totally nervous.

It seems like if it's more of a drop jump with a small lip I can do fine. I throw my arms forward butt back, and seems to go well. If the jump is more of a table top with more of a lip... then I have problems. I finally got relaxed enough to throw my arms forward and not pull them up, but then my back end would kick out. That was ok, since it was easy enough to straighten on the way down.

I think I need to find a couple more easier jumps and work my way up. Today my legs were too shaky to give it a real go.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[literocola]

I hate DJ'in on full suspensions. I HATE EM!
I got invited last year to a pro dirt jam on private land and got to demo a brand new Yeti 4X and couldnt even clear majority of the sections, guys I was riding with were pullin 360 flips, doubble tail whips and me on a 5 thousand dollar bike couldnt even clear the jumps! I got on a my custom steel rig and DESTROYED the jumps.

Give me a ridged steeeeeel frame and Ill jump all day! But it really comes down to practice. You need to spend time jumping, working on body language, and commiting to the jump.

Just stick with it, and one day it will "click" and jumping just gets eaiser and bigger.

*edit*

When jumping with front forks there is a tequinque to it. Inches before the lip you want to compress as much as you can so by the time your fork is comping off the lip your rebound helps "pop" you up. This takes practice and your going to eat sh|t. Once airborne, you need to level the bike straight and then prep for landing using body language and proper tequinque. If you can find that happy spot where you compress before the lip, you will notice huge results in your jumping.

 

[Biohazard74]

What kind of bike is it?

 

[rightguard]

I have a 2008 specialized enduro... just bought it two weeks ago. It was a close out, so it's brand new.

 

[hazdxb]

Don't know why only one person mentioned this but you gotta loosen your arms up, relax a little and everything should take care of itself.

 

[bing!]

Don't know why only one person mentioned this but you gotta loosen your arms up, relax a little and everything should take care of itself.

ditto.

these are from bike radar. didnt post a link coz I dont know what mtbr policy is.

[1] Approach

Approach the jump standing up out of the saddle with your arms and legs relaxed, your cranks horizontal and your natural foot forward. This is the 'attack' stance and it allows your body to move as it needs to. Keep your eyes focused on the take-off, but also make sure you're scoping the landing. As for speed, building up from just being able to roll over the jump will tell you how fast you need to go to clear it.
[2] Take-off

Push your legs into the take-off and follow this motion with your wrists to keep the bike following the trajectory of the transition. Stay relaxed here; tensing can make the bike 'buck' off the lip awkwardly, which will throw you off line and possibly to the floor. Keep your weight as central on the bike as possible: leaning forward will lighten the rear end, causing scary nosedives, and leaning back could have you off the rear of the bike.
[3] Levelling out

As the rear wheel comes up, the bike will start to level out. At this point, keep your weight balanced to prevent the rear wheel rising too high. Make sure your arms and legs are relaxed because this is your 'air time'. If you're tense, you'll be on the edge of control and you risk pummelling into the ground. Allow the bike to naturally follow the curve of the jump - think of a dolphin leaping.
[4] Spot the landing

When cruising through the air, you have to make sure you spot your landing and also the run-out area. You only need to glance at the landing ramp for a split second because your first instinct will be the right one. Look at its shape and ignore any bumps and lumps that may be bothering you - you'll be going pretty quick and so you'll roll over these. Don't stare at the landing too long or you risk messing it up - you need to look ahead as well!
[5] Touchdown

If your bike is still level, extend your arms slightly and tuck your legs up a bit to allow the bike to follow the transition of the landing. Ideally, you'll be nose-diving slightly, ready to 'scoop' into the transition for a smooth landing. Avoid touching down rear wheel first because the front wheel can wash out if you're skewwhiff. Likewise, avoid steep front wheel landings so you don't go over the bar. Also look ahead for obstacles as you absorb the landing.

 

[literocola]

I have a 2008 specialized enduro... just bought it two weeks ago. It was a close out, so it's brand new.

Thats one of your issues right there. Endruo is not a jump rig, tis jumpable, but not a DJ. If you wanted a jumper you should have bought a P3 or something along those lines.

Dont take me wrong here and say "its not made to jump" you can jump a 10 speed if you wanted to, but if you want to focus on jumping, or park or street you should really look into getting a jump/park rig for those days. Keep the Enduro for XC and pedal around town fun.

From my experience in the past doing anything other than XC on a XC bike can result in frame breakage or bending. So far Ive destroyed 2 Specialized's, a custom XC that I was doing R&D on (Flight-Bikes), twisted the rear in under a month, and 2 Fishers 1 GED and 1 Cake. I just destroyed the rear end on my new Specialized XC bike doing spins. Totally sheered the bolt that connects the rear shock to the frame.

 

[rightguard]

Yeah maybe I don't really get all this... why would it not be a good jump bike. It's not like I'm talking about huge jumps. The jumps I'm on are only about a bike length or so. I'm not doing lift runs, I'm just cruzing around the woods trying to hit some jumps on my way down the trail.

Very confusing