[TommytheCat]

Hello one and all!

My first post here so bit of an intro I suppose. I'm Tom, 32 years old and live in Cornwall UK, been an avid road cyclist for about 10 years until I got bit the MTB bug when the pandemic hit. I rode XC hardtail for the first year, spent a lot of time on the local trails getting used to the feel and moving my body weight around. I've just recently part-exchanged for my first full-sus. I'm utterly in love. It's a Giant Stance 29 1, entry level machine but it feels godly to me.

So, with my background as a roadie, I am very used to having both wheels planted firmly on the tarmac ground. I'd really like to overcome my fear of being airborne. I've been working on manual/stoppie techniques and have recently succeeded in combining them in to bunny hops, which I was thrilled with.

Moving on to jumping from there, I've found a local spot where there's been a couple of really nice practice jumps built. Fairly gentle approach, 30-40 degrees incline so nothing extreme, kind of a tabletop thing going on with a nice open landing. The last video is the bail, I think I was focusing a lot on trying to get more pop on the front wheel which on further reading is a bad idea (too much "input" before take-off). I also recently changed shoes + pedals (Leatt DBX 3.0 + DMR V12s), way more grippy but the feel is different as I was on some random running shoes before.

Anyways if y'all could take a look and give me some feedback it would be hugely appreciated! edit oh and don't feel evil if you laugh at the crash, it still makes me chuckle the way it goes sideways. I had pads on so nowt but a wounded pride!

 

[CyNil_Rider]

Looks like your off to a good start!

So when I watch the vids, I feel you approach too slowly.
When you pop your front wheel off the end of the jump, it lands before your rear wheel has barely even cleared the jump.
Your lack of speed is causing you to try to use your 'body english' -if you will- to make the jump happen.

I think you can try to come in a little faster. Then as you hit the jump, try to 'lighten' the wheels a bit.
No need to pull up super hard. Mostly just let your momentum and the lip of the jump carry you, and your wheels will lift off.

Needless to say- so I will go ahead and say it anyway- as you increase speed, your approach path must be ever more precise. Then once in flight, keep your body in 'attack shape' (head up; elbows, knees bent) to adjust flight path and landing angles. Finally, on landing, be heavy in your pedals to avoid bouncing out.
And always keep your eyes focused on where you want to go!

Good luck!

 

[Zguitar71]

I started jumping in my BMX days 40 years ago in 1982. The key for me to get control in the air was starting with learning to bunny hop well. Get to the point that you can bunny hop up onto curbs and over things about 8 or so inches tall. Then ride parallel to the curb and learn to bunny hop up on it sideways. Work on landing bunny hops on your front tire, both tires and the rear tire. That will lock into your head the way to move the bike with body English. Once to get to that point you will have the technical skills to control the bike in the air. Right now you are starting to use the right form but your not all the way there. Getting the bike in the air from flat ground really helps with muscle memory.

 

[TylerVernon]

You need a lot of speed for a little jump.

 

[EatsDirt]

“Tommy the cat is my name, and I say unto thee...”

 

[Sparticus]

Timing + technique + momentum = a good leap.

Suggest you start with drops instead of jumps. Perfect your timing and technique there. Timing has to do with what happens in the instant before your front wheel leaves the drop (or jump.)

Jumping is different than dropping but I found jumps to be less intimidating after I'd been doing drops for a while. And yeah, momentum (aka speed) helps on jumps. But you don't want to add too much speed until you're done crashing.
=sParty

 

[Sanchofula]

Go ride on a trail, jump every feature no matter how small, learn to estimate speed needed for an obstacle, also practice hopping.

You are rigid/static on your bike, get more comfortable moving around on the bike as you ride.

You crashed because you landed upright on a side slope, you could have saved it by being forward and leaning the bike across the hill.

 

[Zeroselect]

I see no pump just you pulling up.

 

[TommytheCat]

Thanks all for the feedback, some really useful pointers!

@CyNil_Rider Now that you mention it, it does look slow. Makes sense, I still kind of freak out approaching things faster. Confidence (or lack of) is a biggie for me.

@Sparticus Oh man, drops freak me out too haha. Biggest I've done is about two feet high. They confuse me more than jumps as I've read/seen/heard conflicting information about the best way to approach them. It feels best for me when I hang over the back wheel after the front wheel has starting dropping, but some stuff I saw recently (I think it's Lee Likes Bikes?) discourages that quite strongly.

@Zguitar71 Good shout, I could use some more bunny hop practice for sure.

 

[Gumby_rider]

I don’t understand the comments about speed. It looks like speed is plenty to me. The OP just need to work on technique.

 

[Caligata]

I'm not qualified to offer advice, but will just say I'm surprised you didn't stay upright on that. Makes me feel better about getting tossed by little things that I feel like a non-biking observer would assume is easy. Thanks for swallowing your pride and sharing that.

 

[r-rocket]

Part of the problem is the jump itself. It is a bit small for a mountain bike, and it is worn down with no transition or lip.

It is actually harder to pre-load a mountain bike on a small jump than on a bigger jump where you have more time on the transition to work the bike under you. Technique is actually harder to work on with really small jumps where you have to do everything very quickly. Basically all you can do with this is either use it to time a bunny hop at slower speeds and use your body to do all the work, or just go really fast and get your weight back and treat it like a drop.

That jump isn't going to help you much to get off the ground. It will take either be speed or bunny hop skills to really get off the ground. For a bunny hop off a small bump, it takes this kind of work: