Anyone old geezers still jump regularly? Do you approach it the same way when you are young or differently? For those who decided to stop flying, what was your decision point?
Jumping and getting old
Gumby_rider
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Jumping and getting old don't mix. There are plenty who do it though. You have to ask yourself if you're willing to risk a long healing time of broken bones. Also being off the bike for a long period of time for the pleasure of a few seconds of adrenaline pump.
I had my fun when I was younger and now I'm paying for it in the form of permanent disability from a bad back and other orthopedic problems. I have decided to keep the rubber on the ground and extend my riding as long as I can.
I had my fun when I was younger and now I'm paying for it in the form of permanent disability from a bad back and other orthopedic problems. I have decided to keep the rubber on the ground and extend my riding as long as I can.
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I pre-ride, study it a bit, then if I like to send it, if I don't love it I skip it,, But honestly I tend to send more now that ever.
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Now needing a knee replacement, but putting it off for as much as I can, I'm going back to my XC roots and going long and slow. Slow ride, take it easy...
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I don't try to get big air any more.. I still enjoy getting some air but at 55 I'm aware of the consequences of failure and know a couple of acquaintances of similar age who got hurt (off the bike for months) trying to keep riding like a 20 year old. In my case the skill is still there but the confidence or fearlessness of youth is not.
I jump my mtb about like I used to jump dirt bikes, which is to say just stand up on the face of the jump, let the suspension compress naturally, then just let it fly neutral. I used to jump my bikes with alot more effort to get high up and go far, styling in the air etc.
I don't normally ride trails with big jumps any more, but when I do I try to sort of keep the bike lower and intentionally roll them to minimize the airtime. Especially if the rollouts aren't buttery smooth.
I have a lot of miles left in me and am in no hurry to stop riding mountain bikes.
A little caution at this age goes a long way.
I jump my mtb about like I used to jump dirt bikes, which is to say just stand up on the face of the jump, let the suspension compress naturally, then just let it fly neutral. I used to jump my bikes with alot more effort to get high up and go far, styling in the air etc.
I don't normally ride trails with big jumps any more, but when I do I try to sort of keep the bike lower and intentionally roll them to minimize the airtime. Especially if the rollouts aren't buttery smooth.
I have a lot of miles left in me and am in no hurry to stop riding mountain bikes.
A little caution at this age goes a long way.
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I'm 50 but my son is only 11, my wife and I met and had kids later in life. I still jump a lot because my 11 YO loves jumping and I figure he will either learn from me, or he will learn the wrong way to do things, which will hurt him more in the long run. I don't care about looking cool anymore, I just like to have fun on the bike. Sometimes I do whips but I'm not interested in the big send freeride stuff, we just hit jumps and land the bike, usually whatever jump just happens to be in front of us.
I don't jump my hardtail anymore, and really, I ride an enduro as a park bike, and a nearly-enduro trail bike, to absorb most of the energy on landings. Landing a 170/160 or 160/150 bike, sometimes I need to look down and make sure I'm back on the ground already.
I don't jump my hardtail anymore, and really, I ride an enduro as a park bike, and a nearly-enduro trail bike, to absorb most of the energy on landings. Landing a 170/160 or 160/150 bike, sometimes I need to look down and make sure I'm back on the ground already.
Ironically on Labor Day of 2020 I was surfing during a big swell and didn't quite kickout fast enough as the wave closedout near the shore. I got sucked over the falls and through the washing machine. Got slammed down straight on my head on the sand bar and felt my neck crack. I stood up in shock like a boxer who just got clocked. Then I realized I was standing and could feel my hands and feet. Then I turned my head and my neck popped very loud which freaked me out. I made it home without moving my head. Not sure if I should go to the ER. I started moving my head back and forth and it seemed fine, but when I looked up it would pop loud. It did that for about 2 months in which I didn't ride my bike or surf. Then the popping went away. I've never had it X-rayed?
You got very very lucky. Count your blessings or lives, which ever you prefer.
As for jumping at 59 just about 60, I do still jump. I've been jumping ever since I was a kid. I would watch Evil Kenevil and build a pair of ramps and try to jump as many of my friends as I could. Even jumped over a fire that we built in the street. I got in big trouble for that one. We would spend all day going off some new jump we built. Bigger and higher, crossed up and throwing table tops. Then I broke my femur jumping too high. I guess that was my bodies limit. No suspension either. BMX. You land with your legs as the shock.
Now all that jumping muscle memory is still there. The only thing preventing me from sending it is the voice in my head that tells me "you are not going to bounce, or be able to just ditch the bike mid air, get up and dust yourself off ANYMORE". Plus I'm 6'-7 and 230 lbs now. That's a lot of mass to huck off a jump. On groomed, planned bike park type of jumps I'll still get caught in the moment and blissfully send it. I'll turn around and be right back at it again. Then when the high wears off I'll look back and say to myself, " well, you dodged one there old man" 🤣
Now all that jumping muscle memory is still there. The only thing preventing me from sending it is the voice in my head that tells me "you are not going to bounce, or be able to just ditch the bike mid air, get up and dust yourself off ANYMORE". Plus I'm 6'-7 and 230 lbs now. That's a lot of mass to huck off a jump. On groomed, planned bike park type of jumps I'll still get caught in the moment and blissfully send it. I'll turn around and be right back at it again. Then when the high wears off I'll look back and say to myself, " well, you dodged one there old man" 🤣
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Yes. I'm 61.
Yes. Sometimes more aggressively since I (think) I improve (get dumber). I've also become riskier with age as bike design and technology improve, making what used to be questionable a walk in the park.
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I didn't ride mountain bikes when I was younger, but I jumped a lot on skis. In general I'd say I've become much more conscious of consequences than when I was younger. Back then it was "Oh look, a cliff! Let's huck it!" Now I've become a great believer in incremental progress.
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The consequences are identical as when we were younger, we just recover a whole lot slower ... and know it
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WTF... Gary? Bro, I came to this forum to post questions on ACL reconstruction and saw this thread... now I see a familiar name on it. You should do that knee replacement and we can rehab together. Ugh.
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Two of the local legends here in the bay are 54 and 56 respectively (Bones and Steezus Christ). Not exaggerating when I say these two guys are probably the most in-control, steezy guys on the trail sending pretty big stuff. Of course they've been riding forever but still. I'm also 54 this year and I thought that I could have progressed further until an incident a few years back made me pee blood and question my manhood for a couple of weeks (dead sailored a jump, saddle slammed the little guy and crushed the jewels with my rear wheel... see
). Now I just do jumps I'm comfortable doing, but also learning new techniques along the way.
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Brah! I hear ya. I'm trying a bunch of stuff before knee replacement (a few rounds of PRP primarily) but I'm bone on bone on the medial left knee so I know it's inevitable (I'm 57). I find myself going back to the old days of XC (except our bikes are a little overkill for XC).
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I'm right behind you at 54. Getting ACL reconstruction next month (from playing basketball, of all things). Still ride with Jenduro? LOL
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Yeah, when I'm in the Bay Area. She also had a nasty crash a couple of weeks ago. She broke her back at UCSC ( she's doing alright though but definitely scary). Definitely time to dial it down.
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I'm 52. Never learned to jump in my 20s as jumps weren't really a thing where I lived at the time. Ironically, its only the last couple of years moving to the midwest where jumps are more common as a way to "elevate" trails from XC that I come across them more. I'm trying to learn, but my old-man self preservation mode kicks in a lot and tells me it's not worth the risk. It's ironic as I am fairly comfortable sending it down some natural black diamond tech (though I notice more caution coming here as well in the last few years) but jumping always freaks me out. Perhaps it's my mild vertigo. I just don't like being off the ground. Even ladders I don't like...
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i'm 54 now. I started learning how to jump a decade ago. You're right, it does get harder to learn when you get older. I remember being gutsier before and now it's all calculated. Anyway, you can still learn as long as you're methodical and reinforcing good technique. I found out just recently about loading into a jump (I used to speed jump) for more boost and control. Get a coach, and explain what you want to improve on.
Here's me clearing a 15+footer (cased it tho) on an ebike.
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I'm 52 and don't leave the ground on purpose. I have no problem with drops at speed but nothing over six feet. It's about preservation. I want to do my sports until I die. My grandfather was cross country skiing until his mid 90s. He only hung that up because of his eyesight. He's 99 and still walks to the store with my grandmother everyday. She's the same age.
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