[cobi]

Only been really riding for a little over a year. I've improved quite a bit in the technical stuff, but jumping isn't really something I've been comfortable doing much. I want to continue improving, so I've been trying to push myself to try bigger drops. Was going great till this one.....

Here's the embarrassing video:

The rock kind of falls away so I went a little faster than I probably needed to and pulled up too hard (didn't want to endo off the rock). Just got completely ejected off the bike. Looks like I bottomed out my front shock (Lyrik 2-step 6.5"). Maybe landed a little crooked as well (burped about 10 lbs of air out of my sidewall). Is it simply poor execution or is my bike setup possibly an issue as well?

Tires: Running tubeless R-40 F-35 (probably too high, but I'm used to it from running tubes all last year)
Fork pressure: Can't remember off the top of my head, but tend to think I have it set pretty stiff.

Even on my second attempt my rear tire comes up off the ground after I land. Although it looked a lot better overall.

Thoughts?

PS - I'm 6'3" 240 so keep that in mind for suggestions regarding shock and tire pressures.

 

[savagemann]

Also look into your rebound speed on the rear shock. Could be set a bit too fast.
Front end too soft. Add a little pressure.
Technique, You didn't shift your weight back enough and keep it there. You started with some weight shift, but as the rear dropped it changed your center of gravity and you didn't have time to compensate.
Being a bit looser, lower and bent at the limbs will help that alot.
As your rear wheel dropped, your knees extended and locked, and your elbows were locked as well.
If you get into a bit more of an attack position, with your weight back, you'll hit those ALOT smoother.
But I would seriously look into your rear rebound speed. It can be a killer.
Looks like a fun place to ride.
On a side note, it looked like you bailed off pretty good. Didn't seem to get too banged up.

 

[Destin]

Just sit back more when you land. When you go of a drop, you shouldn't be pulling up, but more pushing out. You want to use both your arms and legs to push your bike off of the ledge, which will do 2 important things. 1.) keep your bike level, and 2.) get your weight behind the seat to prepare for the landing.

 

[squish]

Agreed, you look way stiff when your landing, you need to soak up more of the drop with your body and stay more relaxed when you take off. Weight off the back of the bike a touch, fingers off the brake levers. Also check the rebound speed on your rear shock, it looks like that thing is bucking like a son of a gun when you land.

happy trails...

squish

 

[savagemann]

Although I can't manual very well, my technique on drops is the same as how you initiate a manual. You kind of throw the bike forward, rather than lift or pull up on the bars.
This is pretty much what Destin was saying.
As you throw/push the bike forward, it has no choice but to lift the front wheel off the ground, unless you let go of the bars....which kind of defeats the point....= )
And it sort of forces your weight back a bit and sets you up in a nice attack position.
Rather than try and force your body off the back of the bike, just push the bike forward.

 

[cobi]

Thanks everyone. Good advice so far.

Looks like a fun place to ride.
On a side note, it looked like you bailed off pretty good. Didn't seem to get too banged up.

Oh yeah... Grand Junction has some GREAT trails. Holy Cross, Free Lunch, etc... This is the easier part at the bottom of Holy Cross. Still working my way up to some of the stuff up above.

Just a little banged up. Destroyed left glove.... some bumps and scrapes and some soreness for about 24 hours but no worse for wear.

 

[Destin]

Although I can't manual very well, my technique on drops is the same as how you initiate a manual. You kind of throw the bike forward, rather than lift or pull up on the bars.
This is pretty much what Destin was saying.
As you throw/push the bike forward, it has no choice but to lift the front wheel off the ground, unless you let go of the bars....which kind of defeats the point....= )
And it sort of forces your weight back a bit and sets you up in a nice attack position.
Rather than try and force your body off the back of the bike, just push the bike forward.

Wow, just realized how crappily mine was worded. Thanks for clearing it up man, glad someone understood what I meant.

 

[clutch_08]

definitely need to lean back more and not lock out your knees

 

[savagemann]

Wow, just realized how crappily mine was worded. Thanks for clearing it up man, glad someone understood what I meant.

I actually understood exactly what you meant.
As I was typing, I realised I was just repeating what you said....so I refered to your earlier comment.
Sometimes it can be really hard to explain how to do something on a bike without actually showing somebody in person.
I just looked back at my last post, and realise I said the exact same thing 4 times....I just said it a little different each time........= )
Your advise was spot on in my book.
I really just wanted to point out how similar that manuver is to doing a manual, which is a great thing to have under your belt when trail riding. I just wish I was better at them.

 

[anvil_den]

Yup, key thing is to push out rather than pull up

Adding on to the rest of the comments so far, your first attempt looks to me you were not ready for impact on landing and caught u off guard. Moreover your legs were stiff straight I think this was the thing that catalyze the whole forward kick as your fork bottomed and it jack-knifed u forward

In the second run, again it was pulling up but this time the pull came in earlier or the speed was slower than the 1st time. Thus the front dips down nearer after the drop to become smoother

If u stop it frame by frame, u see that the legs are now also slightly bent (though its not clear as cam was far away) which takes the impact away but rebound on the rear is obviously too fast as the rear wheel bounced up and again almost throw u off balance.

 

[cobi]

In the second run, again u were pulling up and not pushing back. But this time the pull came in earlier or the speed was slower than the 1st time. Thus the front dips down nearer after the drop to become smoother

I was definitely going slower on the 2nd try. My line may have been further left as well (easier)

 

[Blatant]

Are you on your front brake? If so, get out of that habit right now.

 

[cobi]

Are you on your front brake? If so, get out of that habit right now.

I may have been. I think I was concerned about scrubbing off speed before the corner after the landing.

 

[nauc]

your whole front end is just mush. your form actually didnt look that bad but your whole front end just sank. if you leaned back and stayed low you probably could have pulled it of tho

 

[Kevin_Federline]

be smoother.

just relax. go fast, and push out. Stay low and back. on landing, absorb the jump with bent elbows and knees. and lastly stay of the front brake.

 

[Gman086]

The slower you go, the more you need to push the bike forward. BUT in the first attempt you were going fast enuff that you didn't hardly need to do anything - just stay in the FORWARD crouching attack position (NOT leaning back), arms and knees bent, and send it!. Instead you leaned back, pulled up on the bars and extended your legs (beginner mistake that stems from fear of nose-diving) so you hit rear first; that's a recipe for disaster as you'll slam the front down violently - like you did - and get catapulted . It's best to touch the front tire just before the rear or both at the same time. You only want to land rear first for slow drops to flat. Oh and DO NOT take the advice of taking your finger off the brake lever! I rest one finger on my levers at ALL times even on the gnarliest drops and jumps - you can correct bike position in the air (advanced technique) and/or slow rapidly after landing if the runout is short.

Have FUN!

G MAN

PS - You'll get the best advice for drops and jumps in the DH/FR forum!
PSS - You could have actually saved that by pedaling hard as you were landing - advanced technique for more speed but knowing how to manual is a pre-req.

 

[joeyjoedotorg]

Wow! You look stiff on that bike! I don't see you absorbing the impact with your legs at all. You've got 10+ inches of suspension in your legs! Use them. As it is, you're pounding the crap out of your bike, knees and lower back.

Imagine if you were jumping and trying to make as little noise as possible when you land. Bend your knees as you land to spread the force of your body's impact over a longer length of time.

Also, Watch this video. They do a pretty good job of explaining how to go off of a drop. Everyone here seems to be explaning it fairly well, but there's something about seeing it done.

http://www.declinemagazine.com/visuals/fluidride/archive/vol.1_drops/drops.html

 

[One Pivot]

watch the second part of the video where he actually lands it.. the rear is still bucking like mad!

240lbs = pretty high shock pressure on most bikes. you're getting bucked off, you need more rebound!

 

[NWS]

Watch your torso and your seat as you leave the lip - you're moving forward relative to the bike. That's probably a function of having your CG too far forward when you pulled up. Like the others said - push the bike forward more, pull up less.

The rear wheel touched down first, and since your CG was a few inches forward of where it should have been, the touchdown of the rear wheel caused you to rotate forward (rotating around the contact point of the rear wheel). By the time the front wheel hit, you were moving faster than the bike and you were already entering a somersault.

How you land is almost entirely determined by how you launch. In this case your launch threw your body over the handlebars, it just didn't happen until you touched down. The reason the rear rebounded so fast is that there was no weight on it what-so-ever. That's a symptom, not a cause.

Stopping the video at 16 seconds you actually appear to be in good form. The problem is that you were moving forward relative to the bike... by the time you landed, your CG was right over the handle-bars, and rotating forward.

Also, kudos to you for having the chutzpah to show the world your mistake.

 

[CaveGiant]

Cool to watch, all the above advice says it all.

Grats on getting it the second time (just)