I'm with Jedi here … the mental side is so important. The 2 words people seem to find most scary are, jump and drop but they're 2 of the easiest 'skills' to master.

I once taught a bloke who'd been trying to jump for years. Within an hour he could do it, then he reverted back to what he'd been doing before and crashed. When I questioned him as to the return to his old technique, he said he'd done it because what he'd been shown seemed too easy. In his head he was trying to justify the years of not jumping by making it as difficult as possible 😯 … strange but possibly not that uncommon.

Right I'm off to teach a young lady from the IOM to ride drops … have a good day folks.

Stuart

I've slowly worked up to very small jumps (both wheels in the air, yay!), but my big mortgage puts me off being much braver. I wish it didn't, but a summer with a broken collarbone tought me that old, heavy, brittle people are probably right to let a bit of healthy fear influence them a little. All that said, knowing how to do it properly would be a really good way of avoiding some silly (and costly) unexpected offs when I'm giving it some on trails I don't know very well. Maybe some training is required this summer.

The rewards of jumping don't balance the price as you get older.

Used to do huge jumps on my motorbike, but now my wheels stick firmly to the ground.

yup, It's the fear that stops us from trying for airtime, took me a week to pluck up the courage to attempt this jump http://www.vimeo.com/9372036 once I had done it I was so stoked on adrenaline that I did it 3 more times after that.. now it is just something I do when I am up in the woods practicing on my bike…

Oh…forgot to mention… I am 52 years of age and have been MTB'ing for just over a year now… so yeah, you are never too old to learn 😈

jenga, it's not something to be affraid of at all. small airtime happens all the time on trails if you allow it to

I went on a skills day with Ed-O at Gisburn. He was teaching us how to do wheelies and running jumps, ie over puddles etc. Was just about getting the hang of it, very slowly. Went away, and can't get any wheel off the ground now. It may be mental – older bones don't heal as quick as young ones, and as I get older all I can see is what I'm likely to hit.

If you can't jump, you really should make the effort and learn. Obviously start off small and pad up. Like anything it just takes practice (someone who can jump will be able to offer advice) but after a few goes you'll realise how simple it is. Then it's just a matter of hitting bigger stuff, as the same principles apply. It can be hard to convince yourself that you are capable of bigger stuff, but if you do it enough, you'll learn how to judge the speed required to clear almost any gap. (I find judging the speed for a new jump the hardest part).

Jumping is fun, but it has the added benefit of giving you much more control over your bike, which can be carried over to all types of riding.

I've done practically no riding this winter as i've been spending my free time building a dirt jumping trail. It should be ready to ride in a few weeks (just in time for my 40th)

Start small, progress when you're comfortable.
As above ,its a 'head' thing as well……

Just spent another hour or so down the local jumps and getting the hang of it a bit better after reading some posts here and other places. It's all about the pump and carrying your speed into the next jump (which is the bit I'm having trouble with – I can clear the first jump in a line but can't carry it through)! Oh and it seems obvious but put your seat all the way down if you're not already.

jumping is easier than bunny hops

jumping is easier than bunny hops

+ lots

Proper bunny-hops are hard!

proper bunny hops are easy too but are a more pronounced technique

it's all easy if you can do it.
Until you can, it's hard.

what i mean is its nowhere near as hard as it looks/seams or people make out

I suspect that depends on how talented/strong/fit/spatially aware you are.

(edit)
Because if everyone was equal, pro Athletes would be more numerous than they are

nope

Another Jedi convert here!It was a bit of a revelation for me, after 20 years of MTB. As a teenager I used to get a bit of air here and there by yanking up on the bars and pedals over ramps but 15 years on I can't be arsed with all that.

Couple of hours with the jedi master and I was getting some really smooth air over table tops without pulling on anything, little bit of a pump/push was all it needed. It's amazing how quiet it all happens when you do it right, rather than the crash/bang/chainslap landings you get when you pull the bike up off the ground.

I'm not about to get into jumping in any big way, but it's nice not to have to worry about the wheels leaving the ground a little bit here and there when nailing it along a trail.

thanks for the props jase.

I'm kind of at the awkward intermediate stage where I can jump little stuff OK but stepping it up is difficult. I've been spending a bit of time at my local BMX tracks and it's astonishing how much more pop and height the local kiddies have for the speed they go – it can't all just be down to me being a beer-bellied 30-something, surely?

I've resigned to being a chicken. My rides are all XC type stuff, so I never go to BMX type circuits, pump tracks, DH runs or anything like that. I don't do trick riding, I just ride my bike. No need to go off the ground, everything that is jumpable on my rides is also rollable overable, so that's what I do. Table tops? Just ride over them. No need to make things complicated. And wtf is all this about twisting the bike in mid air? What does that achieve apart from a greater chance of landing on your head?

Turned 40 last year………

jenga, for some people riding is aspirational for others they are happy where they are.

Jumping is great. Bunnyhops, jumps, drops, they're basically the best things in the world.

jumping on xc bike is hard and/or wrong.

i would suggest the reason 80% of people struggle is that they roll to dalby or whatever, pedal downhill at a jump in the wrong gear, then bong their 5 inch travel bike all obver the show, whilst their 18inch seatpost pitches them over the bars.

i can jump(ish) but eff me its hard work on an xc bike. body position is all wrong, bikes are genrally too high, and FS will not help you one tiny little bit.

I don't do trick riding, I just ride my bike.

The counter-argument is, even if you "just" ride your bike, stuff like weighting and unweighting, body position and what to do if you suddenly find yourself airbourne are all important skills. You can sit there like a sack of spuds, but unless you're a die-hard rambler with wheels type, sooner or later it will all go wrong.

sooner or later it will all go wrong.

Not if you ride within your limits. I may be old fashioned, but I thought that bikes were for riding. If I want to jump I'll get a parachute.

thats falling jenga. the best bit about jumping is the mid point.

cant have a proper weightless feeling with a parachute!

I may be old fashioned, but I thought that bikes were for riding. If I want to jump I'll get a parachute.

So do you get off the bike when the trail gets technical? Do you brake as hard as you can down every hill? Get off when a little wheelie would get you over a trail obstacle?

At least have a try, you wouldn't beleive how much fun it is.

I rode BMX for 6 years and never got that far off the ground tbh (did a bit of park and street but mainly flatland) but the day I did a no footer over a box jump I'll remember forever.

I just love it when you're steaming down a hill and you spot a little water bar or a little bump in the trail you can use as a kicker. Suddenly, and for a fraction of a second, the noise of the trail disappears and maybe you can hear your freewheel buzzing. Then you land, taking up the impact with a little flexing of the legs and arms, and you're away…!

You can use the airtime skills in EVERY trail!

I can jump a little but would love to be able to do bigger jumps, yesterday we went down to Whinlatter and the end of the North loop has some really good jumps, the guy in front of me was getting huge air on every jump but I jumped the first couple then I thought I was going too fast and grabbed the brakes. I would love to really give it a go, think I'll go and get some training!!!

So do you get off the bike when the trail gets technical? Do you brake as hard as you can down every hill? Get off when a little wheelie would get you over a trail obstacle?

No I just ride the bike over them. It's quite possible; that's what bikes are designed to do. I just don't get the idea that unless you spend a lot of time off the ground then you cannot have had a good ride. But then I don't come from a BMX background, my background is road racing and time trials.

sooner or later it will all go wrong.

Not if you ride within your limits. I may be old fashioned, but I thought that bikes were for riding. If I want to jump I'll get a parachute.

How is doing a jump on your bike not riding a bike?

How is doing a jump on your bike not riding a bike?

Think you've answered your own question there.

jenga, same back ground as me

Jedi, I am master of the involunatry nose dive, if you can help me sort this out I will definitely make a trip to see you!!

Must admit to being addicted to air. I spend most of my trail time looking for things to get airborne off. It's a great feeling I guess! I'm only 36 though!

Once at gulley jumps at Swinley a bunch of guys turned up who were all easily in their 40's maybe one or two early 50's and they were taking HUGE air and styling it up with whips, one-handers etc. I watched them for 10 minutes aghast/ amazed then went home.. 😕

No I just ride the bike over them. It's quite possible; that's what bikes are designed to do. I just don't get the idea that unless you spend a lot of time off the ground then you cannot have had a good ride. But then I don't come from a BMX background, my background is road racing and time trials.

No I don't come from a BMX background either, I just had one for a while (I was REALLY rubbish) and really it only taught me how to ride flat pedals. I don't understand why you are willing to learn to ride a bike offroad but completely draw the line and refuse to try and get off the ground. Doesn't make any sense to me – surely that's part of the experience? Not being very good at it is fine (I really can't do it very well at all) but refusing to try I don't understand.

southern yeti, yes of course. thats easy!

Think you've answered your own question there.

Sorry I don't understand what your point is. Are you saying that as soon as your wheels leave the ground you are not riding your bike? How odd. 😉

I really like long and low jumps. I think the highest I've been off the ground recently is about 6 feet but I have gone quite a long way. I have a bit of a block when it comes to big doubles (kickers is it??) it's just too up in the air for my 40 year old bones!

Hey, joolsburger..talking of air did nail that drop on Saturday? 😀