I have been building up my drops, maybe at 5ft now(big woop I know), when I land though I feel like my head is being thrown violently towards the handle bars.

Any idea what could be causing it/ how to stop the feeling that I will be splitting my forehead open on my handle bars?
Gratuitous :

Sounds like you're landing rear wheel first. That's a good plan when dropping to flat, but if you're landing on a down-slope, you should aim to land the wheels together (or the front slightly before the back).

I like it, i will try this out tomorrow, thank you sir

Forks too soft shock too hard?

dont try to land before you land!

jedi – Member

dont try to land before you land!
It's too late for riddles Mr Jedi

dont lwer the rear of the bike in the air to land. allow gravity to do it for you 🙂

As Aidan says … it's very common for people to try and land rear wheel first (believing this will prevent an over the bars type accident) landing rear wheel first often has the opposite effect and throws the front wheel into the ground. If you've a down slope landing allow the front to drop the idea is to put both wheels on the ground at the same time. If it's a flat landing still aim to land the wheels together but you'll need more input as you'll be trying to hold (NOT LIFT) the front wheel and keep it at the same angle as your landing.

Stuart

just an observation, but you ride a cross-country farm-gate that's miles too big for you.

you're going to be so stretched out on that thing you'll find it very hard to move your weight around (choosing to weight the front wheel / choosing to weight the back wheel)

just an observation…

How can you tell how big the OP is then?

dont lwer the rear of the bike in the air to land. allow gravity to do it for you

that single sentence is very useful indeed. makes a lot of sense now for me…

How can you tell how big the OP is then?

i took the liberty of hazarding a guess, based on his saddle height.

i work on the rough rule of thumb: if you don't need a 400mm seatpost, then your frame is too big.

(assuming you want to be able to ride drops, tight corners, and control jumps)

and don't get me started on that stem… (does he not like himself very much?)

i work on the rough rule of thumb: if you don't need a 400mm seatpost, then your frame is too big.

Rubbish, do you have 400m of seat post showing when doing drops? How do you know he didnt drop his post to practise?

his saddle might be lowered to do drops etc 🙄

It's bollox that you need a midget's bike to ride drops, jumps etc. Modern DH bikes are looong and their posts aren't slammed

what the blond one said, still makes me laugh that I know people for whom their mucking about bike actualy has a shorter top tube than my BMX*, how they get comfortable I never know.

*21.75"

I had a DMR trailstar for a long while, and whilst it was very good, with anythign under 90mm of stem it was unridable, I tried it with a 45mm one and jumping was horrible.

Rubbish, do you have 400m of seat post showing when doing drops? How do you know he didnt drop his post to practise?

1) obviously not

2) i hazarded a guess.

just trying to help, etc.

he must be 7ft tall if that bike's the right size for him, what is it? a 22" frame?

and, looking at his bike, he rides with a saddle bag, and his pump strapped to his frame – these are good ideas, but suggestive of a novice (or at least someone didn't think 'jumps and drops' when they bought the bike).

i hear lots of people asking for advice on technique, and lots of people think their riding difficulties are their fault, and that they're a rubbish rider. But often, a set-up tweak can work wonders.

and i see lots of people riding the wrong size bike.

X

(no offence is meant by the saddle-bag and pump comments, i tried it like that, but everything fell off halfway down the first rocky descent)

Setting aside the bike size and set up thing and getting back to the nodding head – I think it is very likely that you are not carrying your head up. When you look at the ground you roll your whole head and neck forward – add a little impact from the landing and it is virtually impossible not to get that lurching head nod. So – look way, way ahead. with you head right up. There is no point in looking at the ground – you are definitely going to land!

If your head is being thrown around a lot it suggests that you are landing too hard…

Very useful, I know!

to me it sounds like you are landing very rigidly. although you have suspension on your bike you need to use your knees and elbows to cussion the impact more than what you are currently doing. you need to embrace the landing rather than being scared of it, which usually has the effect of being rigid. upon landing you need to have almost full extension of your arms and legs but then really get low to cussion the impact when you land. the result will be that your head still drops down towards the bar, but with a more controlled, less rag-doll effect and the rest of your body will follow.

plant it!

Thanks for the info guys very useful,
I use the saddle bag/ pump for when im mucking around in my local woods so i dont have to carry a camel pack/back pack for puncture repair kit. Yes my seat was dropped because i was trying to get these drops right and i'm 6'2" with long arms, the frame is 20"

ahwiles
and don't get me started on that stem… (does he not like himself very much?)

Purely out of interest what is wrong with the stem in your opinion?

itsa bit long…

assuming that you ARE 7ft tall; itsa perfectly good stem for stretching you out over the front wheel, which can help with steep climbs if you find that you keep falling off the back of the bike or the front wheel keeps lifting.

however, assuming that you are of normal height, ie, about 5'11" give or take an inch or 2; a stem that long will make a bike that's already quite long even longer, making it very hard to un-weight the front wheel, which is sometimes a good thing to do over drops.

how tall are you?

Said above i'm 6'2" with long arms, the frame is 20"

to be honest i never thought too much about how much difference the stem length would make to my overall ride position

See ahwiles, just right for him by the sounds of it…….

Ah, dontcha just love stw?

just right for him on a XC bike, but if he's tending more towards other things, a shorter stem might put him in a better position for the drops he's doing. Up to him of course though!

Perhaps you need to use bungee ropes and attach them to the back of your helmet and your shorts waist band, that way if your head does fly forwards it'll top at a certain point and then ping back into place.

GLad I could be of help 😆

Perhaps you need to use bungee ropes and attach them to the back of your helmet and your shorts waist band, that way if your head does fly forwards it'll top at a certain point and then ping back into place.

Sounds like you're setting me up for a wedgie mate 😯

Where is that picture.looks familiar?

how did it go not trying to land?

are you practising on the same drop over and over? It might be that the drop doesn't have a steep enough lander. You will find that as you go faster and higher you might be overshooting the landing pad and dropping to flat which might explain the moshing action!

Also not easy to explain (Easier to demo) but if the lander is a little flat you can try 'squashing' it. The idea is that you hunker down into the bike as you approach and as you fly off the drop you extend your arms and legs so the bike extends down into the lander. Then you absorb the impact as normal, this can effectively reduce the height that you drop.

landing back wheel first i bet

To add a twist to the tale…..

It also depends on how fast you are leaving the lip of the drop. I.e. If you are taking it at speed then the advise above holds true (don't drop the rear wheel etc), but if you are taking the drop in a slow, controlled stylee, with an active pedal stroke and pull on the bars, then you do need to land 'very' rear wheel first, with the rear brake on, and lower the front down once the rear has touched…
Basically, are you being a free-rider or a trails rider?!

DrP

never land back wheel first when pedal assisting drops!
or regualr drop technique either

..some interesting points……

http://www.declinemagazine.com/visuals/fluidride/fluidride_vol1.htm

..never land back wheel first when pedal assisting drops…

But again depends on speed…
I mean – in the OP's situation he's obviously riding to 'jump and run out' the drop so would want to land 'flatish', but "in my trials days" that sort of thing'd have you snapping bikes! But, in those situations we weren't 'running out' from the drop – you literally stop still on the back wheel (listen to me! You all know how trials riders ride!)

Forget I said anything as it's irrelevent to the OP! Move along!

DrP

would love to see the OP in the air off that drop. looks big for that bike setup to me…

hang on ive had another look at that pic.

changed my mind. that is never 5 ft. thats about 2ft!