[Closed] Drops and Jumps

would you hit a 4 foot drop to the flat?

would you try to clear a 6ft set of doubles?

Yes

I'm 39 year old father of three - yes and yes to the above but its all about the run in / run out and general sketchiness - I'd hit bigger if they are simple and well made but would avoid if they are not well made and have poor run ins and run outs. If they work and flow as part of a trail I'd hit them no problem. If I'm not 100% confident I won't hit it. If I don't think a mistake would end well or be easy to ride out I won't hit it.

WWRMTBGD?

6ft doubles are just the warm-up set*

(*when on the BMX)

Yes to both but I don't like drops to flat! Also for me it depends on the run in and out, if they're a bit sketchy I lose my confidence.

I think the best thing you could do would be to contruct a wooden ramp in your street.

You'll then be able to go out and specifically target jumping and dropping skills.

Get your two kids to lie under the ramp as an extra incentive to make the jump.

I imagine all your neighbours will be out to see a 41yearoldfatheroftwos dare devil antics, I reckon you'd get quite a crowd.

Yes and yes. But I wouldn't go in blind... would at least want to size them up and check the landings etc before hitting them.

I imagine all your neighbours will be out to see a 41yearoldfatheroftwos dare devil antics, I reckon you'd get quite a crowd.

Haha.. I bet they would, and I can picture the Napoleon Dynamite type crash

Good points on the run ins/outs. The jumps/drops are in a local woods, made by the locals.. for the locals... so not really that well placed, making some of the run ups/outs a bit sketchy... I think if I find a nice tabletop jump with a good run up I would gain a little confidence.

Off to Cannock Chase tomorrow, so hopefully I can find a few to practice on there.

4ft drop to flat, yes.
Was happily dropping multiple 3ft flights of steps last night in the dark and rain on a 100mm XC hardtail.

6ft doubles, yes BUT I really don't like doubles. Those big nasty doubles at Antur Stiniog jumped up and bit me. But I'm guessing they're maybe getting on for 15-20ft. Way too big for me. (Still undergoing physio on torn rotator-cuff).

[edit] late fourties here... blooming youngsters today! [/edit]

Yes to both, at night.

41 year old father of 3 (still hurting from bad crash weeks ago from going too fast on slippy trails 😛 ).

I started playing DH a few years ago, you can still improve your riding and confidence with kids at home and increasing grey hair.

No to the four foot to flat - at the moment. Have built myself up to 2 foot with ease and the occasional 3 footer, but classic OTB recently on the latter, resulting in the loss of a tooth, has knocked the confidence a bit.

I hate doubles. It's all psychological as I'll happily do a table top of similar distance, but cut out the middle bit of it and I get the frights something bad.

Am turning 42 next year and haven't smashed myself up as badly, or as regularly - or had as much fun on a bike - since I was a wee nipper 🙂

44 Father single parent to three here
I taught myself to do ones about two or three foot foot at the Mega last year
Feel better when I have my full face one...shuddered at the tooth out storey funkrodent

Yes, although never in a rush to do a drop to flat.

Losing the tooth wasn't so bad. Have had crashes that hurt a lot more at the time. What really hurt though was the dentist casually mentioning circa £2k for an insert 😯 . Blimey! Even the denture I've got in now cost £250 on the NHofS. Not too bad and my teeth actually look better, though I've had to learn to talk properly again. My missus is unsure about the gap come bedtime, but I've enjoyed slipping the denture into her waterglass at night and hearing her shrieks when she wakes up needing a drink 😀

38 year old father of two, and yes, to both. But that's after a long and unimpressive history of 1, 2 and 3 foot drops. Build it up slowly, get comfortable. As someone above said, if I'm not feeling confident, or think it looks sketchy, I'll walk away.

39 here. No kids but a hefty mortgage!

As with others above - not a fan of drops to flat. Drops to tranny - maybe 8 foot+ The ones on the Matador at Inners are no problem on a trail bike - the 6' is a nastier landing than the 8' one.

Doubles (trail/DH ones) - once I'm warmed up and in the right frame of mind up to about 20'. Used to ride the Bullrun at Chicksands quite a bit and that has a 35' double on which is very easy to overjump. BMX/dirt jump doubles with really steep trannies I'm very not keen on though.

It's all confidence. I'm usually really hesitant the first time I do a new stunt, but after that it's all fine. Usually find that if you can "flow" a trail at it's natural speed the jumps and drops will just happen. It's having the balls to stay off the brakes that's the difficult bit.

Mashed up my shoulder a couple of years back when I overjumped a 25' double by a good 18' on my BFe. WAAAAAYY too quick. Nearly rode it out, but lost the front wheel on some roots... SPLAT!

47 Here. Will happily drop off four feet, but wouldn't touch doubles with a barge pole. Completely cleared the second to last tabletop at Golspie a few years back and suffered a busted toe, finger and burst nose for my "bravery/stupidity", as well as bent bars and a wrecked saddle.

Would love to be able to jump silly stuff, but you need time on the bike for that, and I can't spare it - so I'll just youtube the stuff I can't do and enjoy someone else my age breaking his bones

Seriously you're all old.

I'm a complete pussy but love pushing my own lowly limits so probably yes after some careful deliberation

speaking of altered sense of reality I reckon there could be some in this thread 😀

I overjumped a 25' double by a good 18'

I find that people generally exaggerate distances/height 😉 Can manage doubles/gaps that are roughly a bike length or more between lip to lip and drop anything comfortably from my waist height. I'm 6 2".

I'm building myself up to having a go at a 15ft gap jump next season - I have easily cleared the 15ft table just before it on the run in so I'm mentally ready 🙂 If I clear it I'll be hanging a right and having a go at a 6ft woodwork drop just after. I'll have to wait until May but in my mind its already done.

I'm not really all that brave, but I've found I can drop up to a couple of feet to flat if I carry enough speed and can see the run out. As for jumps, well, this year has seen me looking for excuses to leave the ground on the trail, and thanks to my lad's encouragement I can happily clear skills park type "easy" tabletops, including going for the gaps once I'm warmed up and up to speed. Bigger gaps and mahoosive hucks may not be the future for this particular forty-nine year old with a knackered hip though, but Great Rocks "Jumps for Dads" may tempt my wallet.

Glad I posted, I now don't feel quite so old... just a bit of a wimp!

I also ride alone a lot of the time, which does make me think "what if". I guess time and patience is the key... and I will keep sangobegger's wise words in my head...

Would love to be able to jump silly stuff, but you need time on the bike for that, and I can't spare it - so I'll just youtube the stuff I can't do and enjoy someone else my age breaking his bones

I'd love to be able to do more jumping to build up my confidence but there's no jumps on the Malverns 🙁
When I do an uplift it takes most of the day to build up to hitting the jumps again.

That's 43 feet

I find that people generally exaggerate distances/height

If you ride on Leith Hill - you might know Donnie Darko - on the right, just down from the tower? There's 2 doubles at the bottom (the RH fork as you cross Caspars). The first is pretty small, but the second isn't... It might not be 25' dead, but it's very definitely well over 20'. I'd only done it once before on my big bike with DH tyres on, and I remembered having to pedal like hell between the first and the second jumps. Being on a dinky hardtail with fast rolling tyres on, I carried a lot more speed than I had previously, and the take off was much poppier than expected. I had plenty of time to think about how much I'd bolloxed it up as the landing tranny went whizzing past, but the bike was still orientated right, so I figured I'd try and ride it out.

I paced out the 18' afterwards. It was pretty obvious where I touched down - there was a big tyre shaped divot in the ground, which rapidly turned into a big Nike swoosh stylee front wheel washout.

..and for reference - the DH run at AE about 2.5 years ago...
[url= http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6137/6011268540_40ca32decc_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6137/6011268540_40ca32decc_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]

No to both !

Bit of a wimp when it comes to air time, and if it isn't rollable I don't ride it. Speed bumps are the only things I'll jump off !

Hamsterley table top, dunno how big it is. Some people reckoned 30 feet, I don't think it was that far though. Yeh, it was on a 100mm travel hardtail aswell, wouldnt fancy it on one of those long forked monsters I've seen people struggling to do jumps on.

[img] [/img]

JonEdwards, that is exactly the kind of thing I think I should be hitting.. but get scared just looking at pictures of it!.. you have balls, perhaps a bit squashed after landing the 43' jump 🙂

Rule 1: Don't do anything your not comfortable with.
I've forgotten Jedi's checklist, but it's very similar.

I live by this rule and still surprise myself at what I have done. The drops are getting bigger and the jumps too. I only realise this once I go through the footage afterwards.

If you aren't comfortable with it, you're probably gonna crash.

I think I'd baulk at a 4 ft drop but rollable doubles I'll usually try to clear.
I got the biggest air of my life (so far) last month aged 49 at Swinley on the humpy bit of the blue. I had time to look down at the ground below the front wheel and think 'ooh, that's a long way away'. The reality was probably 4-6ft.

I basically learnt most of that kind of stuff at Chicksands. The dual course is great for learning, the 4x course is a bit harder, then there's the DH runs and drops over the other side. All nicely built and with chicken lines. Plus the DJs. Great atmosphere too, which helps.

Once you've got that dialled, a fortnight in Whistler changes your sense of scale massively. Dirt Merchant to Lower A-line gives you SOO much varied airtime, you just end up getting really comfortable with being off the ground.

Im a young'un who has ridden BMX for the best part of 15 years.

I generally ride what i consider very much to be in my comfort zone (which would easily encompass a 4ft drop or 6ft double) and get very disappointed with myself when i bottle out of something i consider should be in my comfort zone.

I went to woburn and bottled the BIG double the 30ft+ one as well as the big drop from the top into the jump area, i got pretty bummed out.

For me, it's the first pedal stroke, as soon as that is done, i'm normally 99% composed and do it easy. It's the whole nervousness and build up before the first pedal stroke that gets me.

Also, big, long, featureless run-up into something massive are so difficult for me, i have no idea on speed. It's from riding BMX trails all my life, there are generally features that dictate your speed rather than guessing.

I also cant follow MTBers/DHers into jumps, they go way way faster than me to clear the same jump, i just end up going flat at their speed. BMXer pump.

[b]deanfbm[/b] is the username a tip of the hat towards Fat Bald Men?

Maybe some Fire Bikes Mayhem 😉

Great skills on show in the pics.

Chicksands sounds great - i'm going to take a trip over there to see what it's all about. Quite often having a wide variety of stuff close at hand in relatively small area means you can progress more in one session than weeks of general riding type riding where you spend ages looking for the next thrill

..and for reference - the DH run at AE about 2.5 years ago...

4ft drop is about my limit on groomed trails (centre), proper drops that appear on proper trails with rocks, twists and iffy run in/out my comfort zone is closer to 2-3' been meaning to practice but don't seem to get chance

Old photo from Chicksands dual track. First outing on the new bike...

[img] [/img]

the graded step downs at lee quarry they built have got sharp berms immediately after landing so can't really practice on them either

That was the thing that spooked me the first time I went to Canada. It wasn't just one stunt. It was whole swathes of them back to back. Commit to the first and you have to commit to the entire sequence.

That said - drops to berms are lovely. You get so much grip from pushing the bike into the landing that you can rail corners incredibly hard.

Think of this too - all trails are designed to be ridden, and especially a trail centre in the UK - it might look scary but that's to put off the nodders. Carry the natural speed of the trail and apply simple basic technique and it'll come out reet!

Seriously you're all old.

24 is considered old?

I'd second chicksands as a great place to build your confidence with drops and jumps. The place has both in a range of sizes and all within a not enormous are, really encouraging you to session features.

Dangerously close to 40 here, and even after copious application of the Jedi (twice!) i still can't jump for toffee........ 😉

Riding within a group of 30 somethings who are all learning dh and getting faster each month. It's great having people to encourage you on features. 4ft drops will come once you get over the worry of nosediving. Doubles you have to focus on the landing and ignore the gap and it seems much easier. Lower matador at inners has a couple of nice doubles and all you have to do is carry your speed.

Another ex-bmxer here so all too familiar with drops to flat. Doubles aren't really an issue either as long as they're not silly big.

To the chaps who are keen to learn but don't have the facilities - have a go at building your own? I made a little wooden kicker with a separate flat top (pallet) and landing for my eldest and his two cousins to play on out the front of the house. As they got the hang of it, i'd move the landing and pallet back a few inches. After an hour or two they were clearing over 6' (very sketchily though 😀 ) and loving it.

I dont particularly like drops to flat, they can hurt. So I would think twice about 4ft to flat. Would depend on speed too, the faster the better generally.
Recently been liking my doubles, more so since clearing the river gap at Chatel a couple of times. I would say thats about 25ft [img] [/img]

After that I was hitting all the gaps I could find in Winterfold/Pitch inc. Fly Tipper (15-20ft)

This is on my FS. Its a skills compensator. I wouldnt attempt that distance on my HT, but would try 6ft. I really seem to go offline on my HT and land wonky.

40yo with 1 kid BTW 😀

Seen a few vids of that Chatel gap. Looks really nice. Fair play man.

Here's a wee multi jump i built you might like. Big fun!

[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]

43 with two and casing jumps like a bastid 😀

40 with two kids here
Love a bit of air and riding more drops and jumps than ever
Went to Chatel and didn't do the river gap though; it worried me seeing it from the chair lift and the amount of riders braking last minute on the run in
Good work superfli did you check out the drop on Air Voltage? Ridiculous

thanks all, some great advice... let the journey to big air and potentially big pain begin!

The stream gap in Chatel is a bit like the the Flytipper one, in that it's flat as a pancake, so it doesn't require anything other than speed to get over it.

Once you get your head round the mental aspect, it's fine, you can overshoot that by almost double the distance and get away with it 🙂

In terms of gaps on trails, i'll hit most stuff, a lot of the guys I ride with are happy to hit doubles and gaps blind, but that's where I draw the line, if I can't see the lander, I have to check it out.

Drops to flat arn't fun at all. I thought those days had gone!

This is my mate Ste, on his own DIY frame. (I think he was the only hardtail at this race to hit the drop, but I may be wrong)

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/10064972/

[img] [/img]

yes, no, maybe

spent a good few sessions earlier this year hammering the lower jump section on GBU at FoD, to get some confidence in the air, built up to clearing the road gap - great fun

since then, I have ridden almost zero trails with features like that (house move, new job, zero free time :(, only been riding with some new work buddies on natural trails) - so any mojo I accumulated has now vanished and the big bike has hardly been out of the shed, sob.

BTW, kudos to the skills on display in the photos here

I went to woburn and bottled the BIG double the 30ft+ one

This one has escaped me for so long 🙁 I've done the smaller ones next to it which are about the same length, maybe even a bit longer, but the gap looks so much bigger and scarier on the big 30 footer haha. Assuming you're on about the double that's over near the bottom of DT line and skyline that is..

phildaws - Member
thanks all, some great advice... let the journey to big air and potentially big pain begin!

I think the your best bet would be to find (or build) a nice little table top (like those in the Glentress freeride park for example) with a good run in and run out.

And then just practice jumping it again and again.

Once you've mastered the technique that dean referred to, you'll be away. That's the key. For example, here's a pic of someone at hamsterley who probably hasn't mastered the technique, and although they probably cleared the jump (due to their speed), they've got no where near the height they could have got.

[img] [/img]