went to the track on sun and played about on the beginners jump course, a line of tabletops about 5ft high maybe.

felt a great deal more comfortable riding it than previous times and was starting to get a feel for pulling the bike up and pushing it down for the landing, but couldn't quite clear the top and get clean onto the down slope. at best would catch the back wheel on the end of the flat – which in itself is a vast improvement on the last few attempts where i was lucky to get the wheels off the ground.

what should i be doing to learn to clear the top, more speed, more technique, mix of both? or is it just a case of riding riding riding and in doing so will naturally get more comfortable and learn to clear?

more speed. that's it. sounds like you've got the hang of controlling it in the air, the thing that will get you smoothly on the downslope is pumping the takeoff more and going a bit faster. probably a little bit of both.

get off the brakes i'd say. played on the TT's a bit at chicksands last time i went down and it's hard not to dab the brakes but once you train yourself not to do it you'll clear them no probs. more time in the air = better control/more time to get your balance right & position your bike for landing.

pull back towards you as you go up the kicker and you go higher

on those tables at portreath it's a combination of more speed and also nosing it in.

and when you get it right you'll carry more speed into the next one and make that easier too.

If you've got suspension it's a good idea to learn to compress it as you hit the take-off, this will add a bit of height and distance to your attempts as it will unweight the bike as you leave the ramp. Works for me 😉

It depends on the attitude of the bike. if you're level in the air and catching a wheel then a bit more speed might help, if you're front wheel high (normal) then just dropping the front wheel in should solve it.

the tables at portreath are built with a proper double-like take off and landing, rather than the usual mtb tabletop mellow take off and tapered landing.

its to teach you how to jump doubles and nose the front wheel in.

A little bit of extra speed will do it, but you can do this with a pretty moderate speed on a small 'learner' jump, it's all about technique if you want to get some height. James rides a Nicolai Helius CC XC bike I think, so you don't need any sort of specialist bike.

nice pic. as in, good style.

I do this, I'm the same on a snowboard too. More speed is the easy way but I think technique is the better way. Not that I can do what he is doing in the photo above by any stretch of my imagination but I forget to actually pick my knees up when I jump if that makes sense. I do all the pumping before I take off and push the front down on landing but in the air I forget about my legs. When I do remember the bike goes higher, I go further and clear the lip. Then I shout yeeehah like the rad dude I am. Next time I go a jumping it will take me 15 minutes to remember not to forget my legs.

cheers chaps. i think it may be my take off that is the main area to work on, i found/find the steep approach quite intimidating in the past and sun was the first time – hell, i'm a 43yr old wheels on the ground leisurely xc rider – i could get a bit more easy on it.

also had a play on the new pump track, again a first for me. great fun that!

Slight hijack, is there a basic technique to staying in contact with the bike on jumps!?! When I try jumps I find myself trying to part company with the bike and my feet lifting of the pedals. If I try to grip the pedals I tend to twist the bike in mid-air as a result of pushing backwards on my trailing pedal I think.

Any tips for this super-basic problem?

Pump tracks are great for learning XC trail techniques, as you've probably realised gav. I have to admit, I poo-pooed helping the building of the pump track by some of the guys at Stainburn (SingletrAction), but came to realise the error of my ways.

The spot pictured above (Buck Woods nr Leeds) is currently having a pump track built.

Jfeb, the way I try to do it is to kind of lift the bike off the lip and get it under me, from watching guys that's the way the seemed to do it to me. Almost a soft bunny hop if that makes sense.