I’ve made some progress today with bunnyhops, am starting to get the bike off the ground now.
But this is with saddle slammed as low as it will go.
When I’m on the trail the saddle is higher up for pedalling. I will drop my saddle for downhill and tech stuff so it’s not fully up, about halfway probably.
And when I try and replicate what I’ve learnt with saddle fully down I find it harder to move my weight around and the saddle gets in the way.
So how do you translate the technique to the trail?

uppy downy seat post

Lower your seat.

Find a middle ground for your saddle that is okay for pedalling, but out of the way for the tech bits. This also forces you to get out of the saddle on steeper ascents and helps with fitness….kinda ;0)

Obviously, on longer climbs the saddle can be raised as high as you want.

I’m sure others will say this is rubbish, but it works for me.

In all the years riding I’ve never found time to lower the saddle without interupting the flow, so splashing the cash on an uppy downy post might be the answer but for me it’s as simple as practice

Bunny hops and any sort of jumps are awkward at best with the saddle up. As everyone above says, you want it a bit lower than fully up if you want to do that so of antics on the trail.

That doesn’t mean you cannot do it with the seat up, you just run a risk of getting a seat bump under your bum and ending up over the bars.

you should still be able to hop with your saddle at full extension, just not as high, more practice is all you need.

I don’t think I’ve explained this too well.
What I mean is when I’m belting downhill I’ll already have the saddle down, but not as low as I’ve learnt to hop.
When I come round a corner and find a water bar or mess of roots that I want to hop I’m not going to stop and lower the saddle further…
I’ll carry on practising with saddle as low as it will go and then practice with it slightly higher, at the height I ride

Simple then, just go for it. With practice you will learn what you can and cannot get over.

Different technique, the trials style front wheel then back wheel hop isn’t so useful on an XC bike with the saddle up, i’ve gotten better at pumping the bike into the ground and using the rebound in the tyres to pop me up and over things, means the wheels stay level and the saddle height is less relevant.

Isn’t much use at slow speeds or for very big obstacles, but is fine for water bars and ditches, and of course you can use the shape of the ground to help you (any upslopes or small ‘kicker’ style bumps can ping you a bit higher).

Different technique, the trials style front wheel then back wheel hop isn’t so useful on an XC bike with the saddle up

I disagree. I think it’s the safest way to hop over things. If you miss judge the obstacle and hit it with your front wheel while in the air you will be looking at some expensive dental work.

At the OP; how high are you wanting to jump exactly? If it’s over tree roots then I think it is quite manageable with your saddle up. I would say keep practicing the bunny hop with your saddle higher.

I reckon you’re over thinking it, I learnt to bunny hop when I was a nipper on dads Raleigh winner racer, not willy waving but when you are a kid you don’t over think things you just get on with it don’t you!?

If you’ve got the technique sorted then your saddle being a little higher will make no difference added to that if it means you getting yourself out of the sh1t by clearing the obstacle you will!!

I find it depends on the trail. If I know it’s all downhill then I’ll put my saddle down and stand up. If the trail undulates I’ll try and set my saddle at a height that allows me to sit down and pedal as well as get back behind it and low enough to be able to bunny hop. Like others have said it comes with practice. One of the hardest things I find about cycling is getting the saddle at that all round height for uppy downy trails but it gets easier with time as your skills and strength improve I think.

More practice then…
It’s all about getting over random trail obstacles like waterbars and sticks etc smoothly, instead of jamming the brakes on, and generally adding to my skills, than it is about height and styling it up in the carpark… (although that’s always attractive!)