Oh yeah, ignore half the YouTube vids that tell you wrong way.
So if I can't bunny hop how do I tell which videos are right and which wrong?
If the instructor can consistently bunny hop over lets say 50cm then they're probably doing it right.
I've been meaning to learn to bunny hop for ages, and if I'm not going to do it now I'm probably never going to do it.
While I can pop the front with reasonable reliability, and dropping your toes and kicking the back up is easy, but linking them together into a fluid movement just seems impossible to me. It's like trying to do two completely opposite things at the same time. I know one follows the other, but I still can't do it.
I'm using my Genesis Longitude - rigid steel B+. It's ideal in a lot of ways - no suspension to complicate things, but a bit of cushioning from the big tyres. It is heavy though, and getting its arse in the air does need a bit of effort. I guess that's not helping.
No secret to it. It's just practise. One day, you just, get it.
As kids we just keep trying. Do that.
Aye, will keep at it (well, maybe give my sore arms a little break).
It’s like trying to do two completely opposite things at the same time.
It is two opposing movements, really, until you add upwards movement. Once you do that, lifting the back wheel isn’t about leaning forwards and putting the rear wheel in the air, nose down. It’s a levelling off movement and it becomes fluid.
I find it helps to imagine accelerating my core (chest area) directly upwards (not forwards). Obviously only small amounts initially, but really exaggerate for big hops.
I think it's quite a complex motor skill.Like learning most of these things some folk are good adaptive learners and can change and sense the feedback from what they are doing to change the outcome until they get it....and then hopefully it sticks .Whilst others are not so good and will just repeat the same thing a 1000 times expecting a different outcome.
It's such a fun game changing base skill to have ,so.....keep at it,if what your doing isn't working change it/experiment. Maybe switch off the digital breakdown of the separate movements of it......get more analogue - merge/blur them into one fluid motion .
Off the back of this thread I signed up to the Ryan Leech Connection (not sure if the link helps out stw?). I can sort of bunny hop already but not anything that's useful (maybe a few inches high across a foot). First impressions are really good, there's a lot of content (I imagine some would maybe argue too much filler) but it breaks everything down into some really handy drills where you can think about what you're supposed to be feeling/taking away. I think for me its knowing what is supposed to feel easy and what you need to build up strength/muscle memory to do. I always feel really self conscious dicking around doing this sort of thing, it feels like thats what I should have done when I was 12 and I'm too old now! Hopefully I'll get it soon, would love to be able to reliable clear trail obstacles like say a fallen tree. I've managed to pop a few manuals now where I've felt I'm getting close to a neutral point (and freaked out because I think I'm going to loop out!)
I find that learning it "off" the bike helps a lot. Literally stand next to the bike and lift the front. Then roll your wrists forwards (holding the bars tight) and pull the back wheel level at the same time. You'll feel a tit but it helps get that motion without fighting your body weight. Once you've nailed it fluidly then start doing it on the bike, and like others have mentioned, use your core to accentuate the movement.
I find that learning it “off” the bike helps a lot. Literally stand next to the bike and lift the front. Then roll your wrists forwards (holding the bars tight) and pull the back wheel level at the same time.
I tried that after watching the Phil Kmetz video. I found it pretty much impossible to get the rear wheel off the ground doing that - I think because of the weight, but mainly because of the rigid fork. Might get the full-sus out and try it. And yes, I felt a tit too 😀
I can sort of bunny hop already but not anything that’s useful (maybe a few inches high across a foot).
I think you're wrong. If you can bunny hop at all, then you can clear 99% of trail obstacles.
Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that being able to bunny hop higher isn't a good skill. It is, particularly since it can get you out of trouble E.g. if you are suddenly hurtling towards something unexpected.
But aside from dicking around in car parks or showing off, you rarely need to do massive bunny hops! For me, I'll only bunny hop to clear something if it's properly big - at a guess > 8" at least - and even then only if there's a very flat run in / run out. Pretty uncommon on most trails. Anything else, I'll ride over it doing a small pop to unweight my bike and let the tyres/suspension do the rest of the work. In most scenarios, maintaining tyre contact with the ground is more controlled, anyway. You can already do this!
If you do want to go bigger, it sounds like you have the technique, you just need to learn to put more explosive power in. This still takes practice to tune your efforts, otherwise you'll be unbalanced. But being able to move your weight around and 'go light' over stuff is much more important for general trail riding.
It’s like trying to do two completely opposite things at the same time. I know one follows the other, but I still can’t do it.
TBH, bunnyhops aren't the easiest way to get over obstacles. The roll-up technique is easier and safer, but you need to slow your speed, but it's still faster than getting off the bike.
It's basically a slowed down bunnyhop and you land your front wheel on the obstacle before lifting the rear onto it. To start with you want something you can comfortably get more than the full bike length on top of, but with practice (good timing) as long as you can land the front wheel on top the obstacle you can lift the rear wheel in the split second before the front rolls off.
As soon as the front wheel is on the obstacle you unweight the pedals, scoop with feet and push the bars forward.
This Duncan Shaw video shows the roll up technique (along with a few others):
Yeah Superficial, I see what you're saying but I don't feel confident using it out on the trail. To do my paltry effort I feel like I'm getting kind of out of shape and I don't have the confidence that I'd definitely clean the obstacle, even something like a big root. I'd like to go bigger so when I do get to something like a a big root cluster I know confidently I'll clean it. Looking at videos of myself vs. people who can do it properly I see I'm not getting my weight back enough so I don't get the front wheel high at all, which is where it all goes wrong!
You need to be 5'8". Over that its an impossibility.
some simple but key things worth trying that are often missed off the bunny hop how-tos:
roll your wrists down and almost imagine you are lifting the bars with your thumbs, it'll help pull your elbows in and improve the pull and lift action. Elbows out will pull your weight too forward. If you have massive wide bars You can try moving your hands in so they are closer together as this can help the action.
Try dropping your back heel as you are doing the pull, it can help shift your weight back and then roll it so the toe is down as you are lifting the back wheel - dropping the heel can help this to happen automatically.
You should be pulling the bar in towards your hips then you push away as you lift your feet and the back of the bike. Again, having the wrist down makes it easier to push against the bar and the back pedal pick the bike up.
One other thing to try is to stand next to the bike, lift the front wheel but keeping the back wheel in the same spot on the ground then push the bars forward - the back wheel will lift up on its own. That's the weight transfer that gets the bike in the air, the trick is to be on it 🙂
This is a bmx video but it shows the action really clearly. Same concept on MTB but the timing is a bit different / slower
Thanks joemmo.
I'm still trying, doing laps of the garden for about half an hour a day. Wearing a track in now 🙂
My garden's just about big enough to do a loop with an attempt at a bunny hop in it, but I can't carry any speed into it. Do people find it easier to learn with more of a run up or does doing it slower help?
I need to work on getting the back wheel up and connecting that with the front wheel pop - I can do that bit so I'm probably making the mistake of popping the front enough to do a massive bunny hop which I can't follow up. My front wheel's writing cheques my back wheel can't cash.
Watching the slow-mo step-up in that video sirromj posted, it's amazing how little movement he seems to make to pop the front up - there's no pedal action he must be doing it all with his bodyweight. Looks effortless but I imagine it's not.
Made a mess of my shin anyway. Before this must have been the first time in a long time my shins have been completely scab-free from not riding :-/
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No problem Northwind, keep at it. A little speed will help, mainly because you'll be better balanced but the hop doesn't really depends on it. Lifting the front wheel is done by pulling your weight back and up rather than lifting the bars with no body movement. Also if you're doing this with full suspension it helps to kind of pump the bike down hard with your feet at the beginning of the movement. This compresses the suspension so it soaks up less effort and you get a bit of boost from the rebound
