[Closed] Can`t Jump - Dare`nt Jump

I’d say confidence is the key skill, you probably have 90% of the muscle memory, bike control skills you need to get comfortably aloft and safely back down, more often than not it’s simply head games, the major trouble with riding a trail where there is a jump ahead, is that you know it’s coming, you’ve eyed it up, run through all the potential ways you can injure yourself, and the whole of your run in is spent mulling over your certain death… What you haven’t done is think, yeah I can have that and just ridden it.
It pays not to be too much of a thinker sometimes, certainly on first attempts, it’s the same principle as spotting the right line through a corner, you know what to do, it’s simply a case of doing it and turning down your instinct to avoid risk (easier said than done sometimes I know) but over analysis doesn’t really help, you don’t have to thow down instant 50ft gaps, and all the whips, X-ups and tricks are really just decoration, the odd clean 2-3ft double is not beyond you… Honest…

Being able to precisely pick and place landings and take offs for clearing obstacles like roots, stumps and rocks means you will be able to carry more speed and save energy, and once you’ve learned to read jumps then it’s a skill that can be applied to any trail you ride…

Tried a jump once, landed on my head and bent my finger to the side damaging the joint. Took a few months to get better. My joint is still bigger than the others. I blame it on foot and mouth, all the proper trails were shut. Try to avoid leaving the ground at all costs now.

The funny thing about jumping is that you imagine it must be tricky, but actually it is deceptively simple. Usually people are coming to grief because they are putting too much fuss into it, making it too complicated. Of course the trick is to makes sure that you are doing the correct simple thing, rather than the wrong simple thing!

in all the eyars i have been showing people how to jump and stuff ,everyone is suprised how easy it is.it's almost a let down! 🙂

jenga - open your eyes mate.
picking up the bike, jumping, manualing even whipping is all about keeping flow on the trail.
just the same as planning gear changes, getting out the saddle or timing your pedalling to negotiate a turn would in a road TT.

all these skills can make your ride LESS effort and waste LESS time.

I'm thinking about getting a new bike but would like to start jumping and riding more downhill trails.

Any suggestions on a bike that would be suitable?

Thinking about spending up to £1200, not sure between long travel hardtail or FS.

I'm leaning towards the Specialized Pitch Comp.

advice and recomendations welcome.

chuck, it's not about the bike

for 'proper' jumping it IS about the bike.

you can't ride trails on an XC bike.

learning to jump is not !

Completely and utterly clueless here, would like to be able to do the basic non-terrifying stuff but remain firmly planted on the ground. However, I suddenly seem to have clicked for no apparent reason the most basic move (that everyone else learnt at age 4) of flicking the front wheel up . You don't pull you push! I actually cleared a massive - easily 4 inch! - log on the track recently without getting off / crashing / ending up in an ambulance. Yessssssss! On top of the world for days - Ononeoranges' front wheel in off-ground shocker!

Not sure 1) I could repeat it or 2) I'll be appearing in any rad vids soon.

(Apologies for the rather unseemly enthusiasm!).

tracknico - maybe others will correct me if this is wrong assumption, but most people here will be wanting to safely hit, clear and enjoy the kind of jumps that crops up in the flow of a singletrack, rather than the vertically-faced kickers from a set of doubles. "trails" is a misleading phrase for most recreational cyclists.

I agree, learning to jump isn't but I'm buying a new bike and want to make sure it can take the strain and abuse.

chuck, 🙂

well im sorry to mislead. i was merely suggesting that one would benefit from riding somewhere where the jumps are made to be jumped, and not because the FC guys had got bored and put some lumps in.

in fact i was responding to a guy who siad he wanted to buy a bike to go jumping. to which a more jumping orientated bike would surely be btter suited?

I have a mate who is capable of riding really steep rolling drops, is really fast on singletrack and is dead fit, he cannot seem to land his bike on anything other than the front wheel. Seems this is a common problem.

I'd love to be able to ride the jumps I see on my way down the A3 by the M25 Junction but I think that time has passed so I'm happy to just do the odd 3 footer along the trails.

no he said jump/downhill trails ie a mtb! 🙂

Id love to learn how to ride doubles, so I can ride some trails faster, but the thought of not getting enough air and crashing into the landing ramp scares the beejesus out of me!!!
I can`t get over the fear so cant just hit it for the first time, im sure its just a matter of speed and pushing into the take off... 🙁

You don't pull you push!

he cannot seem to land his bike on anything other than the front wheel

I think learning on tabletops is the way. Once you can clear a 8 foot tabletop the world is your oyster..

ok ok, i dont wanna argue about what bike a fella i dont know wants to buy...

but if he's jumping/doing dh trails only, then choice of bike is important.

So any mountain bike is designed for jumping and downhill tails?

With my limited mtb knowledge, I know that is bollocks.

any mtb will do those things yes. a hardtail,a race xc bike, a full dh bike, a 4inch trael fs......

ok...

If I go for a little ride in the woods at some point I will go downhill and there is a chance of a wee jump or two. That doesn't mean I'm doing DH or dedicated bike jumping.

thats great glen, but if someone is buying a bike specifically to do those two aspects of your ride, and not for your entire ride, then they may be better off buying a bike that does those parts better.

you can't ride trails on an XC bike.

Sure you can. Jedi says 'it's not about the bike', I prefer 'if the rider can do it, the bike can too'

A XC Marin Wildcat Trail and rider...[img] ?g2_GALLERYSID=b86983469532418e82296a265ed7137a[/img]

I've since got a jump specific bike as the Marin wasn't too keen on the bigger jumps (much bigger).

It's probably worth noting that a good landing is usually nice and gentle and isn't that hard on a bike it's cack handed flat landings that snap frames.

Yes.

I know.

I'm not saying anything different.

What I am saying is that those people that think "trail riding" means sky-high built doubles in jeans around yer ankles and pushing your bike if it is uphill are in a minority. Most people just like going for a ride on what they call trails, and want to be able to jump a little and stay safe and enjoy it.

ok, grand thats agreed.

i think chuck knows he wants something a bit more solid anyway.

although euro has nicely pointed out that yes indeed in theory if you buy a cheap 'xc' HT that looks a bit small for you, and then slam the seat right down, you can go get jumping crazy to your hearts content.

The trend is certainly to make the entry level hardtails more over-built. A lot of them anyway. Usually the fork and wheels will be weak spots I guess.

Tracknicko, i'm 6'5" and if you think the xc bike looks small, you should have seen me on my BMX 😆

GlenP, funny you should mention the forks and wheels. The only items I've changed since new. Both upgraded due to breakages. (rear wheel now 48 spoke Halo SAS)

🙂

I eyed a jump up yesterday following scruff....I wish now that I had hit it without thinking, however, I didn't. Now, I don't know if I would have done it. I also bottomed out the suspension too many times yesterday....

Push not pull - I'm guessing this means you push your bike through the jump which in effect causes an upward movement as you go up the "ramp" as opposed to yanking at the bars on take off?

I am a bit of a scaredy cat but love Danny Macaskill's skills. Gravity defying!

correct plus a couple of other things

What about flat jumps, ie just a little ramp and drops? Is it the same then? I always assumed drops where like bunny hops?

drops are simplest.

Just keep riding and weight slightly back?

You know, Jedi i disagree with you. You say to mark, you can do anything on that bike. And yes whilst i'm sure say Darren berrecloth could ride a scott scale, or a giant anthem through a set of doubles or a road gap, he wouldnt. The bike makes a HUGE difference to how easy it is to clear a jump. Lets take say a set of dirt jumps with steep transitions designed for maximum height. Ride it on a dirt jump bike, then a bike for 4x. Both are good for jumps but the dirt bike will be noticably better. Then do some jumps on a 4x track, and surprise surprise the 4x bike will handle them alot better. Could this be because they are the right tool for the right job?

lyon
the technique of drops, jumps etc.. can all be learned on any mtb,
road gaps, 20ft+ drops etc.. all require specialist bikes. but to learn how/why you can do it on any mtb. dont you agree

I doagree with you there... But only to a certain level.I think I misunderstood you at first..

by the way, i have never said to mark he can do anything on his bike. i said he can do anything on a bike. and he can

I bet I know what that is, and if he stops doing it he'll be even faster on everything else too.

Go on then?

TBH I think that my jumping skills might be a slightly diff level to a lot of the other people here, but some serious over the bar landings puts a bit of doubt in my mind.
I have been told and learnt about riding off 2's and riding off 4's, ie keeping your arms and legs as distinct parts whilst taking off, and the importance of keeping fluid in the air but it seems that the faster I go the harder it is to keep all this together. I'm talking 25+ foot jumps where crashing becomes a bit more serious. Still if one of you guys reckons you can remove my doubts it could be well worth the cash.

25ft+. yeah no worries
a rotation problem is a rotation problem. size matters not