Forum menu
Two often conflicting schools of thought i find....
One requires a "mini manual" - Pull back on the bars and weight through the feet, the other seems to be the "mini hop" pull back on the bars (as the first option) but then also de-weight the feet.
I'm a bit more of the second one. What's your preference?
Surely it depends on the drop?
For 'normal' trail-centre drops I tend to just lift the front (possibly with a pedalstroke if I'm not going fast enough) but for bigger ones you might want to 'pre-jump' it. But as I said, it depends on the drop IME.
Second option. Means both wheels land at the same time
No pulling or mini anything. I just move my weight back on the bike and that's it. Simples.
badly 🙁
Depends if it's a jumpy drop or a droppy drop really. But i guess in the logic of the question i think..... I don't.... i forget it and find an alternative.
Neither - you use a push to get the front wheel up.
Surely it depends on the drop?
Fair point - I'm talking about any drop where a drop in the front wheel would cause an OTB moment. So possibly 3 ft+. And nothing where you get a pacey run up as speed often hides all manner of sins 🙂
Just lick the stamp and send it.
Neither – you use a push to get the front wheel up.
Yes, as per a manual as i said- you still have to pull the bars up though.
Big old tug on the bars. Respect the send.
No pulling or mini anything. I just move my weight back on the bike and that’s it. Simples.
Consider the physics
I would often unweight the back wheel a bit, but more so it doesn't kick me over the bars than a "jump".
I'm definitely more of a "drop" kind of a guy than a "jump" kind of guy.
Two often conflicting schools of thought i find….
One requires a “mini manual” – Pull back on the bars and weight through the feet, the other seems to be the “mini hop” pull back on the bars (as the first option) but then also de-weight the feet.
I’m a bit more of the second one. What’s your preference?
I always hated drops (I'm not a massive fan now, but at least I can ride them, and sort of, almost, maybe slightly bigger than average ones, occasionally, if I'm feeling brave).
I went on not one, but TWO courses to try to break my fear of them.
Course 1 was at 'Degla with Neil Donoghue who taught the 'mini manual' technique, partly I think because it was a drops and jumps cause and there's some cross-over if you can do it that why.
IMHO, it's by far the worse of the two to learn at first, it requires you to do a lot more, whilst thinking a lot more and more importantly needs to be timed right or things can go badly wrong. If you can manual well it's probably okay, but I'm yet to meet a rider who can manual as long as they like who can't already ride drops well.
Course 2 was at BPW, they teach the easier, less flashy version, keep you head up and that's pretty much it*, if you're in the right position I.E. normal attack position and looking 10m down the trail, you can't really **** it up, you can make sure your weight centre is behind the weight centre of your bike, but just looking up will usually do that and you'll land pretty much both wheels at the same time, even if you 'stall' because you're going a bit slow, you'll still roll it out if you're far back enough.
Once you can do that, you can add finesse later.
*this stops you looking at your front wheel. Lots of people nervous of drops look at their front wheel, because that's the scary bit, if you do your weight is over the bars which means you'll roll over the edge rather than straight out and if the drop it more than 2ft, probably straight onto your face.
Hob Nob
Big old tug on the bars. Respect the send.
Yuh! 😀
I only recently old dogged the learning for this. My son laughed as I practised the same drop 5 times until I got it right, but it had to be done - I don't believe I tugged or pulled. Just used legs, body & much style.
Only time I really tug on the bars is going up a kerb on my road bike. (I have to pull this move every morning, so have it dialled (most days))
I hop, because then I feel more in control of everything. It's not the bike simply rolling off, it's me actively jumping off and landing on the other side. It's a very small hop of course, I don't want to sail too far.
at BPW
Ah, yeah, there's quite a biggun on Root Manoeuvres (I think)... kid flew down that. I walked. Gutted. I'll do it next time though.
We teach kids the manual technique. Start over logs then progress to small rollable drops, then bigger ones that can't be rolled. Yeah, you can just blast them and look up, but with kids the speeds might be low so we want a technique that'll see them right at any speed.
Does depend on the drop and speed.
Fast and small, I just ride over it, so I suppose my attack position and speed means I don't have to do anything.
Massive death type drops, well I pop the front a bit sort of like you would lift the front over a small branch, just by pushing through your feet. Trying to land both wheels first.
Certain death type drops, that may be vertical or undercut to start with but then turn into a slope, well those I unweight the front wheel and look to place it on the slope and ride it out. Those are the ones where the drop is just too big to land.
Yes, as per a manual as i said- you still have to pull the bars up though.
It's possibly phrasing / how it feels to you, which affects how you describe it, but I don't have any feeling of 'pulling'. That to me would mean elbows bending and the bars getting closer to my chest.
I push the bike forwards and away with arms and feet and as the arms extend the front wheel rotates up. Same as when you pop the front wheel up to flip the bike over to change a wheel, or wheel it through a kissing gate, etc.... you don't get the wheel up by 'pulling' although clearly your arms are causing the wheel to come up.
Small drops with no gap would be a manual. If there is any sort of gap to clear, or a lip then it would be a hop.
Everyone should learn to do a small manual and bunny hop. I've got friends that can't do either and it's very limiting I find.
I tend to favour the “look like I’m doing a poo” method
It’s no wonder it’s hard to coach MTBing well because I’m struggling to say what I do in words... Kind of a preload with the feet and a push with the arms. Harder preload if I’m going slower, more arm push if the landing’s steeper.
That’s a fair size Col!
* both brakes on almost to locking
* speed < 2mph so there's no momentum to throw me over the bars
* arms locked just in case
* fixate on the front wheel and watch it crawl over the lip
* brace for a pedal/crank strike
* the rear wheel rolls over the lip
* relief as the bike levels out and I haven't fallen off
Trying to land both wheels first
??? 🙂
As mentioned above, if it's a drop of any significance I push the bike forward to lift the front wheel.
Like this
http://endeavourcoaching.co.uk/how-to-drop/
Id say three trails of thought for this, with the third being this:
No pulling or mini anything. I just move my weight back on the bike and that’s it. Simples.
Basically squashing the drop through body movement only
That’s a fair size Col!
fnar, fnar!
It’s a funny one because the gap is a bit small for the height so you have to brake a bit on the run in and go quite slow or land to flat. Hence my weird body position in that shot.
send or be sent
My arse was knitting buttons watching that..... getting to that point where you've somehow got the bars in front of your legs and no means of escaping and yet still you know you're going over the edge. The time between departure and landing must have felt like an eternity, just waiting to see how bad the impact'll be.
pull and pray, pop and drop, or nose manny. only you know best. #sendyfortheboys
I did a skills course years ago at Llandegla with Bob Campbell & we were taught the manual method of loading the pedals & then almost pushing the bike away from you with your feet as you go over the edge. I seem to remember the emphasis was on NOT yanking on the bars, but pushing the bike forwards away from you.
I was impressed that I went from not attempting drops properly at all, to dropping off a fairly high obstacle in of <1 hr.
But, having barely practiced this over the years, I would say this is my preferred technique:
* both brakes on almost to locking
* speed < 2mph so there’s no momentum to throw me over the bars
* arms locked just in case
* fixate on the front wheel and watch it crawl over the lip
* brace for a pedal/crank strike
* the rear wheel rolls over the lip
* relief as the bike levels out and I haven’t fallen off
Problem is that there's not really anywhere local I can practice on & when we go to places with drops, it's hard to go round and session them for a while to gain confidence.
As mentioned above, if it’s a drop of any significance I push the bike forward to lift the front wheel.
Like this
> http://endeavourcoaching.co.uk/how-to-drop/
That is kind of a manual. The "unweight the bike as it goes over the lip" technique which I think it what @oikeith and whoever he was quoting said is different. It is like in that video, but done later. You move your weight down and rearwards (having first risen up a bit, and also a bit forwards) just as the front wheel goes over the lip. I tend to do that, if the movement is great enough and well timed, it works down to quite low speeds. Obviously at really low speeds you need to manual or wheelie off the lip.
The point is avoiding forward rotation. If you just did nothing, there would be a period when your rear wheel was supported but your front wheel not, leading to a momentary imbalance (the faster you are going, the more momentary it is, so the less problematical the rotation). if you unweight the rear wheel completely during that time, there is no rotation and you launch off level.
I think I could have a reasonable guess at who on this thread has been Jedi'd...
"every action has an equal & opposite reaction"
Hurling my body out into the void, attachment to bicycle optional.
actually I have been jedi’ed, there is no drop, only success
Ah I see, the jedi method appears to be a variant, the "Mid-Atlantic bunnyhop before the lip" approach. Same idea in terms of unweighting the rear wheel for long enough to clear the lip. Different from the manualling approach, where you ride on the rear wheel (keeping the bike relatively stable forward/backward rotation wise) as you go over the lip. Same end result, the bike stays level.
Colp... That's Austria? If its the one I'm thinking of, there are a bunch of dodgy jumps/gaps there. The landing on that one does not look nice, you could really send it and do some proper damage!
With drops I have no idea what I do anymore! Close my eyes, hope for the best and then pretend I'm a cool guy when I land it. I certainly don't lean back, body in a neutral position so the front doesn't dive and the rear lands at same time as front. As someone else has said, speed helps hide a multitude of sins!
This is how a ride drops (in my mind)....
In reality it's a combination of manual technique and body position to keep the front up, and the pushing the front down to the landing, all depending on speed and the size, shape, angle of the drop and landing.
Colp… That’s Austria? If its the one I’m thinking of, there are a bunch of dodgy jumps/gaps there. The landing on that one does not look nice, you could really send it and do some proper damage!
Spot on mate, X-line in Saalbach. There's 2 smaller drops before it and the bigger of the 2 is actually sketchier than this one. But yeah, with this one, if you hit it too quick you'd definitely be needing your EHIC card!
That Jerryoftheday vid above looks like Fade To Black in Whistler? Awesome trail.
I don't like the pushing the bike forward idea because my weight ends up rearwards, and I feel less able to control the attitude of the bike in the air.
When I say hop, what I mean is a little unweighting of the bike to stop the nose diving. Unless it's a small lip and I want more air, then I hop as much as I can.
does nobody else go for a 360 with optional superman ?
geex ?
anyone ?
I normally go as quick as I can, then throw my body weight backwards and hope I don’t die. This has had a variety of results from clearing decent drops to comedic OTB and other crashes. I really need to save up for a skills course.