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Love how brendog makes it look so easy. Might have a go at something like that myself..
Pretty sure I've never ridden a 3ft drop out on the trails, but have on rides from my doorstep, on features of the urban coastline, when I've wanted to practice. I don't have great technique, so usually use speed. Got a street trials bike recently so started trying to do drops with as little momentum as possible. Had to move back down to much smaller heights. Finding it difficult to get the timing and the motion right each time.
Good example of the technique with Ali C making it look easy at 4:53
That movement Brendog does, that’s exactly how I visualise doing it in my head (thought I doubt it’s even a tenth as well executed) but I’ve never done it off anything higher than about 8’. The size of that blows my mind - his run at Rampage was amazing.
How do I do drops? with great fear usually even on the small yins, anything bigger, I'll either bump down, find the smoothest line, or just plain get off! 😆
I was not built to fly!
That Jerryoftheday vid above looks like Fade To Black in Whistler? Awesome trail.
It is indeed.
The video of Brendan in terms of 'form' looks pretty much bang on to me.
Hora style.
Do not bounce your arse off/stop the back wheel, Jenvenator style!
Interesting technique (pushing the rear wheel down with your legs) I've never heard discussed anywhere, is in the Ben Cathro video below. Anyone who has ridden proper DH trails, will know drops on them can be really tricky, in corners, where the luxury of speed isn't there to prevent disaster, or in sets with sketchy takeoffs and landings!
Drops with manicured takeoffs and graded landings, found at most bike parks are the easiest of the lot (well until they get really big). The absolute worst for me are the slow, really steep ones with holes and/or step downs just before the takeoff and bowled out landings, which g-out the bike and can stall it and buck you off, if you are not strong and positioned right on the bike.
#whatwouldbenderdo?
(can’t believe this hasn’t already happened in an STW thread on drops...)
Roll off and give the bars a bit of a shove forwards. The mini hop thing looks gash, and surely won't work at slow speed. I only hop off a drop if there is a root or something you might stall the rear wheel on at the lip. I have a drop near me that is on a downhill slope, you are breaking going into it to control your speed, then let the brakes off and unweight the front a little and off you go to a landing about 8' below, hopping off that would be near impossible.
Edit - Anyone who wants to session drops I've a few built near Preston if you want to have a practise.
Kinda of like a manual, i shift my weight back and use my legs to push the front forward but not really up, as i'm aiming to keep the bike level in the air, then straighten my body in the air to absorb the landing.
(This might be a terrible technique)
does nobody else go for a 360 with optional superman ?
geex ?
anyone ?
Front flip
<p>As qwerty posted... Still practicing</p>
Of all the situations for your manual to end prematurely...
The Cathro technique is for small ones that you can (in effect) pump? Yet another variation!
I like to slam the front wheel into the landing while still having the rear wheel on the top and hope the geomtry of bike and drop have something in common.
I did the wooden ladder drops at the Rothorn lift station in Lenzerheide at the end of season. Wooden "park" features are a mind warp for me. Facing up to the perfect sized ladder drops with perfect landings meant I had to get my head around the gravity of the situation; typical bike park features with a gradation from small to large but the small was still significant. I usually don't cope well mentally with man-made stuff because I presume the size range goes from "competent" to "confident" to "just not me".
Here's what happened. I was confident that day...
Little one was fine. Moved onto the middle sized one; that was fine too. Did it twice to make sure I'd not fluked it. Didn't really have any qualms rolling into it. Correct speed for both of these was a gentle roll in; nothing more.
Big one was lurking there and felt like an opportunity that I'd regret if I didn't take it.
It was a real struggle to get my head around; I'd obviously defaulted to viewing it as a "just not me" feature but I also knew my riding was as good as it has ever been. I looked at it. More distance to make; bigger drop overall - maybe 3m; maybe more; I'm not good at judging. It just felt huge. Important to not case; important to not overshoot. The only people I'd seen going off it in the preceding weeks had been yoof on DH bikes. I'm not yoof and bike was a season-weary enduro machine. But I had a factual basis for feeling confident; confident in the way I'd been riding all over the mountain; confident in the bike I knew well having ridden it all season.
I resolved my mental struggle into a decision about the "right speed" to carry into the drop. I locked that into my mental program and rolled in. No problem; slightly heavier landing than the middle size; maybe a bit short. Lined up again; locked in my mental game; rolled in: heavier landing; a bit over-excited trying to over-compensate for coming up a little short before; possibly touched down the rear wheel first so had a bit of slap bringing down the front which is the opposite of what's required. Tried it a third time; still needed to play my strong mental games to take myself off the edge; used "relaxation" as the key target state: nailed it.
Technique for all sizes of drop was just about the same: 1. have a plan; 2. visualisation; 3. keep it simple at launch; a mild impulse to leave the lip (if anything) and a softening at the hips for the rear wheel tracking off the lip; 4. keep the mental game solid for having a good ready position in the middle of the bike; ready for anything.
For me, "a manual" is something I visualise as a high energy move that has a significant percentage chance of my not executing it correctly. It involves pushing through the feet; pushing through the back wheel. Done incorrectly, that hard force delivered to the back wheel could turn into the dreaded forward rotation. Manualling off the launch also means you're in a back wheel heavy position for an obstacle where you're planning a front wheel first or both wheels touchdown. That sounds crazy to me; far too much to sort out in flight.
My technique is more a "squashing" technique; I'm taking energy away where I can; I start by a small impulse to keep the front wheel up (I suppose manual-like, but miniscule) then the softening at the hips means I'm lowering my body mass early (meaning there's less drop still to come) and in the air I have range of motion to either extend out to the landing or let the bike come into me even more to take the edge off casing the landing if I'm coming up short - I used both those contingencies in my attempts on the big drop.
That's all for artificial features with a horizontal launch but I don't think much changes on more natural features. The key is to have a good position, good mental commitment and good visualisation. If you have a good position over the bike with range of motion in your arms and legs, you're ready for most things.
^^^ Great response that. Cheers
I do think the way Brendog does it on that massive boulder drop is the only way you should learn to do it. You can manual off a drop but it's a less reliable approach for sure. Brendog's body movement can simply be adjusted for speed, size and angle by varying the push and timing with both hands and feet. It's not hugely dissimilar to the manual process but it's definitely not trying to manual off a drop, and it can vary from a hop-like pop to a squash depending on how you initiate it.
Badly!
The best advice I was given was to push the bars away from - then by the wonders of physics the bike stays flat in the air and you land flattish. doesn't work on the tandem tho 😉
I am actually rubbish but my preferred technique is as follows.-
Correct speed. I imaging a pencil being pushed off a desk, too slow and it nosedive and go into near vertical flight, correct speed has it flat landing a safe distance from the take off , too fast and it overshoots tthe correct landing zone.
Body position , weight central, armsbent, knees bent , head up , looking at landing zone.
Then its drop heels and drive bike through the BB with an upward trajectory aiming at the front fork crown. No silly yanking on bars , or pickig the bike pedals with your spd's. This can lead to a bike getting sideways and squiffy in the air as one arm is always dominant.
Then , as the feet push the BB forwards the arms also do the same , but softer, moving the body back as the bike leaves the lip. This enables me to extend the bike torward the ground whilst airborn and adjust the attitude of the bike in the air by incresing or decreasing pressure on the bars, better than being a dead sailor and freezing whilst in the air.
Aiming for a front wheel touchdown and compressing elbows and knees to absorb the hit , also seems to help the bike roll through the transition between flying and rolling .
This is the technique i would use when i am brave enough to ride off a drop , albeit maybe 2 -3ft maximum
Unless it's a trail centre style, which usually have a straight run in and out, I try and stay as central and 'fluid' as I can. Throwing your weight back ain't a great option if there's a bend straight after it frinstance. Lots of the trails we build locally have berms straight after jumps/drops, I find that I like to land slightly nose first in these, to get the weight and traction right for the start of the corner.
No one size fits all approach but there are certain things you don't do.
That is get so far back you lock your arms or put weight all on the front.
Generally stay flexible and in control of the bikes position. hold the front up.
I pull a small wheelie and ride off as have no other choice given I can't stop pedalling.
I'm generally pretty rubbish - my main technique is manualling off the drop for slower speeds. If going quick enough I just generally move my weight back a bit to lighten the front.
It really depends on the drop, but mostly I just "unweight" and try to angle the bike to land both wheels at the same time, if i'm going fast.
If i'm going intentionally slow, i'll manual or wheelie off it, but still try to get the bike to land flat, if not rear wheel slightly earlier.
If i'm going accidentally too slow, and the drop takes me by surprise, I use the "if in doubt, push it out" method, and get the bike as far in front of me as I can, usually ending in a hard front-wheel first landing, or occasionally OTB...
All of that said, I haven't done anything that would be considered a big drop, since I was a teenager on a Raleigh Burner, and I was made of rubber.
Meant to link to the video below in my original post. Although not drop specific, it's probably the most comprehensive scenario based video on YT and is a great learning tool in conjunction with others and of course doing.
Just be thankful I've linked videos rather than ramble on explaining my way, for a page or two, leaving everyone non the wiser!
Right gentlemen here is an example of a pedal kick drop. For the love of god don't try this unless you are already a dab hand at drops and a bit of a brute! Otherwise you could become a victim like so many before you, in my favourite genre of YT video, flat bed truck to face!
I just stand up. Jedi taught me that.
I don't do huge drops but Jedi's method works for me.
I was honestly just glad to realise that I am not the only person that walks the bigger drop on Roots Maneuvers... I'm off to tackle it again on the 14th. Maybe this time I'll ride it.
Next time I comment, I'll probably be bashing out a replay with my nose!
Jesus, the only time it's mildly complicated is if it's a drop out of a slow corner that requires a trials bike technique.
Every other drop can be taken succesfully, with the smallest little "pump" - you are pushing the bike forward - not manualing.