Bunny Hopping jumps to gain height??

Look at this still from GMBN’s how to jump higher vid:

I’ve put in a line showing where i’d estimate Neils CofG to be as he leaves the lip! Despite the rear wheel being still on the ground, he’s effectively levered himself up and round the chainstays to get his mass about 1M up in the air above the lip!

Me: (sorry, angle not so good as it’s not so side on)

I’m not stood up as straight, and the bars are further from my chest, so i’m not as high in the air as in Neils vid.

Neil DID NOT use paintshop or a go pro or Youtube or the internet to learn how to jump.
He rode dirt jumps.
A lot.

This is all you need to know.

ffs, why didn’t he just say that and make the video 10 seconds long?!

It’s like when Bambi is learning to walk. 😆

noncycler
Neil DID NOT use paintshop or a go pro or Youtube or the internet to learn how to jump.
He rode dirt jumps.
A lot.

This is all you need to know.

No one is saying not to go and practice, but it makes sense to practice doing the RIGHT thing and not the WRONG thing!!

Also, if you watch any of the GMBN stuff you’ll know Neil advocates using video as a critical technique to speed learning.

mrhoppy
It’s like when Bambi is learning to walk.

I’ve heard that Bambi does a mean flat land manual to impress the rest of the deers you know…….

He clears a gap to escape at one point. And he does get the doe.

I’ve put in a line showing where i’d estimate Neils CofG to be as he leaves the lip! Despite the rear wheel being still on the ground, he’s effectively levered himself up and round the chainstays to get his mass about 1M up in the air above the lip!

But to get to that position, he’s pumped the f*** out of the upslope, and kept the back wheel low, which I’m guessing he’s done to exaggerate the moves involved.
You need to concentrate on pre-loading/pumping the upslope, as everything that happens after your wheels have passed the lip is entirely dependant on what you done on the upslope.
For now, concentrate on keeping your body position low into the upslope, then pushing the bike as hard as you can downward as you reach the lip.

It’s one of these things, that when you do get the timing right, you know you’ve got it right. And from your video, you’ve still not got the timing right.

Once you’re getting a good boost of the lip, then you can worry about things like hooking the bike up bunnyhop style to gain extra height under the wheels.

But to get to that position, he’s pumped the f*** out of the upslope, and kept the back wheel low, which I’m guessing he’s done to exaggerate the moves involved.

I don’t think so. That’s him taking off. His back wheel will rise to about the same height as the front at some point. Or possibly more depending on his speed.

And how do you think he got the front so high? He pulled up (or maybe it’s not up, it’s backward? Who knows, but he did something with his arms. It wasn’t just a case of pumping through the transition).

It’s the key to success on smaller jumps, like those at Glentress freeride park for example. Most people just roll/pump through them (like you’d get taught to do on a skills course) and gain no height, because the take offs are not steep enough to boost you into the air without good technique.

If you’ve got good technique (like me) then it’s possible to get a decent amount of height and trick all of the jumps that most people are only getting about six inches of air from.

One local said I was probably the best person he’d ever seen ride there. My mum was so proud of me she bought me a full english breakfast in The Hub.

Here’s a pic of me getting serious air from a relatively small take off, just so you know I know what I’m on about.

Yes, that’s a 38lb, seven inch travel full susser.

Yes, that’s a better table top than most professional mtbers are capable of.

This^^^^ Anyone can get decent air by hitting big jumps at warp9, i want to be able to control how much air i get by applying the right technique/timing! I’m not there yet, but i’m improving, and as mc says, when you hit the sweet spot it’s immediately obvious! (and another reason not to start on big/fast jumps, otherwise the danger is of overjumping them when i hit the right moves)

I don’t think so. That’s him taking off. His back wheel will rise to about the same height as the front at some point.

If you look at the rear wheel, it’s below the natural line the lip would direct it, so he’s had to let it drop at some point, which is probably due to pulling the front up.

The key point I was making, was until you can get a good consistent boost of the upslope/lip, there’s not much point worrying about the rest of the technique to maximise height.

Being serious now (no more pics of me acting like an adolescent)

The best way to learn is……

Leave the expensive bike, full face helmet, race gear etc. in the shed.

Get yourself a BMX, or a dirt jump bike or similar, and a Rampage ramp (if they still make them).

They have their haters, but a Rampage ramp transition is perfect for this sort of practicing. Make sure you prop it against a kerb for a bit more support (I don’t trust them not to move).

Ideally you’d have a kerb, with a pavement or something next to it, into a grassy downslope.

THen just shred it. Over and over again, till you get the hang of it.

mc

The key point I was making, was until you can get a good consistent boost of the upslope/lip, there’s not much point worrying about the rest of the technique to maximise height.

I fully agree, but i guess my point, and the point of this thread was to identify if the technique used to really boost up and away from shallow lips at low speed is one that is able to be built on the basic (pump) technique, or in fact, as i suspect is quite different.

In the same way that the english bunny hop (pump bike evenly down into ground, let it rebound) can only get you over a certain sized log say, but the american bunny hop, that uses your bike as a lever can get you MUCH higher (no idea what the bunny hop height record is but i bet it’s 5x higher than what you can hop with the english version?)

The idea at all times is to get the riders mass up, and accelerating upwards. Where the bike is and how it’s orientated doesn’t really matter (till you get to the landing bit 😆 ) If you crouch, and stand up (pump) through the take off ramp, then the force supplied to the bike by the up-slope is transferred up through your stiff legs, pushing your torso upwards.

If you try to manual up an ramp on the back wheel, it’s clear you’ll have to counter the rising force at the back wheel by pulling back on the bars (otherwise the bike will rotate around the cranks and the front wheel will come back down). When you pull harder than that force, you are adding energy, causing the bike to continue to rotate up and away from the ramp, lifting your ass and accelerating the rider skywards!

I wonder if placing a small obstacle just after the take off lip, and using that as a target to bunny hop might work? ie, get the timing right?

How has jumping been made into such a complicated subject?

You hit stuff, you may or may not fall off (you’re not trying hard enough unless you fall off), it’ll just come.

It’s not hard

Just slightly OT, bunny hop world record attempt 2014:

How has jumping been made into such a complicated subject?

It can be tricky if practising riding your bike involves getting dressed up in some fancy clothes and a protective helmet, and then driving a couple of hours to some jumps 😉

Max, or should I call you “MaxTalk” – I think you need more action and less words. Get a bike and go and practice. Find a well lit car park with some form of slope/ramp around it; that’s good enough to practice on. You could even practice off a dropped kerb/hump backed bridge/any other kind of slope.

Please report back with how you get on

I wonder if placing a small obstacle just after the take off lip, and using that as a target to bunny hop might work? ie, get the timing right?

Yes, this works well. An empty pop bottle would be ideal.

I wonder if placing a small obstacle just after the take off lip, and using that as a target to bunny hop might work? ie, get the timing right?
Yes, this works well. An empty pop bottle would be ideal.

A pop bottle…. or you could set the bar a bit higher: Instagram Link[/url]

I was thinking that was as impressive as MX step-up!……….. then he ate shit 😀

Your weight isn’t far enough back on that vid.

Middle aged mountainbike rider? Tick
internet preparation of stuntage? Tick
Paintshop software usage? Tick
Slow motion filming? Tick

Ps. “Kye Forte ‘kin Rules!” [Sprung]

Build. ride. make friends. hit jumps. smile. 😀