I’ve been trying to learn proper bunny hops recently and am getting close to actually doing it right. As a kid I could bunny hop, but never had the technique quite right to be able to hop up anything much higher than a curb. After 15 years of not riding I have taken it back up and finally got my head around how to do it 😀

How many people have cracked it and how long did it take you to learn?

I can do it.. it took me 5 mins to figure out on flats. Can’t get up much higher than 10-12″ or so though.

Only tiny ones like Mol really. Maybe not even that high.

Probbly ought to practice and get better.

I can do small ones, again maybe a foot high at most – it’s a hell of a lot easier on a BMX than on my Pitch though.

Have you tried dropping your seat? It’s tough to do a “proper” bunny hop with the seat right up.

I can do the yank on the handle bars go strait up in the air type, and i know the principles behind a proper bunnyhop (the one that you kind of manual into then pull the back wheel up) however have not yet perfected manualing so that on is a little bit off yet.

I can, took me a while since I found all the descriptions on how to do it lacking. Once I figured it out though it was easy to pass on the technique to others.

Not going to be jumping any gates just yet though!

however have not yet perfected manualing

You dont need to.

it’s all about practice,

on a good day, 2 ft on a hardtail about a foot on my full sus. used to be a bit higher but not something i practice anymore. not as supple as i was either.

davidtaylforth – Member

You dont need to.

I definitely need more control over them than I have right now, I figure the bunnyhop bit will be easier if I can manual for 2 seconds rather than the 1 ish I am getting just now. Although I am intrigued

You dont need to manual. You pull up quickly on the bars and then the rear wheel almost at the same time. Its got to be done quickly so you use all your upwards momentum from pulling upwards.

If any sort of manual were involved, that would mean you’d be at some sort of balance point on the back wheel and hence you wouldnt have any upwards momentum.

So from this we can conclude my explanations are poor. Sorry

Internet average commute speed vs internet bunny hop heights. 🙂

how do you get the back end up in the air if you’re on flats? i can’t bunnyhop, manual, wheelie or shred the gnar 🙁

I agree that learning to manual is not essential, being able to lift the front without yanking on the bars is. This was the bit that was missing for me as so much of the descriptions focus on getting the back wheel up rather than how to get the front up without loads of effort.

phil, stand over your bike, put one foot on a pedal, hold both brakes, tilt your foot so your toes are pointing down. Then drag your foot against the pedal upwards. The back wheel lifts up. That’s all you need to do, but with both feet when you’re moving.

how do you get the back end up in the air if you’re on flats?

lift with your feet, toes pointed down.

I can’t shred the gnar either.
dip your tows, heals up
push back and up.

For practice forget about the front wheel just ride around trying to flick up the rear wheel.

I don;t drag anything up with my feet – push to get the front up (staying centred on the bike) then push again with your arms and your legs just allow the back to come up as the front moves forward. It’s a sort of S shape with your hands.

dip your tows, heals up
push back and up.

For practice forget about the front wheel just ride around trying to flick up the rear wheel.

I disagree, I did this as a kid and could only manage to hop a bit higher than curb height.

I can but the height isnt what it used to be. Could clear a good couple of foot when a ‘yoof’ but now its hardly over 12″ or so. Still plenty of all the trails i ride.

I do have an issue with kicking the back out though, back wheel over to the left by anything from a couple of inches to a good foot.

I can’t do it either. I’d like to be able to but I have a fixed high seat and SPD’s. Can’t be bothered to lower the former just to make a fool of myself, so probably not much chance of getting it then.

It is my understanding that the front comes up fast, so the mass of the bike as a whole (on average) comes up about half that speed (mass of bike assumed to be in the middle) with the rear wheel on the ground. So while the bike is unweighted, pushing the front back down must (so says Isaac Newton) rotate the bike back level and in doing so will have to also lift the back off the ground..

But I still can’t do it.

kudos100

pulling up on the barrs without yanking is the bit i need to sort out, lifting the back wheel is pretty much covered by RealMan and pastcaring. I also kind of hook my toes round the pedal.

pulling up on the barrs without yanking is the bit i need to sort out

You basically push/pump forward/into the floor and then lean back and pull up in one smooth quick motion.

It is my understanding that the front comes up fast, so the mass of the bike as a whole (on average) comes up about half that speed (mass of bike assumed to be in the middle) with the rear wheel on the ground. So while the bike is unweighted, pushing the front back down must (so says Isaac Newton) rotate the bike back level and in doing so will have to also lift the back off the ground..

I think that’s how you ollie on a skateboard. On a bike you’re lifting both ends up.

Lifting the rear wheel during a proper bunnyhop is NOT done by scooping the rear wheel using the pedals. Certainly not for your normal height bunnyhop anyway. It’s nearly all done by pushing forward with the bars whilst unweighting the pedals to allow room for the rear to come up.

You can make a bike do a bunnyhop when stood next to the bike and not even touching the pedals.

Suspension does not make them easier IMHO about 8 bricks when i was 14 not tried as an adult – clearing bricks that is but certainly higher on SS with forks locked than on anything else. i think it higher with flats as you cheat with cleats and just pull up your legs can still do a 180 as well though the landing is not smoothly into a pedal back

@ Rusty Mac

This is the bit I couldn’t get my head around. I learned to manual and it started making sense.

Rather than pulling on the bars you shift your weight forward and then shift it backwards over the rear axel. As you are doing this your arms will straighten and the front will come up without you pulling it.

You don’t need to know how to manual, but you do need to get your head around shifting your weight back to lift the front wheel rather than pulling with your arms.

I disagree, I did this as a kid and could only manage to hop a bit higher than curb height.

I don’t see how you can disagree. You can say this technique dose not work for you but you can’t disagree that it works as it dose for me and so may for someone else.

kudos100

I know exactly where you are coming from, I have been able to get my head around it for learning to manual and can see all the steps i need to take to bunnyhop in my head I just need to get out on the bike and practice till i get it.

I can’t. Thought i could until i got a lesson and realised i was doing it all wrong.

matthew_h – Member
Lifting the rear wheel during a proper bunnyhop is NOT done by scooping the rear wheel using the pedals. Certainly not for your normal height bunnyhop anyway. It’s nearly all done by pushing forward with the bars whilst unweighting the pedals to allow room for the rear to come up.

You can make a bike do a bunnyhop when stood next to the bike and not even touching the pedals.

+1 .

I’m pretty rubbish at them – but I got a lot better when I realised this. Watch a trials rider doing massive hops from virtual standstill. They get the front up first, then use their arms to push the rest of the bike up in the air. You are just unweighting your legs – not scooping or pulling up the back with them

I find them much easier when I am riding fast at a big log or fallen tree – I can’t seem to practice them without an actual obstacle in the way

Lifting the rear wheel during a proper bunnyhop is NOT done by scooping the rear wheel using the pedals. Certainly not for your normal height bunnyhop anyway. It’s nearly all done by pushing forward with the bars whilst unweighting the pedals to allow room for the rear to come up.

go watch any bmx/mtb street/trials footage. i agree you need to push the bars forward but you lift with your feet and pull your knees up. hence why i said i wasn’t as supple any more.

Yes they’re lifting their feet and knees but that is to do with creating space for the bike to lift into than actually scooping.

if that was the case why do they point there toes down?

matthew_h – Member

Yes they’re lifting their feet and knees but that is to do with creating space for the bike to lift into than actually scooping.

+1

As said keep it smooth, pull up on bars and rotate the motion of the bike forwards. Bend the legs and let the saddle rise up between them.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCFcpSwUyeg[/video]

Unless he’s wearing secret SPDs those feet aint doing much lifting.

@thepurist watch his back foot

kudos100 – Member
@ Rusty Mac

This is the bit I couldn’t get my head around. I learned to manual and it started making sense.

Rather than pulling on the bars you shift your weight forward and then shift it backwards over the rear axel. As you are doing this your arms will straighten and the front will come up without you pulling it.
+ for a manual you drop your heels and push through your arms to get the front up….so the theory goes as I understand it.
Still does not work for me. Can be sitting on back wheel and front is still on the ground 🙄
Probably got something to do with me being old and stiff. Put an obstacle in my way and I can get up/over it if not too big, just don`t expect me to jump, hop or skip over it.
In over 20 odd yrs of biking it has never bothered me. I just ride to enjoy 😆
practice for hours the man says. that is where I have gone wrong!!

I don’t see how you can disagree. You can say this technique dose not work for you but you can’t disagree that it works as it dose for me and so may for someone else.

I disagree as I tried doing it this way for years and I couldn’t bunnyhop without putting loads of effort into it. Just riding around trying to flick up the rear wheel doesn’t really help if you cannot lift the front up without yanking on the bars.

I’ve always thought myself adequately proficent at bunnyhopping.. until two new trails that I’ve been introduced to recently have shown me up considerably..

stone drainage channels on fast loose off camber turns have been the cause of lots of snakebite punctures for me lately.. 😐