I have always struggled to carry speed when riding through a ditch, and in the local woods there are a couple of ditches where the singletrack goes through the ditch (perpendicular to the ditch). A mate can ride without appearing to slow down, I always slow right down in case my front wheel stops and I go over the bars.

Ditches are both about 4 feet from crest to crest and about 2 feet deep, with the bottom of the ditch about 3 feet across. Neither are really possible to jump (there is no run up or easy landing), and too deep to manual through. What’s the best way of getting through the ditch without losing speed?

Pump it!

Manual it or Jump it.

A mate can ride without appearing to slow down

Watch how your mate does it 🙂

Pump it?

There’s a load at Swinley like that, the one on seagull is about 2ft deep and 2ft across, just push the front wheel right in to the downslope, then unweight it so it comes out and push through with the rear.

Get it right and you’ll be faster coming out than going in.

I’m inclined to say you could bunny hop it, assuming you can maintain some speed on the way up to it. If you can’t bunny hop it, maybe try buying an Orange 5.

I would go with Jimjams suggestion, buy a Five then you will be way quicker than your mate.

It’s just like a bomb hole – pump it. I have one just like this, except maybe 8 ft across and 6 ft deep with 45 degree slippery slopes and a muddy puddle at the bottom for good measure.

You cant pedal up a 45 degree slope so only momentum will work. Approach moderately fast and standing tall, and push the bike hard down the slope by squashing down rapidly on the pedals as you go over the edge. Both you and the bike will be rebounding by the time you hit the upslope. The bars will come up to you as you crest so just push them forward over it and a sneaky pedal stroke can help too. It took me ages to work this out.

There’s a cracker of a big ditch to start you off in mugdock park, love it, just carry a bit of speed over the top and hold on, and get ready to shift your body for the way back up, need a bit speed of at the beginning mind, i’ve seen a few mates fall back down it due to being apprehensive at the start, which is hilarious! It’s also where the milngavie young team(bit of an oxymoron that i know!) tend to hang out, so that gives you a bit more motivation not to make an arse of it! 😀

Pump down into it.
+1 ask your mate

Ditches should help you accelerate or at least hold the speed you lost braking while you approach. Brian Lopes chats about pumping the backside (fnarr fnarr) of all the features in the trail for free speed.

Unweight as you enter, shove down into it and unweight as you rise out. It should squirt you out.

Or use the combination of Reebok, Park and nipple pumps I suggested. Whatever floats your boat.

Nice one, thanks all – compressing the forks on the entry is what my mate suggested, so I just need to practice to get the timing sorted. Next challenge is to bunny hop rather than spud hop, but that’s a long way off….

jimjam – Member
If you can’t bunny hop it, maybe try buying an Orange 5

Didn’t work for me. Maybe I need some new tyres, perhaps I’ll start a new thread……

Next challenge is to bunny hop rather than spud hop

[jeyboy]Nothing wrong with a spud hop.[/jeyboy]

(Unless you try to use the same technique on your town bike to clear a speed bump and end up scraping both your shins down the V8’s you run on that)

Didn’t work for me. Maybe I need some new tyres, perhaps I’ll start a new thread……

Maybe you need a new Orange Five…..

Maybe you need a new Orange Five…..

Good point, mine is nearly two years old after all.

I’ve been wondering about the use of a manual and what you would need to learn this trick for as I keep hearing that it’s useful to learn.

I figure you might use a manual or a wheelie to get over a large log but I also figure if you can’t bunny hop it then there’s a possibility you might catch your largest crank ring teeth on it anyway, end up having an off.

Now I see someone suggesting it be be used to get through a ditch.

Given that I’ve only ever seen videos of a manual being performed on flat surfaces and not being put to use for any technical trail situations, can anyone actually show me any videos of manuals being used to good technical effect off road as I’m curious?

I’m certainly no expert but have always thought that outside of flatland type BMX’ing a manual would be used as a precursor to something a little more useful. If a gradient is gentle enough that you can manual and the back wheel rolls up easily why not just roll it?

I can’t see the point in trying to manual over a log or something as your back wheel will hit, surely you’d either bunny hop or manual into a bunny hop?

When pumping presumably the action results in a kind of involuntary manual? ie pump down on the bars through the downslope and unweight as you transition, so you get sprung up the upslope. If the upslope wasn’t there you’d probably get sprung into a manual?

you shouldn’t realy need to be going very fast to hop a 4ft gap, that’s less than a bike length. but if you need to hop a gap that has a downslope leading upto it, it might still be hopable but you’d probably need to raise the front wheel much higher, let the rear stay low (dipped into the ditch as you cross it) then flick the bike back level just before you land.

seosamh77 – What relevance is the bombhole at Mugdock? it isn’t a small ditch, it’s probably about 10ft down to the flat bottom and 25-30ft wide. I have a massive scar down my right shin from jumping out of it and slipping a pedal on landing down the runout on the other side about 15years ago.

Can’t see the point in complicating it by trying to hop across if it is wide enough the pump down into. Counter-intuitively it is better to engage the bike more firmly (push down) than to try and get up and away from it. Obviously you are just trying to avoid smacking into the upslope on the far side. The way I like to describe it is to imagine that you are making the curvature more exaggerated – ie. try and make the dips deeper and the crests higher.

Edit – that means the compressing before the ditch is wrong – high on the crest, dive down low in the compression, and high on the second crest.

Get yer pump on:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9cwoQpRUqo[/video]

Gary, you can’t hop the bombhole?? disappointed 😉

Can’t see the point in complicating it by trying to hop across if it is wide enough the pump down into.

not surprised at your response at all, you come across as very narrowminded in your approach to riding/skills for a mtb skills coach.

since none of us seem to know WTF this ditch looks like it’s a little bit pointless being anything other than vague with our replys. there wil be times when it’s faster to hop/jump a ditch and times when it’s faster to manual or pump through others.

seosamh77 – What relevance is the bombhole at Mugdock? it isn’t a small ditch, it’s probably about 10ft down to the flat bottom and 25-30ft wide. I have a massive scar down my right shin from jumping out of it and slipping a pedal on landing down the runout on the other side about 15years ago

Probably none, tbh i couldn’t really picture what he was talking about and when he said ditch it was the first thing that came to mind, and i was in the mood for talking nonsense last night so… 😀

There’s a hole in fast bit of trail I used to ride regularly on the downs in Guildford. Sounds like the same dimensions as yours. If you ride at a slowish pace you ride down and up. A bit quicker and you need to be more active pumping the front wheel in and out. Faster than that, you need to manual.

I’ve never been that great at manualling, but the skill needed to hold a manual over a good length of road or trail is way more than you need to get through a bit of a dip. Just think about lifting the front wheel up before the dip and putting it down on the other side. If you can do that, the back wheel will take care of itself. As long as you concentrate on keeping the front wheel in the air until it’s past the dip, you’ll be alright. The more confident you get, the more you’ll get towards a proper manual, pumping the back wheel through the dip, rather than a kind of front-wheel-only jump.

Faster still and your back wheel might leave the ground before landing on the opposite upslope, but you’ll be relatively light on the bike anyway due to the front wheel beng higher, so you can soak the impact with your knees while the front drops down where you want it to.

If that happens more often than not, you’ll probably be alright to try bunny hopping the whole thing.

not surprised at your response at all, you come across as very narrowminded in your approach to riding/skills for a mtb skills coach.

Why are you so rude?

What’s so controversial about keeping it simple? I was only sharing my viewpoint – just because it is different to yours, so what?

it might still be hopable but you’d probably need to raise the front wheel much higher, let the rear stay low (dipped into the ditch as you cross it) then flick the bike back level just before you land.

Thats the best way of doing it. Same with all the drainage ditches in France, your going to quick to pump through them so just do this method, its the best way.

Why are you so rude?

call me “rude” if you want, I’m simply cutting the crap and saying what I think.

What’s so controversial about keeping it simple?

Well.. the guy asked for a way to become a faster rider in a specific situation, you’re a riding tutor/coach are you not?.. and you’re fobbing him off with a lame keeping it simple technique rather than opening his eyes to the fact there are many techniques to try. if you don’t see the problem there I can’t help you. 😕

I was only sharing my viewpoint

Yeah, me too 🙄

so what?

exactly 😉

GW: whether you are right or not, nice or nasty, your posts come across arrogant and rude. So people ignore or reject your advice. People will only benefit from your wisdom if your respect them.

Here it is. I was mistaken it’s about 20′ across and 10′ deep. Howard didn’t make it 🙂

Buzz – Thanks for the glowing review but I wasn’t aware of replying to you in this thread at all.. oh.. well 🙄 but now you’ve got my attention.. What relevance does riding your 20ft “bombhole” have to the OP wanting to go faster over a 2ft ditch less than a bike length in width?

What relevance does riding your 20ft “bombhole” have to the OP wanting to go faster over a 2ft ditch less than a bike length in width?

None whatsoever it seems, prickly boy.

.. this is easy.. ignore the other advice..

clench teeth and buttocks.. tense every muscle in your body.. close your eyes and scream like a girl..

it’s what I always do..

EDIT: If you’re hoping to get airtime off it.. try to hum Madonna’s ‘material girl’ at the same time for extra ‘pop’..

GW…. somewhat unnecessary attack on glenp.

make you come across as an arrogant git. play nicely.

Edit – second thought. Whatever.