Jumping Help?
- Thread starter mtn
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FrankV
Active Member
Hard to explain it to someone when they are not with them. I’m still learning myself and I feel the best way is to have an experienced rider tell you what you are doing wrong instead of “how to do it”. Take a video of yourself and put it up here for everyone to criticize it. Might just help you
JPark
Well-Known Member
In theory the High Bridge jump trails would be perfect for you to practice jumping but they are actually pretty tight and challenging.
However, the first table-top on the blue trail is nice to practice on if you wanted to session it. The rest of the trail can be difficult to maintain your speed with all the doubles and tight turns.
Ian F
Well-Known Member
Last year I made a concerted effort to get my jumping mojo back (since I had lost it sometime when I was a teen over 30 years ago). What I did was spend a few sessions at Thunder Mtn in MA and rode Gronk (a blue level jump trail designed/built by Gravity Logic) until I got it. A few takeaways from that recent experience:
1. Pull up. This is a kinda "well, duh..." but it really was an epiphany moment for me. While a well built jump will arc you over it, you still need to be an active participant in the process. Just letting everything go can result in the dreaded "dead sailor" and a possible OTB landing.
2. Once in the air, move the bike around. This is sort of an extension of the above.
Do a little whip, pick the front wheel up and move it back down to catch the landing, or whatever.
Basically, the idea is you always want to be in control of the bike while in the air and not the other way around.
3. Don't be afraid of the lip. This is probably one of the harder ones. While it looks like you're riding towards a wall, in reality it's not. Sometimes it really helps to look at the jump from the side and you can often see how shallow the take-off angle actually is. Again, this one is kinda hard and really just takes time.
4. Personally, I prefer jumping with flat pedals. While I generally trail ride on clipless, riding flats forces better technique. But this can be personal preference. I know plenty of guys who jump fine on clipless pedals. I have an instinctual BMX background which kicks in when I ride flats, so for whatever reason I just jump better when on flats.
It's been a long time since I have ridden at Mtn Creek, so I can't really speak to their jump designs, but I know the Gravity Logic built jumps are very consistent and confidence inspiring. Plus, you can go to just about any park they've been involved with and know what the jumps will be like: Thunder, Killington, Windham, etc. are all about the same.
A big, long forgiving bike also helps. My Megatower is a stable platform for jumping and has a nice amount of travel for the occasional "oh shit..." moments.
1. Pull up. This is a kinda "well, duh..." but it really was an epiphany moment for me. While a well built jump will arc you over it, you still need to be an active participant in the process. Just letting everything go can result in the dreaded "dead sailor" and a possible OTB landing.
2. Once in the air, move the bike around. This is sort of an extension of the above.
Do a little whip, pick the front wheel up and move it back down to catch the landing, or whatever.
Basically, the idea is you always want to be in control of the bike while in the air and not the other way around.
3. Don't be afraid of the lip. This is probably one of the harder ones. While it looks like you're riding towards a wall, in reality it's not. Sometimes it really helps to look at the jump from the side and you can often see how shallow the take-off angle actually is. Again, this one is kinda hard and really just takes time.
4. Personally, I prefer jumping with flat pedals. While I generally trail ride on clipless, riding flats forces better technique. But this can be personal preference. I know plenty of guys who jump fine on clipless pedals. I have an instinctual BMX background which kicks in when I ride flats, so for whatever reason I just jump better when on flats.
It's been a long time since I have ridden at Mtn Creek, so I can't really speak to their jump designs, but I know the Gravity Logic built jumps are very consistent and confidence inspiring. Plus, you can go to just about any park they've been involved with and know what the jumps will be like: Thunder, Killington, Windham, etc. are all about the same.
A big, long forgiving bike also helps. My Megatower is a stable platform for jumping and has a nice amount of travel for the occasional "oh shit..." moments.
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This is a big one that clicked for me this year. It really happened for me at Killington, when I just took my fingers off the brakes on the jumps. First, having my hands on the grips fully just gave me more control. Second, it prevented me from scrubbing speed which is just one's brain saying, "NFW, STOP IT NOW." Third, by moving the bike around a bit when things are perfectly fine, it allows you to be more ready when things aren't.
All that said I am sure I still suck at jumping. I just suck less now.
As for your #3 - by the end of any DH day I am better with that lip-fear but as soon as a few days pass, it comes back. It's really hard to get back to that level of trust.
Ian F
Well-Known Member
It definitely took me awhile but by the end of 2019, I was able to ride Gronk and clear the entire trail on my first run down the mtn. My gravity riding this year has been limited and "lip fear" definitely came back a bit when I was there this year. Granted, it didn't help I had completely F'd up the bike setup so every run was beating the crap out of me.
My biggest "F-Yeah!!!" moment was when I rode at Killington with a couple friends last year and after spending most of the day riding Blue Magic (which is similar to Gronk), we decided to ride Black Magic as our last run to see what it looked like. I managed to clear almost every jump on the trail on my first attempt. I think a lot of that is just trusting the trail builders and knowing they have built good jumps that won't kill you.
interesting - I learned a few simple grabs on my snowboard - it def helps stabilize during air time.
Intentionally reaching down (indy, mute) and coming out prevents landing on the wrong edge.
for the .5 seconds i'm in there air
JPark
Well-Known Member
I too had watched all the youtube tutorials on jumping but still couldn't figure it out. I eventually took a jump lesson at Killington.
These are the 3 mistakes I was making.
1. I was peaking over the jump - Wanting to see the landing area of the jump while on the ramp and it was causing me to shift my body forward, which is bad.
2. When you hit the ramp of the jump, the momentum wants to throw your body forward. I knew this, but what I was doing wrong is I was using my arms to push away and counteract this force instead of using my core and legs. This would put too much weight on the front of the bike. Like most things in MTBing, light on the hands heavy on the feet. Your body should be perpendicular to the angle of the ramp, completely opposite of climbing or descending on your bike.
3. When preloading the bike's suspension I had always assumed you did it at the same spot on the jump. But the location you preload changes depending on the size of the jump and your speed. I was usually preloading too late. Don't go nuts preloading, I would try too hard and throw off my balance.
As stated above, the Gravity Logic parks have much more user friendly jumps. The Mt Creek jumps tend to have very steep transitions with lips on the top.
Captain Brainstorm
Well-Known Member
This is all pretty fresh in my head since I helped my son all summer up in VT hitting tables and doubles. Back home we sessioned a bunch of drops in Ringwood yesterday, slightly different technique. Don't just pull up on the bars, you need to load the entire bike prior to the take-off, unloading while you go off the lip. Press down on the pedals with your feet just before your front tire hits the ramp, then pop off with a pull on the bars as your front tire hits the lip. This gives you height and distance, you don't even need to be going warp speed, if you time it right, you'll clear a table or double. If you don't do this, you stand a good chance of going nose-heavy, and that doesn't end well. My first ever attempt resulted in my riding a nose wheelie for 30ft before I ate shit so hard, my shoes fell off like Saul Rosenberg. I was very hurt about this. If you're going to crash, its better to crash after a rear-wheel landing. For drops, you just need enough speed for your rear wheel to clear the edge before you're front starts to drop, with a little pop from the bars depending on how steep the transition is. If its the old huck to flat, you need a bigger pop.
rick81721
Lothar
I find this thread interesting - I have zero interest in jumping. The other day I was at Nassau and there was a group of maybe 15 riders all at that jump there - they had to wait for me to climb up the switchback before they could resume their jumps. I told them - no way I'd do that - carry on!
A Potted Plant
Honorary Sod
Isn't that the one I crashed on?
Best advise I ever got was to follow through the transition. When someone says “pull up” don’t think of it like yanking up on the bars, it’s more just keeping the front end up after it leaves the lip so the bike stays in line with the take off all the way through the transition. At bike parks the jumps are built proportionately to the speed of the trail, so trust the speed no brakes and follow through the transition and you will clear the jump. I can’t say the same for sketchy jumps built in the woods...
mtn
Well-Known Member
I hate to pay $50 for a day pass at creek, but I may do that. I think Ego trip has three consecutive tables with the fire road to walk up. PJ is local, but I think there is one table.
Ian F
Well-Known Member
I agree with that. Trusting the speed takes practice. Getting over the urge to grab a handful of brake as you're approaching what looks like a vertical wall takes time to overcome.
While it's not really apparent on the trail map, there is a "blue" line next to Lower Dominion at Mtn Creek that is good for learning/practicing on.