What am I doing Wrong? The Sprockets Skills Questions Thread

[XtrPickels]

"Ask an Expert" seems centered around Technical knowledge.

But I have questions about skills, darnit!

I'll kick it off:

At the DirtJumps (small line) on a hardtail I'm just not getting the height that I think I should. I think I'm extending and pushing into the face, not sucking it up, which seems to be the common advice.

I could likely roll in with more speed, but I'm not going any slower than others who are clearing easily.

Part of me feels like I shouldn't be just pushing on the pedals and bars to press the bike into the face of the jump; I feel like I should be pressing with me feet and pulling on the bars similar to a J-hop. This is how I get extra height on small trail features, but it never seems to be advised on larger dirt jumps.

How wrong am I?

[east or bust]

Cool thread, I like.

The way I like to think of it is that you’re preloading the bike, and yourself, in the tranny. By the time you’re up to the lip you’re not putting much, if any force into the bike (for a straight air).

In videos of people getting bucked on FS bikes it’s because they didn’t properly preload in the tranny and instead the bike preloaded itself at the lip, then physics takes over.

Someone please feel free to correct me or elaborate more.


eta: Preloading in the tranny still applies on a fully rigid bike. It’s kind of like pumping through a berm.

[Bushwacka]

If you really want an answer Id get soem video and send it to fluidride.

[Dee Hubbs]

[VTskibum]

"Ask an Expert" seems centered around Technical knowledge.

But I have questions about skills, darnit!

I'll kick it off:

At the DirtJumps (small line) on a hardtail I'm just not getting the height that I think I should. I think I'm extending and pushing into the face, not sucking it up, which seems to be the common advice.....

Video yourself to see. Thought I was standing taller than I was and still struggle, especially on flats. Just took a jump clinic recently and instruction was really not to pull on your bars (for normal not huge jumps) and loading/unloading through feet/hips going down and then up your bars will be in the right place, more or less. Also standing taller to start with and not collapsing at the hip, ie face/shoulders moving forward toward bar. Maybe poor summarization, but this is definitely something I'm working on and this is a good thread, but there are sure to be a few to cunt it up inevitably.

[milestogo]

This is a great description of "normal force" and its affect on jumping.
https://medium.com/@Duffsam/mountain...e-8ed023d7a85a

[Wes Mantooth]

Cool thread, I like.

The way I like to think of it is that you’re preloading the bike, and yourself, in the tranny. By the time you’re up to the lip you’re not putting much, if any force into the bike (for a straight air).

In videos of people getting bucked on FS bikes it’s because they didn’t properly preload in the tranny and instead the bike preloaded itself at the lip, then physics takes over.

Someone please feel free to correct me or elaborate more.


eta: Preloading in the tranny still applies on a fully rigid bike. It’s kind of like pumping through a berm.

I'm still pretty garbage on big jumps but I made a lot of progress this season by focusing on these tips, namely pushing steadily throughout the tranny as I would pump a roller. Ben Cathro had a video recently as part of his Pinkbike series on how/when to pump and those same principles can be applied to a jump face as well. It also helped me to think about doing something with the bike in the air, like a small table or something like that. I found I would dead sailor on jumps with more airtime and this got rid of that

There is an additional component though as OP said of getting additional height without adding speed. I'm still working on that one but I think it mostly has to do with preload timing and figuring out the right amount of foot pressure to carry through the lip.

Next step for me is videoing myself it's been mega helpful in other sports. Beyond that I just gotta figure out how to go back in time and do BMX as a kid

[forty]

common mtb rider issue for steeper lips is to jump over the top 2-3ft of lip instead of ride up it with their rear wheel

do you know the difference between a bunny hop and a j hop?

steep djs feel a lot more like a j hop than a bunny hop

i try to get kids to learn the difference on the pumptrack by going super duper slow and j hopping over rollers and clear them at the slowest speed possible
then translate that to the smallest jumps at slowest speed you can clear them
then ride smaller jumps fast and you will realize just how much you have been scrubbing them previously without even realizing it and have an entirely new level of pop you can unleash as desired

[toast2266]

^^^ agreed with all of that.

[east or bust]

common mtb rider issue for steeper lips is to jump over the top 2-3ft of lip instead of ride up it with their rear wheel

do you know the difference between a bunny hop and a j hop?

steep djs feel a lot more like a j hop than a bunny hop

i try to get kids to learn the difference on the pumptrack by going super duper slow and j hopping over rollers and clear them at the slowest speed possible
then translate that to the smallest jumps at slowest speed you can clear them
then ride smaller jumps fast and you will realize just how much you have been scrubbing them previously without even realizing it and have an entirely new level of pop you can unleash as desired

I’ve honestly never heard the term j hop in my life. Grew up riding bmx and we considered a bunny hop exactly how a j hop is described.

Did the differentiation between the two come from people riding clipless considering a bunny hop pulling the entire bike up at once?

Anyway, sorry for the thread drift..

Oh shit, actually just remembered we also used the term “bronco”

[XtrPickels]

common mtb rider issue for steeper lips is to jump over the top 2-3ft of lip instead of ride up it with their rear wheel

do you know the difference between a bunny hop and a j hop?

steep djs feel a lot more like a j hop than a bunny hop

i try to get kids to learn the difference on the pumptrack by going super duper slow and j hopping over rollers and clear them at the slowest speed possible
then translate that to the smallest jumps at slowest speed you can clear them
then ride smaller jumps fast and you will realize just how much you have been scrubbing them previously without even realizing it and have an entirely new level of pop you can unleash as desired

This confirms that I was thinking. Thanks.
I've had a few good sessions where I cleared the small line pretty cleanly. Need to get back out there to reaffirm my confidence and then step up to the medium line.