Jumps/drops skills question

[Longshanks]

Recently I've been attempting some drops and jumps (natural jumps in the woods as opposed to dirt jumps). I have a problem keeping the bike closely under me - the bike, and thus the pedals, tend to drop a couple inches or more from my feet while I'm in the air. I'm still able to land them ok, but my feet slam down on the pedals and I lose control a little. I want to fix things now so I can progress onto higher drops.
Any advice on what I can do to better keep my feet glued to the pedals while doing drops/jumps? Should I be pulling up more or "hopping" more?
Thanks.

[slapheadmofo]

Clipless pedals always work for me!

[vinnycactus]

sounds like you're trying to "hop" too much. do you have that same problem when "dropping" say a 6 inch curb? i'm not joking. When I, as well as alot of other people, began to progress to bigger and bigger drops, i always would envision that I was only dropping 6 inches rather than 6 feet and have never had that problem. with jumps, practice, practice practice.

or like slapper said, clipless.

[Longshanks]

Hmm, maybe. I just adjusted my suspension too, so that would probably add to it if I was hopping too much. I'll give it a shot tomorrow. Thx.

I used to have clipless but my local trails are hard to ride without putting my feet down often. So I went without, which helped a lot.

[Z]

I'm no expert, but I've been doing a lot more drops, too, recently and I know exactly what you mean, when it doesn't feel right!

I've had the same problem if I try to jump or push off too much, and then use my clipless to pull the bike with me. (I think clipless can lead to bad habits... although I am a fan of clipless!) If my arms and legs are straight when I'm in the air, it feels totally wrong.

Instead, I try to compress the bike as I get near the edge, and then push the bike forward as I go off the edge. I try to stay somewhat compact, and just fine tune the pitch of the bike with arms and feet in the air.

I think the description of dropping a 6 inch curb is a good one. If you take off level, it doesn't matter much if it's 6 inches or 4+ feet, you should be able to land it level.

[NembaHobbit]

Z's totally on the right track :-) Try to keep the bike level or nose slightly up.

I'm unquestionably no expert on jumping, but way back when I was into BMX stuff, built wooden ramps and did some hucking. Clipless wasn't even available on the road back then.

I focused on keeping my feet well weighted on the pedals, envisioning gripping the pedals with my feet & toes seemed to help, esp for bunny hopping.

Also most BMX riders in the day wore Vans or similar soft flat rubber sneakers and used very "toothy" pedals, some even filed them to get more bite. The studded ones they have now look really grippy.

Another trick that might help is to try to grip the saddle between your thighs/knees. This may be a bit awkward.


Most of of all, don't let worries about your feet distract you from landing the jump! It's amazing how quickly your reflexes can put your feet back in place! They know where to go ;-)

It should go without saying that you're keeping your pedals horizontal (parallel to the ground) yes? Landing at with one foot down is an invitation to crash & injury and inhibits using your knees to absorb the compression.

Hope this helps, happy flying :-)

Anne


Also keep an eye on your equipment. I cracked my bars on a hard landing but fortunately, I noticed it before the next run ;-)

[mtbtom]

Number of take offs must equal number of landings. :)

[Longshanks]

Hmmm, more food for thought.
Great advice.
Thanks all.

[vinnycactus]

oh yeah, don't forget that speed is your friend. its usually better to clear a landing than it is to come up short of one.

[gnurider1080]

oh yeah, don't forget that speed is your friend. its usually better to clear a landing than it is to come up short of one.

and off of drops leaning back would help too.

[Z]

Now what I REaLLY need to work on are wheelie-drops...! I'm terrible at those.

I think I'll be tooling around quite a bit on Justbill's apparatus at NEMBAfest Sunday. (While I'm at it, I'll be vying for a pulled pork sammich, too!)

[vinnycactus]

oh yeah, don't forget that speed is your friend. its usually better to clear a landing than it is to come up short of one.

and off of drops leaning back would help too.


yeah, and don't let anyone talk you into doing anything you're not 100% comfortable with doing. mike, you hit that double drop out at the Nam lately? ;)

[narlus]

oh yeah, don't forget that speed is your friend. its usually better to clear a landing than it is to come up short of one.

and off of drops leaning back would help too.


just be a bit careful w/ that...you want to get behind the bike on the takeoff, but then center yrself for the landing. otherwise, you can run the risk of having the bike come out from under you, or also pull an inadvertant manual...neither usually work out that well. ;)