Hopping Forwards On The Back Wheel

[jack_h]

hey all,

i can currently hop 3-5 times on the backwheel with the bike staying on the spot.

what methods could be used to hop forwards?

thanks

Jack

[lankyri]

good way that i learnt was to aim for spots on the pavement (martin hawyes told me in some old video)

basically just look for small stones in the road or pavement and try and hit each one, then when you can do that try and land on each stone and then bounce on it then move to the next stone and gradually you will be able to hop on the spot and move forward

hope this helps

[Rebelistic]

Lower the front wheel (allow your weight to be slightly more over the front) then release the rear brake as you pedal kick fowards.

Check out Trash Zen for a better explanation, watch some videos etc.

[psycholist]

One method is to let go of the back brake and kick the pedals forward just before you take off - this is probably easier to pick up than hopping forwards without using the pedals. You weight has to be forwards in order for the pedal kick not to send you off the back of the bike. Timing is everything for this one.

The other method is to drop the front of the bike slightly and move your weight forward before take off and then pull the bike more vertical while it's in the air mid hop. This should allow the back tyre to come down forwards of where you took off. This is great for fine adjustments going towards the edge of drops (Pedal kicking is more efficient if you've to go a long way).

With practice it's possible to climb steps going forwards on the back wheel without pedal kicking, but this is more of a training exercise than something very useful, though being able to hop forwards without pedal kicking has saved me on a few occasions where I land too nose heavy and something is in the way of the back tyre, making pedal kicking awkward or in natural riding where a rock has a steep slope towards it's peak and you're not able to pedal kick or gap cleanly to the very top - there's a rock like this in my local supermarket car park which has been amusing me for a while with this sort of hop.

[Rob Thomson]

good way that i learnt was to aim for spots on the pavement (martin hawyes told me in some old video)

basically just look for small stones in the road or pavement and try and hit each one, then when you can do that try and land on each stone and then bounce on it then move to the next stone and gradually you will be able to hop on the spot and move forward

hope this helps

Excuse me, some old video, dear god....That was tricks and stunts 2! Hang your head in shame

Psycholist has got it in a reply though really, you could also try and go up on the backwheel, let go of the back brake and kick your pedals so your bike just rolls forwards a little bit, then apply the brake again and repeat....Then once you've got that sorted, just add the hop!