A Question On Basic Techs... Timing And Such

[Sabiot]

Hi there, I'm new to these forums but I'm a very avid fan of trials. I come with more of a mountain biking/trails background. I never really tried anything fancy on my bike up until about a year ago when I said to myself I want to learn how to do a wheelie and bunnyhops. After much aggrivation, frustration and relief I feel I now have the basics on how to ride down. Just need to polish them now... So you know what I'm working with (this may be part of the problem) I'm currently riding a Rocky Mountain Flow 3.0 I know this is more of a trails and dirt jumping bike but it has some very strong assets in street riding as well. It's light for a mountain bike, great breaks, strong frame and rims. No complaints with any part of the bike and I havent noticed any bowing in the cranks (not that I'm doing extreme drops though)

Anywho, I don't know anyone who rides around here. I just moved to the Vancouver BC area about a week ago so I don't really know anyone here. No one back at home either actually. So, to get to the point I have a couple of questions about some of the most basic of techniques.

Bunny Hops:

I have been watching for years now and never ever ever ever got how people were doing it. I understood fully how to lift the rear wheel off the ground but I always looked like I was a donkey of some sort having a terrible seizure when I tried. It wasn't until recently that I compressed, lifted/literally jumped, that I could lift the rear tire that valuable 2 inches before trying to level off. My question has to pertain with leveling off and max height. I've seen some people describe leveling off with the scooping motion in the feet, basicly trying to tuck it as close as possible to your butt, a literal bunny hop. I've also heard that pushing the handle bars forward levels you off pretty well too.

I guess the question is, which is better? which is more correct? which is more benefitial in the long run?

I would assume that using the feet is more correct, but I dont know that I am using the feet correctly. I feel like I extend myself more like a superman type pose rather than a rabbit. When I do the initial lift and jump should I be trying to tuck my feet in right then in there? Should I be jumping straight into a crouched position?

Lifting Front Wheel / Balancing on Rear Wheel:

How? I mean seriously... how? All the description says is lean back. That can't possibly be all there is to it cause I've tried it and it doesn't work. I'm not a light guy either (200 lbs), if I throw my weight somewhere it ought to matter for something. Should my breaks be locked? Is there any pedal movement? Usually when I lift the front its more of an explosive motion like when I want to do a bunnyhop or when I slow down then drive on my cranks to go into a wheelie. Please, some help here would be great. I feel I could probably get the hang of things better if maybe a couple of the smaller details were explained.

Spinning Endos:

Sorry I don't know the name of it. I love endos. Hands down, favorite move that I can do. I cant hold them for long and I'm still a little timid but they are amazing, they look cool and they're pretty easy to learn. I was told by a friend back home that if I wanted to spin around with my endos I should use kinda a scooping motion with the feet. My question is, how much does the foot movement play in this technique or is it all preloading and throwing weight in the direction of the spin? I am only able to get about 1/8th of a spin, but I've only been practicing it for 4 days now...

Endo Drop Offs:

I totally want to swing my rear wheel off of a small drop and land all cat like and cool looking. I've never tried it and can't seem to find much if any instruction on doing this. I would assume that I lock up the breaks, swing the rear wheel off the drop, let the break go and pull up the front tire. Will this safely get my front wheel off the drop? Will I land correctly with the rear wheel first like this? Any advice would be awesome

I would now like to apologize if these threads are already made, I did try searching for these questions but with no avail. Thanks again guys. Ride on

[Skoze]

Truly amazing first post

Question 1:

When bunnyhopping, i find it easier to do what is known as an 'American' Bunnyhop, where you start off in a manual (wheelie without pedalling) get the front wheel to a suitable height, and when ready, launch my body up and scoop the whole bike up underneath me. After plenty of practice you'll get loads of height from that! I still can't bunnyhop my 'proper' trials bike very well, but this is the technique i use when on my dj bike.

2:

When lifting the rear wheel, a good way to start is to get in a low gear, start off by performing a small endo then rocking back/leaning back as the back wheel returns to it's starting position. By leaning back, the front wheel will lift off the ground, getting you into position for pedal hops etc. After practice you will be able to go straight up onto your back wheel (with or without the endo), it just takes practice and perseverance to get a feel for what is right, and where your balance point is

For any other queries, i'd advise you go to Trashzen It's a brilliant resource no matter what your riding ability!

Also, I think you'll be validated very soon, so perhaps this topic will be moved into full members chat. From there, you will get many more tips from the more experienced/ amazing/ borderline insane riders.

Matt

[Sabiot]

Hey thanks man, I appreciate the advice. I have a job interview in a couple minutes here but after that I'm gunna hop on my bike and ride around for a bit. Thanks again. I'm gunna try the endo to rear wheel thing right away. That sounds like it could defiantely help out

[Peperami]

For all of this curbs are your friend. Most of us learnt on nothing more than a curb mate. Endo drops, keep both brakes locked.

[bikeperson45]

Gotta love curbs, whenever I want to try something new I try it on them.

Check out "Mastering the Art of Trials" Ryan Leech

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=ma...mp;search_type=

[NileBrown™]

Wow, what an amazing post mate, you should be proud. This is great proof to all new members on how to get validated quickly if you just make a decent post like that.

well done

[Gilman]

To help you find some riders in your area.

Google search for www.biketrials.ca I believe that is the canadian trials forum, or go to www.observedtrials.net there are alot of Canadian riders on there.

Finding riders to ride with will help you out with every kind of technique that you are trying to learn.

Most people benefit most with one on one instruction.

Good luck.

Edited April 30, 2008 by Gilman

[Sabiot]

Thanks for all the advice and help guys. And thanks for the praises on the first post, heh. I'm definately going to check out those websites and the Ryan Leech video. I don't know much about the bigger riders but his name keeps popping up. I have to say, I've seen a few of his videos and he seems like a more "traditional" trials kinda guy. Like doing the actual tracks, ridiculous balance and such. I am very fond as well of Danny Macaskill. That guy is amazing. Although, I'd class him as more "parky" He too has tons of balance but seems more oriented towards tricks and not so practical trials techniques. Amazing riders either way. A real inspiration.

One last thing before I bring this thread to a close, for the endo drops (before I go eat the pavement in a few mins here) After I swing the rear tire off should I just rock my weight hard to the rear wheel to encourage a good rear>front wheel landing?

PS: On the bunnyhops... Yeah I have been putting off trying to hop a curb cause I guess I'm a little scared of not timing it right. Hitting the back wheel is no biggie, that'll just be a little rough going up the curb. I just hope I dont jump before I need to and pull the ultimate face to concrete technique. Its a special technique that only the worst of the worst can master... please don't make me show it to you :$

Thanks again guys

[Luke Rainbird]

I can't really say much more than's already been said above me (though another congrats on the decent posting and validation!), though one quick pointer for the confidence in your timing issue: Twigs!

Grab yourself a little twig, scrap of wood, or even find a general line on the floor to work with. Practice getting the timing over this little object, and then you'll start to build the confidence you need to start going for curbs and small walls

[LukasMcNeal]

Pleas evalidate this person he can write with grammar

[Sabiot]

Pleas evalidate this person he can write with grammar

LOL

Yeah I went for a bit of a ride. I ended up trying to hop a slightly inclined curb and I did have the timing issue I was speaking about. I wasn't pulling up or jumping as high as I should have been. I cleared it, but it wasnt pretty.

However, on the bright side, I feel as though I have made a breakthrough on the technique. Someone had shown me how to do a bunnyhop a while back. Probably about 3 years ago. I didn't know enough to click in that both his wheels were coming off the ground at the same time. Although he claimed to have a lot of skill previously "when he used to ride" the bunnyhop was never more than 2 or 3 inches high. Anyways, before I was compressing > lifting (but not pulling) > shifting my weight forward and actually using the grip on my feet to lift the bike in a scooping sort of motion. Oh man...

Stop me if I'm doing this completely wrong but, what I do now is compress > lift and tilt feet forward > jump and pull up on handle bars > tuck feet as close to my butt as I can and push handlebars out

When I did it right, my front wheel was coming off the ground well before I jumped and the bike kinda sucked up underneath me. It was a really neat feeling, you jump and it doesnt feel like it should but the bike just sticks to your feet. Maybe there is more to it than that but it felt like all I was doing. Although the timing for the whole thing feels really weird. If you try to rush it, your wheel doesnt get lifted high enough or you do both wheels at the same time. Its really different than any of the other techniques I've tried. Although it has explosive elements I almost wouldnt call it explosive...

Once again, thanks for all the help guys. If I can coax my gf into it I might make a small video of me practicing wheelies, endos and bunny hops. Maybe a couple of smaller drops too.

[Peperami]

Rather than trty bunnyhop, try and ride up a curb. Lift the front onto the curb, then pull up with your feet and lift the rear onto it. Now try it a bit faster. And a bit faster still... you'll end up hopping up it with both wheels without realising, and this will give you the correct body positioning too.

[Sabiot]

yeah yeah, totally man! Thats what I ended up doing sorta... I was just riding at the speed I would likely jump at and focused on lifting the wheel and jumping (without tucking) I think after a few more days I'm gunna get this. I'm actually really excited to show someone what I've learned. And to top if off, you guys could give me pointers I'm sure!