Back Hops Tips

[Jitters]

Hey all!

So I'm quite a new at all this, but I've been working pretty hard and have been finally getting 5 and 6 hops on the rear tire and I'm pretty excited about it. I think I'm on the right track. )

Problem is (as I've read on Thrashzen and other places) the pedals keep ratchetting backwards and all. Eventually my non-choco foot slips right off and my good foot is way too high to jump up proper.

Any practise poitners for that? I know I'm supposed to quickly release the brakes while hopping in the air, but can't seem to manage the effort for fear of letting the rear tire slip out and cause me all kinds of grief.

Any good feedback would be greatly appreciated, as many of you have been there and done that. Thanks for a great forum! No one around here rides anything but XC and road bikes, so I'm kinda on my own.

-Gary

Edited July 15, 2008 by Tappets

[tris]

hey dude. i was in the same place as you are about 6 months ago. all i could do was backhop (hop on the spot and backwards with the rear brake locked). as soon as i got my onza i was able to pedal kick because of the rear brake.

if your rear brake is strong and you can lock the rear wheel up with one finger then you will be able to pedal hop in no time.

remember in order to release the brake whilst on the back wheel you must only use one finger on the rear brake. personally i think that it is impossible to pedal kick with 2 fingers.

remember to lock the brake up when you land the pedal kick otherwise you will go off the back

hope this helps.

[kona1991]

yeh to kick forwards, you need to release the brake, crank forward, then put it back on.

Also if your backhopping, try to not hop back everyhop. try to stay on the spot if that makes sense, then its easier to start moving forward.

[Aaron.Tottman]

I agree with the hole one finger thing, martyn ashton showed me i little trick years ago.

not to do with backhopping as such but will help on all parts of the move (getting on the bk wheel, trackstand ect)

when your in the track stand with the front wheel up against a wall/ rock keep your choco foot slightly lower that you trailing foot and most of the wieght on your choco foot.

practice taking you wieght of the choco foot and roll back slightly.

you get used to the rolling back and forth with as little braking as you can.

then try the same tech but on the back wheel and the front up on the wall.

it takes time to do but get this down rolling back and forth against the wall and you'll learn when and how to put apply the brakes.

if the brakes ain't working either try roofing tar or monty bike spray.

hope this helps. i know what it's like to learn trials on you own.:~)

CODE

www.tartybikes.co.uk/product.php?product_id=2083&category_id=5

if not try and get a copy of:

DIRTY TRICKS AND CUNNING STUNTS from chilli video.

it's old but will teach you most of what you need to know bout trials moves.

sound

Edited July 15, 2008 by Aaron.gloster

[wIbBs]

Hey,

What you have to do mate is.

1). Trackstand (balance)

2).Rock on your front wheel, lean forward (push all your weight over the handlebars), with the brakes on, then with your momentum. Rock backwards.

3). So pull you handlebars towards your body and lean back. With your bum practically above your rear wheel.

4). When you're in this position. You need to keep your balance. So hop.

5). Push the handlbars up to the sky. Jump with your pedals. Its best having little pressure in your rear tyre because its more bouncy. Helps you bounce. (obviously)

6). This part is just practice. Keeping you balance on the rear wheel is hard at first. But to keep your balance. Pull on the handlebars and keep your weight back. If you move your weight forward your front wheel will fall.

Basically it's practice mate. Watch vids of ryan leech. Step by Step Vids. And Trash zen as stated above.

Thanks

Wibbs

[DrDoom]

http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[bikeperson45]

This guy has a different thery...

[ti-mig-guy]

I have had that same issue(peddles ratcheting back) and this helped me.

When on your back wheel try to stall for just a second, and release the brake and peddle forward ever-so slightly. This should return your peddles to there comfy position. This is more of a correction in the angle of the frame then a peddle kick. Drop the front a little, release brake and peddle the front back up.

Also lacing small peddle kicks together on grass has helped me quite a bit. From trackstand peddle a sharp short stroke, and hop forward at the same time, but after the front end rises up. I try to get to a rear wheel stall, not bounce but to each there own. Either way you can practice timing your braking. I found it built confidence in my brakes and ability to use them. That seems to be the trick-confidence in braking timing.

Good luck, hope this helps

[ti-mig-guy]

This guy has a different thery...

Looks like it is taking a lot of effort for him to hop, should be a little more relaxed. Remember the point is not to hop in place, but to position yourself for the next move. Most riders have a small stall right before any move, you should be steady before beginning the next move. So 5-6 hops may be all you need. Never have I seen a pro hop more then a few times to set up a move.

Can you hop a few times and get set in a comfortable position, and stall for a moment? If so, time for the next skill in my opinion.

[Jitters]

Hey some great feedback here, Thanks!

I read a lot about bike setup before I got my mod, so made use of those tips and set up it for one finger braking while i was putting it together. Learned how to set up the brakes proper too and ground my rims a bit shortly after i had it.

Good advice ti-mig-guy. I suppose, when watching vids, you're right about the stall that I never really noticed until now. I can do stalls for a bit too, but I figured I'd hammer out the hop thing a bit more so I can do 5 or 6 hops almsot every time. I'm getting a tiny bit better with each day.

Hey full monty, I am noticing that it helps if I really throw my hips back over the rear hub. I have to drop my ass end down a bit and concentrate on shifting the weight back while pulling my arms towards my chest and staying relaxed. That seems to work quite well for me, but I have to think about the whole process each time. I'm hoping it should become second nature with practice.

basically that's just like wIbBs said.

Good stuff! Thank you everyone!

Gonna get right on it after work!

[Skoze]

I'm actually amazed.

I can see you all getting validated in the near future, the posts are top quality!

All these posts from you newbies are brilliant! Not the usual crap that's posted up in nmc

Seems the original question has been answered well, so i'll leave you to go practice

Matt

Edited July 16, 2008 by Skoze

[DrDoom]

http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[Balthazor]

I found doing small manuals on the back wheel then braking and balancing on the back wheel realy helped me nail back wheel hops. And also from a trackstand raise up front end by leaning back pulling up bars brake locked on and trying to keep balanced on the back wheel correcting balance by altering possittion of front end eventualy i found back wheel hops and other stuff on back wheel second nature. Hope this may help some of you it worked for me

[Aaron.Tottman]

try doing to backhopes facing up a hill without the back brake on.

it helps keeping the peddles level and keeping your weight forward.

[ti-mig-guy]

Try some visualization. When you get on your back wheel don't look around-especially down- and picture what you want to do. Kinda elementary, and you probably already do this but, it helps me. Most important thing is to let your body do what it "knows" it should do.

Getting the mental side of any sport down seems to be an ongoing battles for most people. The mind is the most important muscle to work out IMO.

[Jitters]

Sad to report, but haven't had much of a chance to practice this past few days, but came up with an ice-breaker of sorts while I had a few minutes to play around.

Whenever I'd hop in place (on both wheels) I'd release the rear brake and pedal forward a bit each time. Sort of a way to get used to the quick release while the tire was in the air. Worked quite well as a confidence booster. Gonna give it a good try while practicing the back hops this evening when work is done. Let you know how it goes )