struggling with jumps, is it me or the bike?

MTB Jackasss

hello,
i have been riding for a year or so now in the local forest, some people have groomed some trails and jumps into it.

with the trails im perfectly fine going down at speed but problems arise once i reach the jumps and drops. these jumps are very small compared to some of what i see at places such as morzine and woburn, but there challenging for me none the less.

what seems to happen is i dont get enough pop off the take off and my front wheel seems to hit the ground first almost causing me to go over the handle bars. i have tried the jumps many times in succession with no avail.

so my question is, what is this down to? posture? confidence? or the fact that my bike is xc bike? i realise that the bike is not 100% at fault but maybe its making my life harder.

this is my bike



many thanks in advance

benpinnick

Its you I am afraid. Jumps can be a weird mental thing. Your stem legth wont help mind. As Spec' bikes are pretty long anyway, consider dropping the stem length a little.

Kaz_S

Start small, you need to pump before you jump, not too fast, but not too slow either. Look ahead too, at the landing, not the jump.

Or you could go and see Jedi (http://www.ukbikeskills.co.uk) - he taught me how to pump/jump/drop last December, I'm now clearing 10ft tabletops and getting over my gap jump fear!

bartimaeus

Try a small push on the bars a pace before the lip - it's the Jedi way! Don't be tempted to pull up the front wheel, just push the bike so it accelerates a bit underneath you, and keep looking where you want to go next.

Jedi

high5!

bartimaeus

Jedi wrote:

high5!

We've been practising in the garden

Jedi

head up

bartimaeus

Yes, and a more 'push', less 'lift'... but we are getting there

MTB Jackasss

thanks for the tips, while riding today i put them in to action and saw a improvement straight away.

i met a fellow biker today and he had a full suspension dh bike, he showed me some nice lines through the forsest and gave me some tips.

just as i was getting confident though my pedal decided its had enough. somehow i managed to snap the bolt clean through and the pedal just flew off :?



luckly i could still just pop it on and make my way back rather then walking back home though 8)

rockmonkeysc

Shorter stem would help a lot and wider bars to help keep it comfortable. Drop the saddle a bit more, keep your weight back, plenty of speed. It will soon become pretty natural. If you want coaching the best man for the job is Chris Smith, no one know jumps like he does and he is a great instructor. I made huge progress when I had a days training with Chris.

Jedi

keep your weight back??????

JayKay3000

If you can lift both wheels off the ground on the flat then you are on your way. This is pretty easy on decent flat pedals, just toes down and push into the pedals and lift with your legs. It takes about 5 minutes to learn. U'll need to put some effort into it though so it could take some time. Practice lifting the front onto a curb and then lifting the rear onto it as well without just letting the rear roll up.

When you actually get to a jump the front end should take care of itself due to velocity and u'll only need to pull the bike a small amount if at all, you'll more likely to push into the jump so focus on getting the rear off the ground. U'll find it's far easier to get it into the air while it's moving. Don't lean on the front either, try and keep central/back and keep the speed up. Look ahead to the trail and for the landing, start thinking about the next actions while in the air.

A good landing on a hardtail will be fairly soft as both wheels hit the ground at the same time. These landings are beautiful as its like landing with an air cushion under you.

With rocks and stuff u'll want to pull the front end up (this is why the curb practice is good) and you can either let the rear roll down it or with momentum lift the rear off.

I find myself going into a sort of squat and pulling the bike into me as it lifts on jumps. I used to freak out and pull the bar on lift off, which was a bit stupid or push my feet into the bike to keep it rolling over hump style jumps.

Don't worry about being scared, it takes practice. I've only got the hang of bigger stuff in the last few weeks.

If you can ride with m8s this helps as they'll be able to point out what you're doing wrong or show you how they do it which makes it easier to then do it yourself.

rockmonkeysc

^^Some dodgy tips here^^
Get some tips from either an instructor or an experienced freerider. Some dodgy tips on forums plus you need someone to watch you and give feedback.

Welsh_Wizard

I had a real hang up over this jump on my local trail. Literally tiny but it was on a bend and there wasn't much speed carrying into the jump. I would always do what you described, literally 'cycle' over it and allow gravity to pull my front wheel down before the rest of the bike had travelled over the jump thus making it a high chance of going arse over tit.

A wise man on here said the following "speed defies gravity"

I spent an entire day 'sessioning' this one jump. Literally over and over till I got it right. Now I can absolutely ruin the jump and hit others that are bigger with a higher level of confidence.

'Buying' time with a pro is a shortcut but for anything else 'practice makes perfect'

rockmonkeysc

Time with a pro isn't a short cut, it helps you head in the right direction and shows you your mistakes.
It's not all about speed. Line in to and out of jumps, body position, pedal position, bike set up, speed, when to or not to manual the lip and how to judge gaps and get turned for hips are all important.
Just using speed to stop the front wheel dropping is not the right way to do it, a small manual would be much safer. Sometimes you need to be able to ride drops at walking speed.

styxd

I spent an entire day 'sessioning' this one jump. Literally over and over till I got it right. Now I can absolutely ruin the jump and hit others that are bigger with a higher level of confidence.

'Buying' time with a pro is a shortcut but for anything else 'practice makes perfect'

This is great advice, spend time practicing, thats what you have to do.

Time with a pro isnt really a shortcut and can be very beneficial if you're useless and dont have the time to practice. But the best riders I know all rode bmx (everyday near enough) when they were younger. It shows.

A pro will help you get your wheels in the air, but if you want to be able to style a 20ft rhythm secion, then all it boils down to is practicing. A shit load.

Welsh_Wizard

Time with a pro isnt really a shortcut and can be very beneficial if you're useless and dont have the time to practice.

Lol, that is a hugely cryptic response as your say it isnt a shortcut but shortcuts are meant to save time,which you state at the end.

When I say shortcut I literally mean time saver as opposed to cutting corners. I would love to have a pro take me on a ride (oooo-eerrrrr). What would take me a few hours in sessioning on my own may only take a few moments with expert guidance.

MTB Jackasss

thanks a bunch for the help, its highly appreciated

when riding with the guy i met, i noticed i was hitting the jumps much bigger then i ever had before, it gave me much more confidence which seemed to really make the diffrence. another mistake i think im making is that im not wearing a helmet (que the post's telling me im stupid :oops: ) i think this plays a vital role on my confidence

i also ordered a new stem and peddles which arrived today. the peddles i have now grip soo much better with my shoes and the stem gives me a much more comfortable riding position

bennett_346

My god wear a helmet man...

No wonder yer not feeling confident!

JayKay3000

Riding with someone is the best way to be honest. If you see them clear something it gives you confidence to do it yourself.

They'll be able to help you a bit, but most of it is just confidence.

I'm not really sure what I do, but it seems to land cleanly.

Compare tips from forums, the web and friends and choose the best ones. U'll quickly find out what tips work and what does not.