Feet come off pedals on jumps

kickaxe

Hello guys,

Basically, I have this problem where my feet come off of my pedals (flat pedals, I'm not planning to switch to clips) on some jumps. Not all, but some. Not far from my home there is a mini, bike park style trail (about a 100m loop) which has a dike as a starting ramp, from the top of it you ride down 4 meters and are transferred into an uphill jump which lands you in the flat, sortof like a stepup. Here, my feet have never come off the pedals, but on some more conventional jumps they sometimes do. Is it possible that it has to do with speed? Like that my bike just falls while I am in the air when I am too slow?

Thanks for your tips, Luca

The Rookie

Technique......

kickaxe

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19749585#p19749585]The Rookie[/url] wrote:

Technique......

I figured that out...

hard-rider

I have this problem too. On some of the larger jumps or drop offs I feel the bike falling away from my feet. It doesn't always do it but when it does it's a unnerving. So far the separation of pedal from foot has been very slight and I land before my feet are completely off to the point where I don't find the pedal on landing but it's holding me back from trying larger jumps. What is the technique is to keep your feet to the pedals when in the air?

StinkinHippy

Is this why people seem to have to whip off everything? Pedal retention?

Obviously I've never been more than 2 foot off the ground ever

brianbee

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19749567#p19749567]Kickaxe[/url] wrote:

Hello guys,

Basically, I have this problem where my feet come off of my pedals (flat pedals, I'm not planning to switch to clips) on some jumps. Not all, but some. Not far from my home there is a mini, bike park style trail (about a 100m loop) which has a dike as a starting ramp, from the top of it you ride down 4 meters and are transferred into an uphill jump which lands you in the flat, sortof like a stepup. Here, my feet have never come off the pedals, but on some more conventional jumps they sometimes do. Is it possible that it has to do with speed? Like that my bike just falls while I am in the air when I am too slow?

Thanks for your tips, Luca

Yes it has something to do with speed, either the bike is going faster or slower than you are. It has happened to me, when I have jump off/down something I didn't know was there, but not If Im prepared. slight upwards pressure on the bars, slight downward pressure on the pedals and me and the bike are glued together

kickaxe

Interesting, I will try to just go faster next time I go to a trail center, without hurting myself...
I bailed out on a high-speed manual on Tuesday, ended in the hospital with a scraped open hand and a bad calf contusion, so it will be a while until I get back on my bike unfortunately...

If anyone has other tips/similar experiences, please post!

rockmonkeysc

It's nothing to do with speed.
First thing, drop your heels. That's absolutely critical to good jumping.
Learn to pump. Jumping is the same action. You compress in to the lip and unweight the bike as you come off the lip. As you compress the bike you squat down on it, weight central and as you unweight off the lip you should be almost stood up. Never pull up on the bike, that's the worst thing you can do.
Whips are purely a style thing, usually done badly. Scrubbing can look a bit like a whip but is a technique used in downhill to stay low if you want to be back on the ground quickly.

kickaxe

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19749965#p19749965]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

It's nothing to do with speed.
First thing, drop your heels. That's absolutely critical to good jumping.
Learn to pump. Jumping is the same action. You compress in to the lip and unweight the bike as you come off the lip. As you compress the bike you squat down on it, weight central and as you unweight off the lip you should be almost stood up. Never pull up on the bike, that's the worst thing you can do.
Whips are purely a style thing, usually done badly. Scrubbing can look a bit like a whip but is a technique used in downhill to stay low if you want to be back on the ground quickly.

I can usually jump, so that not the problem. I usually don't do a whip but more like a bar turn for style, if I feel like it. The thing that is really weird to me is that this only happens on some jumps...

rockmonkeysc

Some jumps let you get away with poor technique, others don't. Some will punish you for the slightest mistake. If your feet are leaving the pedals then I guarantee it's poor technique.

ravey1981

Try tying your shoelace to the pedals...that might work.

rockmonkeysc

Here's how to do it right

https://youtu.be/EN44KsgBC0o








Yes, it hurt.

kickaxe

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19750682#p19750682]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

Here's how to do it right

https://youtu.be/EN44KsgBC0o

Yes, it hurt.

Haha, thanks man. That is exactly the jump I was talking about, just mine doesn't have a proper landing (flat) and you can't get as much speed as in the video.

rockmonkeysc

A jump that size without a landing would snap frames. That's a 20 foot gap with a 6 foot step up. Not enough speed just isn't an option.

ilovedirt

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19749773#p19749773]StinkinHippy[/url] wrote:

Is this why people seem to have to whip off everything? Pedal retention?

Obviously I've never been more than 2 foot off the ground ever

That's more about scrubbing off speed/squashing jumps.
That and looking like a super pro factory racer boy...

kickaxe

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19750739#p19750739]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

A jump that size without a landing would snap frames. That's a 20 foot gap with a 6 foot step up. Not enough speed just isn't an option.

Yeah I'm saying you can't even get enough speed to go more than maybe 5 feet far and 3 feet up on mine...

rockmonkeysc

I'm sure it's possible to carry the speed in to it, maybe just difficult. People don't put in that much digging work for impossible jumps. Might be a jump which needs boosting a lot as well.

MilesUK

as most people are saying

It is technique not speed causing your issue. Can you bunny hop? Jumping is a similar motion to bunny hopping. you are pulling up and pushing down and you use you legs in tandem with this.

The same goes for jumping. It sounds like you need to use your arms more to stay in control of the bike and relax the lower half of your body. If you can get to a pump track or bmx track and practice pumping it is a great and easy way to learn.

kickaxe

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19757857#p19757857]MilesUK[/url] wrote:

as most people are saying

It is technique not speed causing your issue. Can you bunny hop? Jumping is a similar motion to bunny hopping. you are pulling up and pushing down and you use you legs in tandem with this.

The same goes for jumping. It sounds like you need to use your arms more to stay in control of the bike and relax the lower half of your body. If you can get to a pump track or bmx track and practice pumping it is a great and easy way to learn.

Thanks for the tips. Yes, I can bunnyhop (Not very high ). I am currently working on a new trail with my mtb club, which will include a pump track section. I will see what I can do...

_HENDO_

If your not active enough with your pumping action to jump.

If it's a step up, there's potential that your too far forward on the takeoff when your leaving the lip. If it's a 'kicky' jump, that may explain why your feet come off the pedals.

Difficult to say when there's no video!