Mountain Biking - Bunny-hopping

Hello everyone....I wa sout the other day trying to accomplish some bunny-hops on my bike. First off....my bike is HEAVY......like seriously heavy. wiht ALL my might i can only get about 1 foot MAXIMUM off the ground. Ive read many different things on the skill, and theve all helped me. Im just wondering if this is as high as i can go....or would a pair of clipless pedals help me bring uyp the back end for more height?.......thanks to everyone with some responses... ;)

Are you going over something or just up? i can go only so high over nothing but can hop onto the hood of a car easy. Clipless pedals suck in the case of hopping onto something and having to regain balance and not fall on your ass. they are good on a trail hopping over something.

well....I try to hop onto things...but i fail....miserably... :( ...ive practiced with just sticks and things....last time i tried to hop a curb....i didnt bring my front up soon enough......CRASH.....sqare into it...about 20 kph.....ouch....big scars on my elbows too...but i just need some info on what im doing wrong....

Just practice alot, doesn't matter how heavy your bike is either, my hardtail is 35lbs and I can bunnyhop curbs and things easier then with my XC bike which is alot lighter.

add 10 pounds to your bike FLYBYU and you got my weight... :rolleyes:

there's been some posts about bunny hopping in the past, which were posted here in the forum. i've tried reading whatever i could find on how to bunny hop. i still don't think i'm bunny hopping properly, but i have been able to hop higher the more i practice.

best advice is to practice and practice and practice... try to get your technique down pat and you'll be able to hop higher as time goes by.

add 10 pounds to your bike FLYBYU and you got my weight... :rolleyes:


It still dosent matter. If you can bunnyhop a foot in the air, then all you have to do is practice it while the bike is moving. What kind of bike is this? If you can get a foot up......that will take you over any curb.

Hey thanks....I guess ill just keep on practising...I found that practising other things makes me so much better at them... :D ...the only thing i hate is when people give up...

I tried to bunnyhop my buddy's 45 pound Gemini and was only able to get maybe a foot or so off the ground. On a lightweight hardtail I can get MUCH higher off the ground. A bike that's a third of my weight tends to be harder for me to manuever.

What is the defination of a "bunny hop" these days anyway?

When I was a kid, a "BUNNY HOP" was when you pulled both wheels off of the ground at the same time.

And a "JOINER" was when you lifted up the front first and followed it with the rear.

I have always found that a joiner is what helps me to clear higher obstacles.

Get a Cannondale and you'll go flying. Maybe even sometimes when you don't want to...

What is the defination of a "bunny hop" these days anyway?

When I was a kid, a "BUNNY HOP" was when you pulled both wheels off of the ground at the same time.

And a "JOINER" was when you lifted up the front first and followed it with the rear.

I have always found that a joiner is what helps me to clear higher obstacles.

Its not these days. The original bunny hop in the early 80's was a front wheel pull up and then followed by the rear.

You are describing a level lift which most clipless riders end up using however as you said, it gets you no height.

Its not these days. The original bunny hop in the early 80's was a front wheel pull up and then followed by the rear.

Second that.

Building upper body strength will help too since a lot of a Bunny Hop is pulling up the front wheel.

What is the suitable bike geometry for a bike to Hop and wheelie with?

My XTC is terrible at stunting, its more XC orientated so its near impossible to do a front end first hop. Im rather pulling both wheels together, getting less than a foot of air.

Its also very hard to wheelie but i find lowering the seat helps.

You want a slack design bike. Look at the p series or out of bounds series by kona.