Mountain Biking - wheelie-drops... cranked II video

ok, i know they're already up to like Cranked IV or something, but i finally say Cranked II yesterday... i think it would have been better with a little too less jumping BMX style stuff and a little less raw-speed crazy downhills and more North Shore and techinical stuff (technical downhill as opposed to trials although that's cool to watch too).

but i noticed a lot of variety on the wheelie-drops in the videos. some guys after tak-eoff were dropping the rear-wheel way down and landing at maybe 45 or more degrees while others were landing on the rear almost even with the front so the front lands a fraction of a second later. Does it matter much which technique? is there a distance/speed that determines when to use which? i'm totally comfortable doing small wheelie-drops off curbs or small obstacles up to 2ft of so, but i'm still a little sketched by bigger drops... if i really lean back and land with the front wheel high up is there a danger of flipping backwards like when doing a wheelie? or does forward momemtum prevent that?

any recommendations for learning bigger drops? as far as basic technique and also what can i expect to do on my XC full suspension w/o breaking anything? i'm hoping to be able to do up to about 4ft drops on trails and also think it would be nice to be able to do urban drops off stairs and walls and stuff... can my lightweight XC full suspension handle the impact when landing on concrete? or do i need to run less air in my back tire? (i usually run 50-55psi for speed)

also, what difference in technique is there between a wheel-drop at speed and a wheelie-drop from a track-stand? (i.e. momemtum)

Angle of drop kinda depends on the angle of the landing. If the landing is flat, you generally land rear tire first and are at more of an angle in the air. When the landing is sloped away from the point of impact, you want to be more level in the air to keep you from flipping back. That way, your rear will still land first!

L8R

Unless you are 100 pounds overweight you arent going to break your bike doing 4' drops. Mountain bikes were made to be beat down a bit. Just make sure your suspension is set so that you won't bottom out.
As for landing the drops, I think the angle is all personal preference. If you want to land and get out of there then do it flat. If you want to look dramatic but slow then land at a 45 degree angle on the back tire.

Hey,
Similar question, different bike. I have a Gary Fisher Tasajarra...my first real bike. I know it's not a top quality bike, comparatively speaking, but what sort of drops can this bike handle, being that it only has front suspension? I already busted my shocks once doing a wheelie drop off of a bridge about 15 inches high. I think the shock was just a defect, but I don't want to push my bike further than it was mean to be pushed.

Thanks,

John

JohnBoston,

like Roadkill said:: if it's a real off-road bike (i.e. not a walmart special) and you're not super heavy (say under 200lbs)... then you probably won't break anything unless you're really doing huge stuff or crash.

i'm not so experienced with big stuff: i did two 3' wheelie-drops yesterday which i am way stoked about - one was a wooden bridge where i had to do a wheel-lift and hop to get up and then the wheelie-drop to get off and all 5 of my XC riding buddies walked their bikes...

but i've never broken anything on my old hardtail except for crashing or bad technique:: over the years i've bent 2 rims, once by bunny-hopping and landing with the rear on the far end of a pothole and once by bunn-hopping and landing wrong, snake-biting the tire and benting the rim

back to the original Q: are there any common mistakes that can be dangerous? like how real is the possbility of flipping backward?

It can happen...sometimes if you land a wheelie drop with your bike at too much of an angle and you dont hold your back brake enough, the back wheel just rolls out and you land on your tailbone and then usually you smack the back of your head on the ground. I've broken two helmets this way and one was a $200 Giro switchblade I rode for three weeks. Any ways the morals is to make sure you have the back brake locked up if you want to do really big drops with flat landings. i think most bikes can handle a 5 foot drop but it all depends on the teqnique of the rider. I've ridden with guys who do 9 foot drops onto flat concrete with fully rigid trials bikes...its alll about teqnique and how you absorb the landing.:beer: