marqueemoon

Since the majority of my time on a bike is spent commuting I tend to get a little restless. I'm not sure how I came to have been riding bikes for nearly 30 years without being able to bunnyhop, but an hour on a bike a day is getting me some practice time. I'm still pretty lousy at it, but on the way home I don't have to worry about crushing my lunch so I usually go for it. There are even a few sweet jumps to hit on the way home. Nothing like the clatter of fenders when ya touch down again.

So.. What goofy stuff do y'all do?

super-douper

I try to trackstand. TRY

sometimes it looks cool, but most times it's just practice at how fast I can turn the bars from all the way left to all the way right without falling over.

sometimes I wish I had a BMX or something that i could bunny hop and nose wheelie and stuff, but i forget about that when I fly by what looks like a kid's torso sitting on top of a tornado made of knees, trying to keep up with me.

Dead Extra #2

I try to practice these when I can:

jyossarian

I practice trackstands, wheelies and bunnyhops on my mtb. On my fixie, I practice trackstands and bunnyhops. And I work on my spin on both bikes.

Halfstep

I've been known to try a track stand from time to time and even a bunny-hop now and again. I particularly enjoy turning from side to side as I coast downhill in leisurely, wide arcs.

marqueemoon

Oh yeah. The swoopy coast. I love it. Commute time = trackstand practice for me too.

DataJunkie

Crud. I'm lame.
I practice pedaling techniques.
Point shoes down slightly, pull back, etc

Note to self: start working on trackstands.

badger1

I'm pretty lame too, also an old git -- nevertheless, like OP most of my mileage is accumulated commuting, so I tend to practice (that is, try) trackstands, small jumps/hops, and as well spinning/intervals. But, where I live we are incredibly lucky to be able to commute on a riverside MUT which is paralleled, on my route, by about a 5 km. stretch of riverbank singletrack, long stretches of which are smooth hardpack punctuated by little rock gardens, rooty bits, and mini-switchbacks. So when it's dry, I get to practice off-road technique (on slicks!) while going to/from work everyday. Sometimes, I can even allow myself to think I can ride a bike -- can't really, of course, and I have the scars to prove it, but it's fun trying!

lyledriver

Lately, I've been practicing the skid-to-trackstand routine.
It really makes perpendicular traffic nervous at the 4 way stops.

Dead Extra #2

That's really, really fun for some reason.

tsl

I've been known to take my feet off the pedals and scream "Wheee!" on the swoopy downhill coast.

Only if no-one's looking, of course.

TheFlip

I practice the nohands riding and turning. And the swoopy decent thing is way too much fun.
When I ride my mountain bike I also try some of the dirt jumps on the way home.

Neist

I havent been able to bunny hop for years since I stopped BMX'ing. And could I ever bunnyhop!

I used to be able to pull off 1-2ft bunny hops. Where did all my skill go.

rykoala

I recently have been trying the no-hands thing when there's no traffic. Just for fun. I also have tried trackstanding, but I don't have that down really and, being clipless, I have no desire to fall down. Usually I just try to get where I'm going in one piece.

noisebeam

I struggle with bunny hops on the fixed. Can do them if I am hopping an imaginary object at a random place, but not a timed hop.

I don't see any benefits of trackstanding for riding with traffic.

Al

-=(8)=-

On the Sledgehammer ??

Depends on the bike...
I love to wheelie !!!!
I can wheelie any bike Ive ever ridden except Im still
working on lofting the fix because the gear is soo tall.
If I ever get it up I can ride it forever but at 46x17 I might yank the
stem out of the steerer I keep trying though...might have to go to a 42
for a while......
I can bunny hop potholes and craters and do that often because of the
roads I ride but only on the gearie...
But yeah....I think when commuting its good to have fun occasionally as a break
from the utilitarian and mundane

atbman

Start by trying to bunnyhop a packet of roll-up papers.

Of course, if you're the kind of person who makes regular use of roll-up papers...

I once did a 1-hour trackstand, but that's turbo trainers for you

Trek930

+1 Same here DataJunkie. I guess I am too lazy and put my foot down.

Of course with panniers bunny hopping is not possible. Err... I think. I am clipless though. I also ocasionally jump down a curb.

Trek930

Heh. Quoting myself.

Turns out I can do a small bunny hop with a pannier on. Now to work on it more so I can actually get some height.

CommuterRun

I can bunny-hop. Not great but enough to get me over a low obstacle, or pot hole, if I time it right. This doesn't work with a trailer on. Please don't ask me how I know that.

What I'd like to learn to do is track stand.

Something I saw one time I thought that was very cool, but I'll probably never learn it. I saw a woman riding a MTB do a nose wheelie, pivot the bike 180 on the front wheel, do a wheelie, pivot the bike 180 on the rear wheel and continue on in her original direction. She effectively did a 360 in two wheelies while moving.

maximusvt

I can't exactly visualize what you saw CummuterRun but it sounds pretty tight.

When I'm on the MTB, I make a jump out of any obstacle in my way that I could possibly turn into a jump. My shortcut to work goes through this big empty dirt parking lot, with a few good ridges to grab some air off of. I also do the no-hands thing when there are no cars around recently have been doing it while standing on the pedals, not hard if you just hold the seat nose in between your knees.

I found that even if you're good at riding no hands, a good wind can twist your handlebars around pretty quick and hit you from nowhere. Washing out in the middle of the street is a great lesson in humility, I've done it once or twice and felt pretty damn ridiculous.

dalmore

I've learned that you can also bounce things off the rack that way too. Tailights in particular ...

jyossarian

Not quite as spectacular as the 360, but I saw a woman on a mtb clear a hose about 8" in diameter by pulling up her front wheel, then once that was over, pull her back wheel up and over and keep on riding. If I was on my mtb, I'd have tried it too, but I was on my fixie so I just stopped and picked my bike up over the hose.

lyledriver

Sweet.
I believe its called a 'Rock Walk' and was invented by Bob Haro circa 1979.


I was actually out on my BMX practicing these last night.
Its easier to initiate with a front brake, but can be done without.
When its done smoothly on an MTB it looks soooo good.

CommuterRun

Yeah, that's it.

But the woman I saw do it, did it on a single-track. For no apparent reason, she just did it. A very cool maneuver.