Jumps/heights
 

I've always had a hard time with air. Before I even get near a jump, I get nervous, I can imagine going off and messing up,landing on my neck with my bike on top of me,all the blood,splintered bones, I can imagine all of these. Needless to say I have a hard time with jumps. But on the other side of the hand, I always enjoy jumping when I get up the nerve to go over. Like back when I would skateboard off the roof, took me a little while, but once I did it I loved it. What's a good way to start with jumping? Are my imaginations normal? Do I just need to practice some mind over matter?

It's all about confidence, my friend. Not that I have any, but that is what one needs. If there is a big jump you are concerned about, ride over it slowly a few times, then increase your speed. If you do that over and over you will be flying before you know it.

I'll try that. there is no one jump I am concerned about,other than all jumps.

Start small, and relax!

Why are you so concerned about this one jump? What makes it harder then other jumps you come across? Are you landing on a down slope? Level ground? Uphill?

Well like I said, I am not concerned about "1" specific jump. There is one behind my house that has a bumpy landing with a turn rigth after it. But the biking club I'm in go riding all over SC, and a couple of the trails have dropoffs and jumps,and it sucks to have to walk around a dropoff, and bike around a jump. So I was just wondering if I was missing something.

Opps, read your post wrong :)

The biggest mistake i see when doing drop offs, is people going too slow! Keep your speed up, say ~10MPH, stand up, and pull the front wheel off the ground before you go over, you want to land on both wheels, and the exact same time!

In all honestly, i have problems doing drop offs of more then two feet on a hard tail. And i wont even try anything more then four feet on my Joshua (3" of travel all around).

Im sure somebody else will give good advice on jumps with bumpy landings, and / or tight turns after the jumps.

The best way to learn, is watch, then do. Talk to the other guys in your club, do they have any tricks? Most likely, there just as freaked out about that jump as you are, they just dont have the guts to walk it :)

Good luck.

Joe is right, make sure you have enough speed. Many people ride to slow in MTB situations (not just jumping) because they are scared etc., but many times this is the worst thing to do and leads to a wreck. Joe also makes a good point about landing with both wheels at the same time. I prefer to land w/ my back wheel slightly before the front, but I would say either way is good. Both are far preferrable to landing on the front wheel first - avoid this if possible.

What I would say is most important is being very comfortable on you bike. After you have ridden it for a while, it should be like an extension of your body. You should know how it is going to react in any given situation. This will reduce the fear factor greatly because, in the event you miscalculate a jump, your chances of successful recovery are improved 10 fold.

One more thing - you will wreck occasionally, this is a fact. Learning how to wreck helps. Rolling out of a spill can eliminate a lot of injuries. Believe it or not, coming out of a wreck injury free will increase your confidence. My philosophy is if you don't wreck once in a while, you aren't pushing your limits and you won't get better.

Here a couple of pics of me jumping for inspiration jump1 and jump2

Good luck!

Rider...are you sure those are pictures of you jumping? I went to take a look at the links you posted while at work and got this message...
Sorry... This web site has been blocked due to its content


Now I'm really curious to see those pictures :D

Joe is correct Fubar start small. I had to learn to jump all over again after my stabbing incident, and since I ride with a broken right ankle. Try going up to tree roots and jumping them. You could always practice bunny hops, this will get you semi accustomed to jumping and landing. I cannot handle "big air" anymore the landings are just way to hard. However that is me you are still young. Just be sure to wear gloves and a helmet.

Unless you are landing on a transition its better to land rear wheel first. It spreads the force of impact out, feels and looks smoother.

I thought something was wrong at first--I had to enter my Yahoo! password to see the photos! But there they were--very impressive, too. I'm lucky if I can hop over the leading edge of one of those mysterious steel plates that crop up all over the streets. (What is underneath? White rabbits?)

Joe - Very strange, the pictures should be open to anyone. You should not have to enter a yahoo password.

You can try going directly to my pictures folder here and look in the MTB sub folder.

Fubar,make sure you have a friend take a photo of your jump mid-air,and If you do wreck big time at least the pic will look cool.....

Great photos Rider X...nice style!

I had the same problem Fubar with my jumping...used to love it to bits, then I was off the bike for a few years, came back to it and found that I had lost alot of my confidence.

Start of small and work your way up..you'll be pulling big air before you know it! :thumbup:

A quicker way would be to disengage your brain, but I'm still looking for the entry flap.... :confused:

Rich

Maybe build a jump in some long grass in a field and If you have to wipeout the landing will be softer....???

People are often afraid of big jumps. There is really nothing to fear in gaining some Big Air. Its the landing that you should be frightened of.

Hey Rider, I was able to get to the picture with the last link you posted. Not sure why the previous link was blocked. Great pictures. I also checked out the ones from Moab. Did you compete on your singlespeed there?

I used the geared bike for the race. At the time, I was the only guy on our team who rode single speed. Now, 2 of the other 3 have an SS bike. John Stamstead raced it solo on a single speed and took 2nd. He was very close to the 1st place finisher

Since our team can't do the 24 hours of Tahoe this year, I'm trying to put together a single speed team to do the 24 hour Champion Challenge in Seven Springs PA. One guy from our team said he would do it. Now if I can only find 2 more fools...I mean masochists...I mean strong riders! :D

I like your thinkin'

I've been practicing on some jumps I made on a trail behind my house. I'm doing alot better(no pics though). I have found that the fast I go the better control I have in the launch and landing.I am going to build some bigger jumps soon, and maybe a few stunts, I have some great ideas cookin' in my head.

My advice from an old BMXer, learn to bunny hop without clipless pedals. Go buy some platform pedals and get some shin guards, maybe some elbow pads and definately a helmet. Practice bunny hoping on the grass until you a comfortable and getting about 8-12 inches off the ground. Then get some clay or good dirt and build up a mound about 12 inches high and essentially do a bunny hop off the jump. Once you're comfortable with that and landing 3 feet away on a regular basis, build a landing mound about 2.5 feet away and practice your distances, with a 2x6 board across the tops of both mounds (in case you land short). Once you're landing easily on the 2nd mound, take the board away. Pretty soon you'll be comfortable jumping that and then you can slowly add height to both mounds and increase the distances between them. Try this and you'll be clearing 6 foot gaps in a matter of weeks.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

Later Gator.

COOL!!!!! You bet !!!

You might try putting rabbit ears on your helmet...:p

:p :p :p :p :p
Ha ha ha ha