Bunny Hopping
 

There are several curbs, potholes and sections of crappy asphalt on my route; generally I try to ride around them, but that's not always possible; half the time I end up slowing down and slowly rolling over them.

My cross bike has Alex da-28 rims with 32 spokes and 700x32 tires, and I weigh ~120lbs. Would bunny hopping potentially damage the wheels or bike at all? Heck, would the wear/tear associated with learning to bunny hop damage them? I've seen threads where people put their wheels out of true, broke a hub, etc, but they likely weigh much more than 120.

I weigh 230 with a rack and panniers and I haven't bent a wheel hopping off curbs. You just need to learn how to get light.

At 120, I don't see your weight coming down on those wheels with enough force to cause damage. I bunny hop off of some TALL curbs on my road bike and as long as you aren't reckless with it, you should be fine.

Seems like riding over curbs has to be as bad or worse than bunny hopping them.

Here is a good tutorial on the bunny hop - hope it helps.

At 235, I bunny hop obstacles in the road all the time, with no damage to my wheels or anything else. This was true even on my racer (when I had one). Like others have said, once you know how, it's probably a lot better than rolling over the curbs.

D

you have to be going super fast to clear say,,, a pot hole. If not? you will catch the other side on the way down with all you have! What I do most of the time is sort of "pop" my front wheel up and "hop" the back one over and let my legs take it so it feels smooth. This is sort of fun but hard on a fixed gear to time it.

I haven't bunnyhopped since 1995 on a chrome Dyno Compe

Why not go around them instead of over them? Lots less wear and tear on both bike and rider...

I used to hop holes lots. Not so much since I changed my route.
I didn't watch the vid. I learned how to hop on dirt trails a lot
easier than on macadam and cement .

Thanks, I never really could figure out how people got the back wheel up until now.

btw, the RD rattles quite a bit on some landings - that's not going to damage it, is it?

Damage?...probably not, but I do occasionally drop a chain when hopping curbs, usually due to bad technique.

If you do it right, you'll be fine. I pop curbs all the time on 23s, and they're fine.

I bunny hop my Stock Surly LHT almost daily, there are some bridges around my house with a very high lip never but a tape on them but I wouldn't be suprised if some were two inches. So It's either bunny hop it, ram over it, or slow down to a crawl.

Generally, that's what I do. It isn't always an option, so having the skill in your "back pocket" comes in handy.

D

On some of the roads I travel there is no bike lane and it has a canopy of old oak trees that like to drop big branches. I swerve and ride around when there are no cars, and hop when there are cars.

I am 155lbs and bunny hop on 24 spoke Front and 28 spoke Rear wheels all the time with no ill effects. I say go for it. I bunny hop speed bumps at full speed so I don't have to slow down like cars do.... and this I do on a daily basis.

A bunnyhop is nothing more than a Z-axis swerve. Good skill for any cyclist, including commuters. See also riding no-handed, trackstanding, and riding a skid.

i weigh 125 and i still really have to take it easy on the bunny hopping. it will bend your rims. i always always carry a spoke wrench. i rode bmx as a kid and could bunny hop over peoples trashcans on trashdays lol. i would get a mountain bike with skinnier tires and rigid fork if i had your commute (just my opinion!). mountain bikes handle bunnyhopping really well. do you ride a road bike? that i wouldnt recommend.. unless absolutely necessary. if you have to do it try not to land at an angle

Part of the fun of cycling to me is curb hopping and bunny hopping. I try not to think too much, just takes the joy out of it. :) Hasn't hurt my wheels yet. If it does it's worth it to me, but then again I do this on a bike with relatively cheap wheels.

I normally don't mess with bunny hops... Not on my 16" wheels... :twitchy:

Hmm. That has not been my experience. I'm 169, only ride road bikes (some of them CF) and have never bent a rim or broken a frame bunnyhopping. A bunnyhop is certainly easier on your wheels than plowing into a pothole or curb.

I'll second this one. I weigh in at 235, and I have been bunny hopping obstacles on a CAAD 5 Cannondale R600, a Trek 7200 FX, and an LHT, often times with a load of gear as well, and I have never bent a rim in my life. The only time I have ever bent a frame involved a car and me being stupid (and damn lucky) as a teenager.

I would think that if you bend a rim or frame by bunny hopping something (with in reason, no arials off of cars thank you), you have a defective product.

D

i see, maybe my rims are just crappy. i bent mine the first second and third days i rode my road bike when i first got it..... until i learned to take it easy. i hear up above^^^^ about two inch bunny hops i think those would be fine. i think it just depends how you do it. personally i wouldnt hop anything over about 6 to 8 inches tho lol it just ends up badly on a road bike imo. i guess i will now here from many 200+ pound roadies who bunny hop every day. maybe i need stronger wheels=/