eippo1

Yes, but he's saying a full bunnyhop would be lifting the rear wheel up as the front wheel comes down. In cross racing, there are often curb hops and the majority of people in the cat 4's will just pop a wheelie and still catch the rear tire on the curb, slowing them down. The faster guys (and those with an mtb background) will do a full bunnyhop and carry more speed through the transition.

haaseg

So, maybe I'm a little unclear on the actual real definition of a bunny hop. It seems like there are some purists out there that think that in order to actually call it a bunny hop, you have to lift the front wheel first, then lift the back wheel before the front wheel lands. I tend to just lift and land both wheels at the same time. It seems easier to me, and less stressful to my knees and elbows. What is this called, if it's not a bunny hop?

tagaproject6

That's called a double Salchow

Seriously, I wouldn't worry about the term. If you can do it to hop over obstacles, that is all that matters. Leave others to worry about the terms. There are other things to get bothered about, than some petty term on the interdweebs.

ColinL

Agreed with that, Taga.

This is what I am talking about:
That is not a bunnyhop. If you do it a low speed it's not even much impact on your rear wheel as you roll up, into contact, and ride over.

MajorMantra

Any idiot can bunny hop with clipless pedals. I can't do it for sh*t if I'm not attached to my pedals but I can get plenty of air when I'm clipped it on my (road) race bike. Bunny hopping has saved me on more than one occasion and sometimes it's your only option when you're in a group and an un-signalled pothole suddenly appears in front of you.

spock

If you are worried that you might damage your bike with bunny hopping, then you are doing it wrong. When you land you gotta kind of bend your knees as you land to soften the fall. Just like jumping from, let's say the 4 feet height on the ground. If you don't bend your knees as you land, it's gonna hurt. Most bikes are light enough that if you drop them from 1/2 ft', nothing's gonna happen to the bike. It's the rider weight that might ground it badly if the rider is not responsive to the fall.

LesterOfPuppets

I don't think there's an official name for it in North America but the Germans call it a Pig Hop.

Another variation that works well for speedbumps is to wheelie over it then just unweight your rear wheel as it passes over.

brothersbutler

I don't bunny hop just to bunny hop, only when I need to

pdedes

tracks, curbs and potholes conspire to wreck your wheels. defeat them with the saute du lapin.

tagaproject6

And what do bunnies do when they do that to a bike? I hop?

caloso

This thread should have ended with BDop's post. But since it didn't, my two cents:

It' s an essential skill for every rider, just as much as drinking, turning to look without swerving, riding no-handed, etc.

urbanknight

If you're bunny hopping a piece of yarn, it was unnecessary stress. If it was a log you couldn't get around, it was necessary!!!

ilovecycling

I didn't mention this in my last post, but what I do to minimize the load on the bike when hopping a curb is I first get the front tire up on the elevated surface, then before the back tire gets to the curb I kind of lean forward and do the 2nd half of a normal full bunnyhop to get the rear wheel over the obstacle.

This way I'm not really coming down hard at all. I wish I had a way to post a video of this.

tagaproject6

Somebody cue the "Stunt riding on a carbon fiber roadbike" video!

ahsposo 

OK

tagaproject6

Yay!

save10

I recently bought a neat old early 90's road bike to use a city bike in SF. still had platform pedals. Well I had to bunny hop a sudden obstacle, but i was so used my Keo's that I was completely off guard when my feet came flying off at the top of the bunny hop. had i missed the pedals on the way down, i would have been become a soprano in front of a bunch of Euro tourists on the embarcadero in SF. I had not tried to do that on platforms since my little blue/yellow diamond back when i was little.

kleinboogie

My gut puts unnecessary stress on my bike. Bunnyhopping is the least of my problems. And yes, if you have to hop an obstacle on the road, do it.

ahsposo 

I'm pretty sure you can bunny hop on platform pedals.

I go and unfold my folder (or I guess I can just not use the toe clips on the hybrid) and give it a try.

I'll get back to you...

ahsposo 

Of course you can bunny hop on platforms.

This video has a BMX bike but it's basically the same principle.

JamieElenbaas

Of course you should learn to bunny hop; it's a fundamental bike handling skill that could indeed save your life. That said, I can tell a funny story on myself related to bunny hopping.

On the last Seattle to Portland (STP) ride, I had stopped for an espresso just before crossing a huge arched bridge over the Columbia river. Over coffee, another rider asked me how I liked my BMC. One of my comments to him was that it rides as if it's on rails - nothing unexpected - no wobbles at any speed ever.

We finished our coffee and before we started over the the bridge my new friend warned me that there was a 'huge' expansion joint toward the bottom of the Oregon side.

After cresting the top, I was cruising down at 40ish mph when I saw water bottles scattered all over the road in front of me and suddenly remembered the expansion joint. Rather than give up all that delicious momentum, I thought I'd just hop it. Just before landing, I kind of thought, "Hmmm... I wonder how fast I've ever bunny hopped before." Wondering that is probably what caused me to land a little crooked, provoking a vicious, but thankfully short-lived wobble.

I'm pretty sure the stranger was right behind me. Between the embarrassment about bragging about my rock solid bike moments before nearly wiping out in an obvious death wobble, and the massive adrenalin jolt from the same, I put my head down and powered through the next ten miles just so I wouldn't have to see him again.

Lessons learned: If your are going to take your bike airborne at 40 mph, you'd better land it exactly straight. Better yet, slow down, (duh).

Oh, and never brag to a stranger about how great your bike is. It only invites trouble.

tagaproject6

Yes you can. That is how I learned many moons ago on my bmx.

LesterOfPuppets

If I ride platforms too many days in a row I boost my rear wheel WAY too high next time I hop while clipped in

eippo1

A true test of the bunny hop is doing it while clipped in on a fixed gear. Good stuff.

rooftest

Getting a few inches of air over an obstacle is fine for your road bike. Bunny - hopping down staircases or over 3 foot high obstacles like I did back in the BMX days will destroy your roadbike - no matter what it's made of.

So - yes - bunny hop; but within reason.