I'm no spring chicken and looking to get any advice before moving to larger jumps. I'm in my mid 40s and just started mountain biking with my son.
I am pretty consistent and feeling confident on the small stuff, but thought it prudent to get any tips before going bigger.
I was looking for a MTB noob subreddit but couldn't find one, so here I am. Any advice is appreciated.
by S_Edge
8 Comments
For the sake of your bones, you are not ready to do bigger stuff yet. You know how a car goes over a speed bump – your rear end is coming up because you are not popping the front very much. You need to get a bit of front end manual going – specifically the compression part.
I don’t mean to be a jerk, I don’t want you to get hurt. Your front is not getting enough compression investment and your rear is capitalizing on it, which can put you over the bars if you go big like this. Your center of gravity is really far back and you’re keeping it there meaning, you are investing compression into the rear.
Stand up to the jump
I’m old (63) and also developing (low altitude) jumping skills.
Based on this video you need to hit this jump many, many more times, until it gets boring and you are landing more controlled (even if casing a bit). You are getting bucked here and you don’t want that happening on a larger jump 😬. Looks like you stopped “standing up” about 3/4 of the way up the ramp and that is at least partially why you’re getting bucked. You need to work on your timing and pressing against the ramp all the way to the rear tire reaching the lip (and so do I, for that matter!).
Same as everyone else. Time to relax on the bike more.
You’ve got to explode off the lip and stand up straight [JUMP VID](https://youtu.be/CLutgpYeec8?feature=shared)
learn to manual. learn to accept the transition. work on your hip hinge, get that butt down.
You are absorbing the jump. Your arms and legs remain bent the entire time. It’s causing the nose to stay low, while the back end pops a bit higher. As a result you are getting a small buck forward when you land. If you were to speed up and hit something bigger, you would go over the front handlebars and crash badly.
Definitely get some coaching pointers or watch some recommended videos.
I would learn how to bunny hop and apply those mechanics..
You look really stiff, so you’re just going for the ride the bike takes you on instead of controlling it. If it helps, think of your legs and arms as a form of suspension and absorb some of what your bike is doing.