As title says, how can i be more connected and in tune with my bike? This video is one of my better jumps, but I always feel like I’m just “along for the ride” as you folks put it. I feel like I’m also pushing the bike down and constantly dead sailoring. I also don’t feel loose at all and I’m always rigid, and my landings suck ass. I’ve been stuck at this stage for pretty much the entire season, so help would be much appreciated.
How can I improve on my jumps and be more connected with my bike?
byu/ICumAllOverr inMTB
by ICumAllOverr
7 Comments
Do you have other jumps or trails? These more like…bumps…?
Jibb around in your backyard or driveway.
Get comfy moving around the bike in low speed low consequence areas and slowly add speed and trails.
Are you lifting your bars?
Hard to tell from this vid but it looks like you’re not putting enough weight into the front wheel. In the first jump, it looks like you’re pulling on the bike to get it up in the air, which isn’t how it works.
Instead of thinking about moving the bike, think about where the momentum of your body is taking you.
If you want to soak up a bump, keep your body moving flat and let the bike come up to you. If you want to jump it, you need to let the bump move through your bike into your body.
The point is, it’s your body mass that you need to think about, not the bike.
After growing up loving jumps and riding MTB for more than 30 yrs I can say that you just look like someone who is new to riding. Just ride and jump a bunch. There’s nothing that can help you more than bunny hopping over and off stuff around town and on trails and repeat runs on jump lines. Enjoy the journey. If u love it you’ll do it a lot and you’ll get better at it. No shortcuts.
I think this always happen when you try to do things above your skill level: you manage to survive but for this very reason can’t learn from what you do and improve.
Find things so easy you can do them without paying attention, then focus on one aspect at a time e.g. getting your body flexible and relaxed to the extreme, syncing with the rhythm of the floor raising and lowering the bike, etc.
Also jumping e.g 180 (or some angle 15, 30, …) in the same spot without the bike, then doing the same with the bike so you feel it’s your body you are moving and the bike just follows you.
It looks like you’re not really jumping. Just because there is a ramp, doesn’t mean the ramp does all the work for you. Get some legs in to it and pop!