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How to make (huck) drops properly and safe Tutorial…
I figured I would finally post these videos and my own tutorial below, even though the first video was supposed to be of me. Enjoy and go practice.
I here all the time the same ole question….."How do I make a drop". Well it is very easy and so many are terrified of these drops or just drop (huck) them the wrong way. I was always told to just think of a big drop as a bigger drop off of a curb Drops are much safer and use less technique than jumping your bike. Start small and them move to bigger ones, but remember this, you have to trust your rig and trust yourself. Anyways, I thought these videos below would help those whom are a little unsure of themselves or are not using the proper technique and little skills needed to make (huck ) a drop. Granted it can be a little intimidating seeing that all of a sudden fall to another level of mother earth, but if the proper technique is used, you just do not know what you are missing until you commit yourself and sail off. Yes, you do have to commit yourself to this and you definitely need to get your mind out of the way, because it is the only thing stopping you from having tooooo much fun.
Sooooo, here are some tutorials I compiled together that are very informative with how to make (huck) a drop. It is exactly what I have been teaching my 11 year old son which now easily hucks 10′ plus drops (not inches but feet). It is a easy form of pulling the bars in backwards motion as you are maneuvering your body in a rearward position. Just as if you were going to manual your bike (pop a wheelie). Everybody wants to pull up on the bars all the time instead of a backward pull as you are shifting your weight rearward. As soon as I can get someone behind my camera and video recorder that knows how to use them (my wife and son are not that good at using them), I will get some photos and videos of myself. But until that time comes (soon), here you go for now:
This first video demonstrates the proper technique and skills needed to huck a drop of various heights and landings:
http://www.youtube.com/v/rBnarkUPxuo
http://www.youtube.com/v/GH7neVwCKVU
This second one kicks ass and I wish I was there to join the fun (love that first song playing). You can also see that some times they are not using there legs and arms as suspension as mentioned in the first video. On some of there landings, their head bobs down real fast (gets jerked down quickly), but then some you do not see this:
http://www.youtube.com/v/r9FrDvpAUkQ
What not to do!! Too much speed and not enough rearward body position, but mainly too much speed. You can see as the rider is launching right off the bridge, his body position is not rearward but upward in the cockpit. The incorrect body position and too much speed was the killer here:
Here is a Skills Tutorial of my own, even though the first video says it all……
DROP OFFS ARE DANGEROUS!
To ride off of a ledge, stand up! Move your weight back slightly, SLIGHTLY! Relax and float. Keep your hands firm on the bars, though. As your front tire leaves the edge pull back on the handlebars by shifting your weight back. Don’t yank the bars. NO weight DOWN on the bars at all! Either pull back or go weightless, depending on your speed and the length of the travel of your suspension. You will ALWAYS want to be slightly back on the bike, no matter the speed. The faster you are going the more weight back.
If the ledge is up to four feet or higher, you will want to let your rear wheel fall faster and land before the front wheel does. Small launches on unsuspended bikes will demand that you use your legs as rear suspension. Keep your weight back!
For fully suspended riders only:
If your fork retails for over $1000, then you are going to have fewer problems dropping big ledges. Remember that by shifting your weight forward as the rear wheel leaves the ledge you can adjust for level flight or bring the nose down slightly to make contact with a downhill grade. You can also touch the REAR brake, and then release quickly–an advanced skill only to be tried after you have the weight shifts down. This is especially important on long travel suspension bikes and whenever you a dropping more than four feet on anything. It always depends on the kind of bike and the skills of the rider, but listen up: The worst mistake you can make when dropping off of a ledge is to lock the front brake.
You want to land on BOTH wheels, but with very little weight on the front wheel. More toward the rear wheel please (landing a drop to flat you need to land more on the rear wheel first before the front). There is a shift of your body weight almost on impact with the ground as you absorb the shock with your legs. ALWAYS shift your weight back and down, balancing the forces of the landing with your speed and momentum. ONLY BRAKE ONCE YOUR WHEELS ARE IN FIRM CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. Downhillers lower their saddles for this specific reason, so that when they land or corner at speed they can bring their weight WAY BACK and DOWN, then use the brakes. On a XC full suspension bike with three to four inches of travel with a fixed saddle height, you will have to get back and down by getting BEHIND THE SADDLE. Realize that you hardly ever fall off the back of your bike. Most accidents happen when the front wheel gets unhappy on a bad line and has too much weight on it. This pitches you forward. You can only fall off the back of your bike if you are going too slowly. If you are nervous and going to slow, you should not be attempting the jump in the first place. This is a simple rule: If it freaks you out and you don’t know how you are going to react in the air, forget it. Wait until you are ready.
You want to get to that point of balance over the bike and with the speed over any given terrain. You will feel it. Now let’s deal with the surface:
Sand landing: FL is notorious for this. When you land in sand you must have the weight back a bit more than you would on solid ground. Your wheels are going to sink and you want them to float. Speed helps. Do not exaggerate landing on the rear wheel, though. Hit on one wheel and it will dig in, so try to distribute your weight so that both wheels absorb the impact and keep you on the surface, but weight BACK. You have to land evenly on the handlebar, perfectly balanced. If you are a little off to one side your front wheel will TURN AND STOP. Keep your weight behind the bar, wrists and elbows down, relaxed– and oh yea, DON’T relax your HANDS! You will have to hang on. As you land, pedal. Go fast. Even pedal stroke.
Flat landing onto rock: Rear wheel first!
Loose landing (EXPERT AND PRO LEVEL RIDERS ONLY!): Don’t use your brakes until you are off of the loose stuff. Balancing your bike is crucial. If you are slightly off balance when you land the loose stuff is going to take you down. Keep weight on your bars BALANCED and even. If you have too much weight on one side, down you go. Loose stuff is DANGEROUS!
Get off and walk. If you are considering an uphill landing, then just remember the rear wheel always comes down first, then you start pedaling your ass off as the front wheel comes down.
RAMPED JUMPS NEED SPEED!
Ramps are fun. To start out with, it is best to find a small ramp with a gentle uphill landing like the one above. Gain a bunch of speed and hit the ramp straight on, lift up and try your best to land on two wheels. Do it over and over until it feels right and you are in total control, then head to a slightly bigger ramp. If you have a fully rigid BMX bike, you are going to learn a lot faster. Suspension can eat up the ramp and fight your flight. To get a long travel full suspension bike to launch off a small ramp you are going to have to load the suspension with speed as you hit the ramp and time your rebound as you hit the lip. A good suspension fork will suck up the lip and your rear wheel will launch without the front wheel leaving the ground. Adjusting compression damping and preload to firm up the fork will help.
[i:26icimjo]**DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY OF THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME WITHOUT THE SUPERVISION OF A SKILLED TEACHER. OK, so you want to get some air? Or maybe you want to drop off of a ledge. A jump has a ramped take off. A ledge has a flat, or slightly downhill take-off.**[/i:26icimjo]
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Dude, this is great info. THANK YOU for taking the time to make detailed posts like this one (along with so many others).
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Many thanks as well. I already know how to do basic jumps and drops, but information is ammunition. Any extra information is always welcome. Thanks a bunch!
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"SaiyanFury" wrote
Many thanks as well. I already know how to do basic jumps and drops, but information is ammunition. Any extra information is always welcome. Thanks a bunch!
You need to go read this again!! Haha.
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