I've watched a heap of "How to Jump" videos but something was missing. Then I watched this. Today I tried a jump I always go around. I hit it a bit too slow, did the "row" and cleared it easily and smoothly. Thanks Jason and Alan.
I watched this whole video and still didn't really feel like I got what this amazing change was. Pulling the bars towards your hips more? Pump harder with your legs? That's all I got out of it and without a side profile of the difference between your old way and this new way I have little info to go on. Glad to know you are getting higher and farther with less speed. That is awesome!
Alan you’re absolutely right, that small tweak leads to a monumental improvement. I’ve also come across this move when I was watching a demo by Lee McCormack on a device called the rip-row. He did it slow and explained the movement pattern. Something that would be difficult to do real time on a bike. Everything you said was mentioned. Legs initiate, arms guide. The “pull” is a hip hinge like a deadlift as you stand tall, then up and out to begin the landing pattern. I was mind blown when I tried it out during my next jump session, like a cheat code activated.
I suck at jumping. But one thing is clear to me. All mtbers should be working on their hip hinge. A good couple to do this is 1) Bulgarian Goat Bag Swings. Which strangly are not Bulgarian, dont use a goat bag nor are they swings. Lol Basically use a moderate weight like a kettle bell. Hold is tight against just below your sternum and do hip hinges. Focussing on really stretching the hamstrings. 2) James Wilsons indian club swings with offset foot position. Same position as your pedal foot positions.
This is one of the best pieces of information I have taken from a youtube jumping video. I look at other videos now and I see people bring the bars to their hips and not their chest. It is never as clearly explained as you have done it here. Nice worked. Thumbs up to get it to more people.
Man, so much stoke has got me hyped! Katy killed it on 650b! Must be the MTB zeitgeist right now, but a lot of good info and vids touching on jumping. Love this reminder of bringing the bars to the hips/abs. I'm guilty of just squashing it and not doing much of anything off the lip. Watched a Trail Breaker vid where he tries to remember: 1. Push 2. Stand 3. Pull. All of which I really need to do. Thanks for the inspo to keep after it and nice whips! ✌🏼🤟🏼
Glad it helped, Adam! Yeah...I've heard people say "pull" for so long, but it wasn't until I watched and chatted with Jason that I understood *how to* pull.
Awesome video Alan! I totally understand what your talking about in regards to jumps. I'm also trying to improve in my jumps. I started to get the hang of it when I kept riding at Angel Fire Bike Park here in New Mexico. That's when I started to understand the concept, technique, and timing. Jason is correct about bringing in the handle bars in a circular motion into the abdomen and out instead of pulling up towards the chest area. I use to pull up while taking off the lip while compressing as well and for some reason it doesn't result to a smooth jump. But when I made changes as in not pulling up towards my chest but instead using the circular motion my jumps really got smoother and I felt more safe and comfortable. Thanks for sharing this video! Very informative! Keep up the good work in regards to your channel. And if you ever plan to visit NM, let me know. Would be nice to see you ride and do a video of Angel Fire Bike Park.
I always trip out when one small change has such broad effects. TBH, making this video, I was wondering if I was just imagining things. Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm glad I'm not crazy.
Thanks for this! I’m trying to progress too and have the same issue of taming my pop/boost technique. I really like the advice of pulling the bars toward my stomach instead of just to my chest and rowing to the landing. I think the reason this works is when you pull to your chest your legs will be bent. When you straighten your legs the bar moves down. 👊🏻👍🏻
My pleasure! I’m not totally clear on the dynamics but I think especially in the air, it’s related to the bike (and any mass) preferring to be rotated around it’s center of mass.
Alan, big progression!! Your whips don't look bad, actually. I noticed you're not cutting the face of the jump though. You're entering straight and trying to whip your bike. You can do that, but it's more difficult. Try approaching the face at an angle. If you're going to whip to the right, start from the left of the base and cut to the right as you approach the lip. the bigger the angle of your cut, the more whip you'll create.
Yasssss!! If you are ever in Phoenix, Az hit me up. Myself a bunch of other dudes dig in the only real MTB jump spot in the city. We got everything. Love to see folks progress and build skills. Keep it up 🤙🏼
HEY THERE ALAN,,,I MADE IT 837 THUMBS UP BUT WHAT IS MIND BLOGGING THE 11 DOWN,,,WHY? FEEL THE CONTENT ITS JUST RIGHT, PASSING ALONE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO US ITS JUST KOOL. I AM ALWAYS LOOKING TO IMPROVE THE JUMPS SO KEEP DOING VIDEOS BY FAR ARE WELL DONE AND INTERESTING. CHEERS MAN!!!!!!!
I was struggling on jumps till a few months ago, then I pushed my comfort zone and my confidence on jumps is through the roof. I had learnt all the skills but I was holding myself back for awhile. I rode with some better riders and did my biggest jumps to date at the time (around 25 foot). Now im able to clear all black run jumps and even some pro lines!
Any word when Snow Summit will open again. We still have our rainy day tickets we got the day the lightning closed us down. We also saw ourselves in your video while the lady handed out candy. See ya on the trails hopefully!
Oh dang. That day was both fun and a bummer. No word yet. Summit will be closed as long as the forest is closed (due to fire danger). They’re posting updates on a week-to-week basis on their Instagram.
Love your videos! Saw you and Tony on Saturday at SkyPark... thanks for the pic with you guys and my daughter! And the stickers! I can relate to the handlebar pull you were talking about. I began clearing some table tops on sleigh ride and noticed I was pulling the bars into my waist. It felt like angels were lifting me off the ground😆😆
Man Alan really impressed with your progression! Whips are coming along nicely! Something that helped me with my whips is turning more when first coming off the lip this will generate more momentum bringing that back end out with less effort 👍🏻 Scrubs on small jumps where you can be more aggressive with the movement without having the fear of crashing helps a lot too!
Dude, the rear facing jump footage looked so dope!! I'm also working on my jump technique and I think i've definitely discovered what you're getting at in this video. I've learned not to try and bunnyhop/pull hard on the bars as it leads to pretty inconsistent jumps/dead sailors and just overall not being as in control. As i've gotten more comfortable with higher speeds and larger jumps, i've noticed that i'm more relaxed and that my technique has shifted a lot more towards what you're describing with generating the movement more through your legs and compression and just using the arms to guide what the bike is doing.
Indeed. In most athletic movement patterns (and human movement in general), things work best when the big muscles initiate the movement, and the smaller muscles direct the movement.
Excellent tips brotha, i too struggle in jumps because i pull on handlebars towards my chest and never have control on landings, more like a dead sailor. 🤦♂️ I appreciate this 🙏
The way I learned and I’m not an expert but I can throw a phat whipp is that I did it on a step up so I wouldn’t get too injured but I made sure I was comfy on the jump then I just pushed the bike out one way in the direction I wanted it to go and brought it back and landed! It was simple because you should take all that out of your head and just throw it out there! I’m sure the bike will come back straight
This is really interesting thank you! I'm struggling with jumps but I feel the legs are doing okay work, but there is no guidance by the arms whatsoever 😅 I try to work on this!
Great channel, bro! Your whips look good to me... the jumps just need more air. Since you were refining control technique in this video, I would assume the extra air will come in time. Good luck & stay healthy!
I might have missed it in the video, but does the 'bars-to-hip' movement start after you've left the lip, or after the front wheel has but the rear is still on the lip, or while both wheels are still on the lip? [if you know]
Good question. In general, I do this once the rear wheel is off the lip. Pulling to the hips is really about getting the bike to rotate around it's center of mass, and the bike can't do this if either wheel is still on the ground because if either wheel is still on the ground, the entire Earth gets in the way of that rotation. 😆
It's all about that ill communication! So complex to explain and interpret those subtle nuances and amazing when it translates. I'm curious to try to the pull back move. Jason rips! It seems you are definitely clearing the jumps more and whipping it as well. I wonder about the nose thing. One side says keep going with it and maybe even exaggerate it. You seem to get more of a whip action with it. The other side says try to hold the front up. Explore the range. Hoorahs to Katie on 650b, she hit is hard and clean! Watching you ride may be jonez to ride so bad. My trails have more smoke and fire than Snoop Dogg's bong (no offense to The D.O. Double G).
LOL! Snoog Dogg! (and Beastie to boot!) Yeah...talking with Jason really helped put language to the nuance. The one thing I should have emphasized more is that the push back out like Jason was showing with the circular/elliptical motion is also key. My first few goes, I just did the pull to the hip and forgot that key follow through! LOL! Not good. Sorry to hear about the smoked out trails, man. But I'm also jonesing with Snow Summit being closed due to the fire danger. Hopefully soon! 🤘🏽
It took me a bit to realize that the follow cam footage near the end was you in front! Nice work! (Why is he riding an Orange and Black bike? Oh, snap?!!)
Does the circular motion apply for bunny hops as well? The more I try to bunny hop off a lip the less control I feel- can’t wait to try the circular motion instead.
It's similar to the motion with bunny hops. But with bunny hops you have a lot more tension in your hands because you initiate the movement with the manual. On a jump, it's much more subtle, and you're more *guiding* the handlebar. Hope that helps.
Good tip. I do the same when pulling my bars, Always end up pullin up to my chest and It feels I loose control of the bike. Please Give us a tip on how to pull to my waist on your next video.
Another great vid, man! Really liked the Supercut! I look forward to the instructional video, too. Quick question, if I may. When doing the circular/elliptical arm movements, do you find yourself twisting the grips at all? In an effort to get the front end headed downward? Thanks for all the valuable content!
Thanks Derek! I don't twist the grips. When I want to get the front end down, I tend to turn the bars (not push) toward the ground. I'm not sure I would feel good about twisting the grips to do that.
Can you show off a “secret” training section at Skypark. It’s in the back side of the park near the end of comet. I think... it has drops and a small table top.
Thanks, Jeff. I don't use drones. Some are into the Skydio for follow cam, but personally it seems like a lot of hassle to get Skydio follow-cam footy, and for the hassle, I think the results aren't worth it. Drone follow-cam done with FPV type drones is frickin' sick though...but that requires a skilled drone operator. Remy Metailler's stuff for instance. If I were to get a drone though, I'd probably just get a DJI Mini 2 and use it for establishing, beauty shots, and b-roll. But not for follow-cam shots. Hope that helps.
Hey Allan, wish I could triple like this video. I really need to learn this stuff! Your camera angles are really nice and the video is so smooth. Curious what setup you used for this video. I just got a gopro hero8. Hope I can get some good video like this.
when you talked about that pump with the legs, how much force do you have to put in to it? I feel like I'm exerting too much when I do it, and most probably been pulling the bars towards my chest as well. I find that my body starts to lean to the left when I get too much air that my front tire would land on the side and wash out
The amount of pump is case by case...no pun intended. LOL But yeah...pulling the bars to the chest will often lead to a lot of errors. It sounds like you're going dead sailor, i.e. you aren't able to make corrections. That's where pulling more to the hips and then pushing the bars back out can help. It lets you correct. The main thing is to keep the bike moving while you're in the air so that you're more in control and no just along for the ride. I did a How to Jump video too which has a couple additional points that may help: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZXKx4ojJbFM.html
Hi Alan, great video, cheers! By the way, could you share how is the camera mounted on the leading rider at 6:20 so it nicely captures the view and rider behind? I don't think it's saddle or seat post mount as recording would be not as stable. It's super smooth!
Not sure when I’ll see him. Check the description of this vid and look for Steve’s info. He’s got a channel too so you can ask him there or on his IG. 👍🏾
Hey Alan. Thanks for this video! You have helped confirm the same realization that I recently had about pulling to the hips, and then the circular motion to level off and land. Are you adding a bit more compression to the bars beforehand? I think pulling to the chest can result in getting unbalanced in the air, and causes crashes, which made me focus only on the leg pump and speed.
Boom! You are hitting on one of the tips I'll probz be sharing in the vid I'm working on. Yes indeed, I am mostly (if not only) using legs to pump off the lip.
@@mtb_alan Cool. Looking forward to what you have to say about compressing the bars, or not (possibly more needed with smaller trail type jumps without big lips).
Whips are in the shoulders. Dip your inside shoulder down and push your handlebars to your inside hip. That probably did nothing hard to explain through text lol
Do you think bmx/dj jump skills transfer to bike park jumps? I am very interested in getting out to the park after watching your videos, super comfortable on drops and rock gardens but not jumping. Behind my house is a sweet public bike park with steep wood ramps and a nice progression to seriously big jumps. Been wondering if I should buy some armor and go learn on those..
I can't speak from direct experience, but all my buddies who have spent time at DJ or BMX parks have shown notable progression. As a note, Jason (from the vid) comes out of BMX, and that's what a lot of his advice is rooted in. I would love to have a park like that nearby! 🤘🏽
I would have to assume that a BMX background will give you an immense head start on bike park jumps. Seth from Berm Peak had a video (I think from last year) where he took a friend he hasn’t seen in years to Whistler. His friend had never been on a mountain bike, let alone a DH one. But he had an extensive BMX background. After getting his bearings on the bike, he started on the jumps and eventually was boosting and clearing them easily not even going full speed.
Man I could see the change right away... from before where you were trying to only control the bars and the whole motion did not look fluid to where it looked like you were pulling the bars in a circular more fluid motion, and your landing sounded softer as well
its really hard to see the difference in how you're moving your bike. but can clearly see the difference in how much more comfortable you feel and how much farther you land. maybe need a little more clarification on what exactly you changed.
Great video mate! I also need jumping work, keen to implement these out on the trails this weekend. Im very Western Australia and have been making similar MTB content, documenting my progression. Youve got my sub mate, keep up the work mate. feel free to check out my channel if your interested... We dont really have bike parks in AUS more so just tech trails, the jumps in this video look so much fun. Cheers mate have a good one
