Recently converted roadie here. I've been riding the roads for 25+ years and recently bought a mtb. I knew mtb'ing required new and different skills but didn't fully appreciate it until now. Loving these how to vids as I work on gaining the skills needed to fully enjoy the ride. Well done and keep up the good work. All I can think about is hitting the trails and honestly have no desire to ride the roads any more. Why did I take so long to change sides?!?!?!?!?
i just did my biggest drop so far ( not big) and concentrated so much on the drop that i never gave a thought about how the run out would be. i clipped a tree and went OTB lol
Drops step downs and road gap’s are so much fun just start learning the technique and then starts off hitting small drops then build yourself up You use the same technique for a 6 foot as you would a 10 -15 foot drop it’s just having the confidence to go that big Also don’t let your friend’s Pressure you into something You don’t want to do
These things are damn fun to ride. But I always wonder how to figure out the speed for these gaps... I try all sorts of drops by myself, but I'm kind of nervous if I have to trust someone to show me the right speed for a gap because it already went wrong :D
Yeah it’s hard to judge speed four a big road gap or step down because you can’t see the landing and it’s kind of a dark arts how to judge the speed it takes years of experience and balls don’t be nervous that’s how things go wrong if you nervous on a 30 foot road gap then you shouldn’t be doing it practice makes perfect trusting someone is hard but try and find someone who has done it before and you trust I am a street rider so doing massive Stair gap still scare me because of the consequences get it wrong and your going to the hospital
I have a one hour video of myself riding up to the end of this drop about 30 times then finally hitting it and it was awesome. Now it’s no biggy but that first time is very nerve racking. The two drops after this one are actually harder to me because they are either deeper or the run out isn’t as long.
It would be good to have a safety tip for all drop videos....if you hesitate and comfort brake on the approach, i.e. you are not totally, totally100% committed, then stop! It will save many viewers a trip to hospital and weeks off the bike...The consequences of bigger drops, especially with steeper runoffs should not be underestimated! Loved the video and Blake is entertaining as ever, thank you.
Hey Blake! Awesome video!! Out of all gmbn presenters you are my favourite, every video you make just has so much positive energy and you give such many great biking tips. Keep up your work because its awesome!
One thing that doesn’t get talked about in almost all of the drop videos I’ve seen is feet position in the air when on flat pedals. I have a tendency to separate from the bike on bigger drops, and addressing foot position would be helpful
It's all quite complicated to explain but with lots of practice you will naturally start to control the bike in the air, using the handlebars to rotate the bike and staying slightly squashed to the bike sometimes with bend in the knees so you've got room to kick down if the pedals start to fall away, also keeps you jumping lower so less impact, as seen in one of the clips of Blake in this video, his legs reach down just before the drop kicking the bike down and then helping him absorb the landing
Don't ride the same features, try something different and take a step back if scared, do the things you're good at to get into the right momentum and build your confidence. Stay safe everybody 🙌🙌
Oh man, missed opportunity. You should have teamed up with Ollie when you did this tutorial. I can just imagine Ollie shouting dropping in while doing that drop😆
Why don't they build a few "road gaps" that are a 1 foot drop onto a roller with a marker pad at the case point of the landing... right beside the exact same road gap... but actually a real gap... Then you could practice all day on what is basically a 1 ft drop.. but increase your landing down the hill until your landing the "Gap".... then you can move over and actually do the gap. Like a table does for gap jumps, it would allow you to fail, and all you actually do is just land short of the marker... Make the marker a concrete ripple strip about 1ft across so you get a brrrp if you fail the 'Gap'.
How to climb up a short steep hill? May seem obvious but I’m new to this sport and 48 female. I peddle hard and Right when I’m about to go over the hill my front tire stops and I slam my breaks so I don’t roll backwards and get off before falling off. Thanks! Great videos.
Hey Rosario, momentum, cadence and weight balance is the name of the game! Keep momentum and cadence up, so drop down the gears just as you begin to climb the hill not during. As for weight balance, lean forwards to stop the front end rising, but not far enough forwards to break traction on the rear wheel!
"Gauge the speed". So easy to say. I think better advice is to follow somebody trustworthy that you've seen do the drop well. "Gauge the speed" only comes with lots and lots of experience that probably includes getting it wrong a few times. As a beginner, I have no way to gauge the speed.
That drop is even scarier in person. I chickened out on it. Wouldn't have in my younger days but with age comes knowing the consequences of injury. ,😂😥
at 2:04 you say "don't pull on the bars, just lean back slightly and let the bike fade away underneath", at 3:50 you say "lift your front wheel slightly" ...
Been MTB'ing since the 80s and used to do fairly big-{not as big as that) on my hardtail, but since going to a full suss with longer slacker geo I haven't got the confidence as the front seems to feel heavier and drops away too fast. Frame is XL and I am 6ft 5inch and 110kg. Any tips apart from chopping some off my legs to reduce weight?
Bikes are so long these days, could be your weight is not central on the bike. Experiment on small jumps with bar height, spacer height and maybe a shorter stem. You can also slow shock rebound down a bit which helps not getting bucked.
Probably made it already, but can't you make a new video on how to clear a bigger gap than you ever did before, and how to know how much speed you need to not jump to short and hit that nasty killer looking edge.. or also, not overshot it and get wasted in the following big drop.. if you are alone and have no one to follow?
I got really confused when Blake referred to the trail system as “Cola”… I thought to myself, “Isn’t that Coler MTB Preserve?”, Then I remembered that Blake is English lol
This bike was really easy to assemble ru-vid.comUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA and required very few adjustments out of the box. The wheels did not require any truing/adjustments. The frame had some small scratches, but nothing major.I did replace the seat though - the seat it came with was very uncomfortable. The tires need to be re-inflated every 4-5 days, but this appears to be quite common for the narrow 700x25 tires.Overall, in my opinion, this bike looks and rides like a much more expensive bike.
First this a Gap ( with receiver), not a drop (with no receiver straigth flat to the ground) and no, it depends on how long it is, how short or long is the receiver. cheers
blake is the reason there is an increase in crictical crashes. implying that one can learn to do a 12 foot drop like that in four minutes is dangerous and irresponsible. no mention of the bike you should have, the gear you should be wearing, the YEARS of experience blake has and one SHOULD have, nohting about body postiion, etc., i am pretty much over his grandiose videos that oversimplify this very technical, pro level drop. pathetiic. but hey at least we will get alot of fails and broken bones out of it.
You're assuming that every video is aimed at total beginners. Maybe some of us are already riding reasonable gaps and are keen to progress. Actually, these big drop/gaps are pretty straightforward if you have confidence and the skill to let your bike do its thing. No-one is forcing anyone to do anything, but if someone does feel ready to progress then this video is for them.