How to Wheelie and Hop over Obstacles (B)

Posted by tan xiao yan on

There are different kinds of obstacles in the trails when biking, small or large, deep gully or ramp, and so on. When faced with different situations of obstacles, cyclists need to use different ways to solve them. The difference of the measures is depending on the size of the obstruction. Here I well share some methods with you.

Learn to Deal with Large Obstacles
When there are various obstacles on the trails, there are numbers of measures that mountain cyclists can use to get over obstacles. When encountering large obstacles like ramps or large branches, cyclists can use the method like bunny hop, side hop or hop up to get through the obstacles.

Bunny Hop

The bunny hop is a useful skill that allows the cyclists jump off ramps and potholes in cycling. Besides, a wonderful bunny hop makes cyclists get both their wheels off the ground to reach the goal that to get over large obstacles. To ensure your safety, please wear a helmet while practicing the bunny hop. The process of bunny hop is divided into two parts --- the front wheel and the back wheel.



The cyclists need to practice each wheel separately when practicing bunny hop. The tyro bikers can start practice on a flat ground which should be no obstacles when learning to lift the wheel. After practicing a lot on a flat ground, the tyro can turn to a rolling trail with small obstacles. Finally, the biker can try to hop on a trail with large obstructions. Practice with your friends could be much better to help you to master the skill.

When bunny hop you should get the front wheel up first. Below the circumstance when lifting the front wheel of the mountain bike, the key thing is to use your weight to get the front wheel up. At the moment that the front wheel coming up, you should stand up tall to the pedals. As the front wheel is almost coming up to its peak, it is time for bikers to get the rear wheel up. Then you need to spring up the rear wheel behind you. The biker should bear in mind do not try to lift both wheels of the bike at the same time in the process of bunny hop.

Side Hop

Cyclists use side hop when they mounting an obstacle or traversing a gap sideways. What the two situations have in common is that there is no space to gain sufficient forward motive.

Generally speaking, cyclists often use two ways of side hop --- one is to hop from the rear wheel of the bike, while another is to lift both wheels from the ground up. When doing the former one the cyclists need to place the front wheel and lift the rear tyre to follow. The latter is usually the main way of learning side hop. The following are some introduction about hop sideways:

Remember to steer and lean in the direction you are advancing when you hop. One thing biker should do is to swing the bike to the other side at the time when their body is in the air. The last action is to straighten the front tyre and set your down. As the rear wheel begins to touch down, the cyclists should crouch with the bike for balance.





Hop up

Hop up is another essential type of hop which can help cyclists to hop onto the high wall in biking. The capacity to hop onto obstacles is quite important when cyclists need to hop onto big obstacles like a high wall. To practice the skill requires you master the basic bunny hop skill. Upon reaching the requirement, the biker can start to learn. When hopping up:

The cyclists need to power down at first which demands the cyclists focus on the take-off kicker. Step two: kick it. You can use a flat-edged rock to pop the bike off. The intention is to get the front wheel as high as possible. As the front wheel makes contact, your weight should be all up onwards. Then hit the wall with sufficient motion that can make you bounce up.

As the back wheel bounce up, extends your arms, throws the mountain bike forward and makes ready to plant the rear tyre directly on top of the obstacle. Then it should be time for recovery. Keep calm at the end of the move. It is important for you to land on.

How to Uphill Ledge Pop
In case that there is a ledge which on the trail, what would you do to get through the difficulty? It’s time for you to ride over the ledge obstacles with the greatest ease.

As you approach the ledge, sit in a neutral pedaling position with the eyes tracking beyond the obstacles. Keep your riding speed, and start to time your pedaling. Remember to lift your wheel with a wheelie. Then let your front wheel up on top and then lunge forward at once. Later make the bike upward without lifting your body. At length, go back to your neutral position.



Learn to Get Over Gully
Facing with different obstacles, cyclists have different ways to solve them. For example, bunny hop is used to when you meet the ramp while you can wheelie over the small obstacles easily. So what should you do when meeting a deep gully? If you are riding with a slow speed with little space to speed up, it is time for a pedal hop. Let’s learn it step by step:

To begin with, you should always in a perfect gear, which means not too hard or not too easy. The condition is paramount. On this condition, you can start to practice pedal hop. At first, the cyclists need to get their back wheel in place of their front. During the process, you should keep in balance by weighting the rear wheel. Let the front wheel drop, and at the same time, pull up hard on the bar, and push the pedal to get an explosive power. The final step is absorbing the landing. As the back wheel reach the landing area, try to push it with holding the rear brake on. The action makes your front end to drop down and land on safety.

In a pedal hop, accelerating fast enough and pulling hard enough will give rise to different effect. Your rear wheel may speed quite fast.

Practice makes perfect. All the methods should practice a lot.