If you\u2019re going to hit anything above a moderate blue trail at any speed then you\u2019re naturally going to end up in the air at some point. Learning how to do this confidently and safely is important if you want to try your hand at trail riding and it can also be helpful on cross country rides or races. But it also means you can just enjoy your riding more if you don\u2019t have to slow right down as soon as things get a bit tasty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the technique for jumping?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jumping is a similar skill to bunnyhopping with the three stages being pop > pull > push.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting started with jumping<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kish, our XC racer, said: \u201cIt\u2019s all about practice. Start off on small jumps with no gap in between the lip and the tabletop landing. Also, find a jump where the landing is higher than the base of the ramp so if you do go 4ft in the air, your landing is only 2ft below you, for example.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you do want to start getting a bit more air, a step up is to practice over table tops – where there\u2019s a flat, raised section between the up and down ramps – so you\u2019re learning how to jump a distance but without the psychological barrier or danger of having a big gap under you<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet comfortable on a table top and then you can get used to jumping further and being in the air for longer. Then it\u2019s time to try jumping over gaps. If you\u2019ve got the basics right, it then just becomes a mental challenge. Obviously, start with smaller gaps and then you can build the distance as you get better and more confident<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Going big<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our mechanic Keefer loves hitting big features and sailing over 40-foot gaps. Here’s his advice for stepping up from basic jumps. He said: “A lot of it is being confident and being relaxed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “On smaller and mid-sized features I might just go first time. My process for hitting big features and big jumps is to go and look at it. I would say that if you’re not feeling confident at this point, don’t do it; you’ll be too tense and too stiff, and you reduce your chances of getting it right. If I’m unsure about it, I’ll start by having a look and thinking about how I’m going to do it; where I want to take off from and where I want to land. Then I’ll take a run at it, gauging my speed and lines, and I’ll stop just before it. Then I’ll either do it or I won’t. I won’t keep taking runs at it because that builds a barrier in your head and you start to over-think it. When you take off, you need to think straight away about the landing. You can’t just jump and hope you’re going to get to the other side. I’m a big believer in landing slightly front wheel first for a smoother landing because you get that front suspension compression and then the back follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But I would say being relaxed is the key to it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pumping<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a technique for gaining and maintaining free speed at points where you can\u2019t or don\u2019t want to pedal. Keeping your wheels in touch with the ground is the best way to maintain control and ride as fast as possible as you can\u2019t get any traction if you\u2019re pedalling while you\u2019re airborne. This technique is useful to enduro and cross country riders, as well as on more technical mountain bike trails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kish told us: “The first part of a pump is similar to a jump. You\u2019re pushing down into the bottom of the dip. With pumping you want to keep your head high and your body upright in the bottom part and then you want to squash up at the high point, absorbing the upwards motion of the bike with your knees and arms. You always need to be looking forward at all times while pumping, not looking down at your pedals, so you\u2019re anticipating the rise and fall of the terrain and your body is ready to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Work on your skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If want to work on your skills, why not head over to the brand-new pump track at Victoria Park<\/a> in Ashford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The track was designed and built by the team behind the London 2012 Olympic BMX track, so you know it will be good. It’s the perfect place for riders to master their craft, or even just to keep the kids busy on a weekend. The best part is it’s free too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking to learn more about riding techniques? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> to keep up with our blogs.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How do you get comfortable hitting rollers fast? How do you keep control over your bike on rhythm sections to retain speed? Jumping and pumping are two essential skills for everyone from enduro racers to riders who take their fun fairly seriously. In this blog, Kish and Keefer tell you what you need to know<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-532","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorised"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/09\/ACTIV-HEADER-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"ACTIV Cycles","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/author\/actv\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":544,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions\/544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/actv\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/09\/DSC05639-1024x683.jpg\")
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