Overcoming obstacles

This article is part of a riding technique series, which is intended to give the participants of our riding technique courses a summary of relevant content to read. Of course, there is sure to be a good tip or two for everyone else as well.

Pallets are ideal for practicing riding steps, as you can vary the height. If you don’t have one available, you should choose a not-too-high step in a safe area. First, check whether the step is rideable. The chainring must not touch the edge. The approach now follows in the trail behavior. A slow to moderate speed is initially selected for the approach. The step riding itself should be done without braking if possible. Shortly before the edge, we deepen the trail behavior again, we prepare the upcoming movement. The elbows are bent far and the legs are stretched. The view is directed forward to the area of the ‘landing’. Directly at the edge of the step, the front wheel is pushed explosively forward and down. The arms should not be stretched before the front wheel reaches the ground, otherwise you will plop down the last bit and the ride will be jerky. The legs are bent as far as necessary. As soon as the rear wheel has also rolled over the step, the trail behavior is resumed, i.e. the legs stretch when the rear wheel passes the step. To feel safer, it is also ideal if a person positions themselves in front of or next to the step and secures the biker. Note that this only works really well at slow speeds. The height of the step can be increased gradually. In addition, several steps can also be ridden in a row. The timing is particularly important here, as is the timely resumption of trail behavior in order to be able to react to the next step. If the steps are so close together that they become a staircase, the necessary technique corresponds to that of a (bumpy) steep descent, and no change of posture is necessary between the steps.

In order to overcome obstacles optimally, it is important to practice lifting the front and rear wheels separately first. We will limit ourselves here to techniques under assistance taking weight shifts. All pedal kick variants, i.e. lifting wheels by stepping on the pedals, will be covered in a separate article.

In principle, there are two ways to lift the front wheel. The easiest method is to lift the front wheel upwards using dynamic center of gravity shifting. Starting from the trail behavior, the upper body goes deep over the handlebars and brings them straight up through dynamic center of gravity shifting. This type is well suited to lift the front wheel over or onto a curb, individual roots or tree trunks. However, it quickly reaches its limits as soon as you want to have the front wheel in the air for longer.

Another method is therefore to lift the front wheel with the help of the manual impulse. This is done without pedaling and can be optimally applied at medium to higher speeds. The hips first go centrally down from the trail behavior. A preload of the suspension elements is generated, which means that dampers and fork are actively compressed. Then the hips move dynamically backwards. The center of gravity shifts backwards. We speak of an L-movement (also V-movement for smaller bikes), which is carried out dynamically in a flow. At the end, the heels are slightly lowered and the arms must be stretched. The front wheel rises due to the impulsive shift of the center of gravity. This way of lifting the front wheel is a good preliminary exercise for the bunny hop, as well as for the manual itself. As an emergency button, you should always put your index finger on the rear brake lever. If you pull this, the front wheel will tilt down immediately. The movement can also be practiced from (supported) balancing while standing, where it is easier to implement in order to get a good feeling for the shift in the center of gravity.

Of course, the rear wheel can also simply roll over some obstacles, but it is helpful if the rear wheel can be lifted. Above all, however, it is necessary to master this skill in order to be able to build up good tension in the wheel, so that you no longer slip off the pedals in the air. Especially for learninging master skills such as rear wheel offset or the bunny hop, this is a basic requirement. Again, the trail behavior is the starting position. At the beginning, you should adjust the speed to avoid falls. This technique is not achieved by braking. From the trail behavior you go slightly backwards and deep and by an explosive, dynamic leg extension you shift the center of gravity forward and upwards. The toes point downwards. A tension must be built up backwards, especially in the legs, in order not to lose pedal contact. The movement is similar to that of a horse kicking backwards. In order to learn this technique, the explosive leg extension and the movement forwards and upwards can first be practiced next to the bike in the form of Abspringen. In addition, this should first be practiced on flat terrain. Lines, wooden slats or other obstacles can also be used here.

The Piggy Hop, also known as the “Schweinehopp” is a jumping technique in which the front and rear wheels take off and land at the same time. This technique can be used particularly well at high speed to jump over not-too-high obstacles. The Piggy Hop can be easily incorporated while riding, for example to jump over puddles. In addition, the technique is an important basis for jumping drops and Tables. The starting position is the trail behavior. The upper body goes deep and the legs bend. The suspension fork and damper compress. Finally, you jump explosively upwards. It is particularly important to ensure that the front and rear wheels really leave the ground at the same time. Both wheels also make ground contact again at the same time when landing.

If you now combine lifting the front wheel with the Piggy Hop at slow speeds, you end up withm so-called Log Hop. This Skill is extremely practical for overcoming tree trunks or boulders without having to jump over them with speed. You roll slowly towards the obstacle, lift the front wheel onto the obstacle by means of a low-high movement (variant 1). As soon as the front wheel touches down, you start a Piggy Hop, and s oon you are on the other side.

The Bunny Hop is one of the master skills and man erreicht im Gegensatz zum Piggy Hop you reach height more easily in order to jump over larger obstacles. This jumping technique is particularly often used to jump over obstacles such as root fields or tree trunks. The Bunny Hop is just as relevant for doubles and tables. You lose no speed, and the flight phase is shorter than with the Piggy Hop. With the Bunny Hop, the front wheel lifts off first, followed by the rear wheel. The front wheel also makes contact with the ground again first when landing. In addition to looking forward, the manual impulse is the most important thing with the Bunny Hop sten. From dem trail behavior the hips go centrally deep and impulsively backwards. The center of gravity is shifted backwards and the front wheel rises. (If the bike is on the smaller side in relation to the body, you don’t have to go back as far and you go straight back up.) The arms should not tear on the handlebars. Now follows an explosive leg extension upwards. At the same time, the handlebars are guided with stretched arms in the direction of the hips. The bike is brought relatively upright centrally as far as possible under the center of gravity. The toes point diagonally downwards. The handlebars are at hip level. The upper body bends forward over the handlebars before the front wheel wieder aktiv nach vorne und schließlich in direction of the ground wird. Dadurch entsteht die typische Wellenbewegung des Bunny Hops. The landing is cushioned from arms and legs. As the end position, the position of the trail behavior is resumed.

In general, it is important to first perfect lifting the front wheel almost perfectly before starting the bunny hop. The height of the front wheel and control of the body positioning with a high front wheel is crucial for the bunny hop success.