Mtb drops/jumps

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Looks good, man. Can see him boosting the double in the last 2 metres or so. Very quick boost, and he just soaks it up to get over faster...

[Capricorn]

yep, in fact, it would seem he's DJ habits were gonna get the better of him, adn then ended up squashing it ever so slightly.

The stills however show superb general technique, and I agree with the sentiment that bigger jumps are easier than ones with small lips. They just feel trickier to negiotate

[banna]

Banna: what patches is describing wrt the upright position are the DJers essentially J-hopping off the lip to get more height. DHers go low so as NOT to get too much air, aka squashing the jump. Racing line and jumping line aren't always the same thing.

 

There are similar upright-ish techniques versus squashed ones for going over Drops, all in aid of getting the wheels down faster, because with a squashed drop technique (crouched low), pushing down with your legs once off the drop gets the wheels down quicker.

Also, the faster you go, the less backward you have to be. If slow, get back. You do this naturally on a pavement. going really fast, you dont even need to move, except maybe to squash the drop to get the wheels down quicker after the lip.

 

As for drops on steep terrain, just before the front goes over, move weight slightly forward to preload the front, same way you preload into a lip on a jump, then lean back to help unweight the front along with a bit of preload boost. You'll find you can practically manual off the lip as CptMayhem mentioned, without pulling up on the bars. It's a simple mass transfer + rebound from the fork.

 

If you can, watch the finals vid for Mt Sainte Anne, notably the section where they have a full side-on view of Troy Brosnan doing that huge double at the finish line. Perfect example of jumping technique. I'll try to find it and let u know where in the clip to start watching from. I use VLC to watch the clip as I downloaded it to my machine, and then use the 'E' button to step thru the jump sequence frame by frame. Really good to watch.

 

edit: correction, it's the Specialized Monster Energy recap of their team's performance at Mont Sainte Anne (2011). That's where you'll find the jump sequence starting from 03:47 in the clip.

 

PM me your email address,and I'll send you the sequence of screen captures. Pretty good mental training aid.

 

Thx Cap.

[patches]

Thought I'd take the DH steed out for some exercise yesterday afternoon. Caught a bit of the fun on film.

 

The riding isn't impressive, but I liked the way the camera angle catches the fork movement on the drop and jump.

 

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

looking good. I also like the angle and the movement it captures...