silly question about clearing rear wheel over obstacles

G

grandkodiak

Fat & Old Member
Ive been riding for years on the street on a mountain bike and ive been to huber/heartshorn, allair and mercer a few times and i love it. i manage ok but there is something ive never been able to figure out. i have a hardtail and ive never been able to get the rear wheel off the ground when jumping say fallen tree obstacles. i clear the front wheel by either pushing down hard right before and leaning back to spring assist the front off the ground (get some serious clearance) or by delaying a second and thrusting with my strong leg hard enough to torque the front up, i usually do that to clear obstacles while going up hill because its easier with your weight already back and at a such slow speed, and doesnt tend to make the rear slip.

BUT... ive never been able to get the rear wheel off the ground before the obstacle! basically i jump the front wheel and just rely on momentum to carry the rear over. it works, but it looks lame 🙂 and im always jelous of the people that can attack a log and never seem to even touch it!

any tips? i tried moving my weight foward while the front is in the air, but i still just roll over things! i managed to do it 1ce or twice on my friends full suspention bike, but its a rare thing!

i even recently switched to clip ins thinking that if i was physically attached to the bike i could use that some how too get leverage to "pull up" with the pedals, but there doesnt seem to be any way to do that if your front wheel is already up in the air!

thanks all! im sure you are all laughing, i dont know why, but i cant figure it out!!
 
There's nothing to laugh about. Who wants to throw the first stone?

If you already have some sort of retention system for the pedals, it should be easier, although lifting the rear with platform pedals isn't a whole lot harder.

Simply practice pulling up and forward on the bars and at the same time unweigh the pedals. Imagine that the front wheel is a pivot and you want to apply force so that the bike rotates around it. Careful with timing, that rotation force can (and will) throw you over the bars when you happen to hit the obstacle at just the wrong time.

It's hard to explain like that... The best thing to do is when you see someone doing it, kindly ask them to show you in slow-mo and practice, preferably on a parking lot or some area devoid of things sticking out of the ground.

Enjoy!
 
very cool thats exactly what i am looking for, ill give it a shot tonight! think im making it more difficult becuase im using a different method to lift the front wheel!
 
Wobbegong said:
This may be helpful.

http://tuktok.com/loghop
Click to expand...

these method (tap and zap)like the one in the vids,is the easier to learn.
i like this one better for large or high obstacles only>>

if it's large log like the one in the vids(tap and zap is the best one)

if the log(or obstacles is small or short,bunny hop wil do it)

but,first IMO all first timer(newbies) must learn how to bunny hop,and try not to used clipless pedal.
 
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