[Closed] Jumps - why do most riders make no attempt and just roll them?

Your my hero....

Fear

It's fundamental to your mtbing.

I'd love to be better at those types of trails. Not fancying breaking myself is why I don't. Reckon I would have done when I was younger and breaking myself would have had less impact on my life.

They're just missing out so much that is fundemental to MTB'ing.

Well if you take away the first fundamental part which is riding bikes and having fun plus many others eventually you'll get down to you must jump off table tops. Interesting that table tops that were once seen as BMX style riding are now fundamental to mountain biking.

cos i'm a fat old bloke with shot knees who lands like a sack of spuds

Ain't fundamental to my type of riding nipper.

the lack of ambition and the missing desire to improve

I bet they have other skills in life. I bet they just enjoy riding their bikes as well.

Wow. And I had the teacher thread down as the troll of the night...

Jumps are usually very artificial - not fundamental to mountainbiking at all. People started off by riding the land as it lay...

Maybe they aren't as awesome as you are!!! 😯

Too radical for my riding style. Plus, my bike's too big.

Yeah, no-one likes a show off.

Been riding mtb for 20 years now. Small jumps I'm ok with, large jumps too risky when you're the sole earner (plus I'm a chicken). Don't feel I'm missing out.

Fear, lack of skills, not wanting to break any bones

Its not about missing out or being awesome its about pushing and challenging yourself. If you don't try and 'up your game' what's the point? However you dress it most riders, deep down, aspire to jumping they just haven't yet committed...

I once landed a jump on an earthworm and I feel bad that that earthworm now bears the tread of a Fire XC Pro, rather than a more niche tyre. Air is off-limits to me from now on.

What's the point? The point is going out and enjoying yourself, jumping or no jumping.

[quote=WaywardRider]Its not about missing out or being awesome its about pushing and challenging yourself. If you don't try and 'up your game' what's the point?

Yeah - and when was the last time you tried riding a unicycle off road, eh? What's the point if you're not pushing and challenging yourself?

probably because most folk that frequent this forum are beardy single speeder types that havent realised that the sport has moved on in the last 20 years and think that wheels leaving the ground is only for likes of josh bender on his carpiel apocalypse.

Wheels leaving the ground are ok, it's the landing that still brings up flashbacks of a trip to A&E in an neck brace that's the problem that causes me to ride up to a set of doubles like I mean it, shit my pants at the last minute, grab a handfull of brake and roll over in an undignified manner.

[img] [/img]

Actually I do have a unicycle - still trying to learn to ride it though...

Sadly I think you're right b45her. Too many blokes with expensive bikes they're ill equiped to ride. What is truly depressing is the poverty of expectation and ambition they all seem to have. 'I like what I know and I know what I like' seems to be the mantra.

What we need is more youth on this forum... The willingness to challenge rather than accept.

It hurts falling on your face is usually the reason I avoid jumps...

I'm just not good at them, tabletops and small ones however are not a problem and fun but anything with a big drop/gap and "the fear" sets in

For full disclosure I am a yoof by STW standards

One day you will be old and broken too.
Maybe by then you might have developed a more live and let live attitude towards others.

But untill then you are so money supermarket.

I fink I have a new man crush.....

some people like jumps some don't. Amazing isn't it.

seems to be that the general consensus is you need to drop at least a grand on "skills courses" before you attempt such insanity as a 3 ft drop or a 6 ft double jump. most people i ride with learned how to jump and control bikes as kids on grifters and raleigh burners without a coach in sight.

Yeah got this one sussed out,

So stoked on this thread.

Big jumps for me are the best part of riding my mountainbike but you need to build up your skills gradually.
I'm nearly 44 and can clear 30 foot plus tabletops and doubles happily.
I'm not a hero, I've just taken the time to learn to do it reasonably safely.
Repetition and muscle memory are the key factors.
If you really don't like the feeling of flying then the risk isn't worth it but if you do like it and want to get better, find a well built tabletop and practice, practice, practice.
Being relaxed is the most important thing, which is difficult when you're (quite rightly) terrified.

Just make sure you get that whip reeled back in before you land 😉
[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

That's funny satchm00

seems to be that the general consensus is you need to drop at least a grand on "skills courses" before you attempt such insanity as a 3 ft drop or a 6 ft double jump. most people i ride with learned how to jump and control bikes as kids on grifters and raleigh burners without a coach in sight.

People do mountain bikes because they enjoy it. People who don't enjoy doing jumps while doing mountain bikes don't do jumps while doing mountain bikes. Was that so complicated?

It seems to be a common affliction amongst what I'll term technical progressionists to be unable to see why others don't share their perspective or all the other reasons why people ride. I would have thought that all the different types of bike available would be a clue. If the point of your riding is to progress technically, does that mean that you stop riding when you can no longer progress?

These threads make me imagine that there's a STW trolling scoreboard over on Pinkbike or somewhere.

These threads make me imagine that there's a STW trolling scoreboard over on Pinkbike or somewhere.

It would be a small board, most of them can't count that high without taking their shoes off...

To give the recent flouncers their dues, there's some serious out from under-the- bridge ****hattery going on at the moment.

OP being a sterling example.

Air is not for everyone for many reasons, I'm sure the trial builders are quite content having people ride their trails at all without the ultimate gnarrrrrr factor you must bring.

[img] [/img]

60 next year, 2 crushed vertebrae, Osteoporosis , told never to ride off road again . Since then a season in Whistler , riding in Moab and Crested Butte and my wheels hardly ever leave the ground .Grateful for small mercies , Captain Sensible is having a ball .FUN FUN FUN ! Each to their own .

swiss01 - Member
cos i'm a fat old bloke with shot knees who lands like a sack of spuds

surely wheels on ground equals XC, wheels in air equals freeride...i'm 29 and still shy away from airborne antics.

I see your troll and raise you:

I don't see why people go to trail centres. Surely they should be getting out the OS map, heading off into the hills and navigating their own path through the Great British countryside. They're just missing out so much that is fundamental to MTB'ing.

Northwind - Member
People do mountain bikes because they enjoy it. People who don't enjoy doing jumps while doing mountain bikes don't do jumps while doing mountain bikes. Was that so complicated?
POSTED 5 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Sometimes dude... I think you read my mind.

sucking up a jump at speed and staying on the ground is actually a skill one can acquire too. Live and let live. Surely the attraction of mtbing is that it's so accessible to so many - lots of people can enjoy the thrill, all it takes is a bit of fitness.Then there's the bikes - at a guess - ubber light xc bikes aren't the best for jumping, although so many bikes now are so capable in so many areas.

I don't jump because I don't want to break this again!
Please let me be allowed to roll over table tops!
[URL= http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh284/soops1973/DSC00024.jp g" target="_blank">http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh284/soops1973/DSC00024.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

Previous broken bones etc and now 47 and self employed! That's why I take care when riding these days but I do still let go occasionally.

[img] [/img]

The trail has only just opened, they're just getting their eye in on the first run...second run it'll be all tail whips and 360s 🙄 😉

C'mon at least make the effort and ride the trail the way it was designed to be ridden.... Maybe the trail builders just wasted their time:-(

Proves the trail builders got it spot on right...a trail than can be ridden by riders of all levels with features on the trail that keep all happy regardless of experience/ability. Bloomin good job they've done too

What nuke said. There's nothing so annoying as going on a ride and having to miss large areas out because you've got someone new riding with you who would stack it on some trail features. I can jump, I do jump but sometimes I'm feeling risk averse. It's the same reason I sometimes don't ride the black at my local bike park.

That said I guess I should sell my bikes according to the OP.

Thumb still sore from an OTB last September. When mother nature stops fixing you up in a few days/weeks, your appetite for awesumz tends to fade too. Its also very difficult getting out of the habits you learned in your yoof, back in the pre-rad days squashing bumps was a key technique!

since when were mtb's made for jumping?
mtb's were made for riding down steep hills, fast, with your wheels on the ground.
anyone with the slightest knowledge of the history of mountainbikes would know this.
so for not knowing this, you OP are a ****wit......... 😀

Remind me that next time I see a woman and a young child rolling over a jump at a trail centre I will don my "OP trolling jump police anti stab vest because these people are so offensive" jacket and carry out a public flogging on the afore mentioned table top in tribute to you.
Each to his/hers own.

If you don't try and 'up your game' what's the point?

Bless. 😀

So many rules in this leisurely mountain biking game i wasn't aware of.

as long as riders are happy it don't matter. its the size of the smile that matters not the jump

There's many ways 'to up your game' and progress. A lot of technicals skills are slow speed and allow you to ride your bike when others get off and push. To master these skills you need to build fitness and strength, improve your balance and understand how to pick a line and move around on the bike. This takes effort.

Most of the self taught jumpy brigade seem to equate skill with going very fast and sod the consequences. Not very difficult if you are able to switch your brain off. Also interesting to see most of the call outs to the emergency services local to me are related to this sort of riding, thanks for getting the rest of us a bad name with MR due to your unskilled nobbery. Final point where I build trails the XC fraternity come and help and are appreciative the jumpies constantly moan and don't have the commitment to build proper trails themselves.

Jumping is part of MTBing, end of.

You get ok at artificial stuff small tables, start trying natural stuff, start realising that there are natural jumps, natural gaps all over the place. Before you know it you're finding more fun and possibly faster lines on natural trails you didn;t realise were there.

If you cut out one form riding in jumping, how many other parts of MTBing do you cut out? Rolling over roots? Avoiding possibly wet turns?

Plus i dont think a lot of the MTBing public isn't remotely interested in practising, fair enough. But a few hours practise a week will do far more for your riding than that latest 160mm carbon 650b bike.

jedi - Member
as long as riders are happy it don't matter. its the size of the smile that matters not the jump

Enough said, surely?

why do people think that learning to control a bike properly is all about showing off and being a badass?

having the confidence and ability to just react to the unexpected when riding is pretty important in my opinion.
say for example your on an unknown bit of trail your having a ball enjoying the day and suddenly a rock ledge jumps out on you, if you regularly ride such things without thinking you just pop off it and go on your way, or you could panic grab both brakes in the traditional death grip and smash your face into the floor.

b54er is onto something here.

I roll stuff because I dont do jumping and dont want to break me or my bike .Jumping is not fundamental to MTB .MTB has always been about getting into the country and riding bridlways and rupps/boats and looking at scenery for me

The OP has based his assessment on a trail designed for the masses and the vast majority of riders riding the surrey hills are happy just to be out riding...they won't bother riding where 'rock ledges jump out' etc. Riders who are into jumps etc are still in the minority so of course if you stand watching a trail like the new SL extension you're not going to see many people getting air. The vast majority of riders coming down that trail wont be into the whole mtb 'scene', doubt they'd be on forums like this and wouldn't even know this argument is happening...even if they did, I'd doubt they'd give a shit

Reading this I've realised other parts of my life have become stale and pointless due to not pushing the limits.
Take washing up for instance.
Each time I just sort of put the plates in the bowl give em a wash, then take em out.
No progression - just risk avoidance.
I reckon learning some drying skills such as spinning the plates on my fingers would be start, otherwise just what's the point of the whole thing?
What have other people done to progress their washing up?

Dean & B45sher, you're missing the point. There are a vast amount of trails that you can ride without having to jump anything. I very much like to jump but I'm not that good at it, I'm comfortable with most tables but won't clear larger ones, most gap jumps scare me but I'll do them if they're small and they feel right in my head. But I see a lot of riders who are even less skilled in the air than me hitting jumps as harder or harder and relying on luck to survive them, which at some point will end in disaster.

Some riders are fortunate to be really natural jumpers and don't really understand why riders would want to stay glued to the ground or why some riders that are getting airborne look so messy. There is a lot of skill/mindset/strength/balance/judgement/etc required to jump well, whether you realise it or not. There are some seriously big forces involved when you hit a frontside at speed - if you can't control those forces you're probably going to have a big crash. And those who are naturally good at jumping are often naturally good at crashing too, whilst those who don't jump so well tend to crash badly too!

Jumping is awesome but is a skill that requires practice and that requires hours and hours and hours of repetition if you want to get good. Unless you've started young or are very naturally gifted you're unlikely to find the time to become a great jumper. But I think it's well worth trying, just don't expect to go from nothing to big gaps in a really short space of time!

Ian Munro 😀

Trail centres and as such table tops etc etc have nothing to do with mountaing bikeing, they are what climbing walls are to mountaineering. Mountaing biking is being in the hills (or mountains) or other wide open space - period. Just off out to do my local loop round Gower and the only table top that i will come accross will be the one in the cafe at Rhossili.

What have other people done to progress their washing up?

.............moved to paper plates = no washing up

jump would like to afraid of the consequences and injuries long history of neck and back damage so happy to ride and enjoy like jedi said smiles is what counts

\Trail centres and as such table tops etc etc have nothing to do with mountaing bikeing, they are what climbing walls are to mountaineering. Mountaing biking is being in the hills (or mountains) or other wide open space - period.

Its not about missing out or being awesome its about pushing and challenging yourself. If you don't try and 'up your game' what's the point? However you dress it most riders, deep down, aspire to jumping they just haven't yet committed...

I agree with this and pretty much everything the OP has said. 🙂

since when were mtb's made for jumping?

Since always. And I reckon the problem is in the way we ride these days. People don't experiment any more.
When I came to MTBS there was ONLY ONE type of bike. A mountain bike. Everyone rode everything on the same type of bike. So, if we were out on a ride and we found some steps or a jump or what ever, we'd spend 20 mins faffing around on it. Trying to ride up steps, jumping, hopping over logs..... All of that, because we wanted to ride anything on our bikes. And we did. And we learned. On the only bike we had.
When was the last time anyone here put a couple of sticks in the ground and another between them and tried to see if they could bunny hop them? Tried to go higher?
These days there's a good proportion of riders that have only known man made trails, suspension, 29ers, and umpteen categories of bikes. Riding has changed. People don't stop and session a drop or a bomb hole or to bunny hop onto logs. It's all about the flow, the ride, the berms, Strava and the man made trails.
There are lots of people that can't do the very basics of riding. A small wheelie, a bunnyhop, ride no handed, a little jump....... Because they don't ride to learn them, and they're on the wrong type of bike......
I'm no hero, but I can ride down steps, bunnyhop logs, wheelie, jump small doubles, stuff like that.

Nobody plays around any more. It's too serious. 🙂

I took to the air off a curb the other day, I now feel I have pushed my riding to the limit and will now retire gracefully

Chief, I don't think anyone is natural at jumping, those who make it look easy have put the hours in.

I love jumping, for me it's one of the best parts of riding a bike. Those milliseconds/seconds spent flying through the air are special and, as dean points out, it can provide options on a trail, which for me add enjoyment.

I wouldn't say jumping is essential to enjoying mtb but it is bloody good fun and i count myself lucky to have practised so much when i was younger - the prospect of learning from scratch at my age would be daunting.

why do people think that learning to control a bike properly is all about showing off and being a badass?

For the OP. I know its old, but its funny.

b45her - Member
probably because most folk that frequent this forum are beardy single speeder types that havent realised that the sport has moved on in the last 20 years...

Why does it have to be a sport?

What's wrong with simply enjoying riding your bike and using it to get places in the wild?

Trail park style riding can get you into serious trouble in the real world.

'Brown pow' haha

[quote=WaywardRider ]Actually I do have a unicycle - still trying to learn to ride it though...

You need to up your game

I've got two motocross bikes. If I want to leave the ground I'll ride one of them. Once you're beyond puberty bicycles are exercise equipment.

I like to get a little air and would like to be more awesome.

But I am older and my body somewhat Broken down.
In the past stupid antics have nearly killed me and left me laid up hospitalised with a fractured spine so came close to being in a wheel chair.

That was the point I think I went from being fearless to fearful . Now I will look at a situation and see pain and injury, where as when younger death and injury never occurred to me.

Also a middle aged man turning up in a taxi on crutches having to explain to his wife he will be off work for six weeks because he cased a jump, i am guessing rad will not be one of the things his wife will be calling him.
Then you have call your boss who I am also guessing will not be stoked.

If you like to jump, more power to you. Post up some vids and if you are as good as you think you are people will congratulate you.
But don't put other people down for not thinking of mountainbiking in the same way you do.

I like an adrenaline rush now and then. But I also like to walk in the woods, so therefore I like to ride my bike in the woods.

Some people like to jump , some people like to get round as fast as they can.
And some people like to just get out.
Do your thing and let others do theirs.

I've got two motocross bikes. If I want to leave the ground I'll ride one of them. Once you're beyond puberty bicycles are exercise equipment.

They're not though are they.

Riding a mountain bike on a mountain is fundamental to mountainbiking.
My suspension was designed so that wheels track terrain.

Table tops and rollers and manmade berms is for BMX and Big-wheeler BMX with front suspension.

I can get air if I want, but it's last on the list, after the fundamentals.

If you can't jump and don't want to that's fine. But there's some people out there who seem to be really bitter about not being able to ride properly.

I was riding langdegla red route on my hardtail a few years ago, and I overtook a chap on a carbon santa cruz on a jump. He rolled it and I jumped past him. I stopped at the top of a climb a minute later to chuck my energy gel wrappers away and he caught me up. But rather than congratulating me, he decided to tell me my riding was dangerous! I said I could give him some tips with regards to getting "air time" but he muttered something about he was running too much rebound on his shocks and that he'd normally be able to do the jumps. I told him perhaps a cheaper, simpler bike would be more suited to his riding but he said he was a gravity enduro rider and he normally didnt ride at langdegla as it was too easy for him.

I later saw him trying to do manuals in the carpark, and only getting about a foot before dropping the front wheel. I went over to offer him some tips in exchange for a coffee, and he told me to f off!

Page 3 and there are some serious posts appearing. 6/10. Somewhere there's a bridge feeling all lonely cause it's troll wandered off to go fishing.