LAUNCH DROPS WITH CONFIDENCE

Conquer drop-offs to unlock a huge variety of new and more technical trails

Picking the front wheel up to launch off an edge and land flat on two wheels is an essential skill for any mountain biker. It’s also one that we see a lot of riders struggling with, whether through dropping the front wheel too early or not picking it up at all, at the risk of catching a chainring or going over the bars. We reckon most people’s problems come from either wrong body position, timing or speed, or simply a lack of confidence. If any of these ring a bell, read on and, with a bit of practice, soon you’ll feel much more confident diving headlong into technical trails.

01 TIMING

The two key elements to riding a drop-off are driving your feet forward through the pedals and shifting your weight back, in order to make the bar go light and so lift the front wheel. These must be done as one simultaneous movement as you reach the lip of the drop. Too early and you’re likely to drop the front wheel before the back wheel has cleared the lip. If you just try to pull up on the bar without changing your body position, you’ll struggle to lift the front wheel.

02 FIRST STEPS

Playing in the street might sound a bit juvenile, but a kerb or small step is de initely the best place to learn drops. The de inite edge gives you a clear cue for when to initiate the movement, and the height isn’t so big that if you don’t manage it you’ll clip your chainring. Get the basics dialled here and then start increasing the size of the drops to build con idence.

03 SPEED IS YOUR FRIEND

Well, relatively speaking – you need to approach the drop with enough speed to easily generate the upward momentum required. Creeping off the edge too slowly means you’ll have to really yank back on the bar or add a pedal stroke to lift the front wheel, and makes side-to-side balance harder too. Similarly, don’t go in lat out, because then your speed and trajectory will do the work for you and you won’t learn the proper technique.

04 FASTER AND BIGGER

Whether you’re plopping off a kerb or sending a cliff at Red Bull Rampage, the principles stay the same. Once the mechanics become second nature, you can concentrate on spotting your landing. Going at full speed into a drop that doesn’t have a gap (ie. not a step-down), you’ll ind that you actually need to push down on the bar a little to ‘scrub’ the drop so your bike meets the landing earlier, rather than thinking about lifting the wheel up as you would when learning.

01 Look before you leap

It’s always best to inspect a rock garden before you attempt to ride it. Choose a line that suits your ability and build up to hitting it faster and faster.

02 eyes up

Potentially the most important tip for all mountain biking, and a necessity here. Keep your eyes looking where you want to go, not at the obstacles you’re riding over. This will help keep you in balance and on your line.

03 Body position

It’s important to ind a central position on the bike and use the lex in your arms and legs to smooth out the rocks and holes as best you can.

04 Feet level

Striking your pedals on rocks is asking for trouble. Keeping your feet level helps avoid the rocks and will also keep you in balance and let you move around on the bike as needed.

05 Speed is your friend

Carrying speed can help smooth out a rock garden, because your wheels won’t fall into every hole. But only go as fast as your skill level allows. You can gradually build up to pushing yourself faster.

06 Stay light on the bike

In small rock gardens, you can preload your suspension just before you enter and use the rebound to help unweight the bike as you hit the rocks. Get this right and you’ll glide over the top.