Barrier bunny hop practice
 

I recently decided I really wanted to learn how to hop barriers. I built some 14 inch practice barriers but was too nervous of them. I started hopping logs instead. I found a 12 inch log a got comfortable with that so i figured i can do the barriers now. I did the barrier then started putting small limbs under it to make it taller. I hopped it clean three times at 16 inches and once clean at 17 inches.

I have a video of the 12 inch log because my gf was there to film it. I plan to make some new 16 inch practice barriers and have her film me jumping that and i will update.

Nicely done. I've played around with stacking up limbs to see how high I could go and I can hop pretty high, but a rigid squared off barrier is a little more intimidating. Have not had the guts to try one yet. I'm also not sure if I'd try it in a race, even if I could clear one in practice.

We have a few races in my local series that have some shorter bunny-hop barriers, probably 6" or so, usually laid out in a way that it's challenging, but not impossible to clear them cleanly. It's always fun watching racers hit those. The faster guys usually have no problem. A lot of slower riders do the "one-wheel-at-a-time" method which is fine until you go slightly too fast and don't get your back wheel up in time - which is an instant endo because you're already shifting your weight forward.

I'm always amazed at how easy some of the pros and elite amateur racers make it look. And, they seem to be able to clear them with very little speed or run-up.

Thanks! Yeah i started off with the logs because they were round and slightly lower. I have done it with some barriers i made out of 1 Inch pvc so they can hold my weight. Those barriers are also nice because you can cut different length legs to change the height. I will put up a video of me clearing those when I can get my camerawoman/GF out there to film me again lol.

I have never understood the whole one wheel at a time deal. I come from a freestyle bmx background, so that might have something to do with it. Sure, pick up the front wheel first, but then level it out and try to keep it there. the one wheel then the other wheel, like you said, seems to cause people to have to slow down too much. Seems like you might as well get off and run at that point unless you are coming out of a turn or something like that. I have also seen a few guys mess it up because the went to fast with that technique.

I started the bad habit of lifting my feet at the same time as the bars when I first started trying to clear obstacles. Now the muscle memory is too much to learn a correct hop.

Good job. That's something I'll just never be able to do and I've tried.

Alright guys another update. I bought some supplies after work and made another barrier, This time it is 16 inches high. I took my two barriers out and tried bunny hopping them one after the other. I put them at the UCI limit of 19 feet apart lol. The first video the 16 inch one is the second one and the last video the 16 inch is the first one.

Awesome, plus you're clearing those with little run-up speed.

You look like you're ready for a race day bunny hopping.

alright yall, I just finished the final step in my plan. I went to the homedepot but some rebar drove them into the ground and attached the wood to them with pipehangers so i had the real deal barrier. no falling over if i hit so everything is safe. I cleared it at 15 and 1/4 inches so I put a piece of pvc pipe between the two pieces of wood and added an inch to it. Here is the video of me clearing it.

lookin good.

as for the one-wheel/other-wheel thing, it's about getting the tires back on the ground asap so you can keep pedaling. think like a track hurdler -- you want to get back to the ground as soon as possible. the last vid shows you carrying some speed, nice work!

Playing it in slow motion really helps see the technique. Good job.

That is some inspiration! I'm so used to mountain bike racing this bunny hop thing is messing with my muscle memory.

Comments on his comments off bike is often faster?

I will say that 90% of the time in my expierence it is faster to get off the bike and run a barrier than hop it, because most of the time they come in sets of two. The spacing between them usually makes it where a person will have to slow down so much to bunny hop that running is actually faster. everyonce in a while i have seen where its just one barrier or right out of a turn and then hopping is faster.

I didn't hear him comment on off bike is faster in that link but I certainly believe it.

I practiced bunnyhopping barriers for several months before a season 2-3 years back. Got to the point where I could do one consistently with what I'd consider good form and quickly. Two on the other hand was much more difficult. I gave up due to a) the time commitment required to learn it (you really gotta practice year round) and b) the risk factor associated, not so much for bodily health but for race time. One messed up barrier and your on the deck and you lose all the advantage + some (ask me how I know).

MVDP consistently gaps Wout on the barriers. Wout is not that good and MVDP is really quick doing it. It makes a difference at the pointy end of the stick. With that said, several top pros still don't do it and still place really well. For amateur racing, in my opinion, lots of better things to practice. Even just practicing dismount + run can result if much quicker times if done consistently.

I think once all the other stuff is dialed in, starts, cornering, sprints, etc bunnyhoping barriers is icing on the cake.

I've never seen anybody win a race bunnyhoping them.

Not to mention, many local races don't stick to proper UCI measurements for barrier height and distance between (and number of them)...and the run up to them can be sketchy and rutted, where Euro UCI courses are fairly consistent.

Now I'm going to contradict myself a bit and say being able to bunnyhop, in general, can be a big advantage. I've seen several courses with small barriers (half height) or logs, rocks, ruts, etc. These are relatively low risk situations (compared to a full height barriers) and you can make up big time with the skill.

I agree with all of this pretty much, especially the last part.

I often see ppl hopping the uphill Belgian stairs -- that seems nice. They take them at an angle to give them the space to have the whole bike on the flat for a moment.

I recently had a conversation about race strategy with a friend of mine who's a contender for the national Masters title, and he made the point that very often a few extra steps to avoid an awkward mount or dismount will save time.

I have to assume the same thing could apply to barriers. If you can hop them seamlessly without dropping too much speed, you should by all means hop them. But if you're having to slow down to get your hops set up or recover, you might be better off to work on your dismounts and mounts. Clearly an individual decision and one based on the particular barriers.

I have the YouTubeTV now and watch this stuff at the WorldCup level. I don't have my pen and calculator out, but in watching it seems the front guys ride and the back guys run. But is also seems the riders fail - maybe 10%. And that fail costs close to what the running the running all 10 laps does.

It is definitely a go big or go home calculation. If you want to win (at the world level) seems like you ride them. If you want to finish well, seems like you reduce risk, and run.

Still probably quicker to run em'. One mess up when you are tired and you spend 2x the energy recovering from the mistake.

The flaw in that logic is Wout didn't really start riding them until this year and he won (2) WC in a row, although I agree, he is the exception to the rule.

I think it has more to do with the fact that most of the up and coming riders have practiced it since they were 10. It's relatively new, more and more guys are doing it every year it seems.

There are a few local guys I race with who have ridden at the world cup level, one of which has a couple national championships under his belt, none of them hop. Although in the last couple years we have some young riders starting to do it....all are now racing in Europe, go figure.

My kids new strategy is to find a guy on the start line and just do what he does.
I don't have an issue with that.

Just learn to hop like one of our NC guys, Alex Ryan:


Is that sarcasm? :foo:

I would learn to be really seamless and fast with dismounts, running and mounts before I focused on trying to hop in a race. If running is the baseline, nail that, then add more and more hopping practice till you can do it 100 percent of the time. Even if I could hop every time, when in doubt, run.

Dunno. Seems simple.

Still a risky thing to do mid race and as you can see, he didn't really gain any time on the dudes running.

I agree though - learn the basics. Proper running can take YEARS to master, it's not sexy but it's worked and still works at the world cup level.

Uh - no. As a beginning rider who has similar fitness and skill of the other riders, seems like the best way to go is copy.

And while I know those are not barriers, so a bit OT, if you look at the guy who dismounted was about a half to one bike lengths in front at the bottom and 1-2 bike lengths at the top. Riding looked slower, although both looked fast.
He kinda got his butt kicked on that, although the sponsors may have liked it and it was good video.

The video is just a fun example of good hopping technique. I won't debate about what's faster, since every rider and situation is different, but I'm more in the camp of running seeming pretty much as fast in most situations and lower risk (even if spectators love a good hop). I can't hop a standard barrier though, so take it with a grain of salt.

A bit OT myself, I've seen Alex race a few times this season and totally crush guys way faster than I'll hope to be.

Back to your son. We all just copy the right techniques in theory. Yet copy seems like the wrong term. He should probably just try stick to what feels more natural and fast to him instead of focusing on other riders.

Seems to just make more sense to me to be super comfortable in the run and then move up to hopping. Especially if the time difference is negligible in the long run.*

*Negligible to a point obviously. If you lose a whole second on the barriers every lap to a guy hopping really well and then lose by 6 or 7 seconds, maybe reconsider. That is all else equal though. Which we know doesn't happen.