I've been downhilling for about 4 years now. I'm okay with steep stuff, rock gardens, jumps and speed, but I have no confidence in my abiility to take drops. Particullarly when the trail goes slightly downhill prior to the drop. I always feel like I'm going to endo hard, and then I bail out at the last second. Iv'e practiced on some loading docks, and I'm okay with that, but the trail scenerio is always different. Anyone have any tips on learning this skill?
Drops Spook Me! How do I learn to take em?
- Thread starter al7barfly
- Start date
Just get your weight right and go for it. At least thats what i do. And you will become more comfortable.
speed, ass back, no brakes, and hold on for the ride man. you just got to suck it up and do it. yeh your gonna take crashes and have hard hits but **** thats what the sport is about and you will become a better rider if you do.
Couldn't have said it better myself...
I had a problem getting over drops last year at the Duryea Downhill in Reading. I was there with woof, and for the life of me I just couldn't seem to get the balls to take the last drop. Eventually I just went for it and scared the sh!t out of myself, but I felt sooo happy afterwards.
It is exactly as you descibed your own local drop - downhill approach to the drop, then STEEP downhill landing. What helped me was watching woof and some other guys who were better than me, take different lines off the drop. I studied the landing to see what kind of shape it was, and then I studied how the different riders approached the drop at the top. Most importantly, I was taking note of where everyone was landing - usually there is a "sweet spot" that everyone hits. When you go to do your thing, aim for it the best you can, but don't stare at it too much. If you think the "sweet spot" is beyond what you are capable of, find a smaller drop.
Eventually, you just have to make an educated guess about how much speed to have - if the landing is:
1. Open w/o lots of trees,
2. Steep and smooth,
3. Incline/steepness of the landing stays the same as it was before the drop for a long distance
4. Long run-out at the bottom (this is where the landing flattens out - don't land here! - )
then you don't have to worry about carrying too much speed. In the case mentioned above, the more speed you have the better b/c as you drop off, your trajectory will match the inclination/steepness of the hill, and it will "catch" you as you touch down. Just think of ski jumpers in the winter Olympics.
One thing I noticed about this landing in particular was that if you went too slow, the landing was very flat for about the first 6 ft. after the end of the drop, then after that it returned to conforming with the hill's over-all angle of inclination (it got steep again like the rest of the hill was). If you landed here(the flat patch after the drop), you almost got bucked off your bike if you didn't suck up the landing just right.
Just take some time to check it out and then go for it.
I had a problem getting over drops last year at the Duryea Downhill in Reading. I was there with woof, and for the life of me I just couldn't seem to get the balls to take the last drop. Eventually I just went for it and scared the sh!t out of myself, but I felt sooo happy afterwards.
It is exactly as you descibed your own local drop - downhill approach to the drop, then STEEP downhill landing. What helped me was watching woof and some other guys who were better than me, take different lines off the drop. I studied the landing to see what kind of shape it was, and then I studied how the different riders approached the drop at the top. Most importantly, I was taking note of where everyone was landing - usually there is a "sweet spot" that everyone hits. When you go to do your thing, aim for it the best you can, but don't stare at it too much. If you think the "sweet spot" is beyond what you are capable of, find a smaller drop.
Eventually, you just have to make an educated guess about how much speed to have - if the landing is:
1. Open w/o lots of trees,
2. Steep and smooth,
3. Incline/steepness of the landing stays the same as it was before the drop for a long distance
4. Long run-out at the bottom (this is where the landing flattens out - don't land here! - )
then you don't have to worry about carrying too much speed. In the case mentioned above, the more speed you have the better b/c as you drop off, your trajectory will match the inclination/steepness of the hill, and it will "catch" you as you touch down. Just think of ski jumpers in the winter Olympics.
One thing I noticed about this landing in particular was that if you went too slow, the landing was very flat for about the first 6 ft. after the end of the drop, then after that it returned to conforming with the hill's over-all angle of inclination (it got steep again like the rest of the hill was). If you landed here(the flat patch after the drop), you almost got bucked off your bike if you didn't suck up the landing just right.
Just take some time to check it out and then go for it.
Do like i do and close your eyes bright before you hit it
I take it one curb at a time.