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How to bust a Tabletop?

mudanoman

Chimp
Mar 18, 2002
72
0
Bay Area
Hey,

I have been riding forever and still cannot do anything close to a tabletop. I ride with my right foot forward. Would that affect the way I tweak the bike? What are some pointers? Thanks in advance. I'll try to get some media of my progress after Turkey weekend.

Cheers,

I
 

monkeyboy424

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2002
1,483
2
Place
good luck. everytime i try a table top i just sorta lean foward, kick out and tweak the bars. then i take a nap.
 

biggins

Rump Junkie
May 18, 2003
7,173
9
when in the air you want to throw your left hand down tilting the bars or push forward for an x-up table. suck the bike up and use your feet to shove it up and side ways. its hard to explain but remeber, yo uwant the topo tube in the bend at the back of your knee and get forward so your seat does not hit your thigh keeping you from dumping it over. its is easiest to learn tables on hips
 

The Captain

Chimp
Aug 30, 2003
26
0
High on a Mountain Top
get the video "learn how to dirt jump" it will solve all of your problems, and by simply watching the video you will be throwin down at you local jumping spot in no time. impress your friends with you mastery of moves including x ups, table tops, superman, tail whips and even back flips. All of this crazy skill can be you simply by watching the video. :D
 

mudanoman

Chimp
Mar 18, 2002
72
0
Bay Area
Originally posted by biggins
when in the air you want to throw your left hand down tilting the bars or push forward for an x-up table.
So if I was riding with my left foot forward I would want to throw my right hand on the bars, right?! I think what might be hindering me is the fact that I have been trying to tilt with my right hand while riding with my right foot forward. Thanks for the tips. I will try my luck at it again. Peace, I
 

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
I don't think it really matters which foot is forward, just whatever way you feel more comfortable laying the bike over... you need to use both arms and your feet, it's not just pulling up with one hand. Just do what feels natural, and make sure you straighten it out before you land... :p
 

Squid

Chimp
Dec 13, 2002
77
0
Rochester, NY
You could follow the advice Sideways always gives: practice them while lying on your back in your living room listening to Black Sabbath! :thumb:
 

biggins

Rump Junkie
May 18, 2003
7,173
9
i ride right foot forward and drop my bike over to the left, the same way i hip and the same way i wall ride.the important thing is to pull your bike up into you and throw that left hand down at the same time. maximum flattage occurs when x-ing it up during the table top.
 
Ok,
I am here again.
So I will start with saying the same thing I usually say regarding Jumping trick how to's.

Jumping is about the upper body, everything you want to do occurs as a symptom of what your hands do.
Your legs for the most part (except in the most advance case of virtually every trick, in which when tweaking that far it is a necessity to involve the rest of the body thoroughly), provide the pop.

so, flat table top.
Approach the jump with a little more speed than you would if you were simply clearing it, and on the transition push VERY hard with your legs, the more pop you get, the flatter the table will be.
This is because (except inverted tables) you will not be pulling the bike UP to flat, but rather pushing it DOWN. If you pop hard off the lip you will send the bike up fast, normally this will just keep it feeling planted to your feet, but in this case you will utilize this energy. As the you and the bike are travelling off the lip, tension up the hand opposite to the side you want to table to (the one that will be farthest from the way the wheels will move, or put another way, the hand on the side of your bottom foot).
This hand will become the pivot point for the whole thing, so lock the elbow in a comfortable position and with the other hand start pulling the bar back and down, so it is headed right for your stomach, while you are doing this, you MUST suck your knees up tight towards your chest.
You will end up in almost a fetal position centered just in front of the seat.
How flat you can get will depend on two major things at this point, first being how hard down you drive the hand near your stomach, and second by how tight you can get your knees to your chest bearing in mind that your arm is in the way, so you will actually be bringing your knees tight against your tricep, outside of your arm.

The softer your feet are on the pedals the higher it will go.
to get them inverted you have to start twisting your feet really far inward, and start pushing your hip down as well.

Here is a dated picture of RL Osborne pulling one nice and flat.
note you will see his top knee is already starting to point down, to land you simply pull up on the inside hand (the one near your stomach) and the bike will right itself.

I hope this helps.
 

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El Jefe

Dr. Phil Jefe
Nov 26, 2001
793
0
OC in SoCal
Originally posted by Mudpuppy
But what abot the days I wear underwear with funny patterns?:confused: I can't be all macho and uberdoober cool wearing polkadot underwear!;)
I don't wear underwear...is that why I'm having trouble with my tabletops?
 
Yes El Jefe,
Yes it is.

I go commando as well, that is why I suck.. I like that excuse and I am sticking to it.

BTW, what ever happened to that "road gap drop"?

I never heard any more.. did I miss it, did you post pics?