skills question

[onepunch]

so, when ever i try to pull up(manual, wheelie,pop of the lip of a jump, the very odd dropp) i have a 20% occourance of going realy hard on one side. It sends me into a kind of side ways drift, or with a front wheel up manuver, falling hard to my left or right. Undoubtadly, i must be a bit stronger on my right(dominant hand) but is it some thing else like how i push on my pedals with my feet, or tilt, or what? It is not always one side that i end up tilting. Scary as hell when jumping, especialy if i get bucked a bit at the same time.

[Endless Biking]

Try preloading more with your legs, rather than your arms. Our legs are so much stronger and much easier to activate while riding, making it much more efficient use of energy.

When you try to pull up on your bars, because of your off-set foot position, sometimes one can get more leverage on one side of handlebar, thus pulling you to one side.

Using your legs more will give you a more even preload and your wheels will want to come off the ground easier and generally more balanced (laterally).

Let us know if this works for you. Good luck.

[Knnn]

^^ no more needs to be said.

I used to have exactly the same problem, took an Endless Biking Session where DB showed me how to preload with my legs and not use my arms and voila!. No more problems.

Just find a nice safe place to practice, somewhere with a 2 foot drop that will roll if you ferk it up.

[woodlotrider]

although it's impossible to tell without seeing... if you're turning (even ever so slightly) to one side when you leave the lip, it'll be exagerated in the air. As you know, when you're turning the ground is pushing you in the direction you're turning (or else you wash out). So when your tire leaves the ground at the lip you'll begin to rotate to the side you were turning toward.

[Smoke]

You'll be more balanced fore and aft as well. Generally speaking (its hard to tell from a typed paragraph exactly what's going on), lateral deviations are caused by leaning back. You get the same effect when you hit a jump with straight arms and your ass out. Often you will go to the side (or over the bars....). Quite likely you're pulling really hard and getting your ass WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY back, which is a tough position to keep balanced with 2 wheels on the ground.

A ton of other good things happen when you use the technique darren/kelly is/are describing.

Seek the middle path, grasshoppa......

[Mic]

Hmm...how do I "preload" ....I have been trying to do a manual with my legs only, that is without pulling too hard with my arms. =/

the front has to get into the air, and how do I do it without using too much power from my arms?

[Endless Biking]

^^^^^

As Smoke said, tough to describe in text but we'll do the best we can. There is bit more to this but I've tried to keep it simple and somewhat short for internet effectiveness. I'm sure you'll have some more Q's afterwards....

For manuals, as you preload with your legs (down into the centre of the bike), before you release your energy and your legs are still bent, drive your feet forward. Your feet will really play a big part in your manual. You can hold your manual up or bring it back down using feet control.

Your arms should essentially be straight when manualling. When you drive your feet forward, your legs will extend, automatically putting your hips to the back of the bike and your arms will naturally extend. Once this happens, your wheel will start to come off the ground. You can control your manual by thrusting/relaxing your legs and feet to bring you front wheel up or down.

It will almost play out like a 'J' or a backwards 'L'. Play with it and let us know how you make out. Manualling is one of may favorite skills to use and I've had great success teaching it. Let us know if you have any more questions.

I hope it helps!

DB@EB

[Six]

I found this a while back...it's Ryan Leech giving instruction on this very subject...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-Nn4Z5WVIg&mode=related&search=

Edit: Alright...I can seem to embed the stupid vid...damnit...I suck at internet.

[Mike.T]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-Nn4Z5WVIg&mode=related&search=

[onepunch]

Great advice every one. So obvious that i missed it. I preload a bit with my legs, but tend to "press" the whole bike down with my upper body which could be leading to the unbalance.I will try and push with my legs more and just use my arms to loft my wheel a bit.Smoke, i do believe that i am pulling back and getting too far back. Generaly, i think i still tend to be too far back. Another person told me once to keep my chin over my stem more, and that helped.I still am too far back generally speaking with jumps and cornering to. I cant wait to try it out. I think it will realy help on steep liped jumps.Good video as well.

[iWish]

I had exactly the same issues as you're describing which actually led to a couple pretty ass munching wipeouts in the Whistler Bike Park and I kinda learnt the hard way! But I found the best place to practice was the Bike Park at Interriver park in North Van. Great selection of different sized jumps to practice on as well as a good range of small to large drops. Really helped me alot!

[Glenmaggie DH FR]

For starters I think that your thinking to much of what your going to try and do, when you try to do a wheelie, find a gear size that you are commfortable with, when im riding my Giant AC gear size 4 is perfect for me but when im riding my Giant DH Comp 5 or 6 is better, and when it comes to jumping araguably more important not to have to many things racing through your head, dont think what trick your going to pull when your pinnin up to the jump just find your flow first, then maybe some wips or x-ups. If you keep drifting to the right or left, just keep doing standerd airs over a jump that you feel comfantable with and think why you are drifting and when you are in mid air and you feel your self start to drift to one side try either to shifting your body to the oppisite side of your bike or pull the bike oppisite way and if you do happen to fall, because its a smaller jump you shouldnt hurt yourself to much. Then maybe start doing small wips to get your confendence.

and remember the old sayings "practise makes perfect" and "no pain no gain.

[rowdy01]

one addition to the good info provided above. i used to have the same problem, but as i learned to relax, these problems stopped altogether. when you do a regular jump, do you feel the same awkwardness?(sp?) i ask `cause i think you`ll find that the more comfortable you become in the air (read-practice practice practice), the less of an issue the side to side thing will become. you`ll simply relax and learn to anticipate it and thus use it to your advantage.....style points. the looser(sp?) you are on the bike the less these bugs will pop up. Key word....RELAX.

i know this isn`t exactly clear as day....but when you do finally get it....you`ll get it.

best of luck!

[Endless Biking]

^^^

Yes, good points. Relaxing is certainly key. With so many variables on the trails, it is very important to be loose, fluid-like if you can.

Some good points brought up about body position and traction in corners too... Practice is definitely essential with any skills, with appropriate progressions too.

Thanks for the +

DB@EB