# Bunny Hoppin



## Faybie77 (May 6, 2007)

*.*

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## *rt* (Jan 15, 2004)

Faybie77 said:


> I was wondering if any of you ladies can bunny hop. Reason I am asking is I have never actually seen any girls do it; only guys.
> 
> How do you do this? Is it something that is actually useful on the trails, or just a way to show off?


i can bunny hop. and yes, i do find it a useful skill to have - helpful if there's something in the trail that you don't see till the last second, can't go around, and definitely don't want to run over......like a big poisonous snake! :eekster: i also find it an extremely useful skill on my road bike for hopping over potholes that seem to appear suddenly out of nowhere.

to be truthful, my bunny hopping skills aren't the greatest and i can only do it if i'm clipped in but in answer to your question, yes it's a useful skill to have.

oh, and it is good for showing off too. 

rt


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## 9.8m/s/s (Sep 26, 2005)

Not a woman myself, but most of the girls I ride with are in the process of learning this. It really is one of the most useful tools in your quiver. I use it 2-3x a ride. Once you free your front wheel from hitting obstacles it keeps the bike stable and keeps momentum up, which are it's two major assets. A bunny hop is simply the logical progression- it allows both tire to pass over an obstacle without hitting

To bunny hop- Stand high on your pedals with your seat lowered into your frame. Now, drive your weight down through your back tire. (If you have a fs, you will have to go a little slower to compensate for the shock compressing) This stores a ton of kinectic energy in the back tire that you will need for the next part of the move. At this point you should have almost zero weight on your bars so they will be easy to manipulate. 

Now fo the tricky part. Jump and pull the bars to your hips. The movement is like trying to jump back and over your bike, with the result looking like the folding of a chair. Once you reach the top of your arc, throw the bars out in front of you and bend your legs. 

It's all about timing. Little practice and you'll be surprised what you can get over. Start with a soda can, and move up from there. Good luck.


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## mtbchick (Aug 16, 2004)

*Yes, we can bunny hop!*

there is a progression i use to get the ladies off the ground... it's a great way to show off, and to be smooth on descents- avoiding all manner of rock and root.

I am sure if you find a clinic locally, a good instructor can teach you- or take a private lesson. you can learn not only a bunny hop, but a wheelie, manual and all that cool stuff!

the idea is to use your arms and legs as springs to bounce the bike off the ground... Feel free to email me for more detail, and let me know where you are located to get you plugged in to a clinic/camp/instructor!)

here are some photos of first timers at a mtbchick.com clinic!


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## TheotherH (Jan 21, 2004)

*Yup, can bunny hop*

It is a useful skill and a lot of fun, too!


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## Faybie77 (May 6, 2007)

Wow!!! I am so glad I found this site. You all seem really helpful! 

I am happy to know it serves a purpose because the only time I have seen anyone do it is guys in the parking lot trying to show off!!! Hopefully soon I will be able to show off! 

Need to get hubby to put clips on my new bike. Old one had them, but he wants them to stay on.


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## gatorchick (Nov 5, 2006)

I am learning. I can get both wheels off the ground .. its the moving forward part that is the problem. I seem to just jump in place! :madman:


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## 9.8m/s/s (Sep 26, 2005)

Faybie77 said:


> Wow!!! I am so glad I found this site. You all seem really helpful!
> 
> I am happy to know it serves a purpose because the only time I have seen anyone do it is guys in the parking lot trying to show off!!! Hopefully soon I will be able to show off!
> 
> Need to get hubby to put clips on my new bike. Old one had them, but he wants them to stay on.


Clipless is cheating. 

Here is a great couple of video's to show you how to do it without- 
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=74422&highlight=learn+bunny+hop


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## Faybie77 (May 6, 2007)

9.8m/s/s said:


> Clipless is cheating.


rft:

I don't think I will be able to do it any other way!


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## Faybie77 (May 6, 2007)

stripes said:


> I think you can surprise yourself. You would be amazed at how much you can do with a good platform pedal.


What would be considered a good platform pedal?


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## JMH (Feb 23, 2005)

9.8m/s/s said:


> Clipless is cheating.


It's not so much cheating as just a far less useful maneuver.


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## Bluebug32 (Jan 13, 2006)

what's the difference between a manual, a pedal kick and a bunnyhop? All are fun and I just kind of do what I need to to get over stuff. I'm beginning to love the pedal kick and I've recently starting clearing some big logs because of it!


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## corprin (Mar 12, 2007)

Not a woman, just trying to help.

I am currently trying to teach my wife how to do a wheelie hop, as I find them much easier then a bunnyhop. It may not be the 'proper' method, but it helps her lack of upper body strength get things moving.

Start with a fair amount of speed, something slow enough to exhume confidence, but fast enough to keep good balance throughout the maneuver. Level your pedals with your dominant foot forward, weight slightly forward of your bottom bracket. In one smooth motion slip the bike under you as you shift your weight back lifting the bars back and up, the front wheel should come off the ground (like doing a manual) Once your front tire gets to the proper height point your toes down and push the pedals back towards the rear axle while pushing forward slightly on the bars. This motion will lift the rear wheel and pivot right at your center of gravity, which tends to be around the bottom bracket. Once the bike has leveled off above the ground you want to land on both wheels.

It takes a while to get used to the timing, go try it out.


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## Impy (Jan 6, 2004)

yes women can bunny hop!

what helped my hopping the most was practicing to hop over horse poo, usually while flying down a trail or fire road . Seriously! This gave me a lot of motivation to hop, but I knew even if I blew it the worst I'd have is a smelly rear tire (versus crashing by hitting an log/obstacle wrong). Puddles are also good for practice in this regard.


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## Neen (Sep 27, 2004)

I was just practicing this very thing last night. Over a stick since I thought a curb (those parking lot ones so you don't pull into the spot too far) would hurt far too much if I misjudged. Once I got going, it wasn't too hard, now I just need to work on my timing so I can actually use the skill on the trail. And I guess not knowing how to do this explains why, after a huge puddle, I am drenched and the guys I ride with come out much cleaner!


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## gmcttr (Oct 7, 2006)

A video to help out.

http://www.secretreality.com/mtb/tutorials/volume_1_basic_bunnyhop_640x480.wmv


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## Fiona (Aug 21, 2005)

stripes said:


> In a nutshell: a manual is a high speed wheelie. It's done with hip shifting.
> 
> A wheelie is done with a power stroke, which is what I think you mean by a pedal kick. This is a low-speed maneuver, but I can only do this with my strong foot forward, so I don't get much from this as of yet.
> 
> ...


I had it explained to me that the bunny hop was for small obstacles (sticks, puddles, snakes), the wheelie to get you up onto larger ones (logs and rocks), and the manual was for rolling off drops. Does that sound right? I agree about the pedals BTW. I don't think I'd want to learn this stuff clipped in anyway.

Faybie77, I'd totally recommend getting into a clinic. The one I went to at Mountain Bike Oregon last year was really helpful. I walked away with a couple new skills learned and more to learn but the info on how to work on them.

Impy, I've been following your advice as much as possible and practicing while waiting for the guys.

Fiona


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

A guy here...
Lots of testosterone does not necessarily help with bunny hops 
A hop can be helpful for simple things like going up a curb without slowing down.

Pulling up with clipless pedals seems to put me seriously out of balance. Doing it by moving my body weight seems to result in more controlled hops.


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## Faybie77 (May 6, 2007)

*I Did It!!!!*

Whoo hoo!!! I did it last night in my yard. It took me a while, but I think I have the movement down and I got up 1-2 inches!!! AND I DID IT WITHOUT CLIPLESS!!!  Now I just have to practice, practice, practice!

P.S. Does this put a lot of strain on the bike? It is a FS if that matters.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Faybie77 said:


> P.S. Does this put a lot of strain on the bike? It is a FS if that matters.


I need to go and practice too...
The strain depends on where and how you land. Mountain bikes are designed to handle some drops too and you are unlikely to hop all THAT high.


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## mtbchick (Aug 16, 2004)

Bunny hopping does not strain a mountain bike. That's what a mountain bike is built for.

Ladies, keep in mind, men do things very differently, have different center of gravity, and different strengths. We must use our grace and finesse to do the same things the men do, only prettier. We cannot get by on strength alone. Balance is key. That is why when a guy tries to explain to you how to do something it rarely works for you. (it's not their fault!)

Here's how to wheelie...

1- in order to keep from falling backwards, do not pull back on your handlebars
2- in order to keep from falling backwards tip #2- your rear brake will drop your front wheel, so... if you feel you are going too far back, just tap your rear brake
3- absolutely NO upper body strength is required to ride a wheelie
4- you are simply diverting energy, instead of the bike moving forward alone, you are diverting the energy up.
5- try to ride in an easy gear from a very slow pace to start
6- coast with your strong leg in the 12 o'clock position.
7- quickly in one motion step your foot down to 6 o'clock, at the same time, as the bike wants to move forward, guide the front wheel up.
8- it may take a few tries to get your proper gear. too easy and your front wheel won't go up, too hard and it may be too hard to guide your wheel up.
9- once you get your wheel off the ground properly, you will feel the perfection of balance. From there keep practising!
10- a wheelie can be ridden on any type of bike, it does not require a nice bike. you can even ride a wheelie on a road bike!
11- you can do it!!!!!


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## kellijayne (Mar 21, 2007)

*This by far is the best instruction ever on how to bunny hop!

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Now I want to go out and try it!!!!* :thumbsup:

:eekster: *http://www.bmxbasics.org/new/bmx0703.html*


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## brg (Sep 7, 2004)

kellijayne said:


> *This by far is the best instruction ever on how to bunny hop!
> 
> Check it out and let me know what you think.
> 
> ...


thanks for the info! both the flowmaster vid (link posted earlier) and this webpage are awesome! :thumbsup:


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## sportsman (Mar 2, 2004)

*rt* said:


> i also find it an extremely useful skill on my road bike for hopping over potholes that seem to appear suddenly out of nowhere.


I'll be this pi$$es off anyone on your wheel :nono:


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## mattaphore (Apr 10, 2007)

Seeing that the last post on this thread was 3 weeks ago, I dunno if anyone's still checking it. In any case, I thought I'd chime in and share a bit of how I learned. (I'm not the greatest at bunny hopping but maybe this might help someone out there)

I learned the hop in two parts:
1.) Pulling up on my handle bars to get my front wheel up, while leaving the back wheel on the ground. As a little kid I used to ride around and pull the handle bar up and call it popping a wheelie. It's the simpler of the two parts, and it's just accomplished by pulling on your handle bars while riding off the saddle.

2.) Next, I learned to just pop up my back wheel while keeping the front wheel on the ground. This can be accomplished by putting more weight over your front tire, pressing your feet against the pedals, with your toes pointed down, (sorta like a backslash "/"). By pushing back and sorta upwards, you can get your back wheel to come up off the ground. You are sorta relying on the grip between your shoes and your pedals.

Putting these two parts together, you can hop  I guess it's timing the pulling up of your hands with the pulling up of your back tire. I'm also not sure if this is the best technique for the hop, but it works for me, and I'm still trying to learn how to hop higher.

Best of luck to you all, and just have fun with it


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