manual63
10-02-2003, 12:28 PM
This issue has come up a few times in other areas, so I thought I would write about it here.
One thing that got me thinking about this was that people were talking about forks and other bike parts they were destroying. Not, that I don't destroy parts sometimes, but I keep it to a minimal by landing softer. It doesn't matter if you ride FS or not, you should always be using your body to compress on landings, acting as suspension.
I do see a lot of riders, the drop at Leb is a good example, that just ride off things and land with arms and legs stiff. By doing this your bike must take most of the shock of the landing, along with your bones and joints. I talk a lot about compressing your body, arms and legs mostly, in a lot of the riding tips. To do this, you can't just relax, but you can't be stiff either. You have to use your muscles to absorb the landing just right. It takes practice and you don't want to miss judge something or you will collapse onto your bike or tire or something.
If the surface I am going to land on is flat, then as I fall down towards the ground, I push the rear wheel down and extend my legs to their fullest. I keep the bars up as high as I can with my arms. It's almost like I am trying to pull the bars into my chest and push my rear wheel down to get the bike to be vertical or upright. I don't actually get it entirely upright, but the rear wheel should be a lot lower than the front. By pushing the rear wheel down (not waiting for it to land, but forcing it to the ground quicker) I just added a lot of room to cushion the landing. Then as the rear wheel touches the ground, I start to allow my legs to compress, but I use my muscles to give some resistance at the same time. Then the front wheel will start to fall, in most cases, I will have already absorbed most of the landing with my legs, so my front wheel should not come down too hard. When it does, I use my arms and allow them to compress as the front wheel lands.
If you do this, make sure you are using enough arm strength to keep your face from slamming into the stem or bars, which I have seen before. I have done it on an FS bike and it is no different. Someone told me that if you land rear wheel first on an FS bike, the suspension pushes up and causes you to bounce up real hard. I found this to be true only if you land stiff, but if you absorb the landing, the FS just makes it that much smoother.
On downside landings, it's much easier to absorb the landing. On a downside, you actually want to land front wheel first, then rear or both wheels at the same time. All you do is push the bike down equally with your arms and legs, then when it starts to touch the ground, absorb the landing with both your arms and legs at the same time. Your bike should be just the opposite as a flat landing by having your front wheel lower than your rear wheel, aligned with the angle of the downsided landing.
Like I said before, "control your bike, don't let your bike control you."
One thing that got me thinking about this was that people were talking about forks and other bike parts they were destroying. Not, that I don't destroy parts sometimes, but I keep it to a minimal by landing softer. It doesn't matter if you ride FS or not, you should always be using your body to compress on landings, acting as suspension.
I do see a lot of riders, the drop at Leb is a good example, that just ride off things and land with arms and legs stiff. By doing this your bike must take most of the shock of the landing, along with your bones and joints. I talk a lot about compressing your body, arms and legs mostly, in a lot of the riding tips. To do this, you can't just relax, but you can't be stiff either. You have to use your muscles to absorb the landing just right. It takes practice and you don't want to miss judge something or you will collapse onto your bike or tire or something.
If the surface I am going to land on is flat, then as I fall down towards the ground, I push the rear wheel down and extend my legs to their fullest. I keep the bars up as high as I can with my arms. It's almost like I am trying to pull the bars into my chest and push my rear wheel down to get the bike to be vertical or upright. I don't actually get it entirely upright, but the rear wheel should be a lot lower than the front. By pushing the rear wheel down (not waiting for it to land, but forcing it to the ground quicker) I just added a lot of room to cushion the landing. Then as the rear wheel touches the ground, I start to allow my legs to compress, but I use my muscles to give some resistance at the same time. Then the front wheel will start to fall, in most cases, I will have already absorbed most of the landing with my legs, so my front wheel should not come down too hard. When it does, I use my arms and allow them to compress as the front wheel lands.
If you do this, make sure you are using enough arm strength to keep your face from slamming into the stem or bars, which I have seen before. I have done it on an FS bike and it is no different. Someone told me that if you land rear wheel first on an FS bike, the suspension pushes up and causes you to bounce up real hard. I found this to be true only if you land stiff, but if you absorb the landing, the FS just makes it that much smoother.
On downside landings, it's much easier to absorb the landing. On a downside, you actually want to land front wheel first, then rear or both wheels at the same time. All you do is push the bike down equally with your arms and legs, then when it starts to touch the ground, absorb the landing with both your arms and legs at the same time. Your bike should be just the opposite as a flat landing by having your front wheel lower than your rear wheel, aligned with the angle of the downsided landing.
Like I said before, "control your bike, don't let your bike control you."