Training Guide

You come flying down a section of singletrack and standing in your way is a large log. You have two options. Either you dismount and step over it, or you maintain your speed and effortlessly jump over. Bunny hopping is an essential skill any mountain biker should learn. Yes, it looks cool, as anyone can attest who has ever seen a freerider easily jump a guard rail. But more importantly, bunny hopping allows you to leap over small objects in a single bound. No, it’s not a super power, but it does ensure that when rock or log suddenly appears in your path, you don’t have to break the flow in your ride.

Bunny hopping is about making gravity work for you (like so much of mountain biking). The first step is to position yourself in a crouch slightly forward and above your saddle. Once there, preferably with your feet clipped into the pedals, experiment with pulling them up toward your abdomen while yanking up on the handlebars at the same time. The cranks of your bike should be horizontal at three and nine O’clock. As you get a feel for the hop, you’ll find that the jerking motion will probably make your bike’s wheels jump an inch or two off the ground. That’s the first step. Practice on a soft surface such as grass, so if you fall it will be forgiving.

Once you’ve reached the stage where you can achieve some height with your hop, the next step is to begin to learn to put it into practice. Place a small log or rock in front of you and practice riding toward it. As you approach it, compress down and then pop up, using your knees and elbows in a crouch to generate power. As your front wheel moves over the object, shift your weight slightly forward, allowing yourself to kick up slightly. This will unweight your back wheel bringing it off the ground and allowing for longer air time. As you land, come back slightly behind the saddle with your arms and legs bent to absorb the force of the impact.

Over time, this motion will become second-nature to you. When trail riding, bunny hopping enables you to avoid obstacles that might otherwise slow you down or result in a crash. Another method to practice is to find an extra-high object and, approaching it, wheelie your front wheel up onto it and then as you go over, move your centre of gravity forward a little and then back to bring your rear wheel over. The trick is to also make sure you unweight enough to get your crank rings over the large object without catching the teeth.

Bunny hopping isn’t just for mountain bikers. Road cyclists should cultivate it as an essential skill for negotiating potholes, wet train tracks or even chunks of stone or glass. It’s not something you want to do often, and certainly not at a great height. An improper bunny hop on a road bike can leave you with damaged rims. The technique is the same as in mountain biking, but a little finesse goes a long way.