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How to do gap jumps!

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How to do gap jumps!

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flag tom1201
Posted: Sep 2, 2014 at 16:29 Quote
Im scared about doing gap jumps and i need help on how to. Ive done huge table top jumps on dh courses but there is something about gaps that scares me to death. anytips
flag ricar
Posted: Sep 2, 2014 at 17:20 Quote
Build one. Find a spot and build one but make it decent, big as you can but build it with a small gap, like easy could do it sleeping small. Then jump it, then when you have jumped it ten times try to over shoot it a bit and move the landing to where you were overshooting to. It helps to rake the landing a bit to see the new tire tracks, then repeat. Jump it and move it. It's a real pita but you will be surprised how much it can help.
flag cmc4130
Posted: Sep 2, 2014 at 19:29 Quote
I think it's pretty normal to be scared of a gap more than a table, even if the table is longer. It's a visual trick, where you think you might come up short.

First, you do have to know how to jump smoothly. So, if you jump big tables, you're fine.

Second, follow someone who is jumping it and go the same speed they are going. If you stay loose and just jump normally (and don't stiffen up and "dead sailor") then there is literally no possible way you are going to land in the gap. It's basic physics. It's okay to go a little faster than normal, and slightly over-clear it, the first time, but be careful, sometimes people go way too fast the first time, when they are scared of the gap, and then they "lawn dart" and nosedive into flat ground. Not cool.

Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://members.toast.net/joerger/pic2/trajectory.gif
I'll say it again: If you are going the correct speed, and you jump normally, it impossible to land in the gap:
Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/930/952840/12-13.gif

Good luck.
flag ricar
Posted: Sep 2, 2014 at 20:23 Quote
Something that has helped me and some others I have ridden with works on small and mid sized jumps. Learn to ditch. Hit the jump way too slow, ditch the bike (hold on to it so it lands nicely) and you feel how the lip will send you but at a slow controlled speed. Then a bit faster, get the confidence going and see how much speed you need. Learning to ditch can be a massive help for when things go bad on a "normal" jump and if you can run down the landing then you would have made the jump.

I know it sounds stupid, but it does work. I have watched several people try this and one day can change your riding, you can get hurt so it's not a good idea for larger jumps but you can get hurt on jumps anyhow.
flag cmc4130
Posted: Sep 3, 2014 at 22:05 Quote
ricar wrote:
Something that has helped me and some others I have ridden with works on small and mid sized jumps. Learn to ditch. Hit the jump way too slow, ditch the bike (hold on to it so it lands nicely) and you feel how the lip will send you but at a slow controlled speed. Then a bit faster, get the confidence going and see how much speed you need. Learning to ditch can be a massive help for when things go bad on a "normal" jump and if you can run down the landing then you would have made the jump.

I know it sounds stupid, but it does work. I have watched several people try this and one day can change your riding, you can get hurt so it's not a good idea for larger jumps but you can get hurt on jumps anyhow.

You're definitely right that a lot of people are good at ditching the bike and landing on their feet. Unfortunately, I'm more of a go-down-with-ship or combat-roll-if-you-have-to type. Confused
flag GiraffeInPurple
Posted: Sep 5, 2014 at 22:42 Quote
If you don't feel it don't do it.

but if you do scope the jump for a second or 2 and just hit it if you can hear the wind in your ears you should make it Big Grin
flag percy-joe
Posted: Sep 7, 2014 at 18:08 Quote
Its just one of those things you just have to do. Its the commitment thing that probably scares you, not the fact that you might fall in the middle. Besides that dirt in the middle is usually soft fresh dirt!. If u decide not to jump a table, you could just roll over it. With a pit jump there is that point of no return right before the lip where you are going over this thing in one piece or not. Like the first guy said, start small. Wear more protective gear than u normally would. And it might pay to go with a friend when it is just the two of you. No added pressure of other people watching. Small. Once you get over that "commitment" feeling you will be fine. But you gotta know your limits too.
flag GiraffeInPurple
Posted: Sep 7, 2014 at 19:09 Quote
I had no choice but to hit big jumps I couldn't make a nice set of small ones without someone coming and wrecking them,

The only question what should have an answer to your question is "are you ready?"
flag ricar
Posted: Sep 7, 2014 at 19:52 Quote
No, the middle is not always soft. Smacking into the face of a landing can cause serious damage, there is a reason not everyone who rides hits jumps.
flag percy-joe
Posted: Sep 7, 2014 at 19:57 Quote
Yeah you def gotta know your limits. There were always a set of "super doubles" at every local track in the woods. I never hit them, and never really wanted to. And i was fine with that. I knew my limits. For me it just wasn't worth it. But i remember the first time i jumped a pit jump. Took me a long time to muster up the courage. Once i finally did it, just like everything else in life, i thought "whats the big deal". Once you start you will never look back.
flag cmc4130
Posted: Sep 7, 2014 at 20:11 Quote
ricar wrote:
No, the middle is not always soft. Smacking into the face of a landing can cause serious damage, there is a reason not everyone who rides hits jumps.

It's true. The way jumps are built at some scenes, with no "tag saver"/"case pad" is pretty dangerous. I saw a friend get paralyzed after nose-casing a jump in a line he hit all the time. If there had been a case pad, he might have gone down, but I don't think he would have flipped head first as bad. Sometimes when you're going slightly too slow and lazy can be the worst slam. You should always have a healthy fear of a dirt jump. But, at the same time if you have jumping skills and the right speed, it's actually less risky than it looks.
flag GiraffeInPurple
Posted: Sep 8, 2014 at 15:37 Quote
ricar wrote:
No, the middle is not always soft. Smacking into the face of a landing can cause serious damage, there is a reason not everyone who rides hits jumps.

Done that a few times I check my pants after to see I crapped them.
flag dirthogg91
O+
Posted: Sep 8, 2014 at 17:13 Quote
cmc4130 wrote:
It's okay to go a little faster than normal, and slightly over-clear it, the first time, but be careful, sometimes people go way too fast the first time, when they are scared of the gap, and then they "lawn dart" and nosedive into flat ground. Not cool.
+1 Madder
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