Video: Matt Jones' Second Attempt at his Huge 15ft Tree Gap

Jan 18, 2021 at 8:11
by Ed Spratt  


bigquotesI'm so stoked with all the comments and feedback on my first building and riding video of the huge MTB tree gap. I'm stoked about this project but also super nervous of attempting this gap again. I return to Chicksands Bike Park to make changes to the ramp, landing and tree - ready for more attempts on the gap in this video! This thing is gnarly!— Matt Jones

You can watch his first attempts here.

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102 Comments

  • 150 4
 Wait a second, I thought no one on Youtube could shred?
  • 38 2
 Unless they were a pro at any stage, in which case then they can shred, but NOBODY else can.
  • 8 0
 @Darragh-McD: And as anyone who is well versed in the pinkbike comments knows; you can't be a youtuber if you are a former pro that has started a youtube channel.
  • 3 9
flag Darragh-McD (Jan 18, 2021 at 14:50) (Below Threshold)
 @mtb-jon: while that may be true, what about Sam Pilgrim or Skills with Phil
  • 2 0
 @Darragh-McD: that jeff kendal weed guy. But then again he probably shreds something else...
  • 8 0
 Ah, yes, the "Brian Lopes Principle" - where everyone not named Brian Lopes is apparently doing it all wrong.

When Phil "Skills with Phil" Kmetz or Seth "Bike's" Hacks stick a trick, it doesn't count due to their lack of 90's racing pedigree.
  • 8 0
 @rodeostu: Phil actually raced as a pro downhiller for a while
  • 2 1
 @Darragh-McD: I know Skils with Phil was a pro downhiller, but in the 90's? I'm not so sure.

He doesn't look like he's in his late 40's/50's.
  • 1 0
 @rodeostu: yeah, I don't ok now when he was pro
  • 6 0
 Do... do we hate IFHT now?
  • 4 0
 @Clarkeh: that's what's stupid about no YouTubers can shred. There is alot of YouTubers out there who are really good riders, but aren't pro. An article published here was winging that those guys, saying they don't deserve sponsors.
  • 4 0
 ummm, Brendog, Bernard Kerr, im pretty sure they can shred, along with Max Fredriksson, just to name a few
  • 2 0
 @denvermelvin: ah yes, according to the pinkbike article, they can't be 'YouTubers' if they were ever a pro rider
  • 29 0
 @rodeostu: while I didn't race downhill until ~2005 when I was 15, before that I was an internationally ranked BMX racer from the age of 5-14. I made the mains at NBL & ABA grands, French National, European championships, & world championships; several of which I finished on the podium. Not sure why any of this really matters though.

Fun fact, I watched Lopes win many ABA grand nationals in person.
  • 7 0
 @PhilKmetz: Ahaha flex on em Phil. Keep up the good work, I enjoy your videos.
  • 1 0
 sam pilgrim sam renelds brendog bernerd kerr matt jones and others just saying.
  • 2 0
 @PhilKmetz: Thanks for responding to my comment - as a fan of your channel, I'm mildly touched you bothered to write. Yeah, there's no debating that Lopes is an excellent rider. I was merely commenting on the fact that he waded in early, forcefully, (and ungrammatically) into the fray on the merits of mtb youtube channels.

The internet is plenty big enough for Lopes and the "Seth's Bike Hacks," and it seemed churlish for him to come out swinging on Twitter against the latter.
  • 1 0
 He also started as a slope rider. I think the meme was referring to people like Seth.
  • 2 0
 @PhilKmetz: You tell them phil. I love your trail building videos!. Count me in. If you need help!
  • 129 5
 I mean...great effort and all. But if you had a concussion 1 week is not near enough time. You have 1 brain and riding down a tree isn’t worth permanent damage.
  • 15 6
 My thoughts as well... teaching those kids how to pay the bills. But it might be the last cheque. Starting to seem like a hype game more than anything. Hope it’s worth the follower gains...
  • 30 3
 Great guy, great rider, impressive feat. But in 2021 shame on any sponsor putting its name on a video that's about someone and taking another shot at the thing that gave him a concussion just a week later. That's scary for Jones, it puts dangerous pressure on other pros, and it sets a godawful example for the rest of us. Jesus people.
  • 22 1
 "I saw stars, big time" he says one week after his last concussion. Not the way anyone should be treating their brain.
  • 13 0
 In New Zealand I think the medically accepted stand down is 3 weeks which a lot of sports (I believe) have adopted. The last time I got concussed my pyshio was very clear about not getting on the bike for 3 weeks. I seem to recall Tracy Hannah being stood down from racing in NZ after a clear concussion at an event a year or two back...
  • 11 0
 See Anneke Beerten. Now she got hers in an auto collision but her story shows how extreme the side effects of scrambled brain can be. As well as the work required to get back to normal. I hope it all works out for her. Hey Matt, we like you too much to see end up handicapped. Give it time
  • 5 0
 3 weeks much more reasonable, but keep in mind brains aren’t bones. The healing time is more variable (and sometimes can be much longer for no clear reason).
  • 1 0
 @toddonbike: Lorraine Truong too, she had too many crashes and spends most of her time using a wheelchair and needs assistance dogs etc. She's competing at Wheelchair Motorcross though
  • 1 0
 @Phillyenduro:
  • 4 0
 100% agree. Glad to see your post here and not in oblivion.
  • 4 7
 @Phillyenduro: I mean, to be honest, he and lots of the riders in this side of the sport would do this even if the sponsors didn't put there name on it and its part of the sport yall really need to chill it's his choice he knows what he's doing also his friends sponsors and his girlfriend would make him stop if he really was in danger.
  • 4 0
 It's actually concerning. If you jump over to the youtube page, the majority of comments are about him being "made different", and "how epic it is to get back up and try again". It's one thing to not let something get the best of you, but doing that prematurely has such a small reward for such high risk. In this case, at least 1, but probably 2 concussions in a week. That certainly is not helping Matts's career, regardless of how many views it gets. That all being said, the tree gap is a rad concept, and looks sweet! I hope he stomps it.
  • 5 0
 RIP Dave Mirra. Personally, I can't watch these videos. Best of luck Matt.
  • 1 0
 @leon-forfar: it's true he has something special to get up and have another go. the commitment to succeed. but know when to persist and when to call it. I just hope he's still around to dazzle and amaze us and not being spoon fed baby food or worse.
  • 84 20
 Please stop hurting yourself for youtube views
  • 40 37
 go home Mom, you are drunk.
  • 8 0
 @conoat: I think it's Pop's?
  • 28 2
 Folks have been hurting themselves for fun long before youtube came around.
  • 10 0
 DO IT FOR THE VINE
  • 4 0
 @diegosk: long before the vine there was CKY
  • 2 3
 calm down he would be doing this even if there was no youtube me and lots of people do this stuff (not this big I'm not pro) with no camera on us.
  • 65 2
 Well, there’s your problem. It’s impossible to bike with 26” wheels.
  • 4 2
 Or if he ran 27.5 up front, but then he might not be able to spin the bike enough,
  • 2 0
 @Darragh-McD: I don't think a 27.5 wheels gonna stop him from rotating 180, might have to pull a bit more on take off.
  • 1 3
 @c1c51: yeah, the distance from the lip to the tree isn't that far. He might just be able to get it around, and turn down vertically, but it'll be more difficult than a 26" DJ. They're just not as playful. He definitely needs a bigger wheel up front, or if the landing was built up bit. It's just a bit soft at the angle he is hitting it at for a 26" wheel
  • 2 0
 I think the message is that 27.5 and 29 are done and everyone needs to invest in new 26 gear
  • 54 0
 Please take a longer break before reattempting (and seriously consider if it needs to be reattempted).
As a neurologist, guaranteed 1 week wasn't enough, and each hit is additive. As much as I love to see talented people push the limits of doing amazing things, brain cells don't really regenerate like the rest of you can.
  • 34 1
 Craziest part is he took a hard knock last week trying the gap, confirmed that he got a concussion, then knocked his head again in this video. That's gotta be brain damage.
  • 5 44
flag noisette (Jan 18, 2021 at 12:51) (Below Threshold)
 On your part or his? Razz
  • 15 3
 Although this is pretty rad, it comes no where close to the ender in baz keep edit from about 3 years ago! Doesn't bear thinking bout if he had done the same as matt here on that one!!!

youtu.be/jGOKUrgQi5E
  • 7 0
 agreed, but i didnt know we were comparing them?
  • 6 0
 That baz edit is so epic. The one where he sends it across the wall (2:45) and his tyres grip it is so awesome, high conqequence too.

Landing on a tree is a much narrower margin for error than a wall though. If the tree was a wall with a wooden transition ramp matt would have ridden away every time right?
  • 9 2
 interesting to see the process that goes behind landing something. this is how the sport is progressed, its nice to see top level riders crash and learn from it, instead of seeing perfectly filmed edits, without seeing all the behind the scenes work that goes into that magic moment. nice one Matt & Ben
  • 9 1
 Shouldn't the title be: "Matt Jones lands on his face for third time in a row."?
  • 9 0
 Cant believe he's not wearing a full face helmet ????
  • 7 0
 Matt- set a good example for the kids- you hit your head mate, concussions are no joke- take time out! Next video needs to be about that!
  • 6 0
 nice work! crazy awesome feature. take care of that brain, you'll need it to figure this problem out. looking forward to seeing how you tackle that feature next!
  • 8 0
 Might run out of brain cells before he sticks this
  • 8 0
 If you're gonna be dumb, you'd better be tough
  • 7 0
 oof. cringe. oof. ok stop for a tea man
  • 5 0
 So if racers dont sell bikes, youtubers dont sell bikes, do slopestyle / commentator dudes sell bikes?
  • 65 0
 No one sells bikes. They're all out of stock til mid summer.
  • 4 1
 Check out bikeshops and online shops! They sell bikes, but they are all out of stock right now
  • 5 0
 Can Red Bull get you a face mask helmet? Want to see you doing this for a while and maybe worth it?
  • 1 0
 My thoughts as well!!
  • 1 0
 limited field of view I guess
  • 4 0
 Fair play Matt bey! this is sick

but shouldn't Pinkbike just do 1 article on the whole thing from start to finish instead of dragging it out? haha
  • 2 0
 I would not have that camera mounted to my chest when there is a good chance of falling on my chest.

Secondly, I would make the run out from the landing smooth so I could also ride that backwards i.e. ride from the road and up the landing, 180, and then land (like a quarter pipe). This way you can practice the landing without worrying about the launch being perfect. I've done 180s on big trees that have a root system that makes a natural transition.
  • 5 0
 29 front 24 rear?
  • 4 0
 I'm gonna have to put my riding gear on just to watch the next 1
  • 2 0
 If I had to try that- I would definitely make a few attempts to just go dirt to dirt first -to feel out the landing Salute
  • 3 0
 Call Ruben Alcantara, he must have some tips to pull a ruben tree ride perfectly Smile
  • 3 0
 Why no ply on the landing? Would stop the front tyre digging in and going OTB
  • 3 0
 You'd think #2 he would have gone for a full face... Man, my head just hurts watching this.
  • 3 0
 The face palm, take two Smile
Still impressive effort. Don't hurt yourself !
  • 3 0
 It actually looks like some sort of conifer, not a palm.
  • 3 0
 Go Matt... 3rd vid your have it nailed
  • 4 3
 What an idiot for resting barely for a week after having concussion then attempting this again. Plus the chest mounted go pro that will slab his ribcage. Absolute bellend.
  • 2 2
 calm down man it's not a big deal he knows what he's doing.
  • 7 4
 10 mins.
  • 7 3
 yep, a bit much for a one shot
  • 5 0
 A fun lil footnote to the big argument over social media presence inspired by another article on here: the youtube recommended videos algorithm favors long videos. A video which is one minute long is far less likely to end up in watchers' recommended sidebar/homepage than one which is ten minutes long. The result is content creators stretching videos to curry the algorithm's favor.

Also the trick is at 8:10.
  • 3 4
 @harriieee: funny...I rarely re-post anything that is longer than about 3-4min
  • 5 3
 @harriieee: this is so awful. If you make 2 minutes of content into a 10 minutes video it just gets boring.
  • 3 0
 @preach: Not that funny... the amount of research behind the youtube algorithm is astonoshing, so just because you only repost those videos doesn't really say much at all
  • 3 2
 @Joebohobo: in american english "funny" means "Strange or different"...as in "this tastes funny" nothing to do with humor.
  • 2 0
 @preach: yep, it is also used in that context here. I’m just saying how it isn’t strange how YouTubes algorithm works just because one guy only reshares short videos
  • 10 9
 Youtuber finally does something rad. Takes twelve 11 min episodes to reveal it.
  • 2 0
 Love your Tenacity dude! I would have jogged that on at concept stage!
  • 4 2
 This is some Jordie Lunn shit right here
  • 3 2
 Take care Matt, I don't know how you get back up and try and try again, RESPECT man......
  • 1 0
 He just needs to add "BOOST."
  • 1 0
 Well fudge, see you next week then Matt!
  • 1 0
 You should try back flip to fakie on that tree .. should be easyer.
  • 2 2
 Am I the only one who skips the entire vid right to the end where the action is? Less waffle more action would be great....
  • 1 0
 I'd probably use a full face helmet?
  • 3 3
 Next week he reveals the color of his grips????
  • 2 2
 holy hell 10 gosh darn minutes i can't even...
  • 1 1
 you should try it on the grim donut
  • 1 0
 Wye Matt ? Wye ?
  • 2 3
 Slower on the run up and more boost on the pump and your there!
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