How to Bunnyhop

How to Bunnyhop With such a cute and furry name, the bunnyhop may be hard to take seriously. But it's the first hop to more advanced riding. The bunnyhop, or a modified wheelie, is used to clear small to medium obstacles. Preload, balance, movement and timing are all essential to a smooth hop. Practice always makes perfect.

Modified Wheelie

You probably learned how to pull a wheelie shortly after you learned how to push your bike's pedals. The bunnyhop is a modified wheelie. If you've never tried to lift your front tire off the ground, then it's time to learn. Following are some simple instructions that will help you prepare for the bunnyhop. If you're familiar with the wheelie, go straight to the bunnyhop. Logic would dictate that when pulling a wheelie, you just jerk on the handlebars and pull up the wheel. While this works, it can mess with your balance. Instead: Get your strong foot forward (the one you would use to kick a football) and get ready to push down hard on the pedal. This is called a power stroke. Preload the front wheel by bending over it and applying your weight to the handlebar. Your wrists should be close to your shoulders. As you start your power stroke, extend your arms. Keep your back straight and your head up. Holding the handlebar firmly, bring your arms up and back to your chest. You are now doing a wheelie, and here is where balance plays a role. As you pull back on the handlebar your weight shifts back. If your weight goes too far back your rear wheel will roll out from underneath you. If your weight is too far forward, gravity will take you back to the ground. Practice doing wheelies until you can lift and land the front tire with something approaching gentleness and control. Start small and build to larger wheelies.

The Bunnyhop

Timing is everything when doing a bunnyhop over an obstacle. The subtle interplay between your power stroke, preload, balance-shift and up-and-forward surge requires the timing of a hard-playing drummer in a rock 'n roll band. Start Small To make your bunnyhop a hit, start small. Find a nice, wide, flat trail, and put a stick down in the middle of it. Practice riding up to the stick and just doing a wheelie over it. Do this until you have the timing down. Now find a larger stick and get ready to hop. A well-executed bunnyhop will look approximate to what a rabbit actually looks like when it hops. A rabbit starts off in a crouched position and then extends itself up and forward—first the front and then the rear paws. It spends a little time in the air, twitches its nose and waves its ears, then lands—first the front and then the rear paws. The rabbit is now in the same crouch it started from. Until, that is, it reaches for the next tasty flower. Adding Moves You've been practicing your wheelie. You should be able to bring up the front wheel—get the handlebars close to your chest—and land the front wheel gently. The bunnyhop simply modifies the wheelie and adds two moves. The modification is this: Instead of just focusing on pulling up the front wheel, now—when you're crouched, preloaded and ready for your power stroke—concentrate on exploding from your crouched position in an up-and-forward motion. You still want to bring up your front wheel and get the handlebar close to your chest. But now your bike will be in a position for your two added moves. The two moves are these: As your front wheel reaches the highest it's going to reach, snap your wrists forward while kicking your heels up to your back. Point your toes toward the ground and press firmly against the pedals to help with the kicking motion. These two moves transfer the energy that's lifting the front wheel and move it so it lifts the back wheel. Putting It All Together With the motions down, timing comes into play. A bunnyhop does you no good if you execute the hop before or after the obstacle you're trying to clear. When you're practicing with your larger stick or small log, snap your wrists and kick up your heels just after the front wheel clears the obstacle. This will, at the very least, unload the rear wheel so it can bounce softly over the obstacle or, at most, leave your friends gawking as you effortlessly sail over the obstacle. Clearing Obstacles As you get better you'll be able to jump ever-larger obstacles at increasing speeds. Some pros can clear picnic tables and even chain link fences. Now wouldn't that be cool?