If your locale trails, or if you dont have locale trails, dont dismiss urban riding. Especially when it comes to drops and techniques. Drive or ride around. You'll find curbs, loading docks, ledges, and even better ledges with grass landings. The ole faithful doomers (stair sets), doomers with gaps, and so on. All drops in a way. For example, you find a small stair set, 3 or 4. Drop that, over and over. Guarantee next time on the trail, that waist height rock won't be so scary at all. Picnic tables, too, combine a few. When you're ready, a single picnic table is excellent for pedal drop practice. Urban riding is also great in the winter. No one is out and about. Also, when the trails are too wet to ride. Just some dodgy advice for anyone who reads it. Slant, thanks for another upload, Cheers,
Love the 1st person POV, makes so much more sense when you explain it that way. I also found having someone else filming you is of tremendous help to correct wrong posture etc
Love your videos new subscriber here. I broke my collarbone and my thumb on a drop last Xmas, on my XC bike , Iv really lost my confidence now . Went to a bike park at the weekend on my full sus and managed to get some confidence back , but the bigger drops definitely scare me now and I feel like I need to really get back to basics to rebuild confidence esp with body position as my muscle memory seems to be OTB still 😂 it’s so frustrating , love your style of slow motion filming , really helpful.
Thanks for watching! Confidence is such an important part of the sport. Take your time and build it back up. Crashes happen but as long as you don’t give up your confidence will be less fragile. Two steps forward, one step back sometimes.
If it's not going to be a long day on the bike and it's not super hot out, I wear Wrangler Slim Fit Straight Leg Jeans. I'm not sure the actual style name but it's a cotton/spandex mix which is stretchy. They come in all different colors. They'll stretch over pads just fine, are comfortable, inexpensive, and super durable. If it's going to be a longer day on the bike or it's super hot, I wear O'Neal Trailfinder Stealth pants. They are VERY light, breathable, and for riding pants, inexpensive. They have a tighter/not baggy fit which I prefer.
Love your videos! One thought on this, it works perfect when you have speed for it, but when you need to add height or distance on big or very technical drops. It seems like the only option is a mini bunny hop. For example: we have this wicked 8-10 foot drop that’s like 20 feet after a fairly intense table (trees everywhere high speeds, tiny landing), the drop itself is very long (20 feet~), and if you mess up any tiny part of the previous jump you won’t have the speed perfect. So sometimes it’s do or die when you get there lol.
Thanks for watching! I get what you are saying. In my area, there are a ton of drops you have to pop to clear a gap or else you'll be in a world of hurt. I wanted to keep it simple for this one, Dropping 101. Perhaps in a future video I'll talk about drops you have to ride like a step down .Thanks again for watching and your comment!
@@slantedground awesome :). Yeah makes sense, it's certainly a core skill that can make easier drops a non issue (kinda regardless of actual size of the feature). That would be cool, for some reason somewhere you'd think would be flat (it's not on the east side) Kansas/missiouri seems to build all of our drops almost as a stepdown (slight incline) and sketchy as anything. Head over to OZ land and it's like roller coasters lol. Anyway thx for the awesome videos.
Hey thanks! Great question. On a full sus, the quick answer = yes. For me, I do the exact same thing. My body motion doesn't cause me to nose dive (which would be a concern to flat), but I do slightly nose into both transitions and flat landings. I find that nosing in slightly keeps the bike from stalling as it can when both the front and rear suspension squash simultaneously in a "landing to flat" scenario. If riders start small, and spot their landings, their body very easily and automatically become aware of how to adjust to landing on various amounts of transition...or flat. However, if it were a massive drop to flat, I'd slow way down and consider a trials drop. Actually, I'd probably skip it.
The drop is great. It rides so nice I wish it were bigger, which is the ultimate praise for a drop. I hope they extend the first table following the drop because you're right, you have to brake, and then brake some more or you're going to flat. I find too that even when I land the first table on the sweet spot, I have to sprint on the pedals to get up to speed to clear the second one...which if you clear the speed is perfect for the rest.
Out of curiosity, are you on the Tyee? If so, how do you feel it does on mellower trails? I've been considering one as a next frame and it's been between that and the Troy. I would like to have something that I can run both mullet and full 29er and race/bike park occasionally, but I'm down in SEPA/Northern Delaware and my usual rides are moreso overall XC. I'm currently on a YT Jeffsy and it hasn't felt too overbiked, and I hear good things about the Tyee's pedaling but don't know if I should aim for lesser travel.
Yep, the Tyee V6. I ride it as a 29er with 170 up front. I came to the Tyee from a series of trail bikes...Commencal, Guerrilla Gravity, and most recent the Propain Hugene. The Hugene was very snappy in the turns which made singletrack a blast. It could handle any and every "enduro" I threw at it. However, the bike was so light that riding fast chunk, it was very "skittery" and danced around a lot...almost like riding a bucking bronco. I came to the Tyee hoping for more composure in fast tech. The tyee fixed that but to my surprise, the Tyee climbs better than the Hugene. It sounds crazy but climbing technical terrain, it's more planted and less likely to spin out. I've run the same tires for ages. It's not as snappy on tight singletrack, but it doesn't feel sluggish either. I think if I flipped it to MX, it would make it more agile. I also don't run light trail tires which too would make a huge difference. Finally, I think you can run a 160 up front, which would make it a little lighter and quicker on singletrack. I've found the Pro 10 suspension to be very progressive which allows riders to pump around the trail with great bike feedback. I would have no problem taking on a big, all day, pedal fest.
@slantedground thank you so much for the detailed answer! I really appreciate taking the time to give that insight. I was considering a bike I could run as MX for the fun factor but retain the full 29er for my XC rides. I tested out a Status at Birdsboro and liked the playfulness of the MX. I've heard really good things about the Pro10 platform and a progressive frame would serve me well as I'm a heavier rider. I run a coil on the Jeffsy so having the Tyee be coil compatible is really nice. And I enjoy tech climbs so I like hearing that it likes to climb! Again I really appreciate your insight and I think I'll definitely consider it compared to the Troy. I'm a year or two away from a new frame anyways.
Let me know if you have any questions and if you've found this helpful, consider subscribing/liking. Most of all, have fun. Peace.
If your locale trails, or if you dont have locale trails, dont dismiss urban riding. Especially when it comes to drops and techniques. Drive or ride around. You'll find curbs, loading docks, ledges, and even better ledges with grass landings. The ole faithful doomers (stair sets), doomers with gaps, and so on. All drops in a way. For example, you find a small stair set, 3 or 4. Drop that, over and over. Guarantee next time on the trail, that waist height rock won't be so scary at all. Picnic tables, too, combine a few. When you're ready, a single picnic table is excellent for pedal drop practice.
Urban riding is also great in the winter. No one is out and about. Also, when the trails are too wet to ride. Just some dodgy advice for anyone who reads it. Slant, thanks for another upload,
Cheers,
What a great point! Awesome insight! Thanks!
Love the 1st person POV, makes so much more sense when you explain it that way. I also found having someone else filming you is of tremendous help to correct wrong posture etc
These in-depth visual tutorials are so great! Thank you🤙
Thanks for watchin'!
Nice video thanks for sharing this definitely helps
Dude, your videos and methods to explain are the best
Thanks so much and thanks for watching. Appreciate it!
Thank you for this, drops are the one thing I'm struggling with fear wise.
Good stuff !
Great channel and awesome vid - subbed!
Sweet. Thanks!
yea man. push and sink. simultaneously.
Now I know why I would always crash. I was trying to pull the handlebars up all the time.
When riding features, that and being too far back on the bike cause the most heartache.
Love your videos new subscriber here. I broke my collarbone and my thumb on a drop last Xmas, on my XC bike , Iv really lost my confidence now . Went to a bike park at the weekend on my full sus and managed to get some confidence back , but the bigger drops definitely scare me now and I feel like I need to really get back to basics to rebuild confidence esp with body position as my muscle memory seems to be OTB still 😂 it’s so frustrating , love your style of slow motion filming , really helpful.
Thanks for watching! Confidence is such an important part of the sport. Take your time and build it back up. Crashes happen but as long as you don’t give up your confidence will be less fragile. Two steps forward, one step back sometimes.
@@slantedgroundthank you 😊
What are the pants you wear in this and some other vids? Are they made for riding with some flex or just jeans?
If it's not going to be a long day on the bike and it's not super hot out, I wear Wrangler Slim Fit Straight Leg Jeans. I'm not sure the actual style name but it's a cotton/spandex mix which is stretchy. They come in all different colors. They'll stretch over pads just fine, are comfortable, inexpensive, and super durable. If it's going to be a longer day on the bike or it's super hot, I wear O'Neal Trailfinder Stealth pants. They are VERY light, breathable, and for riding pants, inexpensive. They have a tighter/not baggy fit which I prefer.
Love your videos! One thought on this, it works perfect when you have speed for it, but when you need to add height or distance on big or very technical drops. It seems like the only option is a mini bunny hop.
For example: we have this wicked 8-10 foot drop that’s like 20 feet after a fairly intense table (trees everywhere high speeds, tiny landing), the drop itself is very long (20 feet~), and if you mess up any tiny part of the previous jump you won’t have the speed perfect. So sometimes it’s do or die when you get there lol.
Thanks for watching! I get what you are saying. In my area, there are a ton of drops you have to pop to clear a gap or else you'll be in a world of hurt. I wanted to keep it simple for this one, Dropping 101. Perhaps in a future video I'll talk about drops you have to ride like a step down .Thanks again for watching and your comment!
@@slantedground awesome :). Yeah makes sense, it's certainly a core skill that can make easier drops a non issue (kinda regardless of actual size of the feature). That would be cool, for some reason somewhere you'd think would be flat (it's not on the east side) Kansas/missiouri seems to build all of our drops almost as a stepdown (slight incline) and sketchy as anything. Head over to OZ land and it's like roller coasters lol. Anyway thx for the awesome videos.
Another great video Josh. Any stylistic changes when approaching a drop with a landing vs huck to flat?
Hey thanks! Great question. On a full sus, the quick answer = yes. For me, I do the exact same thing. My body motion doesn't cause me to nose dive (which would be a concern to flat), but I do slightly nose into both transitions and flat landings. I find that nosing in slightly keeps the bike from stalling as it can when both the front and rear suspension squash simultaneously in a "landing to flat" scenario. If riders start small, and spot their landings, their body very easily and automatically become aware of how to adjust to landing on various amounts of transition...or flat. However, if it were a massive drop to flat, I'd slow way down and consider a trials drop. Actually, I'd probably skip it.
@@slantedground Ok cool, I do the same thing. Matching the landing is so key for both scenarios.
How do you like the new upper empire drop at Blue? I think it's so fun (just have to remember to brake before the first table lol)
The drop is great. It rides so nice I wish it were bigger, which is the ultimate praise for a drop. I hope they extend the first table following the drop because you're right, you have to brake, and then brake some more or you're going to flat. I find too that even when I land the first table on the sweet spot, I have to sprint on the pedals to get up to speed to clear the second one...which if you clear the speed is perfect for the rest.
Out of curiosity, are you on the Tyee? If so, how do you feel it does on mellower trails? I've been considering one as a next frame and it's been between that and the Troy. I would like to have something that I can run both mullet and full 29er and race/bike park occasionally, but I'm down in SEPA/Northern Delaware and my usual rides are moreso overall XC. I'm currently on a YT Jeffsy and it hasn't felt too overbiked, and I hear good things about the Tyee's pedaling but don't know if I should aim for lesser travel.
Yep, the Tyee V6. I ride it as a 29er with 170 up front. I came to the Tyee from a series of trail bikes...Commencal, Guerrilla Gravity, and most recent the Propain Hugene. The Hugene was very snappy in the turns which made singletrack a blast. It could handle any and every "enduro" I threw at it. However, the bike was so light that riding fast chunk, it was very "skittery" and danced around a lot...almost like riding a bucking bronco. I came to the Tyee hoping for more composure in fast tech. The tyee fixed that but to my surprise, the Tyee climbs better than the Hugene. It sounds crazy but climbing technical terrain, it's more planted and less likely to spin out. I've run the same tires for ages. It's not as snappy on tight singletrack, but it doesn't feel sluggish either. I think if I flipped it to MX, it would make it more agile. I also don't run light trail tires which too would make a huge difference. Finally, I think you can run a 160 up front, which would make it a little lighter and quicker on singletrack. I've found the Pro 10 suspension to be very progressive which allows riders to pump around the trail with great bike feedback. I would have no problem taking on a big, all day, pedal fest.
@slantedground thank you so much for the detailed answer! I really appreciate taking the time to give that insight. I was considering a bike I could run as MX for the fun factor but retain the full 29er for my XC rides. I tested out a Status at Birdsboro and liked the playfulness of the MX. I've heard really good things about the Pro10 platform and a progressive frame would serve me well as I'm a heavier rider. I run a coil on the Jeffsy so having the Tyee be coil compatible is really nice. And I enjoy tech climbs so I like hearing that it likes to climb! Again I really appreciate your insight and I think I'll definitely consider it compared to the Troy. I'm a year or two away from a new frame anyways.
Very clear and helpful, thanks. Your approach seems close to that of Rich Drew for drops, what do you think?
Thanks! I've not watched his drop vids but I'll check them out.
IMO this approach is much better than Rich Drew's. I think Rich tries to squash everything. I had bad results with that!
Great content!