Hops

Bunny hopping is simply the technique of hopping your bike onto, or over an obstacle. In order to gain maximum height, your hop should follow in the motion of a rabbit, which first lifts its front, followed then by the rear.

A successful bunny hop can get you over trail obstacles such as logs, rocks, mud and water without having to get off your bike, carry it over and get back on. Plus, this will allow you to keep up with your riding buddies who have already mastered the art of bunny hopping!

Here's the best way to learn: (on flat pedals)

Roll along at a slow pace coming to a complete stop with both brakes engaged, and your "good foot" forward.

Shift your weight back and pull the front of the bike off the ground. Practice this weight shift until you can successfully lift the front wheel every time.

Again, ride along at a slow pace with your good foot forward. This time, apply your front brake and unweight the rear of the bike in order to pull a small "endo." When unweighting the rear, you have to shift your weight forward and bend your knees as the back tire comes up. After accomplishing this, try again, only concentrating on the motion of your wrists. The circular wrist motion is what will help lift the rear when doing an actual bunny hop. Be sure that you are capable of doing a basic hop

Here's where we put it all together. From a stopped position, shift your weight back to lift the front tire. As the front of your bike reaches your desired height (not too high at first) shift your weight forward whilst twisting the handlebars with your wrists and forearms. This should all be done fairly quick and precise. A good way to describe it is "sucking" the back of the bike up, using your legs.

Bunny hopping in motion:

Bunny hopping in motion takes a bit more strength. (especially on a full-size MTB) Don't attempt a bunny hop in motion until you are completely comfortable doing so in a "static" position, its much harder.

To do this, try the same as above only without the brakes. Ride along slowly and pull a small hop. You may find that you have to pull your front end up a bit higher than when bunny hopping in a static position.