Drop

Key facts

Bike types

MTB, eMTB

Roll or ride off

A low step with a smooth transition can be rolled in the attack position, hips back. A drop to flat or a tall one should be ridden off with speed, so both wheels fly and land together.

Riding off a drop

1. Look at the landing first — on foot.
2. Come in with steady speed, pedals level, off the brakes.
3. At the edge push the bike forward and lift the front slightly, like a small manual, so the front wheel does not dive.
4. Land on both wheels at once, or rear first on a flat landing, and soak it up with legs and arms.

Common mistakes

• Too slow: the front wheel drops first and pitches you forward.
• Braking on the lip: it pushes weight onto the front.
• Stiff legs: a drop to flat hurts when you land with straight knees.

Related articles

• Freeride — Riding for the line rather than the clock: big drops, jumps and steep natural terrain, chosen and ridden with style. Judged on creativity and flow when it is raced at all.
• Full-face helmet — A helmet with a chin bar that protects the face and jaw as well as the head. Standard for downhill, bike parks and big jumps, and more and more common in enduro.
• Attack position — The standing stance every descent starts from: pedals level, knees and elbows bent, weight centred over the bike and eyes up. From here you can react to anything the trail throws at you.
• Manual — Riding on the back wheel without pedalling, balanced by shifting your hips back. On the trail it lifts the front over holes and roots and smooths out drops and rollers.
• Jumping — Leaving the ground off a take-off and landing smoothly on the far side. Good jumping is less about launching yourself than about letting the lip do the work and staying relaxed in the air.
• Trail grades — How hard a trail is, told by colour: green, blue, red and black, orange for pro lines and purple for transfers. Every trail on the Bikeyard map is drawn in its grade.