Jump line

Key facts

Difficulty

Difficult

Getting up

Mixed

Surface

hardpack, clay

Bike types

MTB

Tables and doubles

• Tabletop — the gap between take-off and landing is filled in. Come up short and you roll off the top.
• Double — an open gap. Too slow or too fast and you land in the gap or past the landing.
• Step-up and step-down — the landing is higher or lower than the lip.

Riding a new line

1. Roll it slowly first and look at every lip and landing.
2. Ride it at speed with the jumps as rollers: pump them, do not jump them.
3. Find the speed that clears the first table, then hold it — the line is built for one rhythm.
4. Never stop on a landing, and look up the line before you drop in.

See jumping for the technique. Jump lines are often built and kept up by local riders — join a dig day if you ride them.

Related articles

• Dirt jump (DJ) — Riding a line of hand-built dirt jumps on a small, stiff hardtail — for height, flow and tricks. Close to BMX in spirit, and where many riders learn to fly.
• 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.
• 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.
• Bike park — A resort of graded trails served by a lift or shuttle, so the whole day goes into riding down. Usually a mountain ski resort in summer, with flow, jump and downhill lines.
• Flow trail — A trail built to be ridden on momentum: berms, rollers and small tables, one after another, so you barely pedal or brake. The easiest way to feel fast and learn to use the terrain.
• Berm — A banked turn: the outside of the corner is built up like a wall, so the bike leans into it and keeps its speed instead of sliding out.