Jeff Kendall-Weed

Get as Rad as You Can!

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Bump up your bunnyhop height!

A fundamental mountain biking skill, the bunnyhop is believed by some to be an ancient tradition passed down through mountain biking lore since the beginning of time. It may seem weird the bunnyhop was invented right at the beginning of time, but just hear me out. After all these years, there is a simple (but tough to master) technique known as the bump jump.

Another rare bunnyhop technique akin to the bump jump, the doghop.
“Eat my dust” wasn’t supposed to be taken literally. Sheep, ankle, tire, it’s all must be eaten by our furry friend.

The whole concept and setup of a bump jump is surprisingly easy. It’s applicable whenever you’ve got a small obstacle, such as a root or rock, that you can use to provide additional resistance and preload to the traditional bunnyhop technique. Slamming your front tire into the obstruction is a bit of an oversimplification, but that really is what it boils down to- hitting the obstacle hard and fast and giving it a strong enough pump.

The small obstacle truly is small, you don’t need a huge ramp to get big air.
No matter how high you bump, just remember that the atmosphere officially ends about 62 miles up. Still plenty of safe space.

Before you’re set loose to go bumpin’ and jumpin’ all over the place, the original bunnyhop should be under your belt. Any wise old sports coach from a 90s Hallmark movie will tell you to work on the fundamentals, and I’m no different. Long time friend and avid cyclist Christopher Kelly plays the role of pupil for excellent bunnyhop examples. We’ve ridden together before, and even after I sent him down a cliff the last time, he’s still come back for more.

We’ve also filmed the Fernie Fun series together as well, so I knew he’d be the perfect person to practice bump jumping with. The full playlist is below for those who subscribe to the Netflix binge watch method.

And as always, practice makes perfect. Mastering the bunnyhop alone can take time for anybody. However, increasing the height of your hop is much easier after the fundamental bunnyhop is understood.

While some raise the bar, others lower it. I was the same when I first started out my bunnyhop career.
The compression on the tire tells me this mans about to fly like an eagle. To the sea. Fly like an eagle, let my…
This is actually what it means when people in the PNW say they passed their bar exam.

With this one easy trick (doctors hate him!) you won’t become a super jumper instantly, but the bump jump is a tried and true method and about as close as you can get to a one stop shop for big air.

Big thanks to these guys for making this all possible!  Any purchases from these links will directly help support my channel as well:

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