Learn how to ride trials and street trials with TrashZen: this will also improve your general MTB riding skills.
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Forget about clip pedals


It is a common misconception to think that clip-pedals would be helpful to learn the bunny hop. But the last thing you want is to have your feet stuck when you need to jump off the bike for a safe bail off.

In case of emergency, you would rather land on your feet than on your back, so forget about clip-pedals in trials riding. Instead, learn how to use pedal back-force to increase your lift.


180° bunny hop
There are loads of useless variations of the bunny hop, like the "one footer" or "no footer", 180 or 360° bunny hop, all adding to your street credibility. In free jumps, it usually feels more natural to turn in the direction opposite your front foot side.

Crouch on the bike to compress up both tyres, then choose your rotation before take-off and initiate a slight turn before you jump. Emphasize the rotation with your torso during your jump impulse and swing your hips to the opposite side.

Taking-off, re-align the bike with your torso and carry-on with the rotation by pulling further on the handlebars. Land backwards, don't use the brakes but back-pedal instead to stop progressively. Alternatively you can give a sharp swing in the bars to finish off the turn with an extra 180° of spin over the rear wheel.


Click on any step below and use the scroll-wheel to move through the animation.

180° bunny hop

trials riding tutorials
1° Crouch on the bike to compress up both tyres, then choose your rotation before take-off and initiate a slight turn before you jump.

trials riding tutorials
2° Emphasize the rotation with your torso during your jump impulse and swing your hips to the opposite side.

trials riding tutorials
3° Taking-off, re-align the bike with your torso and carry-on with the rotation by pulling further on the handlebars.

trials riding tutorials
4° Land backwards, don't use the brakes but back-pedal instead to stop progressively or give a sharp swing in the bars to finish off the turn.


Biketrial video Watch all the slow-motion video clips for this move Biketrial video


The next step is to land sharp with your back wheel on top of an obstacle instead of clearing it. This variation of the bunny hop is usually performed at a lower speed, leaning further back during the extension to compensate for the blunt stop that will tilt the bike forward upon landing.



serious connection