3/10/02 - Even MORE pointers & suggestions at bottom - READ THEM!

8/27/99- Okay... DESPITE this how-to I still get at least 10 e-mails a week from people that can't do bunnyhops. Please see the revised bunnyhop how-to as well as some NEW hints and pointers at the bottom.

3/23/99- Okay, this is possibly the MOST requested how-to that I have seen so far and is the first that will be put on the site specifically due to people requesting it. For those who have been riding for a year or two and already know the full scope of doing a bunnyhop... don't laugh because there are millions of beginners who can't do them yet.

Bunnyhops aren't hard, but learning how to do them high does have a trick to it. Bunnyhops are the basis for a thousand street tricks and a few flatland tricks. What flatland tricks? Well, you can do bunnyhop 180's and 360's, you can do barspin and no-handed bunnyhops on the ground, and to really amaze people you can learn Whoppers- the bunnyhop tailwhip (only a handful of pros can do them). Possibly the most important feature of learning bunnyhops is the additional control that is gained of your bike and the ability to lift the bike in the air and put it where you want it. When you learn rolling barflip tricks then being comfortable with lifting the bike in the air will be critical.

The most common bunnyhop is done when you ride along crouch down and shoot straight up and lift both tires off the ground at the same time. Of course, NOBODY good does that. Below is what is the standard freestyle bunnyhop- it was referred to as a bronco because it kind of looks like that when you do it. But if you call it anything besides a bunnyhop people will look at you funny.

PREREQUISITES:  ENDOS - Specifically learn how to do endos without using your brakes (watch the video of this trick to see a brakeless endo!).  Also, you should be able to pull the front end of the bike up (without pedalling) so high that you can fall over backwards.

• Begin by rolling at almost any speed- probably a good speed to learn the trick is slow/medium so if you case it you won't die.
  
• DO THE REST OF THE STEPS IN A VERY QUICK SMOOTH MOTION...
  
• Lean down and back on the bike- slightly behind your seat. Pulling back on the handlebars to get the front wheel of the bike off the ground. The higher you can get the front wheel at this point the higher you will usually be able to go... NOTE: If you pull back or lean back to far the bike will loop out and you will fall on your butt. NOTE: This is just like pulling up for a wheelie!
  
• Make SURE your weight is back when you try this next part. If your weight is to far forward you will nose dive and could even go OVER the handlebars...
  
• When the front wheel has peaked out shoot your body straight up and a little bit forward. Do this by pushing down on the pedals and pulling on the bars. In a split second your weight is travelling upwards.  BASICALLY YOU ARE JUMPING.  With the front wheel in the air already you do not have to lift the full weight of the bike when you end up lifting it.  But you must lunge (jump) upwards as quickly as possible.  This will REALLY affect your height.
  
• As your body is now travelling upwards, lock your feet against the pedals (see note below) and lift the bike off the ground. HUH? How do you lift the bike?  By pressing down and slightly backwards on the pedals you can grip them.  You don't put your WEIGHT on the pedals...  you have your feet at an angle and pull UP with your feet.   This is the HARDEST part of the trick.  Do NOT think it will come in a day... or even a week.  Once you can do it do NOT expect to be able to get a foot of the ground... MAYBE a few inches...  But height will take practice... 
  
• To get really high....  Because you have extended your legs when snapping upwards you should bend your knees and tuck the bike in as close to your body as possible to get the maximum height.
  
• Riding out isn't a problem- just let gravity do its thing.

PRACTICING: Building up to do a bunnyhop of more than 2 inches is NOT something that will happen over night. It can take months to learn to bunnyhop up a curb. It can take YEARS to learn to bunnyhop a couple of feet high. Practice about 3 to 5 minutes a day EVERY day to get better at it.

FACTORS: Since bunnyhopping involves a lot of physics stuff you need to consider the following- Bike length, bike weight, YOUR weight, how high YOU can jump, and how strong you are. These will ALL affect how high you are able to get the bike. Remember if you are small and have a heavy bike you will NOT be able to learn as quickly to go high.

HINTS: Ride towards a curb (a 5 inch or so curb) at a VERY slow speed. Lift your front wheel onto the curb and then lift your rear wheel onto the curb. Do not put your foot down. Do not let either tire hit the curb.
When you can do this with neither tire hitting the curb... go faster and learn the motion of lifting the front tire first then the rear tire. This rocking motion is what makes a HIGH bunnyhop possible. At some point you should be travelling at the curb fast enough to lift the front wheel onto it and then the back wheel onto it BEFORE the front wheel lands. THIS is a bunnyhop.

LIFTING THE BIKE: Possibly the number one reason people can't do bunnyhops to begin with is that they don't understand the concept of locking their feet against the pedals. There is a reason that pedals (especially aluminum ones) have those little studs on them. If you look at the video you will see how it is possible to lock your feet against the pedals and just lift the back end of the bike off the ground. This is the same action that snaps the back end into the air when the front wheel is off of the ground. It is also a good way to help to learn the trick.

180 & 360 BUNNYHOPS: If you are interested in doing a 180 or 360 bunnyhop then first learn regular bunnyhops- Now instead of pulling straight up while riding straight, turn just before you bunnyhop and turn your bars in the direction that you want to turn. SNAP the bike around.  It is very important that you understand completely how to do a rock walk. You can do the trick pretty slow so don't be afraid to land with the bike sideways- it is part of learning the trick. 180's can be done almost totally flat and rolled out of similar to a 180 rollback. With a 360 bunnyhop you will probably need to land on the back wheel first and then pivot out. There are very few riders that can get enough momentum to do a FULL 360 bunnyhop on the ground and land both tires at the same time.
Off ledges... well that's a different how-to.