Park and dirt riding for the new starter?

[EDBANGER]

Just hoping to get some tips from the riding veterans amongst you.  I've been to the ramp park twice now and had a good laugh and enjoyed myself.  I've been riding track on and off for the past year and again had a laugh and enjoyed myself.  I've consistantly sucked at jumping at the track but at my local ramp park there's a foam pit so I can be a little braver.  In the two sessions I've done there I've noticed something about technique and wanted to confirm it.  When I'm hurtling down the roll in towards the lip of the jump I've been pumping the bottom of the roll in and then just going from compressed legs to straight legs as I go up the transition and off the lip.  I havn't been pulling on the bars at all.  This seem to send me quite high, straight with a landing that I could probably roll away from.  In comparison at the track I've always been pulling on the bars off the lip but this has been a hit and miss affair with me being real sketchy in the air and slamming too often for my liking.  So is jumping all about the legs and not pulling up on the bars? 

[Twenty inches of freedom]

You need to use arms and legs together to pump the take off. Pulling back on the bars will give you more height in your jump and Shorten your landing relative to doing the same but without pulling back. A lot of people think speed is the key then they have to temper their pump on take off, get speed and rhythm together then you will fly. Don't wanna have straight legs taking off. Imagine your on a swing, it's the same thing

[2022]

Hi. At your track i guess the lips are more rounded?

That'll affect your take off, as you'll have to bunnyhop off the lip. It's a subtle difference and it's not a full 'yank and strain' hop.

Try jumping with your wrists rotated back and  pointing downwards slightly. For me, this stops the front wheel popping too high as my elbows are'nt bending out to the side. But do it in small amounts! As you can easily nollie or otb the landing.

And bar height. If they're fashionably high you won't have enough weight over the front of the bike to control it's movement, whether jumping or on the ground and going fast to set up for your jump.

[nosepickben]

Both. Track jumps need a brief but hard pull on the bars, against your leg effort. In the skatepark, the coping will give you that flick at the front. You generally don't need to pull up much on jump boxes, go fast and let the transition do the work. If you pull up too much you will loop out the back.

[EDBANGER]

Cheers chaps.  I've been down the skate park a few times since this post and I've been mostly messing in the foam pit and half pipe.  Not had chance to get out to the track as I'm very much a fair weather man.  I think I'm liking the park of the track so far though.  It hurts less when you crash