TIPS ON GAPPAGE

[sethman]

so i've been having trouble with my gaps. on a drop gap i can do fine but on flat gaps i've been suffering cuz i cant get a good motion with enough power. ill get down and spring out of it but i cant get more than 7 1/2 ft . any tips .. is it leg strength or just better technique that i need?

[KeepRollin]

video of large gap?

[sethman]

if it was a large gap i wouldnt be looking for help:wtc:. ill see if i can get one today

[sethman]

i dont know if the motion is the same as a flat gap but this is pretty recent one

"large gap" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3bBCXLpwQ0)

[KeepRollin]

Yeah try to get some footage of a flat gap. The big difference between a flat and a drop gap for me is you have to lift so much more. You'll see Damon and those guys jumping up on their crazy huge drop gaps too.

[sethman]

yeah. my buddy evan (total uni) is uploading a gap that we shot yesterday. ill put it up when he gets to my house. then we're headed out into the tripple digit weather to film some rail stuff

[justtysen]

You'll see Damon and those guys jumping up on their crazy huge drop gaps too.

That sounds like a tip on gappage to me. I think all gaps should be approached with the same takeoff technique. So drop gaps should really be like flat gaps that include falling.

Other tips I can think of:

Drop you weight more and try to jump your body across the gap. The timing should be just like if you were jumping the gap without the bike. Maybe give that a shot too. Remember that the pedal kick is only part of the motion.

Try gapping at a slight angle. It helps you lean into the jump. After all gaps are really just horizontal sidehops.

[carnagr]

Based on that first video:

1) Preload more
2) Jump up more
3) Tweak the bike out more on the landing
4) Most important tip yet - turn sideways a bit. I personally gap almost a foot farther when I turn sideways (towards my good foot). If you watch all the guys doing big gaps you'll see them turn sideways a lot before they gap. It helps a fuckload.

[Giant1118]

ya you pretty much go straight down to the table on that gap. Jump up more.

[MIKE1968]

I told you, just get a "newschool" bike.

[sethman]

ill try all those things as soon as it cools off today. thanks guys

[AgrAde]

still remember a post from Kevin S like 3 years ago telling me to try to aim above and in front of the landing edge a little when you're practicing. gaps immediately grew and became easier to stay on the rear wheel when landing.

Thanks Kevin :h5:

[[BMF] Chris]

ive started this new tech. where i bring the bars in closer to my chest, straighten my back more, the slightly lean foward right before you gap, you feel like youre about to fall foward but it really shortens the gap.

[Mango]

Based on that first video:

1) Preload more
2) Jump up more
3) Tweak the bike out more on the landing
4) Most important tip yet - turn sideways a bit. I personally gap almost a foot farther when I turn sideways (towards my good foot). If you watch all the guys doing big gaps you'll see them turn sideways a lot before they gap. It helps a fuckload.

If your left foot is your good foot forward you want to turn left a bit?

[justtysen]

I told you, just get a "newschool" bike.
I miss the old Andy. :wtc:

[sethman]

yeah i do lean forward quite a bit before takeoff.its true that it helps alot. i think the main thing i need to work on is getting my preload way down. i seem to not be able to get all the way down and then have the same spring back up. maybe i need to do some exersizes:dunno:

[[BMF] Chris]

preload is important, but you need more work else where first.

[sethman]

Chris;505315']preload is important, but you need more work else where first.

like what. im totaly open. i was riding today. and while i didnt get a flat gap clip to rear i got about a 6 1/2 ft gap to front from planter to table. :eek3danc:

[weebryan]

i find stalling(the nice balacing point where no effort is needed to hold the bike up) really helps for most static moves ie sidehops, gaps, just right before i preload. vince is a perfect example always stalls before a big move i can gap just over 2 meters from back wheel static 7ft there abouts and i aint a big person 5"4 so technique is very important to me

[sethman]

totaly. like i said.. im a small person too. all these things i do in minor applications but still seem to only get about 7 1/2 to 8 ft.. how does damon and all those guys get 10? i think i just need some more leg strength.

[bklmrkt91]

If your left foot is your good foot forward you want to turn left a bit?
i think thats what hes saying? I guess, um... think of it as though you were side hopping? but yeah it makes a bit of sense to be slightly turned.

[stpatr3k]

i think thats what hes saying? I guess, um... think of it as though you were side hopping? but yeah it makes a bit of sense to be slightly turned.

If your more comfortable sidehopping to the bad side which side should you turn?

[weebryan]

i tend to turn to my left slightly with my right foot fowards so i can throw my body fowards by the bars before take off and lift and tuck your knees up for height and the strech out before landing then i dont ride a lot of street

[carnagr]

totaly. like i said.. im a small person too. all these things i do in minor applications but still seem to only get about 7 1/2 to 8 ft.. how does damon and all those guys get 10? i think i just need some more leg strength.

7 1/2 - 8 ft is big man. You might just have to accept that. Damon and those guys probably have like a 40" vertical. Also they are about 10 times more explosive than you. 8 ft is quite a good lurch gap, you're probably better off working on another technique that you can improve, because you are probably not going to get more than 6", if you're lucky.

[carnagr]

Turn towards the foot you have forwards. Watch a Damon Watson video. He does it a lot. It gives you some extra space to get moving because you don't hit the top tube/stem that way.

Another big thing is the jump like I said earlier. Don't just shoot forward, but think about jumping up, tucking the back wheel, then placing it down on the object in front of you.

[netto]

video of 8 feet flat gap plz

[sethman]

as soon as i can

[AndyT]

I don't think I can gap 8 feet but I can gap farther than you ? I have no idea on distances though. Can get close to 2 feet past bike length flat - flat whatever that is.

[chronic]

Furthest I've gotten on my stock was just about 8.5 feet.

These pictures are of an 8sh gap set up.

And for me, tons of preload and a smooth launch is my key.
http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/1718/pbpic1718054.jpg



http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/1718/pbpic1718053.jpg
http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/1718/pbpic1718052.jpg
http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/1718/pbpic1718055.jpg


I'm not a strong guy, I weigh a buck sixty five. Its pathetic, but I eat dece and recover quickly. So, technique is key I guess.
I use a harder gear ratio too, longer cockpit set up.. Being comfortable before the launch helps me too. If I'm hoping around like a retard before a side hop or a gap, its fucked.

But if I manual up to my rear wheel, stress free and relaxed, I can worry about launching only. Smoke pot before you ride. It'll help you losen up and work on the task at hand ;) Not really advice, more of a joke. But if you do smoke, you probably know it helps out sometimes.

[KeepRollin]

That is some nice preload

[stpatr3k]

Nice shot Chronic, the sequence shot is quite helpful. Seems I need to work on my technique more. Will practicing that gap on an obstacle something high like that help in the distance as opposed to practicing it on just two pallets on the pavement?

BTW I will borrow those pics by linking to them hehe I need to show it to my buddy TIA.

[chronic]

Well, imo. Practicing gaps on low shit kind of blows in the sense that you know you wont get bit if you fuck up.

If you're higher up, you have the choice of making it.. or falling. So I guess it pushes you?

The best advice I have is be smooth, follow through and push everything where you want to go smoothly. Its like playing pool, you want the ball to do certain things. Roll back for instance, follow through with your stroke nice and smooth, leave your self some room between the white ball and the object ball. Follow your stroke nice and easy, And you can make the q ball do just about anything you want.

[sethman]

Well, imo. Practicing gaps on low shit kind of blows in the sense that you know you wont get bit if you fuck up.

If you're higher up, you have the choice of making it.. or falling. So I guess it pushes you?

The best advice I have is be smooth, follow through and push everything where you want to go smoothly. Its like playing pool, you want the ball to do certain things. Roll back for instance, follow through with your stroke nice and smooth, leave your self some room between the white ball and the object ball. Follow your stroke nice and easy, And you can make the q ball do just about anything you want.

sounds good. ill practice that for a few days. i got the clip btw. waiting on my buddy to get done uploading it. its only about a 7 ft gap though. i wasnt really feeling it and it was tripple digit heat that day so ill put it up as soon as its finished. thanks chronic. although i dont shmoke da herb i can still get some good training in. :luke:

[chronic]

lol right on