Im trying to learn to hook at the moment. Ive been using 9 pallets stacked up (about 4.5 ft). When ever i try to hook them though i seem to always land straight onto my pedal on the top corner. I cant hook atall from this postion. Any hints out there (apart from the obvious practice) about avoiding the pedal situation. I wached the nopogo day 1 vid in super slow mo and it seems vincent leaves his rear brake off untill right at the end. Im about to go out and try that. If any of you out there want to make a video with lots of side on footage and super slowmo that would be cool as this is one of the most frequently asked questions not including what is the best rear hub, how do i grind my rims, how do i drill my rims and look at this photo of me drunk. PS UCI if possible.
t helps to learn with a pallet slanted at an angle agaist the 9 pallets first. It is really hard to learn on a vertical wall. Lewis.
when you take off to hit the wall- ratchet your cranks back... far. farther than you think you need to. also- think one brake at a time. using your rear brake at any time before you are all the way on top of the wall is only going to hurt you. sharp on eye on watching vincent- well done. also- let off your front brake as you are springing up from the hook. if done right it can help to give you a little bit more up that you may need. push through the hook with your body. if your body doesnt make it, your bike never will. i hope this helps a bit. also- like lewis said- learn on something slightly slated away from you to get the timing down first. once you have the timing, make it steeper until it's verticle.
from my experience, it doesnt happen on slanted walls, but once you move to a vertical wall i hit the hell out of my thighs on the handlebars, but it really helps me shoot the back end up.
when i was learning to hook stuff (i have since lost it i'm sure, i havent done one in at least a month) i had insane bruises on my things from my bars drilling the crap out of my legs. i guess i could have stuffed kleenex in my pockets but chicks dont dig tissues, they sympathize with injuries... wait. no they dont. like cam said- if you are slamming forward through the move, you will be pushing the bike forward and up with your thighs. it helps a ton. if it hurts, you're on the right track.
I have notice that my thighs have been getting hit alot more with touch ups... edit: Im not to sure why I am writing this, has nothing to do with the topic...
Thanks for the replys. I have on a slanted rock etc but i find it realy easy. There are some walls where we ride that might be almost vertical but just enough to help me not die. I dont think im getting high enough, i definatly dont hurt my hips, i think this is why i try t hit with my pedal. I might film myself and see what im doing wrong. Thanks for the replys, and if any one can do them solidly and enjoys making videos... I have been trying to rachet my cranks back but ill just go silly, if i go to far im sure ill know about it. I remeber you said try to get them vertical with the down tube. Ramble ramble.
do you put your front brake on when you hook? and then when you go up from the hook you take youre front brake off and put your rear on?(swap them)?? just looking at hermance vid now and yeah.
are hooks possible or easier on a mod bike? and if so can they be done from a pedal up or does that make it harder? i cant really jhop high on my mod...
is it any harder though compared to a stock? and yea a j hop is a bunny hop where the front end comes up first and all that...
when i use to hook stuff i found it really easy, it was alot easier to me on a mod then a stock, but i'm not a steady stock rider. none-the-less i was way quicker to learn then my stock riding buddies. so i guess it's easier on a mod.
it can be easier on mod becuse you are moving so much less bike... but still- they are way hard either way. if you do it right, it's the same difficulty on either bike. i forgot to mention what you said before alex- try to imagine keeping your cranks running parallel to your downtube. they will be out of the way at that point. speed is your friend. the more momentum you have heading into the hook, the easier it is to pull off. unfortunately it's also easier to mess up and hurt yourself. it's best to learn vert hooks when you are felling really great. i found out the hard way that practicing them on off days leads to much pain and regret.
sorry to be persistant. i need to keep up with alex pv, that is if i can even really be compared with him lol, ur improving too fast now alex, ive slowed down.
yes. although vincent is doing them to rear and removing his front brake completely, it isnt required to fully let go if you arnt going to rear.
Do most good riders bunnyhop up and hook the front whee, or can you do an effective pedal up to get up there?