Untitled

Bar Hop

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Step by step below.

When you first start trying barhops, be sure that your handlebars are set up correctly. If you don't think you have enough clearance to get both feet over the handlebars at the same time, visit our handlebar setup page.

Bar Hops are a good intermediate trick to work on because working up to the full extension is relatively simple and safe, providing you push yourself and always remember to get back on the bike in a timely manner.

When coming off of the jump/ramp, keep a nuetral body positioning and maintain throttle control. Once airborne, steady the bike and remove both legs at the same time, bringing your heels up to the bars/barpad. To aide in this process, work on extending your arms as your bring your legs up, as this will give you more room to work with. When you have practiced this motion and feel comfortable moving up, the next step is to get your feet over the handlebars. The biggest obstacle in accomplishing this is to not panic while in the air if you get your heels caught while bringing your legs back over the barpad. Remember that the first time you put your legs over the bars you shouldn't allow them to get too far over, because you'll want to quickly bring them back to you in case you get caught up, etc., and need more time to correct yourself. If you should get hung up on the barpad while bringing your legs back over, push down with your arms (which will push your body higher above the bike) and birng your kneeds up to your chest as far as possible, bringing your feet up and over any obstructions they may have encounntered. The easiest way to get your feet over the bars is to extend your knees (straitening your legs) once you have brought your heels above the barpad. After you have familiarized yourself with the motion of moving your feet over the bars and back, your next step will be to make the motion over the bars as fluid as possible. By moving your legs over the bars in as strait a line as possible, your bodys motions will be smoother and faster, and it will be easier to extend your trick. This is where the most notable difference in the evolution of barhops is. A few years ago, an extended barhop meant legs straitened and pointing strait up in the air (see image top left). Nowadays, riders make a shorter line in moving their feet over the bars which allows them to get far more extension (such as Drake Mcelroys Dead Body). They also work up to that variation by using their shoulder muscles to rotate their entire upper-body over the bars as they cross thier legs over. Once they have their butt safely over, they use their shoulders and arms to rotate their upper-body into a coffin/lazyboy-like position, as they straiten their legs. That variation is a matter of working up to the motion where the rider throws his upper-body/head backwards as they straiten their legs.

Step By Step

Approaching the ramp, I'm concentrating on popping on the face, so I'm allowing my knees to bend a little. I'm getting focused on the forward and up motion my lower body is about to make.

My knees are pretty standard here, and if I were to get this particular bar hop bigger I would need to pop more with my legs. You can see that I am getting my head and upper body over the bike to maintain my center of gravity forward. My throttle control while I leave the jump will help counter this.

My rear tire is still on the ramp, and my legs are already decompressing. Notice my shoulders/arms and how they are keeping my torso right where it needs to be - over the handlebars.

Just about a foot off the ramp, I'm bringing my knees up to my chest as I pinch them together to keep them narrow. My arms aren't perfectly strait, but they are fairly tense to keep my chest away from the bars so my knees have the room they need to work.

Here's the landmark part - getting your heels to clear. If you hang up here, just relax, pull back through, and try it another time. My arms are maybe a little straiter here than the previous frame because I extended them as my feet cross over to give them that much more room.

Here I've rotated my shoulders to swing my chest/butt forward which will force my legs through. I just need to keep my feet together here, as well as my knees relaxed and bent a little.

As my butt goes over the crossbar I will straiten my knees. Here I've spread them a little for the "Shaolin" variation of the bar hop. I just keep my arms strait here and rotate my shoulders as much as I want for maximum extension. Not the best bar hop in the world, but more momentum on my original pop would have helped..

To come back on the first step will be to bend my knees. I'll keep my arms strait here to maintain my distance from the bike. As I bend my knees I'll also bring them as close as I can to my chest to make my body as small as I can to get back over.

I'm rotating my shoulders the opposite direction to bring my butt back through, and since my legs/knees were balled up correctly, they followed. My main thing here is to keep my knees close to my chest, my arms strait, and my shoulders pointed toward the bars so my legs stay up high above the handlebars.

As my heels clear the bars I'll push away with my arms and rotate my shoulders up a little in order to seperate myself from the front of the bike and help my feet get over the pegs. As I do this I'll allow my knees to drop so my legs will begin their descent towards the pegs.

Two things happen when I push off:
1) My front end drops a little
2) My butt ends up on the rear fender
This is okay. You just need to be aware of it as it happens and be ready to make any corrections to your bike's pitch.

My push-off set my bike up perfectly for my landing, so I'm in good shape. The main thing is to be ready to make any last-second corrections needed. All I need to do here is blurp the throttle a tad and stand up so I'm ready for landing.

Approaching the ramp, I'm concentrating on popping on the face, so I'm allowing my knees to bend a little. I'm getting focused on the forward and up motion my lower body is about to make.	My knees are pretty standard here, and if I were to get this particular bar hop bigger I would need to pop more with my legs. You can see that I am getting my head and upper body over the bike to maintain my center of gravity forward. My throttle control while I leave the jump will help counter this.	My rear tire is still on the ramp, and my legs are already decompressing. Notice my shoulders/arms and how they are keeping my torso right where it needs to be - over the handlebars.
Just about a foot off the ramp, I'm bringing my knees up to my chest as I pinch them together to keep them narrow. My arms aren't perfectly strait, but they are fairly tense to keep my chest away from the bars so my knees have the room they need to work.	Here's the landmark part - getting your heels to clear. If you hang up here, just relax, pull back through, and try it another time. My arms are maybe a little straiter here than the previous frame because I extended them as my feet cross over to give them that much more room.	Here I've rotated my shoulders to swing my chest/butt forward which will force my legs through. I just need to keep my feet together here, as well as my knees relaxed and bent a little.
As my butt goes over the crossbar I will straiten my knees. Here I've spread them a little for the "Shaolin" variation of the bar hop. I just keep my arms strait here and rotate my shoulders as much as I want for maximum extension. Not the best bar hop in the world, but more momentum on my original pop would have helped..	To come back on the first step will be to bend my knees. I'll keep my arms strait here to maintain my distance from the bike. As I bend my knees I'll also bring them as close as I can to my chest to make my body as small as I can to get back over.	I'm rotating my shoulders the opposite direction to bring my butt back through, and since my legs/knees were balled up correctly, they followed. My main thing here is to keep my knees close to my chest, my arms strait, and my shoulders pointed toward the bars so my legs stay up high above the handlebars.
As my heels clear the bars I'll push away with my arms and rotate my shoulders up a little in order to seperate myself from the front of the bike and help my feet get over the pegs. As I do this I'll allow my knees to drop so my legs will begin their descent towards the pegs.	Two things happen when I push off: 1) My front end drops a little 2) My butt ends up on the rear fender This is okay. You just need to be aware of it as it happens and be ready to make any corrections to your bike's pitch.	My push-off set my bike up perfectly for my landing, so I'm in good shape. The main thing is to be ready to make any last-second corrections needed. All I need to do here is blurp the throttle a tad and stand up so I'm ready for landing.