- I guarantee if you've watched the likes
of Crankworx Whistler, Red Bull Rampage,
you wonder how the hell do those guys
get to the level that they're at.
It's because they have training places like this behind me,
this is a track down in Cornwall.
It's got things like a foam pit, a resi-ramp,
mulch jumps, step-ups, jumps of all sizes.
This is the perfect way to learning
how to progress on your bike.
I've pioneered a few tricks on the e-bikes,
and I'm gonna show you today the steps we take
in learning 'em safely
and the end goal is gonna be the trick
that I visualized at the start.
(electronic dance music)
So the trick I'm gonna be learning today
is the 360.
I have done it before,
and I've done it multiple times on a hardtail,
so I know that rotation is gonna work fine.
The thing is, with an e-bike, it's obviously way heavier,
probably three times as heavy as a dirt jump hardtail.
You've got a big, long wheelbase on that bike
and my suspension is actually really soft on my bike,
so it's gonna be bottom and out,
which, in turn, could lead to that back wheel
clipping the takeoff,
slowing the rotation down,
and me not spinning the whole 360,
I'll probably spin, like, 270 and crash.
(electronic dance music)
So this is the foam pit,
this is where most athletes take all their tricks,
they're not 100% confident in doing, to.
It's basically a big hole filled with foam,
which, of course, absorbs all that shock.
If you get things wrong, you're landing upside down,
going over the handlebars, things like that,
you're not really gonna get hurt,
unless things go drastically wrong
and you land totally upside down on your head.
They're a pretty safe place to be.
Although sometimes, on rotational tricks,
you'll get the bike come to an abrupt halt,
firing you over the handlebars,
there's always that danger of landing on your bike,
so, if you are riding a foam pit my best advice
is to hold on to that bike,
especially with the e-bike, it's a really heavy bike.
And as you notice, when I hit that foam,
I literally disappeared under,
let alone the workout trying to get that thing
out of the pit itself.
(electronic dance music)
Phwoar.
(record scratch)
My god.
(sputtering)
I'm under the foam, I can't even see.
Urgh.
As much
as I love
foam pits,
it's a workout
in itself, just getting out of these things.
Even with just a dirt jump bike, they're a nightmare.
But you add, a 25 kilo
e-bike
into the mix,
it doesn't make things any easier.
I think I got that dialed,
it's time to hit the resi-ramp.
(electronic dance music)
So this is the resi-ramp,
it's the next step on from the foam pit.
It's a big, soft landing,
it's basically rubber sheets with mattresses below.
Why this is good, is obviously if you crash on this
it takes that shock away, but also allows you to slide
and take away some of that energy
if you were to, you know, if you just crash on dirt,
this is gonna be a lot safer.
So, yeah, good way of learning those techniques
and landing them safely.
So, I think this jump is gonna be pretty predictable,
it's exactly the same takeoff
as the foam pit I was riding earlier,
so I know what to expect as soon as I hit this.
So one thing, when you are riding
all these different training, sort of, aids,
is to wear protection.
Especially the resi, I'd, you know,
advise wearing a long sleeve top, knee pads definitely,
'cause these things can burn,
especially if you hit the ground fast,
you slide along and get your skin burnt off easy.
(electronic dance music)
Well, pretty pleased with that, that's the one done
on resi, I was actually a bit more nervous about that
'cause these two takeoffs on the foam pit
and the resi-ramp are actually really steep,
and, as you see, this bike's set up
quite soft at the minute,
so, when I hit such a steep takeoff
the bike is really bottoming out in that takeoff
and, obviously, I'm bottoming out
but I'm tryna turn the bike as well,
so, getting a lot of tire rub
and scrub off that back wheel.
So, you know, the key to that is actually
tryna slow my rotation down,
I'm not carving as much,
and waiting 'til I'm up in the air to start doing that spin,
but yeah, I'm feeling confident on that.
I reckon it's time to hit the mulch jump,
wish me luck.
(electronic dance music)
So this behind me is the mulch jump.
The mulch jump is the same as a step-up jump,
basically it's a big, soft landing,
it's mixed up with wood chip
and this one even has recycled rubber in it,
to make it super springy
and take that impact away when you crash.
The good thing about these,
is it's exactly like a dirt jump,
if you can land it on this, you can take it to the dirt.
(electronic dance music)
Progression is a really important part of your riding.
Every time you ride, if you go out and push yourself,
you're gonna learn new tricks,
really helps keep an interest, keeps you fresh in the sport.
Now, as you can see today, I've learnt the 360,
but I know I can no-hand this,
so what I'm gonna do is link those two tricks together,
and do a suicide no-handed 360.
If I can land this, I'm gonna be so pleased,
probably gonna be an e-bike world first,
so let's have a go in the foam pit.
(electronic dance music)
Whoa.
Pretty pleased with that.
The rotation felt bang on,
the extension felt good.
I know it's into foam but it's the first step
to learning the next stage of progression.
I know that I can do this now.
I reckon we should take it to the resi next.
But, it's been a big session today,
I'm tired.
And I'm not gonna be trying new tricks when I'm tired.
So that's it for today,
it's another notch up the ladder.
But keep your eyes peeled,
next stage is a suicide 360.
So really hope you've enjoyed this video today
on progression
and pushing myself to land these tricks safely.
If you've enjoyed this video,
don't forget to check out me on how to freeride your e-bike.
Don't forget to give us a thumbs-up, a like,
drop us some comments in the box below,
and don't forget to subscribe to EMBN
if you haven't already done so.