Adventure School: How to… Mono Hop
For mountain bikers, the mono hop is probably the most important single skill you can master. It’s a skill that’s used frequently out on track, and the technique behind mono hopping can be adapted to other, more advance skills later in your development. Learning to mono hop efficiently is the quickest way to become a faster rider, enabling you to ride with more flow and style than you could get from doing anything else. Its like one of those “lose weight instantly” promises, but this actually works. As opposed to the bunny hop, where both wheels leave the ground at the same time, the mono hop creates the same result but more effectively, by having the two wheels leave the ground in succession: first the front, to clear the obstacle, then the rear to take the bike over. Performed effectively, the mono hop ensures the back wheel doesn’t start its descent prematurely, collecting the obstacle and sending you over the hangers.
WORDS Scott Liston
Approach
As you approach your intended obstacle, get into the attack position. The attack position is rarely modified and is used in almost all advanced mountain biking skills, as it prepares you for a variety of situations. You should be out of the saddle, with your elbows up and out, your legs bent, the pedals should be horizontal with your strong food forward (see boxed text), and your weight needs to be shifted slightly back on your bike. In this stance you are ready for anything.
Take Off
As you roll towards your take off point, use a couple of quick motions to compress the front of your bike, as if you are loading your forks to shoot you over your given obstacle. Roll your heels down behind your pedals as you transfer your weight to the rear of your bike. Keep your arms straight and you will find your front wheel has left the ground, pulling slightly on your handle bars will give you extra height if needed.
The Huck
When your front wheel is above and inline with the obstacle it’s time for the huck. The huck is what lifts the back wheel off the ground and over your obstacle. Put simply it is one simultaneous motion of rolling your wrists forward (wrist flick) while transferring your weight back over the bike. This will prompt your rear wheel to follow the path of your front wheel throughout the rest of the mono hop. Mission Control we have take off.
The huck may take some time to perfect, but don’t let failing the first few times get you down. If you clear the obstacle with your front wheel but your huck doesn’t quite get the height you were after, you’ll tap the obstacle with your rear wheel. Although this is not the ideal result, hitting the obstacle with your back wheel is a lot better then hitting it with the front. You will still be able to ride away with haste.
Air Time
With the momentum of the huck behind you, throw the bike out in front of the obstacle (like your lunging for the finish line in a tight sprint). You should now be gliding nicely over the hazard on your way to a perfect landing.
Landing
To finish the mono hop, make sure you’re landing with your elbows out and knees bent to help absorb the subtle jolt of coming back to earth. If your front wheel hits the ground first, congratulations – you have successfully pulled off a mono hop. Eyes up, you’re now ready for anything the trails can throw at you.
Best Foot Forward
Unsure which of your feet is the strong one? Don’t stress, there are a few ways to work it out. For me it’s my right foot, I also happen to be right handed, but unfortunately it’s not always that simple. Determining your strong foot usually requires analysing a series of your riding habits, habits that you may have developed subconsciously over the years. Consider the following: What foot do you power down to pull a mono with? What foot do you use for that first stroke of power when the gun goes off in a race? If you still haven’t been able to determine a strong foot, you have the luxury of starting from scratch and using whatever feels more comfortable, right foot forward, or left foot forward – it will become clear soon enough.
