Advanced riding Techniques: Pro Level.

GeorgiePorgie

GeorgiePorgie

PR Founding Father
I see Hanson taking his feet off the pegs occasionally when he appears to not have a really good drive at a triple. His rationale: Lighten the bike up and you'll sail further. Which I'm not sure how this could work, because your body needs to go just as far, and you can't Lighten your body up.

Fact or Fiction?
 
AAAhhh its a grey area... lol Yes you stay with the bike. but what he is doing is exactly what he says he is. He lets his feet up off the pegs and is allowing the bike to float up to him to give a little bit more air time or float time. But where do you want to draw your line? What he is doing works but the bike can only float up until it hits him in butt so he does gain ground but if watch when he lands he is not standing to good. In turn, if hes is going to be way short versus needing a little comfort ground he will not be ready or postioned on the bike to brace for a wicked case. So you can do that but if you do and are way short, you are only going to crash harder when you case.
 
I think it's fiction. Yeah it looks cool, but I think that's where it ends. Thats like saying you can grab your hair and pull yourself off the ground.....physics don't work that way!
 
Scotty810 said:
What do you mean?
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Remember all the hubbub a few years back about what allowed a rider to get more height when seat bouncing a jump. I think Steve Bruhn even set up a website with his theory on how the physics of a seat bounce worked. I know there were a few forums that had long threads on the topic. Some felt it was the due to the rear suspension unloading that gave more height and others had theories that went much deaper than that. I think MXA even got in on the controversy at one point.

This just felt deja vu'ish...clearing something by unloading the suspension kind of thing.

I'll pass on even making any kind of guess on the topic as that would only give me some wicked bad flashbacks of floundering in physics class.
 
im going to say fiction on this one. i have seen hanson using this technique, as well as others. myself included, but i think its more a habit or a little twitch you have on the bike, sometimes you do it, sometimes you dont.
 
From a physics standpoint, it depends on how he positions his feet on the takeoff. If his feet start say, above the footpegs, and then during takeoff they travel downward, the weight of the feet and legs will act along with the compression of the suspension to preload it a bit more. This versus having your feet on the pegs the entire time during a seat bounce. Think of it like a spring that you hold in your hand with a weight attached to the bottom. From a stationary position, lift your hand straight up and notice how the spring extends. Now, from a stationary position, drop the spring first a little and then raise it upwards. Notice how much more the spring extends in the later.
 
ddmx488 said:
From a physics standpoint, it depends on how he positions his feet on the takeoff. If his feet start say, above the footpegs, and then during takeoff they travel downward, the weight of the feet and legs will act along with the compression of the suspension to preload it a bit more. This versus having your feet on the pegs the entire time during a seat bounce. Think of it like a spring that you hold in your hand with a weight attached to the bottom. From a stationary position, lift your hand straight up and notice how the spring extends. Now, from a stationary position, drop the spring first a little and then raise it upwards. Notice how much more the spring extends in the later.
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I think you are looking at two different scenarios there. The original question is about taking his feet of the pegs to keep from "pressing down" the bike through the air. That isn't applicable to your spring example. To apply the spring analogy, let the weight and spring fall together, then try and push the spring down towards the weight with both falling. You won't ever get the spring to compress because they are both falling together. So it doesn't matter what "force" you apply to the bike as it's falling.

In addition, with the riders hands still attached to the bike, the mass of the bike/rider combination is identical. I can't see how feet off the pegs matters.
 
mooch said:
Remember all the hubbub a few years back about what allowed a rider to get more height when seat bouncing a jump. I think Steve Bruhn even set up a website with his theory on how the physics of a seat bounce worked. I know there were a few forums that had long threads on the topic. Some felt it was the due to the rear suspension unloading that gave more height and others had theories that went much deaper than that. I think MXA even got in on the controversy at one point.

This just felt deja vu'ish...clearing something by unloading the suspension kind of thing.

I'll pass on even making any kind of guess on the topic as that would only give me some wicked bad flashbacks of floundering in physics class.
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Interesting. I don't remember seeing anything about that. Any links to some old reading?
 
I took Calculus three times.......so I think I am going to skip any conversation concerning physics.
 
Try this example. Go off a jump standing up in the attack position. Then go off that same jump but instead pushing all your weight down to preload the bike. Same amount of mass, but the added compression of the suspension, and subsequent rebound gives you more lift. If you hold your feet still while sitting down, then you're not applying any more downward force resulting in further compressed suspension. If he lets his legs drop at the last second, that added down force to the seat bounce is going to further compress the suspension. I'd say minimal at best though and not worth the risk of catching your feet under the pegs.
 
ddmx488 said:
Try this example. Go off a jump standing up in the attack position. Then go off that same jump but instead pushing all your weight down to preload the bike. Same amount of mass, but the added compression of the suspension, and subsequent rebound gives you more lift. If you hold your feet still while sitting down, then you're not applying any more downward force resulting in further compressed suspension. If he lets his legs drop at the last second, that added down force to the seat bounce is going to further compress the suspension. I'd say minimal at best though and not worth the risk of catching your feet under the pegs.
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He doesn't take his feet off the pegs until after he's airborne...are we on the same page ?
 
GeorgiePorgie said:
He doesn't take his feet off the pegs until after he's airborne...are we on the same page ?
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Exactly! That's why I used the "pulling your hair to lift yourself off the ground" example. You need to have equal and opposite forces for anything to change your path. Pushing on the pegs in the air doesn't matter. Yes, making changes going up the face matters, but once in the air, I say it's too late.
 
haha, whoops. I've seen riders going off the face with their feet off the pegs more lately, and thought that was the topic at hand.
 
I think he'd get at least an extra foot or two of lift if he just left the hair product off for the evening.....
That crap is heavy....
 
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