Mountain Biking - Dirt Jumping

Dirt Jumping is a type of bike riding where the riders have to ride bikes over shaped moulds of dirt and soil. Here the rider has to pass obstacles which are made of dirt and during the ride; the rider becomes momentarily airborne. The objective is to land successfully after being airborne.

BMX dirt jumping or free style bikes are used for this kind of bike riding. Once becoming airborne, the players can perform various acrobatic skills in the air. Different types of jumps performed in dirt jumping are −

• Double − This is also known as gap jump in which the rider has to take-off and then land successfully.

• Tabletops − In this type of jump, the rider has to take-off at one end and land at another end with a flat table on top.

• Ski Jumps − In this type of jump, the rider only has to take-off. The landing is on the downhill slope.

• Rollers − This jump is similar to tabletop which are performed at the beginning of a trail.

• Step ups − In this type of jump, a rider jumps from an incline and lands on a raised platform.

• Whoops/Rhythms − In this type of jump, there are three small ramps which are close to each other and a rider has to jump over them.

• Spine − In this type of jump, a rider has to take-off and land. There is no gap as in the case of double nor there is a table as in the case of a tabletop.

• Berm − This type of jump is performed on sharp turns.

• Hip Jumps − In this type of jump, the rider has to turn to 45 degree to 90 degree air while being in air. This angle can be attained either on the left or on the right of the ramp.

The bikes used in dirt jumping have much simpler structure and smaller size comparative to other bike types and have hard tails which helps in performing various skills while being airborne.