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Landing Front wheel up

If you have to land with your front wheel hitting a higher point than the rear wheel, then try to keep some weight over the bars, so that you can damp the impact with both the arms and legs at the same time.

Front wheel up

Benito Ros flexes over the bars to land both wheels at the same time.

Aurélien Fontenoy stays centered before landing the front wheel.

By flexing progressively while keeping your torso close to the handlebars, you'll avoid being ejected backward in case the front tyre bounces back too firmly.

Then you'll be ready to pump out the next move, that may be a static hop of some sort.

Click on any photo and use the scroll-wheel to animate the move.

Front wheel up against an obstacle

1° Aim your rear wheel with precision to stop most of the impact on the rear tyre, crouch progressively after impact.

2° With the front wheel staying high, do not stretch back too much upon landing but stay centered over the bike.

3° As the front wheel touches the obstacle, stay positioned closer to the handlebars to absorb the impact with both the arms and legs.

4° Perform a rapid but firm push-up to damp the impact and keep your balance over the bike without falling backwards.

Landing with the front wheel down
If you have to land with your front wheel on a lower point than the rear wheel, then you should really try to absorb all of the impact on the rear wheel, maintaining as much balance as possible on the rear wheel, and then lower the front wheel as progressively as possible to its target while you keep your bum above the rear wheel.

Else, with too much weight going forward upon impact, you'll end up over the bars, or if you can resist the impact, your front tyre could pinch flat against the rim.

Then, you can either ride further down to stop progressively (the smoothest option when the track allows it), or you may have to lock your front wheel into a firm stop (more damping from the arms).

Click on any photo and use the scroll-wheel to animate the move.

Landing with the front wheel down

1° Try to absorb all the impact on the rear wheel, balancing as much as you can over the rear tyre.

2° Lower the front wheel progressively, maintaining your bum well above the rear wheel.

3° With too much weight put forward upon landing, you could be thrown over the bars.

4° If the track allows it, you can ride further down to stop progressively while damping the move with your arms.

Biketrial video Watch this move in slow-motion

Hannes Herrmann jumps off after a smooth reception.

Andrei Burton aims his rear wheel with precision.

In all scenarios, before dropping off or jumping, try to be as low as possible on the bike (crouching) so that when you stretch again in the air, the real drop heigh (as seen by your center of mass) is lessened.

You should then extend both your legs and arms as much as you can while in the air, before touching ground, so that you can flex for longer and have extra margin to absorb the impact upon touch-down. Never land directly on the front wheel unless you know what you are doing.

For small jumps, you can land both wheels at once and flex your knees and arms at the same rate to end up well stabilized. Check out the physics of the landing process, that may help you understand what you want to achieve.

Also check out the Crash Speed Calculator and more explanations in the physics lecture.

Vincent Hermance stays centered to maintain balance over the rear wheel.

Giacomo Coustellier about to touch down smoothly.

Kenny Belaey aiming his rear wheel at a wood log.

Vincent Hermance absorbs the impact before the next drop.