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The drop gap

The gap drop is a combination of the rear drop-off technique with a firm pedal hop that sends you flying off the edge, across whatever gap there may be, to a lower obstacle. The higher is the drop from take-off to landing, the more distance you will be able to cover across the gap that separates the two obstacles.

Tune your horizontal momentum

Andrei Burton aims his rear wheel at the railing for a firm stop.

Fully stretched for better reach with the rear wheel.

This technique will come as a natural variation of your pedal hop practise down small kerbs. Remember that when performing a gap drop, you don't need to kick the pedal with as much energy as you would to cross a horizontal gap.

Across large gaps, you may build quite a lot of horizontal momentum when launching the pedal hop, which means that you should really swing the rear wheel in front of you before it touches down.

Tilting the bike more vertical will help you stop the horizontal motion more efficiently when you finally land the rear wheel on your target.

If you realize in mid-air that your pedal kick was too weak, you can cover up a few extra inches of gap distance by tucking more before landing (delaying touchdown). But after this cheat, you will have less flexibility to absorb the impact. The trade-off here is a harsh landing in place of a complete failure.

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

The drop gap

1° Balancing on the rear wheel, use a few hops to adjust your rear tyre right onto the edge of the obstacle.

2° Brakes fully locked, lower your front wheel to the horizontal while crouching on the bike.

3° Pull on the bars and spring into extension. Unlock the rear brake and tune your pedal kick to the gap distance and height.

4° Pull the bike up in front of you so you can aim your rear wheel at your target landing spot and cover extra distance.

5° Control the rear wheel position beneath you by pulling on the handlebars, stretch your legs to place the rear wheel with precision.

6° Upon landing, lock the rear wheel to secure your position and crouch progressively to end up with your bum over the rear hub.

Biketrial video Watch this move in slow-motion