How To Climb Technical Ledges & Curbs // Level Up Your Mountain Biking With The Punch Method
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- čas přidán 20. 05. 2024
- In this video we talk about using the punch method to climb up ledges on trail without the need for a bunnyhop. The punch is my favorite way to get up and over obstacles because it is really efficient and consistent once you get it down! Hopefully this video helps you with some tips and tricks you can bring to the trails!
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0:00 Intro
0:34 Punch Method
1:00 Practicing In Town & Proving A Point
2:09 Body Positioning & Front Wheel Lift
3:18 Rear Wheel Lift Technique
4:43 Shoulder Movement
5:12 Slo-Mo Graphic Of Full Technique
5:57 April Tests It Out!
8:11 Back On Trail & Arch Nemesis
8:37 Kyle Demos Technique On Trail
10:34 April Tries Her Best
11:50 Regrouping
12:33 Two Rock Ledges In A Row + Confidence
14:22 Breakthrough!!!
14:48 One More Try
15:48 No Way!!!!
17:12 Outro
19:24 Doggo
MB01JL2SFAIXVXN
MB01RI04MFZQR3V - Sport
We hope everyone enjoys this video! There are many way to get up and over ledges out on the trail and in this video we focused on the punch technique. In my experience using the punch method is really efficient and consistent at walking / jogging speed on small to medium sized ledges. Whereas I will use Bunnyhops on high speed medium to large sized ledges. Bunnyhops are but definitely require another level up in terms of bike handling prowess and strength. In my experience a punch can be done much slower than a bunnyhop as well for those really technical climbs. If you are interested we would be happy to do a follow up video of when to use the punch vs bunnyhop methods. Just let us know! We have a video coming out next week that touches on pedaling power stroke, seat height, & gear selection so stay tuned for that one and let us know if you have any other questions or anything in the meantime!
Hey Kyle and April, this video was brilliant, there's a few things I do without thinking about, and it's nice to know 'what I'm actually doing', but there's also definitely a few take home points for me - thanks :)
Also I think we can all learn a lot from the brilliant example of determination that April showed!
I would really love to see a video on steps on steeper climbs if you get the chance, a situation where you can't really 'stop pedalling'
Thanks Team :)
The left up hill was hard, power pedal on the uphill then uphill left turn front wheel lift then rear lift too much for the leg but April did make it. I watch OKP a japanese trials video he has detailed step by step videos to conquer obstacles.
Great video thanks!
What about uphill and downhill switchbacks?
Can you make a video about it?
Great video, it's on a skill I've been working on and the hints are great, and reinforce a couple things I've figured out.
I find I can do pretty large ledges/rocks (eg wheel height) when I'm on flat ground or gradual uphills, but when the climb gets more steep I really struggle. Sometimes it's a stall out, where I don't have enough speed once the front wheel is up. Sometimes if the hill is reasonably steep I don't have enough room between me and the front of the bike to get the front wheel lift up high enough, and leaning back to create more room makes looping out a fear. Any hints on executing this on steeper inclines would be appreciated.
Great video, and I would love to see a follow-up vs. the bunny hop.
Watching April learn is so instructive to me. As she said, technique, not just strength is key. It has kept me improving my riding on trails like Gooseberry’s, Moab’s, and various other black diamonds. And I am a 72 year old woman. Thank you Kyle and April and CZcams!
The barefoot section with the rigid bike was very revealing. Excellent demonstration. One fine point that I've noticed: While we don't 'scoop' to lift the rear wheel, we do perform some little pressure move on the pedals that keep the feet connected to the pedals even when we unweight. We do this so our feet don't become disconnected from the pedals for fear of shinners.
Glad the rigid bike section helped! We will have a video next week on our other channel talking more about the pedaling, seat and gear selection!
It is SOOOO much fun watching April conquer a new skill ! I think your approach of showing her learn a skill from the beginning and what is going wrong and how to correct it what makes your vids the best I’ve seen. As soon as you said keep your chest over the bars, I realized why I can’t get over anything more than a few inches tall, I’m staying too far back and not unweighting.
Thank you bot( for another great lesson !
Thank you so much Dave!
The training videos are great, but what impresses me most is how supportive and complementing you are to each other. It is refreshing to see the kindness you have towards each other!
Thank you!
This was broken down so well. Kyle makes it look so easy. April does such a great job taking feedback and trying again; I was cheering for her when she finally got it! This is a skill I definitely need to work on and I really appreciate this tutorial. Great job you two!
Yeah he's a great teacher and she listens and understands his instructions so well. Great team for sure.
You are such an excellent, thorough and patient instructor Kyle - this is a great breakdown. I agree that seeing April work the instruction is VERY helpful too. My girlfriend has learned alot from watching you guys over the last 3 years - thank you!
MTB is such a complex thing in general. There are soooo many elements to it. You would think April could do something like this with her eyes closed after watching her doing jumps over gaps, but technical bits of MTB is different from being comfortable above the ground. Great video and I love that you address all aspects of being MTB rider.
Thanks Sergej! Yeah its so varied and can always throw a new challenge at you! April loves jumping and we spent a ton of time working through how to do it safely with her and this year we really want to focus on some of the more technical trials style skills and climbing!
I do love your videos and I love to see how April learns and how you support her and how she grows in confidence and overcomes her fears. I'm not riding a mountain bike, I'm on my BMX so I really appreciate that you showed it with the Wutang Clan bike in the beginning.
Love your instructional videos and how you break things down to keep the learning process simple and easy to progress with. Keep 'em comin' - thanks!
Thank you, glad our videos are helpful!
Another killer video! Y’all’s channel has changed the mtb game for me. All of my skills come from religiously watching your videos.
Thank you and that’s awesome to hear! 😊
I suck, and I still don’t know if I’ll be able to do this, but it’s the best explanation I’ve seen-particularly “jumping” out of the way of the rear tire being thrown forward.
I honestly had very low expectations going into this for what I could accomplish and cannot believe I made the ledge at the end! Hope you will give it a try and it will help. Going to a curb and stairs is the best place to start and gain some confidence.
-April
I really love how you two teach. Just like "in real life." It's so helpful to see the real struggles and the gradual "getting it." You guys are so encouraging and honest. Thank you!
Thank you!
Great video as always. Here in Noth Carolina we call this the old man's bunny hop.
Haha I like that!
simply the best teacher around (most knowledgeable, patient, and encouraging) and such a quick learner and realistic example of those who are good athletic riders but aren't full on beast mode Kyles just quite yet. Love Love Love your vids so great to see you back at it full on.
Kyle has helped me more than any other instructor. Missing him big time!
👍🏼❤Great tutorial. This is my biggest weakness. 😂.
Hope it will help!
So exited too see tutorials coming coincidentally this is the exact one I was hoping for next! Love the videos so keep up the good work! 😁🤙
Thanks so much Thomas! Hopefully it is helpful!!
I never comment on your video's (or anyone else's), but I had to here. There is always a down home, humble attitude that comes through from both of you in your video's. This one was extremely helpful to my riding (I'm in my late 60's), and it was filmed in a place I called home in the 70's and 80's. It so great to see a local succeed and share his beautiful playground with others. I have also seen April's "playground" in your video's and seen her progress. You both rock and thank you for being who you are and sharing it!
Thank you so much for the kind words Dave! Chico holds such a special place in my heart, its fun to get to share it with April too!
April has the patience of a saint. I would of been swearing and supper frustrated lol
Great video as usual
I love how you explain this stuff. Showing it barefoot without suspension really drives home what it is and isn't about.
Awesome, glad that part was helpful!
And now that I'm done watching the whole thing, great job April! You made it look so smooth.
It really is the small details that make a difference.
I'm trying to hit small jumps before as a practice but couldn't clear it no matter my efforts but when I watched your vid on how to hit jumps, dude, your "pop" method worked so well that I'm hitting jumps effortlessly. Still can't hit the big ones but at least I'm having more fun riding the blues with some tasty jumps in it.
Thank you for doing what you do!
It really is! Glad to hear your jumping has improved 😊
I love how patient and encouraging you are!
Always learn from you 2 and myself at 73 it's cool and inspiring ✨️
Thats so awesome! Thanks for the kind words William!
I really struggle with this guys, thank you so much for the video, nice to see April’s progress
Thanks Iago! Hope this helps a bit!
mr Kyle has some serious skills in making himself understood, the boss of fundamental details :)
Kyle!!! I’m so stoked to see you back out there, buddy. I hope you’re feeling better.
This is crucial information if you're climbing where there are steps or roots. It can make the difference between a miserable frustrating experience into one of confidence and gratification. My sister and her boyfriend took me on a trail which had small climbs with roots it was my first experience into MB and I'm fairly athletic so I thought I could manage. Nope. I was so exhausted and frustrated I threw in the towel and turned back. I was thinking never again. This video has given me new insight and hope. I am in my late 50's but could pass for late 30's(I've been told) which is why I could easily give in so quickly - oldish and tired but thanks to your video it makes me want to try again. Love you guys.
Glad to hear this video gave you hope! The best part is you can practice in town to get your confidence up with curbs and stairs. And just like what happened in this video, if the first ledge you try gets too frustrating, try another one with less elements to it. Hope you have success!
Will do. A lot of times you see these people in videos making everything look so easy which it may be but one can easily create false expectations if you don't have proper technique. Looking forward to your next video on climbing to help prevent any unnecessary frustration. Cheers.
"Pop not power," is my new mantra. Very cool!!!🎉 I'm focusing all my attention on the rigid bike demo. For me, that is the key.
What amazing tips. It was great to see April go from disheartened to delighted. The doggo made me smile, thanks for the work both of you put into this video.
Your videos are just ridiculously helpful, and April, THANK YOU for showing us your struggles. It's massively helpful to those of us who are also learning.
Love these! I just started riding and I'm learning so much from you guys 😊❤
I finally have a relevant tip despite being a beginner MTBer! When I was trying to learn the timing for the punch, I'd roll both wheels over small bumps in the dirt to get a tactile sense of how much time would pass between the front wheel encountering an obstacle and the rear wheel encountering the obstacle! Really helped me time my punch over a half-foot root of doom!
Thank you for this tutorial! I wasn't aware of the unweighting bit, and I think I can improve that a bit to keep more stable upon landing up on a ledge!
Thank you so much for showing the REALITY of trying to learn some of these technical maneuvers! Most videos show people getting it right the first time and I get so so frustrated because I take a long time to learn new techniques. Thanks April! You made my day!
The amazing thing you two have going on with having a great teacher on the one hand, and a relatable learner on the other hand (albeit a much faster one than myself..) makes this so much more fun to watch and attempt than dozens of other professionally ridden "just do this" instructionals.
Keep 'm coming, please!
Thank you so much!
I'm intimidated on technical trails for this reason. Thanks for the tip and happy mother's day to all you mothers.
Ha! Great job. This is something I really need work on too. I keep wanting to pedal, and you know that doesn't work too often.
Glad it’s helpful! Pedaling and more speed seemed to be the go to before Kyle helped me with this haha
Thank you guys for the videos! This style teaching and watching April learn helps me a lot. I cheered out loud when she hit that ledge, LOL. Looking forward to the steep climb on loose trails video.
April, I was cheering you on! Kyle, you’re a great teacher!
Thanks so much!!
This technique is super-cool. When I learned this kind of stuff 30 years ago the theory was you lift the front, then jam the front brake like a mini stoppie to get the back wheel up. Can't wait to try this out 👍
its fun to hear how all the different techniques evolve!
What gets me is feet position. I have to be super aware of where my feet will be because my gut wants to pedal while going over the ledge, but that generally means I get a pedal strike and get stopped dead. Once I started focusing on not just speed and unweighting my rear wheel but making sure feet are level, I had better success. This really is a fantastic video, I love these and can't wait to see more.
Yeah the feet thing is so hard to break mentally! April had the same thing happening but she really started to figure it out using the curb to learn at a coasting speed!
Always enjoy a good Chico video. Climbing the top parts of maidu always gets me on the steps.
It’s tricky!
Very clear way to explain the rear wheel lift - great video thank you!
It's funny how this thing I thought everyone has been doing for ages seems to be a "technique" and even have a name to it.
Awesome video, I think I'll go practice this tomorrow if the weather cooperates and see how rusty I am at it.
Hope you pick it up again quickly! 😊
As a clipless rider I know I use the punch constantly with reliance on the pedals. This will really help to rely on the pedals less.
Yeah! It will also make those lifts a lot easier once you have less weight to get up with your clips too!
I love these instructional videos of theirs. So beginner friendly 😃
I'm really enjoying watching these technique videos. I've been riding for 30 years plus and I'm always looking for ways to improve.
One of the things that my brother taught me about riding up steps like this, was this:
Once you get your front wheel over the step or ledge and unweight the bike, immediately lunge the bike forward by sort of twisting the hand grips forward. You don't literally twist the grips. But, the description of the motion or movement helps to make the bike lunge forward while it's unweighted. The lunge movement happens naturally when doing this. This description really helped me a lot. Of course, positioning over the handle bars is also key, as describe in the video.
My brother was a phenomenal technical rider! Sadly he's passed now. But I never forget all of the tips that he taught me. They made me a better rider.
I hope this little tip helps! R.I.P Daren, my brother.
Love these long videos! So much extra help and entertainment.
Every time I watch your videos it makes me wish I was riding.
Good video, one that I'll recomend to my wife as she struggles over small logs 200-400mm Dia and small ledges. There is one thing that is important and that is keeping above a threshold speed. If you're too slow the bike will stall and over you will go. Travel above that speed and you and the bike will continue as one. So learning and adjusting for that speed for different situations is a handy skill.
Thanks Richard! Also great point!
I really like that you show April's progression. I know that can be a vulnerable thing to show, but it makes it feel more real. Thanks for the great video! I have a goal to conquer a techy climb this year on a local trail (since I'm not very skilled at techy climbs) and this is just what I needed. Now to get out there and practice!
Thank you and good luck with your practice 😊
Love you guys helping us all so much
I love your skill tutorials!! They are so helpful and it’s so cool to see April progress. Nice work guys 😊
I watched this video and went to my local trail and it worked perfectly . Thank you .
Thats awesome!! We love getting feedback like that!
one thing i learned to do on big ledges is let my front wheel touch the corner of the ledge. it allows me to shift my weight forward better. when i let the front wheel go up and over the ledge i always find myself in the back seat.
i learned that from riding moto.
You’re making me miss Chico. I was out there visiting my sister for a month in 2021 and got in a lot of rides on Upper Bidwell.
Glad we got to spend a few weeks there, the park was so lush after all the winter rain!
-April
I love your videos and find them so helpful and realistic! Watching April struggle on the same things I struggle on, but then persevere gives me more determination to keep trying. Thank you!
There's an uphill ledge just past a corner at my local park that always gets me. I'm definitely going to go back and session it after this one.
Good job! I appreciate these videos.
You guys are amazing with supporting each other. Just had a technical climbing coaching session and wish I had watched this before! Definitely going to practice !!
Bodacious job, April! What a great teacher you are, Kyle!
Love the hardtail mention - appreciate the tailored knowledge 🙏
Keep up the determination and positive attitude, April. Great teaching skills and motivational reinforcement, Kyle!
Best breakdown of this skill I’ve seen. I share April’s struggle. Can’t wait to get on the trail and work on this tomorrow. Thanks!
Another great video. I’ve improved my climbing a lot last year using the same basic technique. Nice to know I’m doing things right and to see all the mechanics behind it. Still a work in progress, but I’ll get there. Thanks again guys for another fun and educational video. You Rock!!
Thanks Steve! Glad to hear it’s reassuring to you 😊
Great work guys, great team!
This was so useful. Thanks guys 🎉❤
Thank you!!
Thanks again for your excellent instructional videos. Ledges are impossible for me. Pushing foreword and lifting the rear wheel never seems to work. This video is the best I've seen. You and April have re- inspired me to work on this valuable skill until I get it.
Thats so cool to hear bruce! we hope this helps a ton!
Great description. Very clear and helpful.
Very well explained the way to do.
April is a very good student and Kyle a good teacher!
Great vid once again. Thx guys 🤘
So Happy to See you both Back with your cool how too viedeos ❤
Thanks so much. I LOVE climbing. Keep the uphill techniques coming! You guys are such an awesome teaching team.
This was insanely helpful. Thank you so much!
Just love this video! I learned so much, and can’t wait to hit the trails first thing in the morning. Thank you 😍
Kyle ALWAYS makes it look easy😅
That was one of your best videos ever. Super helpful!
Glad to hear! We were hoping this one would be a really helpful one.
Nice work April, that feeling when you finally make it is like no other. Thanks for sharing the video, I first learned on punch technique through one of Jeff Lenoski's videos. You all did a really good job of going in depth on the technique.
Raised my arms and cheered! Good job!
This is so helpful! Tons of rock ledges where I ride. Great to see you guys 😊
Watching foot position is very good and you guys are great instructors. Same kind of concept as horse jumping. 😊
Excellent! The explanation and visuals are AWESOME!! Thx!!!!!!
Awesome Job April. Man you tackle things that I only wish I could do. Kyle you provide Awesome technique and such a patient positive attitude to make April or anyone conquer any difficult feature.
This is really well done. These kinds of instructional vids are your sweet spot for me. Kyle, you break things down so well. I've kind of learned to "oooch" my bike over these kinds of ledges but this gives much more formality to the process and I know it will help me refine and get better. Thanks very much.
Fantastic expkanations
Lots of thanks
Thank you both for making these tutorial videos. Well done April.
I just love to see them both on bikes and do hope Kyle keeps getting stronger...
I am sitting here watching very closely with my repaired/healing Right Shoulder Rotator Cuff Tear! Watching this and your other improve your peddling shows exactly how I fell sideways on a ledge. My dropper was full suspension and I had just finished a climb and I stopped and stopped and fell sideways over a ridge and landed on my shoulder. I finished the single-track, but knew I was in trouble.
Each time I come to a ledge is an opportunity to fall over sideways (watching April closely as she demonstrates this). Keeping the dropper seat low is important so one can reach the ground. Of course it is difficult, when climbing steep switchbacks, to keep the momentum.
It is 6 to 12 more weeks before getting back on my Commencal, but watching your demonstrations are a real encouragement. Thank you!
The best free MTB instructional videos on CZcams! All techniques are very well explained and demonstrated and easy to understand and follow. These videos have made me a much better rider. Thank you, Kyle and April.
Great breakdown! 👍
Nice explaining! My local trail has many of these step ups. Can't wait to try this out. Keep up the great work
This was a really helpful video! I loved it. Way to go, April, I found this super inspiring and will try this stuff on my new bike :)
Such good, clear explanations and gratifying to watch April improve. I've been stuck on an uphill ledge and now can't wait to try again :)
Kyle your ability to teach is awesome, and April your a great student showing us how to apply it.
Thank you Scott!
I wish I had an experienced riding buddy like you whom I could session with. Thanks for the tutorial videos.
Thanks for watching! When I was younger i made a little facebook group for monday night urban rides and got a really fun crew of people from that, i know its a little different nowadays but it would be fun to organize a progression session ride once a month or something at a local shop!
Great content! ❤
Thanks Kyle and April for another great video. I am excited to go out and session a few ledges. I have always struggled with technical uphill. Here's hoping I can get the timing and technique down like April did!
Congratulations April. Another technique mastered. You’re a great teacher Kyle. You guys work together as a great team. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much!
Great commitment to overcoming those obstacles! Persistence and practice paid off. Way to stick with it..........Proper GEAR SELECTION is very important to master, as well.
Awesome to see some climb video techniques. I do exactly what April is doing so I'm going to try this next time out.