Elevate your riding skills: Learn how to bunny hop like a pro

Bunny hopping is one of the most essential skills that a bike rider can learn. If you want to develop your toolbox of tricks, the bunny hop is a foundational piece of the puzzle, helping you unlock more and advanced tricks in the future. It’s also useful in its own right, with plenty of applications and useful situations. Check the video for more detail on each step of the learning to bunny hop process.

When you’re dialling in your hop skills, it’s best to practice in a big, open space away from traffic. Quiet parking lots work great. And always wear a bike helmet. 

By moving your weight backwards you allow the front wheel to lift off the ground. Start by pulling up on your handlebars and getting the front wheel to lift a few centimetres. Then build up the distance as you gain confidence.  

Once you’re confident getting the front wheel up, just after you pull the front wheel, try to ‘hook’ your feet around the pedals, to get the rear wheel off the ground. Check out how Anton Thelander does it in the video to see what this looks like.  

You want to make sure you’re looking ahead of the bike as you land. This’ll give you a better chance of keeping upright and not swerving off-course. From here on out it’s all about practice, getting that combination of movements just right – so that eventually it becomes something you don’t even need to think about. 

There’s a bunch of situations where having a bunny hop in your locker can come in handy, and they’re not all limited to riding mountain bikes on the trails either.  

Imagine you’re commuting and want to get up a kerb onto the pavement – a bunny hop is the perfect way to do this when there’s no dropped part of the kerb. You can also use a bunny hop to avoid large potholes that might otherwise cause a puncture. Pro roadies also bunny hop obstacles and even patches of water mid-race.  

If you’re riding on trails, a bunny hop helps you avoid rocks, roots or other obstacles that are in your path.