Tips for freestylers?

[notsoprosledder]

Does anyone have any tips for getting into freestyle? Anything from mechanical setup to safety to how to perform tricks are welcome. I personally wish to get into it but this thread can be for tips for the whole of the freestyler community. Any tips at all, post em here.

 

[Stickyfingers]

You need to have balls and skill... Not particularly in that order.

 

[notsoprosledder]

Need the balls to get the skill...

 

[notsoprosledder]

One thing i just thought of was is it easier to learn jumping and throttle and brake control on natural jumps or actual freestyle jumps?

 

[Limbo]

Start the morning getting amped up on energy drinks while watching your favorite sled videos.....then just pin er from there

 

[assaultn]

I cant comment on freestyle ramps for sleds but I do have a lot of experience on freestyle mx ramps. If tricks are your main concern ramps are the only way to go. With proper ramp plans take offs are very predictable and are a lot more forgiving on throttle input off the ramp. Being able to pull the ramps back 10-15' at a time is a huge help also. Definately much safer using ramps and progression is much faster. A few years ago I had a guy that never rode a bike before join me on my freestyle track every second evening. We pulled the ramps right next to the landings and very slowly pulled them back in about 5' stages. Within 2 months he wa throwing down 80' relaxed and in complete control. He would have never learned that fast trying to huck of natural or even dirt jumps as they do change day to day.

That being said, riding only ramps for a long period of time can hamper your ability to use some of the great natural terrain. Because the ramps are so forgiving it can make you a little lazy in your attention to throttle and brake use. Definately mix it up.

Take it slow, scope out landings, plan things out. Last point is if building a freestyle ramp and landing, when you think the landing is big enough double the size of it. It may take time to build but a nice steep long landing creates so much forgiveness. When my old man was building me my first mx track he told me "you have to be smart while doing all this dumb stuff"

 

[Quicksand]

^Nailed it
build a ramp and get comfortable jumping first, then start with the easy stuff, one handers, one footers, no handers, can-cans, heel clickers, then keep pushing it. Then take it to the backcountry and do it off the natural hits

 

[lilduke]

I think that was some pretty good advice on the ramps and landing, so Im going to give you a little different perspective on the sport
from a guy that has been jumping sleds and bikes for many years and that has spent a lot of time in the hospital. Im almost 35 so my dreams
of back country backflips and 200ft gap jumps are pretty well over, but I still enjoy jumping my sled off little booters and cliffs.

Sledding has never really hurt me(knock on wood) but dirt bikes have kicked my azz many of times. When I was 22 I broke my femur
after endoing my bike. I was in surgery within 20min of the crash. Had I been way out in the back country sledding it would have been
a death sentence.

I am ok on a dirt bike, but Im no Travis Pastrana, however I have had the pleasure of riding with some super stars and
my next door neighbor growing up(Craig Phillips) is a Professional FMXer. He has many ramps and dirt jumps, foam pit ext
VERY good rider, was 2nd person in Canada to pull a back flip on a MX bike.
Anywho, several years ago On the Pipe 6, was doing some filming at his place, they have this HUGE 150foot table top
that many Pro level riders have been hurt on, but this was at his place and hes hit it lots with no problems.

Well on this occasion he hit the jump and his bike stalled mid air, sending him into a huge endo,
long story short he was in a comma for a month, they weren't sure if he was going to make it at first.
Lost his liver and spleen. He made it through and he is still doing back flip seat grabs at 33 years old. It was a close call though.

Last season I got to tag along on a film shoot with SledNecks and last season was pretty chitty snow conditions in Western Canada
and the filmer may only get a day or 2 with a rider. so they head up and the sun is in and out, very hard to see your landing.
No one got hurt thankfully on that day, but there is a TON of pressure on these young guys to perform for the camera.

I guess my point is do this for yourself because you enjoy it, not because you want to be a super star. There is NO money in this sport,
for every Travis Pastrana, Brian Deegan, Heath Frisby there is 100 guys going huge and not getting paid chit.

If you go out with something to prove, or get pressured into doing something you're not comfortable with, you are 100x
more likely to get fawked up.


You seem like a level headed guy though, so Im sure you'll be fine.

Happy jumping

 

[notsoprosledder]

Thanks so much for the fantastic input! I love riding. I live and breathe sledding. I like doing everything to do with the sport and because of that i have always wanted to do freestyle. Where i live there are quite a few very talented riders that have actually made a bit of a name for themselves. They made a film series called Sled Porn and ever since ive seen that stuff done by local guys, its been rather inspiring. I am aware of the consequences of persuing this path, as one of the guys i know broke his back underrotating a backflip he had done many times before. And yet i still want to do it. I am aware there could be no financial profit from it, but the feeling of being able to do this stuff would be incredible.

 

[lilduke]

Thanks so much for the fantastic input! I love riding. I live and breathe sledding. I like doing everything to do with the sport and because of that i have always wanted to do freestyle. Where i live there are quite a few very talented riders that have actually made a bit of a name for themselves. They made a film series called Sled Porn and ever since ive seen that stuff done by local guys, its been rather inspiring. I am aware of the consequences of persuing this path, as one of the guys i know broke his back underrotating a backflip he had done many times before. And yet i still want to do it. I am aware there could be no financial profit from it, but the feeling of being able to do this stuff would be incredible.

Cool man, I feel the same about sledding! Good luck and post up some pics later this season once you've got a few tricks down!

Cheers Dan

 

[notsoprosledder]

Cool man, I feel the same about sledding! Good luck and post up some pics later this season once you've got a few tricks down!

Cheers Dan

If i can find a proper sled, hell yeah!

 

[assaultn]

Great points Duke!! Riding for your own reasons and with in your skill set while still still pushing your limits are huge also. I mentioned earlier that a rookie rider was throwing down 80' within 2 months of starting to ride. When learning he was with myself and 1 other guy that was also very careful to help push his limits but make sure we weren't setting him up for disaster. It worked really well with only minor bails. About 2.5 months in I had a bbq at my acreage with a bunch of the boys and the wives and someone mentioned that we should do a session for everyone. All 3 of us rode nearly all day that day and were dialed right in on the landing locations and there was no wind. We must have hit those ramps 200 times each that day. While gearing up my wife that is also a sledder and been around mx asked me if our new rider had ever ridden in front of people before and asked me to remind him not to get "hero throttle". I laughed and said he was good to go. Everyone gathered by the track and our friend was the first to go. He came out of the berm lined up to hit his 80' that he hit all day perfectly and I could already hear his revs were out. He turned the 80'er into a 100+'er flat landing and pretty well snappn' his foot off(even in tech 10s). The only thing that changed from that entire day earlier was the crowd of people. He was off work for 9 months and I had to listen to my wife say "I told you say for a whole week".

 

[lilduke]

Great points Duke!! Riding for your own reasons and with in your skill set while still still pushing your limits are huge also. I mentioned earlier that a rookie rider was throwing down 80' within 2 months of starting to ride. When learning he was with myself and 1 other guy that was also very careful to help push his limits but make sure we weren't setting him up for disaster. It worked really well with only minor bails. About 2.5 months in I had a bbq at my acreage with a bunch of the boys and the wives and someone mentioned that we should do a session for everyone. All 3 of us rode nearly all day that day and were dialed right in on the landing locations and there was no wind. We must have hit those ramps 200 times each that day. While gearing up my wife that is also a sledder and been around mx asked me if our new rider had ever ridden in front of people before and asked me to remind him not to get "hero throttle". I laughed and said he was good to go. Everyone gathered by the track and our friend was the first to go. He came out of the berm lined up to hit his 80' that he hit all day perfectly and I could already hear his revs were out. He turned the 80'er into a 100+'er flat landing and pretty well snappn' his foot off(even in tech 10s). The only thing that changed from that entire day earlier was the crowd of people. He was off work for 9 months and I had to listen to my wife say "I told you say for a whole week".

Oh yeah riding in front of a crowd is way different then riding with your friends. I like putting on a show, when 200 people are watching it brings the intensity up big time!

And notsopro just rip it up on the M8, those things are built to take a beating.

 

[notsoprosledder]

Oh yeah riding in front of a crowd is way different then riding with your friends. I like putting on a show, when 200 people are watching it brings the intensity up big time!

And notsopro just rip it up on the M8, those things are built to take a beating.

Good to know, just need a bit more snow...