Dirt Jumping

One style of mountain bike riding is dirt jumping. This style requires specific trails and bikes.

The trails
Dirt jumping trails are very specific trails. Usually located on flat areas, These trails encorperate jumps, berms, and flowy sections. The dirt is filtered usually, meaning that it can be compacted into smooth, hard shapes.

The trails pictured above are in New Zealand. Trails like this require lots of dirt, water, compacting, hard work, and skill. Shaping dirt is an art form, and it takes many weeks to get the dirt to feel like concrete. With good dirt, its possible to make pretty crazy trails. Most places have a "no dig no ride" policy meaning if you do not help build the trails, you can't ride them. This makes sense because there is so much time and effort put in to making the dirt nice.

The berm above looks freshly packed and ready to ride.

The bikes

For ultimate flow and maneuverabiltiy, the bikes used for these dirt jumps are small, light, and stiff. Smooth tires are used and inflated anywhere from 50-95 PSI, making them very stiff and smooth. The bikes are usually simple and strong, which is helpful when you are riding hard and need a solid bike for a budget. You can pick one of these bikes for anywhere from 600 to 2000 bucks

This bike is small, stiff, and maneuverable

Because these jumps are so large and smooth, it allows the rider lots of air time and to do tricks. There are a lot of tricks a rider can do, from backflips to 360's, the options and combos possible seem limitless. Some riders choose to ride the jumps without brakes so they can spin their handlebars without the cables tangling. Some ride with multiple gears while others ride with a single speed. 

A rider does a corked 720 on some local trails in Aptos CA