People quite often seem to ask how to bunnyhop, so here's a guide. I should probably warn you that I'm by no means a good bunnyhopper, but I get by. To put it into perspective, this is the highest I've cleared (17.5" - woohoo).

My advice is to first ditch the SPDs if you're using them, and get some proper flat pedals (not crappy resin ones, or metal ones designed for toe clips). You'll also need to drop your seat as low as it'll go, or you won't be clearing much at all. Also, build a jump which falls over easily when you come piling into it on your first attempts. In the above example, we've used tins of beans, some bottles of booze and a length of pipe insulation.

The Technique

First thing you need to do is get used to lofting the front wheel up. To do this, roll along at just above walking pace, with the pedals level. Keep your weight fairly forward. Then, push the bars forward and away as if you were sending a shopping trolley away from you. At the same time bring your head up and allow your upper body to follow backwards. You should try and approach the balancing point over the rear wheel - even go so far as to jump off the back just to find where that point is.

Do this a few times and make sure you're happy about keeping the bike in a straight line while you do it. If you can keep the balancing point, that's a manual, which is a trick I can't do. If you get that far then you probably won't gain anything by reading any of my advice.

Next, of course, you have to get the rear wheel up. Obviously it's a bit trickier than the front wheel, but even the die-hard SPD user might be surprised that it's not all that tricky once you get the technique.

What you need to do is wait until the front wheel is as high as it's going to go, and then push the bars out forwards. At the same time, you need to pull your legs up under you and the back will follow. Just imagine that you're riding over a big round lump in the ground, basically.

As you go over the obstacle, you should find yourself with your arms outstretched, looking down at the top tube, with the saddle just under your chest.

That really is about it. If you're having trouble getting the back end up, try angling your trailing foot right down, and curling your toes round the pedal for some more grip. Of course, it'll help if you have soft, grippy shoes like a pair of Vans. SPD-type shoes aren't going to grip well at all.

The Bunnyhop in Action

I was hoping to provide some pictures of me doing a bunnyhop to help explain the whole thing, but it seems you just can't get the staff these days.

Fortunately I now have a camera with a motorwind which might be idiot proof.