Pumping the Trail

The first time I rode Bobsled – the recently sculpted A Line style trail on Fromme – with Darren Butler, it was a game changer. I’d been riding it like any other trail; pedalling where I could to try and keep my speed up, but Darren suggested we ride it chainless-style. In order to make this work you need to pump and take advantage of every roller and berm and preserve as much speed as possible. Now I only ride it this way (although I take a few pedal strokes before the first berm) and it’s more fun than ever.

Staying off the gas makes every trip down an opportunity to buff your skills and it’s a challenge to make it all the way through without pedalling. We thought we’d help Darren share the love and, with the help of Ruben Salzgaber, here’s a little how-to video, filmed by Matt Dennison

Darren Butler and Ruben Salzgaber from Endless Biking take you down Fromme’s Bobsled while giving you tips to pump the trail. They show you how to get a whole lot more out of your ride with a little something called pressure control–the idea of weighting and unweighting the bike.

Watch as the boys not only explain but lead by example as they make sick work of Bobsled.

Make you wanna work on your pumping skills? Got a hankerin’ to ride some Bobsled now? Let’s hear it…