MTB
Not a mountain biking expert, but want to sound like one? Here's a list of the most used terms and trick names so you'll fit right in at Red Bull Rampage.
If you’re watching Red Bull Rampage for the first time, you could be forgiven for thinking the desert was full of people speaking a different language. But fear not, we're here to help bridge the void between mountain bikers and the rest of the English-speaking world. Read on for a breakdown of mountain-biking vocabulary and some of most-used trick names. This is your Red Bull Rampage dictionary.
360/720
These are degrees of rotation in a jump, so a 360 is one complete circle. These can also be 'cork' which means the rotation is off-axis, like a corkscrew.
Bail
Leaping off the bike to avoid a crash, usually when the rider and the mountain bike are mid-air – something which happens a lot at Rampage.
Blowout
Hitting a tyre so hard that it blows off the rim – not good!
Booter
A huge jump where you have to show maximum commitment. It can also refer to a man-made structure that's designed to give a rider a higher elevation into the air when they jump off it. Such structures were part of Rampage courses in the past.
Bottoming out
This is when a rider runs out of suspension travel on a landing. It can be a hard bottom out, smashing the fork (front of the bike) or shock (rear of the bike) into the bottom of its travel range, or a soft bottom out where the rider smoothly hits the limit of the travel.
Buckled wheel
If a wheel buckles under strain it won’t pass through the forks anymore, or if it does the wobble in the wheel throws the bike off balance. Most of the riders use very overbuilt wheels and this rarely happens.
Can-can
A trick, or an addition to a trick, that involves the rider taking a foot off the pedal and kicking it out on the other side of the bike like a can-can dancer (kind of). Brandon Semenuk likes to throw can-cans into backflips and other tricks for even more style on the mountain.
Canyon gap
Just as it sounds, this is a jump that spans a canyon. It’s one of the major features of the current Rampage location, with a sketchy run-in and a landing that requires a sharp pivot to avoid a long fall. Just landing this requires major chops.
Case
This is where a rider comes up short on a landing after a jump or a drop, and there is a particular hard impact with the bike when the landing occurs.
Chundery
No this is not about being sick, which is what the slang term chunder means. The word has a peculiar meaning in mountain biking and a line or trail is described as being chundery if it is made up of lots of rock, loose dirt and debris, and that makes traction difficult.
Chute
A narrow gulley of rock that riders will 'drop in' to and ride down. Often these can be a great way to gather speed, but they can be rocky and don’t leave room for riders to avoid obstacles.
Combo
Where two or more tricks are done in one movement while the rider is in the air. Typically combos are seen more in slopestyle contests but also seen in Rampage by some of the more adventurous athletes when there is enough air time from a jump. Emil Johansson is the king of the combos.
Dialed
Used to describe a run down the Rampage mountain that's perfectly executed.
Downside
A downward slope that usually follows after a jump or a drop that allows a rider to gain speed to the next bit of the line or trail.
Drop
Where a rider jumps off a near-flat take-off and the bike's trajectory in the air is immediately downward or vertical.
Dropping in
This is when riders begin their Rampage run from a standing start at the Rampage start hut on top of the mountain.
Feature
This is typically an obstacle or obstacles that are encountered on a run and can differ in terms of technical difficulty. It can describe anything from a jump to a drop to a steep chute when it comes to Rampage. An obstacle can also be man-made. Rampage used to have man-made features, like the Oakley Sender in the past, but recent editions have moved away from man-made features.
Flips - back and front
A flip, whether backflip or frontflip, is one of the most common tricks you will see at Rampage. A rider, usually off a jump, throws their bike and body backwards or frontwards in a full rotation until they face the original direction again.
Flow
When a rider feels that everything on his line run is super smooth.
Gap jump
A jump where there is distinguishable amount of space between taking off and landing the bike.
Gnar/Gnarly
A term mostly used in mountain biking to describe a course, trail or freeride line that is difficult, dangerous, or in some cases exhilarating to ride.
Hip jumps
A jump on a slopestyle course or freeride line that allows a rider to change direction of their line mid-air. The take-off and landing on a hip jump are not in line with each other.
Hucking
Much like 'sending', but it generally refers to riding off a drop. “Oh wow, she hucked that huge cliff drop.” You might also hear “huck to flat” which is, as it sounds, the act of dropping from a great height onto flat ground. It isn’t good for riders or bikes – a smooth landing is preferred.
Kicker
A jump, usually man-made, that will give the rider a much higher elevation, resulting in more time in the air.
Landing
A sloped transition from air to ground. Building these makes bigger jumps possible.
Line
The sequence of jumps and drops a rider uses to get from top to bottom.
Oppo/Opposite
Much like being left-handed or right-handed, riders have a preference to which way they rotate during tricks. If a rider rotates a way that isn’t their preferred direction while pulling a trick that's them doing an 'opposite'.
Ridgeline
Narrow rocky single track on a mountainside that can be fraught with danger when ridden. Ridgelines feature a lot in Rampage.
Riding loose
A rider that is riding with very little control or is on the limit but is still on top of his mountain bike.
Rock roll
This one is simple. A large piece of rock or slab of rock that a rider rolls down off on to another part of his line.
Scrub
This is where a rider clears a jump as low as possible. Looks very stylish when done well.
Sending
This is really just another way of saying 'doing.' One might send a big drop, a canyon gap, or simply 'send it' when committing to a feature.
Steezey
A word that perfectly describes a rider who makes everything on a run or trail ride look stylish and easy.
Step-down
This is where the rider launches down to a lower section of the mountain from a higher section with the use of a lip.
Step-up
A jump in which a ride lands higher than they took off.
Stoked
A term that had originated in action sports to describe general feelings of happiness and excitement.
Stoppie
The opposite of a wheelie in that the back wheel is lifted and the front wheel is ridden on with some braking applied. At Rampage, a stoppie has often been seen done when the riders come into the finish area at speed and want to stop stylishly.
Superman
The rider take their legs off the bike and stretches their body out behind it, like Superman. Szymon Godziek is famous for these.
Take-off
This is a crafted lip that sends riders in the air over a lip, gap or simply up in the air.
Washout
A rider's run that comes to unceremonious end when the rider crashes due to his bike tyres losing traction underneath owing to terrain conditions or a bad landing after a jump.
Whip
Similar to the scrub, the whip is a stylistic riding skill. It's when a rider turns their bike and body at an angle over a jump. Unlike the scrub, the rider does the whip with plenty of air over the jump.
More details and explanations of the most common tricks used in mountain bike freeride and slopestyle can be found here.
