Few can throw a bike sideways better than Brendan Fairclough so here a few tips to help you style it up like a pro.
1. Start small
The first step is to find the right jump to practice on.
You don’t want a huge jump to start with — it’s more important to find one that you’re comfortable jumping, over and over.
A slight hip jump is good. It’s a bit of a cheat because it means you don’t need to get the whip back as straight and that’s the hard bit.
Work out which way you’re more comfortable whipping and find a hip that faces in that direction.
2. Turn as you take off
Step two is to turn off the lip of the jump.
At first, don’t take this too literally — the ‘turn’ should be little more than a gesture. But it’ll help you to start the whip.
This is another little cheat I have for you.
3. Twist your hips
Next is the easy bit.
When you’re in the air, try to move your hips a little to push the bike in the direction you want to whip it.
You can also turn the bar for extra effect — just make sure it’s pointing in the right direction when you land!
4. Prepare for landing
As you come in to land, move your hips back in the direction of the landing.
Make sure to do this in one fluid action — we don’t want sudden movements, it should all flow.
Your bar and front wheel need to be pointing the right way too.
5. Step things up
After landing safe and sound, it’s time to work on your next, bigger whip.
As you get a feel for the action you’ll find it easy to kick that back end out and land safely.
Then you can go on to bigger jumps, which will allow more airtime, resulting in bigger whips.