Two related styles
Freestyle mountain biking is an umbrella for riding mountain bikes in a playful, trick-oriented way. Two terms come up most often.
- Freeride is riding natural and built terrain with a focus on creative lines, drops, jumps and technical features rather than racing the clock. It often sits between cross-country riding and downhill racing.
- Slopestyle is a competition format and riding style in which riders move down a course of built features such as jumps, wall rides and drops, and perform tricks in the air. Courses are usually built by specialists for experienced riders.
Both are risky. Speeds and heights are greater than on flat ground, falls can be serious, and the features are built for riders who have spent years developing control. This page is general information, not coaching, and the sensible way into any of it is through qualified instruction in a controlled place.
Where it happens
Most freestyle mountain biking takes place at bike parks. These are purpose-built venues with graded trails, jump lines, berms, drops and often a lift or shuttle. The advantage for learners is that features are built and maintained, and are marked with difficulty grades, which our page on how trail grading works explains. Park staff and signs also set rules.
Riding unbuilt trails or constructing your own jumps in the woods brings extra issues: land access, landowner permission and safe construction. Do not build or ride features without permission and knowledge.
If you have never been to a bike park, how to get started at a bike park covers what to expect, and bike park safety for kids and families is helpful for younger riders.
Common built features
Terms vary, but a typical bike park includes:
- Berms. Banked turns that let you carry speed around a corner. They are a good first feature, because the banking supports the bike. Berm technique is about staying centred and looking through the turn.
- Rollers and tabletops. Rolling humps and flat-topped jumps. A tabletop has a flat middle between take-off and landing, which generally makes it more forgiving than a gap jump, where there is empty space to clear.
- Drops. Steps down from a higher platform to lower ground. How drops differ from jumps is a topic of its own.
- Gap jumps. Take-offs and landings separated by a space. Misjudging speed can be dangerous.
- Wall rides and skinnies. Features that are ridden on a wall, or a narrow plank. These are advanced.
- Pump track. A looped course of small rollers and berms ridden by “pumping” without pedalling. It is a gentle introduction to timing and rhythm.
The bike and protection
Freestyle mountain biking calls for a bike built for impact. Many riders use a hardtail or full-suspension mountain bike with strong wheels, wide bars and good brakes, though what suits you depends on the terrain. Dirt jump bikes and slopestyle bikes are specialised versions. Keep working brakes on any bike you ride in a park.
Protection typically includes a full-face helmet, gloves, goggles, knee and elbow pads and sometimes body armour or a back protector. Check each park’s requirements, and get gear that fits. Before each ride, a pre-ride check of the brakes, tyres, bars, wheels and suspension, if fitted, is essential.
How riders build up
There is no safe shortcut, but a sensible path looks something like this:
- Master the basics. Braking, cornering and body position on rough ground come first. The attack position, a balanced, ready stance with bent arms and legs, is the base for everything.
- Spend time on easy trails. Green or beginner-grade runs let you build rhythm and read the terrain.
- Learn to walk features. Looking at a jump or drop on foot before riding it, and checking the take-off, landing and run-in, is standard practice. Walking a feature is a good habit.
- Learn the small jump first. Practise a first small jump on a small roller before trying a larger one. Good jump landing depends on speed control and a calm body position.
- Take lessons. Many bike parks and instructors offer lessons that break skills into stages. A skills lesson is often more efficient than guessing, and safer.
- Build up grade by grade. Move up only when the current level feels easy and comfortable.
Tricks in the air, such as rotations, flips, tailwhips and no-hand moves, are for trained riders working with qualified instruction in suitable facilities, and should not be learned from an article. Many riders practise first on foam pits or airbags with a coach, in settings designed to reduce the consequences of a mistake.
Judging when to stop
Fatigue, rushing and peer pressure all lead to mistakes. If a feature looks beyond you today, skip it. Riding only what you can control, and being comfortable saying no, is part of being a good rider. After a crash, take time to check yourself, then the bike, and be honest about whether you should continue. Concussion in particular needs medical attention.
Respect and etiquette
Bike parks are shared. Wait for the feature to be clear before dropping in, call out when you are about to ride and avoid stopping at the lip of a jump. Following park rules and listening to staff keeps everyone safer.
No approach removes risk from freestyle mountain biking, and progress varies from rider to rider. Choose patience, instruction and protection, and treat bigger features as something earned over time.