The bunny hop lifts you off the ground with both wheels — no ramp, from a roll. Here is how to learn the most important BMX trick in four clear steps.
## Introduction The honest answer first: a bunny hop is jumping with both wheels from a roll — no ramp, no ledge, just your own movement. It is the most important trick in BMX: master it and you jump over obstacles, onto kerbs and obstacles, and lay the base for almost every street and park trick.
The key: a bunny hop is not lifting both wheels at once but a two-beat movement — front wheel up first (like a manual pop), then draw the rear wheel after. Timing beats strength.
Honest about the risk: the bunny hop is a crash-adjacent trick — on failed attempts you catch yourself with your hands, and hands and arms are among the most common BMX injury sites. That is why you practise low and with gloves. The good news: over 85% of BMX injuries are contusions, abrasions and minor knocks — with clean progression you stay firmly on the harmless side.
## What You Need - A solid manual (see the manual guide) — the front-wheel pop is half the battle. - Gloves and a helmet, plus knee and shin guards; slipped bunny hops love to end at the pedal. - Flat platform pedals with good grip — clearly better than clipless for a beginner. - A flat surface and a low practice obstacle — a line on the ground, a stick, later a small bar. - Patience: the bunny hop is pure timing and needs hundreds of repetitions.
### 1. The Front-Wheel Pop It all starts like the manual: drop into your knees, then shove your hips back and pull the bars with you — the front wheel snaps up. Practise this "pop" standing and rolling slowly until the front wheel reliably reaches hip height. Without a clean pop the rest goes nowhere.
### 2. Draw the Rear Wheel After Once the front wheel is up, the second beat follows: extend your legs, push the bars forward-and-up and draw your feet after — as if the pedals were glued to your shoes. On platform pedals the pull comes from sole pressure and a slight angling of the feet. The rear wheel follows the front into the air.
### 3. Link Both Beats Now link pop and pull into one flowing move: up with the front, draw the rear, balance in the air, land with both wheels at once. At first it is just one or two centimetres — that is enough. Feel the rhythm, not the height.
### 4. Build Height Once the sequence sits, you raise it: first over a ground line, then over a low stick, then over a small bar. You go higher not by yanking harder but through better timing and more explosive leg extension. Every centimetre comes from clean technique.
A good intermediate drill: lay two ground lines about a metre apart and hop both in a row. That forces you to land cleanly and pop again straight away — and it trains the flowing rhythm more than any single high hop.
## Common Mistakes - Pulling both wheels at once. Only makes a small hop. Fix: front first, then rear — two beats. - Too little front-wheel pop. Without a high front wheel the rear stays on the ground. Fix: practise the manual pop separately. - Working only with the arms. Power comes from the legs and hip extension. Fix: actively jump from the legs. - Looking down. Throws you off balance. Fix: look at the landing spot.
## Safety Notes The bunny hop is the first real "into-the-air" trick — and that is exactly where protection pays off. Because hands, wrists and arms are among the most common BMX injury sites, gloves are mandatory and wrist guards make sense. Practise low: a failed bunny hop from two centimetres barely hurts, from thirty rather more.
Watch the pedal trap: if your feet slip during the pull, the pedal cracks into your shin — shin guards take the fright out of that. And learn to bail forward if you cannot draw the rear wheel cleanly.
Over 85% of BMX injuries are harmless contusions and abrasions — with protection and low height you stay there.
## Pro Tip Practise the bunny hop over a bar or rope lying on the ground, not over a fixed kerb. Why? A loose bar you clip just rolls away — a kerb blocks your wheel and throws you off. That way you raise the perceived height without the crash risk. Progress without fear beats any proof of courage.
### Why can I not get the rear wheel up? Almost always because the front-wheel pop is too low or you start the pull too late. The rear wheel follows the front — if the front does not come up enough, the rear stays on the ground. Practise the manual pop in isolation first, then the timing of the second beat.
### Do I need clipless pedals for the bunny hop? No, quite the opposite: learn the real bunny hop on platform pedals. With clipless you "cheat" the rear wheel up without learning the technique. Only once you hop cleanly on flats do you really have the trick.
### How high can you bunny hop? Skilled riders jump a metre and higher, pros far more. For everyday and park, 20–40 cm is plenty to clear obstacles and get onto features. Height comes from timing and leg extension, not raw strength.
### How long does it take to learn the bunny hop? Most manage the basic move over a ground line in a few weeks. A clean, high bunny hop over real obstacles takes months of regular practice. It is one of those tricks you refine forever — and that is exactly what makes it so rewarding.
### Is the bunny hop dangerous? At low height, hardly. Typical failed attempts end in catching yourself with a hand or on the pedal — with gloves, shin guards and small height those stay harmless contusions. Only raise the height once the sequence sits safely.
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