FMX Insider No.20: Tricks

Welcome to our brand new weekly web-exclusive column, Transmoto‘s FMX Insider. Penned each week by South Australian rider, Ben Heidrich, the FMX Insider will present the story-behind-the-stories of the Aussie and international freestyle motocross scenes. 

Freestyle motocross is all about the tricks, and always has been. It’s about what crazy things you can do on your bike in the air. It’s a show-sport; performing stunts for spectators, or just to show off to fellow riders. It’s not about who can get around a track the fastest and cross the finish line first. It’s about going big, riding smooth and also trying to have your own style.

There is a big difference between a rider who can do every trick in the book, but rush the tricks and make them look sloppy, and a rider who has five tricks all up, but perfectly extends each trick with great style. I personally enjoy seeing a nice extended upright trick over a rushed combo or Flip. Take a Hart Attack for example – one of the oldest tricks in the book but it can still be a very impressive trick if extended the right way; plus EVERYONE has their own style of Hart Attack.

The Backflip is always going to be a crowd favourite, because it has been portrayed to the public as the hardest trick. To most riders, the hardest part is learning the trick – then it becomes a no-brainer. FMX rider, Ryan Brown, from Victoria has Flips on lock. “My safety trick would either be a straight Flip or a Double Grab,” said Brown. “They’re usually the first tricks I’ll do on the second or third jump into a ride.”

Flips start becoming difficult once you add a combo to the mix, such as an upright trick done upside down.

“The hardest trick would probably be a Kiss Of Death Flip, because I need to time everything right!” Brown continued. “I’m pulling back so hard on the ramp that it’s easy to over rotate the Flip if I don’t jump off the bike. I’ve had a couple of crashes on these, ha-ha.”

Everyone has their own safety trick – the trick they are most comfortable with. They either use these at the start of their ride or as a filler trick in an FMX competition.

NSW local, Tommy Robinson, said, “My safety trick would be a One-Handed Super Can Indy, or, as some people call it, the ‘Maddocopter’. Even though I only have one hand on the bike, the trick seems to be least affected by the wind; so I feel comfortable doing it anywhere.”

And who doesn’t love a good whip? The trick has been around since the dawn of time and can still score big points in competition. The whip is something that FMX riders and motocross riders can both relate to, as everyone who rides loves hanging the bike sideways in the air!

“My all-time favourite trick would be the whip,” said Robinson. “They just never seem to get boring and they’re always a crowd pleaser if you’re riding a show.”

When it comes to bikes control, bar tricks take the cake. These tricks are the hardest because you only have one point of leverage. Your balance and motion has to be spot on while hanging off the bars to insure you get back down onto your bike before landing.

“The most frustrating trick for me to learn was the Ruler,” Robinson continued. “Everyone seems to have their own way of doing this trick, so I just had to muck around with it for a while until I found the right technique. As soon as I took my finger off the clutch it went from being a frustrating trick to a warm up trick.”

South Australian rider, Sam Balnaves, also spoke on Rulers. “It was the hardest trick for me to learn I guess. I learnt them back before Flip levers (assist levers) where available. No one I rode with was doing them so I had to nut them out myself.”

Balnaves also mentioned that Flipping was the hardest thing he has done. “Mentally it was hard to get my head around the trick… Physically, they aren’t that hard.”

I always love watching Balnaves ride because his uprights are always big and extended.

“My favourite trick I do would be a One-Handed Hart Attack,” Balnaves continued. “It’s just a cool feeling trick, and they look sick as well.”