are crank hops acctually nessesary for anything or is it justan easy way to get better ballance during normal hops. because i hop just as well on my pedals as on my cranks. i was just wondering if they serve any purpose.
(crank hop=standing on the cranks when hopping rather than the pedals)
I have never used a crank hop before…It just messes you up. and since you never see any trials riders, ever, hopping while on they’re cranks, it must not be very helpful.
ok thats what i thought.
Just wait awhile, gerblefranklin or somebody will come in here with one million reasons why you shouldn’t use crank hops, etc.
It’s good when you do seatdrop, or land a unispin…
other than that i can’t se any purpose at all with it
One purpose is so that you can continue hopping after you accidentally land on the cranks. 
Also, I imagine that some of the flatland tricks that involve standing on the cranks could be combined with a crank hop.
so they are useful for some applications but they arent a nessesary skill?
IMHO, hopping on your cranks should be reserved for freestyle moves only. If you hop on your cranks in the middle of a trials line, it should cost you a point.
Hi,
If you want not to hold your seat when hopping, you can squeeze the frame between your feet.
But as the cranks have no grip (unlike the pins of a pedal) it’s better to have the feet on the pedals so they don’t slide off when doing trial. And when on sharp objects you could need more angle and power that feet-on-the-cranks can’t allow you.
Manuel
DONT CRANKHOP. I know from personal experience that it really slows down your overall ability. I used to crank hop and people have seen in my videos. At first it was great, I had way more control, I didn’t mind doing the little tiny hop while rolling to get onto the cranks. I then started to do rolling hops onto things and realized I couldnt go higher than a curb, and I couldn’t hop forward at all. It took me about a month to learn how to hop on the pedals again, the only time I come even close now is if I am doing freestyle stuff or landing unispins, but even that is as little as possible.
Crank hopping makes you dependent on the cranks which will make your rolling hops, drops, and other forms of landing much much worse and harder to become better at. Also something that I learned a few weeks ago is that when you are landing on your cranks you can’t absorb the impact on landings as well so you will bottom out and get more pinch flats. 
i have never even heard about ppl actually hopping on the cranks, it sounds bizzare!!
sometimes wen im doing a seat drop or seat wrap and lose balance i have to hop on the cranks a bit, but it is very uncomfortable and slippery 
and i dont believe that it could be that good for the cranks, coz u are putting more pressure singularly on the cranks, instead of doing it thru the pedals…
Actualy I would see it as better for the cranks but worse for the hub. When you land on the pedals it’s like a lever trying to lift something too heavy for it. That is how people bend their cranks. When you stand on your cranks most of your weight ends up on the axle or if it on the crank it is further up on it and the lever is effectively shortened so it becomes less likely to bend.
Your argument does not support your hypothesis. When standing on the cranks, yes, the cranks experience less stress. Whether or not you’re standing on the pedals or the cranks, the hub still has to support you.
Actually, the axle experiences less torsion (twisting) when one stands on their cranks… this is what your “lever” example demonstrates… so crank hopping is better for the cranks and the hub.
Damn I didn’t think about that. Thanks for the correction