Tabletop

What it means

Tabletop has two meanings in riding. As a feature, it is a jump whose takeoff and landing are joined by a flat deck, so a rider who comes up short lands safely on the top instead of in a gap. Bike parks, motocross tracks and pump tracks use them because they forgive mistakes.

As a trick, a tabletop is when the rider pulls the bike up and lays it flat sideways in the air, the wheels pointing out toward one side, before straightening for the landing. It is closely related to the whip, and the two are often confused in captions and comments.

How it works in practice

Tabletop jumps are the best place to learn to film jumps. Riders hit them repeatedly, landings are predictable, and you can stand safely to the side of the deck. Frame the takeoff and the landing together so the viewer sees the full arc.

For the trick, a low side angle shows the flat bike against the sky. Shoot at high frame rate and keep a fast shutter so the bike stays crisp at the peak.

In a lap edit, a tabletop line is ideal for a speed ramp: full speed into the takeoff, slow at the peak, full speed again on landing.

What to watch out for

Tabletop jumps look small on camera. The flat deck hides height, and a wide action camera flattens it further. A side angle with the rider against the sky reads better than a straight-on view from the landing.

Mislabeling the trick annoys riders. If you add titles or captions later, check whether the move is a whip, a table or a scrub.

Repetition is the other trap. Riders love lapping a good tabletop, which leaves many identical attempts on the card; duplicate detection or a strict personal rule of two clips per feature keeps the edit lively.