Tyre tap

A tyre tap is a BMX trick where the rider briefly taps one tyre, most often the front, against a wall, a ramp deck, the top of a ledge or another obstacle, and then rides or drops away without stalling. In American spelling it is a tire tap. It is a simple, stylish way to touch an obstacle that is too high, too awkward or too short to ride along.

Overview

The key word is tap. The tyre touches the surface and leaves, often in a fraction of a second. If the tyre stays put, the trick becomes a stall, and if both wheels ride along a wall, it becomes a wallride.

Tyre taps turn up in two main places:

• Street. Riders hop up and tap the front tyre on a wall, a pole pad, a sign, a ledge top or a bank to wall, then land back on the ground. On a wall this is sometimes called a wall tap.
• Ramps. Riders ride up a quarter pipe and tap a tyre on the coping or the deck before coming back in.

Front and back tyre taps feel different, so riders tend to name them separately. Most of this page covers the front tyre tap, which is the version usually meant by "tyre tap" on its own.

Front tap and tail tap

	Front tyre tap	Tail tap
Tyre that touches	Front	Back
Where it is common	Walls, ledges, deck tops, street spots	Top of a quarter pipe or bank, on the deck
How the bike moves	Front end lifts to the surface, rear stays lower	Bike turns or rises so the back tyre reaches the top
Related tricks	Wallride	Abubaca, fufanu

Names are not fixed. Some riders use "tyre tap" for any tyre, and some areas use "tail tap" only for ramp tricks. The idea is the same across all of them: a short, clean tyre contact with no stall.

How to do it (front tyre wall tap)

Pick a smooth wall with a flat, clear run up and landing. Start with a low target, around the height of your front tyre when you manual.

1. Roll in at a slight angle. Come towards the wall at an angle, not straight on. Straight on means a hard stop and a fall.
2. Lift the front. Just before the wall, pull up into a small manual or bunny hop so the front tyre rises.
3. Aim the tyre. Point the front tyre at the spot you want to tap. Look at the spot, then look past it.
4. Tap. Let the front tyre touch the wall. Keep your arms loose so they absorb the contact.
5. Push away. As the tyre touches, push the bars slightly away from the wall and steer back toward your landing.
6. Land the back wheel first or both together. Bring the bike down level, knees bent, and ride away.

On a quarter pipe

Ride up with steady speed, lift the front as you reach the top, and let the front tyre tap the coping or deck. Then pull the front back and drop back in. With the back tyre, a quick touch on the deck is a tail tap. If the back tyre stalls on the coping itself, the move becomes an abubaca when you come back in fakie, or a fufanu when you hop 180 back in.

Variations

• Wall tap 180. Tap the wall and spin the bike 180 degrees away from it. See 180.
• Tail tap. Tap the back tyre on the deck of a ramp and drop back in.
• Tap to footplant. Tap the tyre and plant a foot on the wall or ground at the same time. See footplant.
• Barspin tap. Spin the bars after the tap and catch them before landing. See barspin.
• High tap. A taller wall or sign, reached with a bigger hop or a bank.

Common mistakes

• Coming in too straight. The front tyre hits square and stops the bike. Approach at an angle.
• Stiff arms. Locked elbows send the impact straight into your shoulders and push you off line.
• Holding the tap too long. The front tyre loses grip and slides down the wall.
• Not looking at the landing. Spot the tap, then turn your eyes to where you will land.
• Hard tyre on a slick wall. A very hard front tyre on smooth paint can skid. A little less pressure can help grip, within the range printed on the tyre.

History

Taps on walls and ramp edges have been part of freestyle BMX since the early ramp and street days of the 1980s, and many of them share ideas with skateboard tail and nose taps. The tyre tap does not have a single known inventor. It has stayed popular because it works on almost any wall and shows good bike placement. See rise of street riding.

Related tricks

• Wallride
• Fufanu
• Abubaca
• Footplant
• Manual