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For anyone with pump tracks near them/that uses them, how much use do they get, do they draw visitors in, and how viable are they in smaller communities?
My Dad helps manage a community trust in Kintyre and they've had an application for a pump track in a small village (about 200 people), which the applicant believes will draw in visitors from up to 45 mins away (presumably by car). As the cyclist in the family he's asked for my opinion, but I've no idea as they don't really interest me and I don't have kids. My gut feel is that, beyond whatever kids in the village use it, they'll be lucky to get 2 or 3 visitors from outside the area a week.
Pump tracks are great fun. Wish I had a bike to make best use of them.
I do believe that for a lot of communities they're the new skatepark for grant funding and will be predominantly used by kids on scooters while their parents watch. There will be good ones with a decent space and there will be smaller ones shoehorned into small spaces or super bland ones designed by over cautious types.
The ones near us in Pinhoe & Cranbrook, Exeter are in use pretty much all day. Either parents with preschool kids and balance bikes or scooters, school kids, teenagers, adults and old folks like me.
They’re Kye Forte built one and it ride really nicely. Some of the ones in nearby villages are less busy, but that’s to be expected.
When we lived in Bristol they’ve ones there always seemed busy as well.
I think most of the ones around Devon are pretty well designed Chudleigh has an amazing one, Wimple’s is good, Willand has a good one, Heavitree’s seems decent.
Get bugger all use here in deepest darkest Shropshire but they are loooking to build one in oswestry
Isnt this what Hannah who used to work here has gone to do ie work for a company that builds them
Our new pump track in Auchterarder appears to have been a huge success, kids out and riding it all the time, visibly more kids out on bikes in town generally, and twice I've bumped into an old pal from at least 60-70 miles away visiting with his kid (although he was visiting his brother more locally, so arguably had only gone ~15 miles out of his way).
I've always liked pump tracks but was genuinely surprised how successful our new one had been.
Seems the key is in the quality, several riding friends with younger kids travel past local pump tracks to get to better ones, especially in winter. If you’re 5 years old they are all the same, if you can ride then there’s a big difference in how much fun they are (apparently)
I’d say it varies massively, depending on size and quality of the track.
My lad (6 now) learnt to ride at pump tracks as they are great for that with balance bikes, but if speed and then an uphill to keep it in check. Repeat until the balance is second nature.
as such we did visit plenty to keep interest up. Still go to one in particular now. Some were designed and build by people that had now right to be doing so. They were poorly build/shaped/designed and we’d not go back.
those that are done properly by the likes of Velo solutions (where I think Hanna went) are great and I’d say do draw people from further afield. Certainly they get used by people breaking up road trips from the people I chat to. Obviously they also attract locals.
the pump track which was built in Wythenshawe Park in Manchester is very busy with the car park constantly full.
it seems to be a great success.
Thanks all, it would be velo solutions doing it. My main concern would be how it would do in a small village, so the fact that the Auchterarder one is doing well is interesting. If anyone knows any more about that (or similar examples) it would be great to hear about it?
We frequent Ingleton pump track, which was built by Clark and Kent, and for a small village it rare that we're (me and my boy) are the only ones there.
Also, I have not seen any anti social behaviour or kids loitering and making other kids feel intimidated. Every kid or teen I’ve seen is riding and encouraging youngsters that may be less confident. I. Suspect that’s because it is such a good track it retains ‘bikers’ and as such is relatively self policing. (I realise Ingleton ain’t the bronx)
We frequent Ingleton pump track
Ingleton one is brilliant.
It's one of those things that if it's built well and properly by people who know what they're doing and it's a decent size, it'll be amazing.
If it's tiny, crap, crammed in to a site that's "out the way so as not to upset the NIMBYs", never maintained, it'll fail miserably and the council will then say "but we built XXX and it was never used!"
It's worth contacting a few, sharing the positive stories, getting up to speed on any challenges they faced and how they overcame it cos you can guarantee that at whatever public committee / consultation etc they have, there'll be a bunch of red-faced pensioners predicting drug dealing, armageddon, traffic chaos, etc if it goes ahead. So a calm well reasoned response that says "well actually this doesn't happen as shown by these examples..."
I'm in Pontypridd and drive between 15-40mins to different ones locally, Aberdare, Ferndale, Maindy (Cardiff) Van road all have great pump tracks, there is usually a good mix of locals and people who have travelled the same as me. I've never had any issues while there with my 5yr old lads.
They're all quite different, Ferndale being the newest is much more built for jumping, you'd not get around it on a balance bike the take offs are to high/steep so the build can dictate the crowd who go.
The weird thing that usually happens every time I go is at some stage a bunch of bala'd up modded ebike kids will turn up to try to ride it but the bikes are always far to big and you cant actually pump them so they ride around a couple of times each struggling then wheelie off into the distance.
The track at Rhayader is a fave, we've been and stayed a few times up there just for the track, good design and jumpable, worth a google if looking for design ideas, last time we were there, there was an old hippy doing laps on a skateboard.
Mine started on peddle bikes around them age 4, you see younger ones on balance bikes, then theres usually a group of teenagers so good for all ages and would pull a few none locals in I'd have thought.
One thing I would say is put some bins near the start hill! I've had to knock peoples doors at Ferndale before to grab rubbish bags off them and tidy the litter up, I take recycling bags now, every time I go I fill at least two large bags with various bottles and sweet wrappers. There's no bins though and most of the kids are not taught to take their crap home with them!
I’m presuming it the possible one in Tayinloan which you are asking about unless there’s another one I don’t know about. Think it’s slightly different up this area as folk are prepared to travel and willing to drive for facilities like this. I know of various families and school groups that are hoping to make weekly visits and some coming for an hour away. The next nearest pumptrack is fort William or down towards Glasgow so it’s a fair drive currently.
We have a C&K track in our Northants village (population c.1500). Been open just over two years now. Rare that I walk past it and see it empty at weekends and spring/summer evenings. Mix of parents and scooter/balance bike kids, BMX bandits, and jump/pump bikes. At weekends quite often see bike vans parked up so seems to get a fair bit of 'destination' use too. I use it fairly regularly, but tend to stick to times when I know it will be empty (dark winter evenings there are my domain!).
The main problem I find with pump tracks is that they’re nearly always somewhere where the only place to park is on a residential road outside someone’s house and I feel a bit guilty parking the van and getting my bike out and ride off, or worse, park up, get 3 bikes out, sort my 2 seven year olds out, and then ride off.
I’ve not been to a rural one but the new one on Hove seafront is super popular!
I guess the puzzle is, how big a population within what distance does it take to make one busy? The Hove one is so busy that a lot of people don’t go there because it’s too busy. I’m sure one with a population of 10k nearby would be plenty busy. How many people live within half an hour of this place?
The village I've just moved from had one built last year. Population 711. Always busy, really busy, and apparently people coming from the nearest town, 8 miles, and surrounding villages to use it.
Where I've just moved to has one also, population 710 so very comparable, not as big and doesn't have the same layout. Seen a few people there but nowhere near as many. It's about ten miles from the one previously mentioned.
Stow and Walkerburn for those who knew the borders. Only other factor I can think of is that for Stow teenagers can, and so, come up on the train from Galashiels to use it, no train in Walkerburn but you can get a bike on the bus apparently.
So size and layout seem to make a big difference
I've driven almost an hour to a pump track and decent ones tend to be quite busy. As others have said, it really depends on the quality and size
Stow and Walkerburn for those who knew the borders
Despite the fact I pass through Walkerburn on a very regular basis I've never been to the pump track or really even seen anyone using it.
I have however been to the one in Stow despite not passing there on a regular basis.
To add to the border pump track info. Hawick is busy most of the time. Lots of very small kids on scooters but we have the white, easy track.
Kids are, in the main, supportive of each other and phones are away. The parks guys agreed to empty the bins. We have a shelter to sit in and get yoof there in the summer on the evenings. Probably need a no heavy petting sign put up.
Often get folk from Northumbria and the central belt talked to a couple of boys up from Bristol that were doing a tour.
Yes I have several within 30mins drive, one is supposed to opening in the next village soon.
Depends on the builder as well
We have loads in and around Sheffield. The good ones are popular, the bad ones aren't, simple as that really.
Hello! Velosolutions built one in Bolton in Appleby, which is a pretty tiny village in Cumbria. British Cycling’s estimate is that it still provided a social value SROI of £1.63 per £1 invested by year 3. Other tracks I have stats for:
Ride Mendips/Cheddar Pump Track: £0.72 per £1 invested, after year 1
· Basingstoke Pump Track: £1.62 per £1 invested, after year 2
People certainly seem to travel to them, though I’d argue you really want them to be as accessible as High Schools. My theory there being that getting to a High School is about as far as many teens can get under their own steam. If kids can get there without a parent taking them then they’re going to be better used. Playing devil’s advocate, what other facilities does the village have? Eg, has anyone batted an eyelid at having a tennis court, that only allows 4 people at a time to play at most (and needs at least 2 to make it work)? Or a baby swing that only fits up to a 3 year old? Pump tracks work for all ages and skills - and especially hit that crucial teenage group that’s so often lacking facilities.
Velosolutions has also built tracks on Arran, Boat of Garten, and is about to finish one in Killin - all pretty remote/rural. I don’t have stats on use for them, though their local communities would likely have something feedback.
There are certainly some people that treat pump tracks like Pokemon and try to get to as many as possible. A good one will be worth the trip, and the Velosolutions ones all get listed in a couple of apps/sites that encourages that gotta catch em all thing. Drop me an email uk@velosolutions.com if you want more info.
Hugely helpful, thanks all - looks like my initial thoughts were maybe wrong, but as I said it's not something I really know anything about!
We've been to a few with the kids. They love them.
We regularly drive to one about 25 mins away, it's in a small ish village close to Ipswich. There's always youngsters there, local littler kids with parents and older kids that ride out from a bit further. The kids have met teens there that have come on the train and made a day of it so it is an appealing destination to riders. They always seem supportive of each other. Great place.
I think the best used one I've seen is down in hilsea Portsmouth. It seems to be on the way home from big school for so many kids that it's rammed for a couple of hours each afternoon. Good atmosphere though, really supportive with the smaller kids (ours aren't teens yet).
The worst one is about 10 minutes ride from home in Colchester. They've attached it to a leisure centre, fenced and gated it, and charge over a fiver per rider per hour. We have used it before but it comes in at close to 20 quid all in so if we've got use of the car, we drive past it to go pump track cycling. Even when we've used it, the vibe feels different to the free ones, not as chilled. It's like the users seem more entitled to be inconsiderate as they've paid money.
Charging for it is probably the worst pro-cycling idea I've seen.
We were at the Boat of Garten track today. It's quite big track in a fairly small village.
It's a brilliant facility, people travel quite a distance to use it (2 hours for us, though we also did other stuff locally).
I've never seen it with less than about half a dozen riders there. It's floodlight for dark evenings which is a big plus in the Highlands.