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I need some more practice for table tops and gaps but the local stuff is either way too advanced, or shonky, or too far away for a quick session.
So, given I have a large garden and a limited capacity for imagining what could go wrong, I wondered if I could just build some. Do you think I could make them out of wood, so I could move them / make them temporary. Or will dirt be the only substance suitable.
Also, what about the angle, height, gap and run up measurements ? Any advice on those before I end up launching myself into the neighbours pond ?
As a guide Im happy doing one similar in size to the one Jedi uses on his course. I think it was five foot tall and six foot lip to lip, but no idea of the angles. Mine of course would be on flat ground, not facing downhill, so I would actually have to pedal up to it.
A wooden booter with a dirt landing is an option. That way you can vary the distance/angle of the jump.
Crashing on dirt is nicer than crashing on to wood.
Crashing, mmm, I was not planning on that, but it may be worth some consideration given I broke my helmet on Wednesday after taking off badly and landing horisontally instead of rubberside down.
I could tell the missus the dirt landing is going to be a nice garden feature, this would I suppose enable me to move the booter further away.
I need some braking space, too short and dispite my Saints and massive rotor, I could end up digging my own braking bumps.
You could integrate a nice garden table onto the end of the booter.
Build a quarter pipe at the bottom of the garden to eliminate the need to brake. Grow some creepers up the side of it. Sorted.
Dirt is easier to fine tune angles.
For a decent sized jump you will need a LOT more dirt than you'd imagine!
Oooh, thats a top idea, or giant berm at the bottom of the garden.
Ideas, keep them comming, but has anyone got some dimensions / plans for wooden ones ?
Wooden ramps are easy to build, much easier than dirt jumps but more expensive in term of materials / tools. Just search online for ramp plans. Just make sure you put a prop behind it if it is steep so that it dose not tip over when you hit it.
Shurly you'll need somewhere to dump all that soil from digging out the fencepost holes this weekend. 😆
Just don't set it up near the greenhouse!!!
And the dirt from the swimming pool sized pond I have to bury at some point. Yes, I imagine it will need a lot of dirt, so perhaps a combination of wood take off and dirt landing.
*runs off to google ramps*
step ups are good jumps to learn to jump, as you're not landing down as far as on a normal jump
that said, if you spend a few days riding the same small kicker you'll probably outgrow it pretty quick, why not just spend 2 days somewhere with a good selection of jumps, to get you up to the ability needed to ride the local stuff?
Maybe build yourself a wooden booter and a wooden roll in ramp, lets you tune your jump length and the roll in will help you build speed in a shorter space than cranking like a nutter across the lawn...
have you considered the type of booter you want? are you looking for a jump that kicks you up more, or are you more after gap size/distance? there are a few plans knocking about on the interweb for building your own from ply, mostly aimed at BMXers so would probably be more Kickey up type ramps, worth a look though...
It might also be an idea to build a roll out berm a bit after the landing, rather than having to brake hard in a short space after each jump, a good berm can let you turn and wash off a fair chunk of speed, saves on brake pad wear, and gets you used to railing berms too so Win, Win...
Not sure how you hide all that as "landscaping" from the missus though, maybe cove it all in pansies and tomato plants just leaving a 8" line of dirt for you to ride...
pump track would be ace on flat ground and you could get some air on that shirley? (edit surely)
Mmmm. Lots of good options, I like the idea of two wooden bits so I can move them about and a berm to scrub off speed.
The only issue with a berm is it would have to be left handed due to run up space, so I would only be good on LH burms, not RH ones.
But not everyone is ambidextrous.
I get a feeling the fence won't be built this weekend but a gap jump and some doubles will! Has this been run past the finger of France?? 😉
pics of said garden would help i reckon
Well to placate the Finger of France I can claim that in future my crashes will be in the garden, not in some random woods. Ambulance access is eaiser at home 🙂
A five foot tall jump with a six foot gap is a bit daft for mtb.
Start at around 3-4 feet tall with a gap of about 8 foot with a medium tranisition. Ideally use dirt for both take off and landing and try and make them at least a bike length and a half long. Might be best to fix up the 'shonky' local ones. It's entirely possible you'll end up with a back yard full of jumps. 😆
Save on soil, save on having to build the fence. Pile up fence material to make ramp shape, coverin soil. eh voila! a dirt ramp and no fence to erect.
let me know when you've built it, I fancy a go
What on the tandem? HAVe you told Mrs MAcgyver that??.....Trimix BBQ this year should be a corker!!