southerndownhill.com - Forum

Been given permission to build a pump track in the last quarter of my garden. I will have about a 20 x 8 metres space to build in although it goes into a kind of triangle at the end. I made this sketchup plan but it seems as if it would get a bit boring with just one line. Any ideas on any other lines running through the initial track? Oh and I should add that it's on a slight slope so a continuous lap wouldn't be too good.

Try and Make multiple lines then, so say a berm could also be a kicker into another line which links up onto one of your jumps on the main track.
Its best to see how it ride first though when its built, no point thinking up loads of lines if it doesn't work

Transfers are the key to a good pump track, give it a good simple line, but make sure you give room to expand on whats there!
If you make it loop tighter, proper S's then you can transfer and it will be longer.

And whats the weird bit down the right side?

Kk I'll try and make a plan with transfers from berms. The bit down the right hand side is a little jump line.

Brilliant timing mate... I'm just considering flattening my jumps and putting in a pump track. The area i have is probably double the size, but the same shape. I was wandering around earlier having a look at the possibilities. Have you considered building  the track in the other direction?

...Ie. in the direction of the rhythm line, and hitting a 180 berm at the ends? it would allow for much longer straights with some long sets, and you could more easily link everything back together, and ride it as a loop?

I'm definitely going to be putting hardcore on the surface of mine, to make it rideable throughout the wet months aswell.

Wall ride instead of a berm for one of the corners? that might mix things up a bit?

I wish I had a big garden  >:(

Oh, have you seen the August edition of Dirt? There's a good looking BMX/pumptrack featured in there. That may give you some ideas for sections and lines.

how about puting a line from were the end of your track is back toward the start so you can go around in circiles and not have to stop and maybe a line that you can transfere out of the pump track onto a hip using the start block as the landing ramp so you can transfere from the pump track onto the jumpy line.

Good Look With the building.

Paul

Yeah but the only problem with that is that my garden is on a bit of a slope so it would mean pedalling uphill but I'll think about it.

And to the guy who said about dirt. That's what made my dad allow us to build it:P We had a 3 hour delay coming back from Les Gets (I'm a poet and I didn't know it :P) and I asked him while he was reading it and he said yes:P

Im sue theres more on the net if you searched but this shows the multiple lines etc.

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2290/pbpic2290553.jpg)

Im going to do THAT in my field ^^

It should be possible to have a loop even if it's on a slope, but it won't be as easy as flat. If you do the rollers right you'll be able to make it up the hill in the same way you can gain speed by pumping.
My mate's is on a slight slope and he got a loop out of it.
If you can be bother to do some extra digging you could make it flatter.

Multiple lines are a lot more fun, so maybe leave room for them, see how it rides, then decide what to put in. Chances are something you plan won't work and you'll have to adjust your plans.

That pic posted above looks like a great track.

if its on a slope how about making like a bombhole step up kind of thing

People who can build in there gardens are so lucky. my dad seems to like his lawn and i dont think he would like it if i took a spade to it ;) although the design above looks good, anything in my garden would do me. ;D

pump tracks are ment to link up, yours looks like it has an end? the idea in a pump track is that you can continue going round pumping for speed etc.

james.

A revised version.

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/pumptrack-1.png)

What you think?

That one looks good. Which way does the ground fall and which way are the jumps down the right going? You could use that as a part of it if you wanted and hip back into the start?

thats a view as if it were from my house. so the garden goes down a slight slope from the front of the picture if that makes sense.

you need the room for it all as you don't want 3 foot long berms, just make it
flow
J

I'd really try and get those table tops linked in to it some how matey. Berm in to them at the bottom perhaps?

Make more happen, especially up the hill, you will need loads of pumps and iteresting mounds so you can keep the speed  up!

Just use trial and error to make a good track! You won't know if anything works till the dirt is in place! Get the spade out!

Pat

wat if you link those tabletops on the right hand side back into the track with a berm be continuos then,

or build it nd ride it nd then add stuff to see wat works

this man knows,

Build a basic track then expand on it. perfect :)

I like that one, but its your back garden, you can always change it if its s**t

This is the final version:

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/Pumptrackfinal.png)

We will be starting marking it out with string tomorrow and I'll get some pictures up when I can.

Looks good but i dont think you need arrows saying which way to go, id just build it as it is from the designs and ride it anyway possible

Sorry I thought it'd be a bit confusing otherwise.

that looks sweet can i come over and be your friend..?

See jeffs post above?
go to that website, theyve got a sound pump track!

I think Sam will have lots of friends....

Jeff?

jeff r king page one....

www.monkeyspoon.com

i wish i had a garden big enough for one :'(

it needs to be a loop so you can do laps, thats the point i think

Update:

Started putting the string up to mark the track out earlier while it was dry. Here are some pics. Will hopefully be starting digging before I start back school (Wednesday)


(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0854.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0855.jpg)


There will be a line of jumps leading from this.


(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0858.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0859.jpg)

Fair play on that one, your completely destroying your parent's lawn!!! :D

That's epic!

I wish i could do it  :D

But my parents are too protective over the garden.. plus its only like 4m x 4m  :'(

Lol only the bottom part behind the shed. If I could I'd go from the conservatory:P

Haha, that excellent. I was expecting to see a really overgrown, out of sight piece of land like I've got to work with. ...
Nope, it's beautifully turfed and totally in view from the house! Gotta love your parents even more now.

And it's good to see you're making a proper jobby of it, marking out etc etc.

Seems real good. hope you put up some pictures of it when its finshed.

I cant see how your parents would completely let you destroy their garden!

Sweeeeeeet.

Rich

Well it's only half the lawn ;)

And on the plus side they'll only have to mow half now...

cant wait to see this finished. wish we were able to do that where we live. bbq parties ftw...

hows it going mate any progress

Aint been able to do much in the way of digging so far because of the weather and we're looking into hiring a turf cutter for the day as it would save us a lot of digging work.

On the subject of the weather don't neglect drainage when you build it.

you are best off hiring a turf cutter as it will save some effort digging. and drainage is a good point being british weather.

Can't wait to see pics of this, I reckon its gunna pretty damn good.

Good advice, dont be tempted to dig down to make a line, make sure everything is above ground level, even the dips in pump sections etc, otherwise it will fill up with water rather quickly. Are you thinking of any other drainage methods? ( Gravel / rocks under the soil etc?)

It looks like it's going to be brilliant though!

JJ

I haven't really done any drainage on any other trails before. can anyone reccomend any methods?

water ruts from the trough of the pumps/jumps/whatevers away to a lower area so it doesn't sit in a massive puddle making it unridable or ruining your dads lawn even more

Update:

Started digging earlier and got the first straight done. Here's some pics:

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0862.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0863.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0864.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0865.jpg)


The blocks of grass will be used for berms and pump lumps.

just a sugestion but how about uing the grass and laying it on the side so it kind of looks like this years empire of dirt track :)
but nice progress should turn out good wish my parents would let me do something like that :-[

Good idea. The main thing that the blocks will be used for is the berms and pump lumps obviously but if theres any spare we'll look into doing that

thats going to be so good. your parents are awesome!!!

looking goood  ;D

rather than waste the turf making them look sweet , wait till its all working fine then rake up the sides of it all and back of burms etc and throw some grass seed on them. done!

like £3 for a huge box from woolys

where about are you getting your dirt from....sorry if i've missed it if we have been told but just wandering?

looks like your keeping it very smart :)

My nextdoor neighbour, a bmxer has got loads of land that they don't use at the bottom of their garden and his dad has some machine, I've forgotten the name that churns loads of grass and earth and s**t up.

Oh and btw, we'll be moving the shed and using it as a roll-in  :P

personally i wouldnt use the shed as a roll in, purely because you dont really need one IMO

youd get to much speed rolling in off the top off the shed.

Interdh5

are you using the actual shed as a role in because ide say it was too weak to use as a role in and youde be liable to go through the roof wouldnt you? :-\

How neatly have you cut that turf !  :P :D

Looks good man, cant wait to see this when its done.

One of my many large gardens are looking rather tastey after seeing this.  ;)

A role in would be pointless in my opinion, the whole idea of a pump track is to gather/carry speed by pumping. Even from the off. I can get up to speed after only a couple of laps on my pump track.

Were just gonna have a small roll in now about 4 foot high.

Done some more today...

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0877.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0881.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0882.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0883.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0884.jpg)

looks like its going to be a goodun when its done keep up the work.

when we all invyted around to seshon it ;D ::)

Fromthe picture it looks as if you are digging down into the ground?? Will you not have a problem with drainage if you do this? Looks good though! You are very lucky :P

Ben

Yeah it is being dug into the ground so I'm trying to find out a good drainage system that I could use, any ideas?

posabily diging track kind of things into the sides   like this   _______________   so that the water can drain into them but dont know incase you get a wheel stuck into one or something :-\                                                                                                      \/                         \/




(sorry about the detailed drawing ::) but you get the jist some small drains)

Drain pipe ;)

if youd like to know what im on about then pm me and ill draw a picture on paint for you ;)


Interdh5

If you're getting dirt from your neighbour, why do you need to dig down at all?

If you have any spare small stones or possibly gravel, you use that as a base and put earth on top. That would help drainage. Or do the above gullies idea and curve the surface of the track so the water runs into the gullies.
Also dig down and inwards a bit on the inside of berms where you don't ride so water has somewhere to run off into.

Drainage possibilities-

Soakaways (with gullies in the track to pipe it to the soakaways or expose the end of the pipe)
channels to discharge the water off the track
Or build it above ground level and fall the track to one side to allow surface water runoff

Gullies are a bad idea, i dont think many driveway gullies are deep-trap so they'll probably clog up with dirt, and seeing as theyre designed to be used on hard surfaces, using them on dirt will cause a lot more dirt to run down there than theyre designed to handle.

Theres a naturall fall to the land so i'd make use of that, and as youre digging down i'd probably bury a 50-100mm Dia pipe under the surface of the ground and take it to a soakaway (a glorified hole - nb: not glory hole - filled with gravel) and expose the high end of the pipe just at ground level and create a low point so the water runs there, obviously thats effort as you'll need to do it between every jump because that'll be a low point so if you can let the water naturally run off the track onto the garden it'd be ideal. Maybe between the tracks dig down a bit then fill the void in with gravel  to help drain it.
If you do pipe it then you can have fairly slack gradients but its better to bury it deeper to avoid the pipe collapsing.

Is it me or does it look a little 'tight'

Rich

If you carry on to dig like that round the track, get some hardpack, gravel, granular fill type material follow that track line around fill it till you reach ground level again and then build up from that so that you are always A) above the water table B) above ground level. just make sure you compact it down properly otherwise when it starts to drain it will get sloppy underfoot and still not be ridable until its dry again.

where the lower points in track are just run a 50dia pipe (you wont need anything bigger than that) from those points into a drainage soakaway, back fill that fully with a granular backfill. and put a couple of inches of soil over the top that way you can still walk over it and not worry about the water. if you create about 4 soak aways for that sized project from different points. they will need to be about 600mm square and about 1m deep. Make sure you line it with polythane or similar. gauge 1200 preferably otherwise the water from the watertable level down will just soak through and it wont make any difference to your drainage an d it will just go boggy instead.

Tell your parents they need a pond   ;) and run the water from your drainage into that that's always another option. And you can keep your mum happy with a nice water feature.

That all well and good until the pond collects all the surface water runoff from the track, overflows then floods your hard work  ;)

And for compacting hardcore, the whacker-plates are flaming brilliant, used one to lay the base course for our patio.

yah it does look rather tight
whats the tightest radius of ur berms??

Thats alright, make sure that its faway from the track itself and when it does overflow just  to tell the parents its the natural wildlife look and its all the rave at the moment for all the other parents ;)

yeah. those pics make it look really tight and small.

keep the pictures coming! if it's too tight, you can just dig it up and change it, that's the beauty of it. well maybe not beauty....

Shortly follwed by "oh, and your 2ft long koi are all flapping about in the bush at the end of the garden"  :D

Keep up the good work. Sitting here wishing i had a garden that big.

I've built the first pump lump today and done half of the berm but I didn't take any pictures. And the picture doesn't do the tightness of the berm much justice but it's Ok. Oh and regarding my parents, They're soft  :P My mum doesn't care how much of the garden I take and my dad originally wanted me to just have behind the tyre (see page 3). But I somehow managed to get it up as far as it now  :P

Will get some pictures up when I can.

Done the first pump lump and now the first berm, Here are some pics:

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0887.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0886.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0895.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0897.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0899.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0901.jpg)

man, thats impressive :)

I wish i had some land i could do that sorta thing on :/


Looks really good
:D

Looks good, but dude that pump bump is tiny.
It'll sink a good few inches from riding, making it near enough flat i presume?

If can, get a whacker plate- we've got access to one at our trails, and use it in bowls and on the rollers- works a treat, never need to touch them once they've been whacked and left for a few days.

yeah the pump dose look a little small, but may just be the picture maybe ride it when its done and see if it needs making bigger :)



im so jelous wish i had a garden like yours

Just from experiance, no where near big or bowled enough, will head out when its light and get some photos of mine, just started paving it to ;D

yeh u'll need some nice pump bowls going into/out of the berms and perhaps before jumps. because its really hard to gather speed without them. my mate had pump bowls before and after every jump and berm, and its lush!  ;D

but yours is lookin tidy! 

Yeah, I'm gonna try riding it as it is when I can and see where the extra pump lumps need to be.

Presumably you're gonna make the roller bigger, they need to be at least 3 times that size.

I don't know whether it's cos the roller is small, but it looks quite wide.

Yes it does look a little small... But it also looks like its gonna be awesome.... You better start stockin up for the grand opening ;) haha

Remember, if the ground if flat, it cant be pumped, it all needs to either slope up or down! So make that bump a fair bit larger, and make sure it flows right into that berm.


Looking sweet though! :)

Some of the coolest pump tracks ive seen have pumps inside the berms... Why dont you try that?

Another update:

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0953.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0955.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0957.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0959.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_0960.jpg)

Everything looks a bit small so far, i know its still a work in progress.
The first pump looks wayyy to small, and i reckon the berm should go steeper, as should the second berm.

Is there going to be a double at the end?

That small jump that you can see was going to be a little hip but were gonna knock it down and berm and pump lump(bigger ones) the rest down to the tyre. Also the other line will be the same, possibly some tables.

I did think the berms pictured were small, but I rode my mate's one yesterday, some of the berms there are sooo tight, makes it quite interesting, as long as it works with the rest of the track it should be alright.

It looks like its progressing reasonably fast.

No point making it easy is there, will just be boring to ride.

To be honest, i think the pump bumps need to be alot bigger and rounded, dig down, not just above the ground. Berms look as if they need to be bowled out and dug down alot more too. You pretty much want as little flatness as possible. Cant pump the flat!

Jim

Some pics of my pump track on my myspace (link below)

reakon you should think about getting more than 1 pump between each berm, defo 2 and maybe 3 in a row!!!

Cheers Tom

Yes two would work way better, or at least a large pump that flows the whole way from berm to berm

anymore done yet???

anything ? good few days of good weather , must of got some done ?

hot news....

my missus has just told me i can build me a pump track at the top of my garden.....its gonna be tight but i reckon can get something pretty cool in there...

WOOOOOOOOO saw her in town today and said hi ..... thats all , if you want a hand let me know man

I have done a bit. Been riding due to good weather and have had a lot of coursework though so I haven't done a lot. Will get some pictures up tomorrow

Update:

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1036.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1038.jpg)

Looking great!!!
That roller still looks a little small though.

Tyre tracks? Whats it like to ride then?

Yeah the roller is small because we haven't done the roll-in yet so were gonna see how big we want it when the roll in is done.

And yeah it;s nice and fun to ride. Quite challenging because the berms are tight but it's good to have it not too easy. Although saying that I'm riding it on a DH bike so it'd probably be easier on a bmx.

Once we get a bit further down, I'm thinking about going in between the tree and the hedge on the left for a bit of variety. And I also want to make it a loop but I'm not sure how and at what point yet.

o dear god ! get a bmx off here or from your local tip for a 10er and use that dont need brakes or even a chain for that

Yeah I know, I will when I get a bit more money because I need some for a new camera at the moment.

Looking good, but to me the roller (2nd from top) looks a bit to sharp. Looks like it will be better if it is lengthened a bit.

Yeah I was doing that earlier and only did one side and then my food was ready  ;D

If I was you Id use the turf your discarding to buuild it up, or something else like stones or pebbles as a basslayer. stones would make it drain better and be rideable all year,  and it would help build it up bigger and quicker.

Trust me, dont use stones (or bricks etc), youll want to slightly change the humps shape/shave a layer off or something, and youll hit the brick/stone, and have to remove it, ripping apart half of the hump. /from experience

where theres only one roller you could probably get 2 in the same sort of size as the other 3 or maybe a little bigger. Looking great though, im stuck with my mates half working mini bike to keep us amused when we're not riding

edit: oops sorry, i didn't realise someone had already recommended it  ;D

Yeah I'm not gonna use bricks, stones etc. I'm happy with the way it's going at the moment. I'm gonna try and squeeze as many rollers as I can on the straights to keep it flowy.

Looking good, wish you best of luck! :D

I find it hard to just get a bit of turf up with a shovel!

Nice job :)

Dave.

The trick is to cut into the grass in sections, ie) squares. When all sides of the square of grass is cut, the top layer comes off a treat. Looks like your doing a s**t-hot, neat job of it all.

Very lucky that your parents let you do this in your garden aswell!

I suppose, you may want to tweak it, but you could still use all the turf rather than discarding it?

Yeah, all the turf is being used for rollers, berms and chopping up for extra loose earth.

Yeah. We want more updates!  :D.
I keep checking this thread now, its looking sweet!
Your so lucky your 'rents let you dig up the garden!
Good luck matey!

Chaz x

yer more pics more updates

I'll get some more updates when I can, I couldn't dig last night because Swans were playing Cardiff :P but I might get some more pics up tonight depending on how much of an English essay I get done :-\

Update:

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1049.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1052.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1054.jpg)


And I bought myself a cheap bmx to ride it for £40 - will be spraying it :P


(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1057.jpg)

might i sugest putting more soil behind the burm that looks like it may fall apart if you go around the burm any higher than half way up, but good work (:

Yeah that berm isn't quite finished.

oh ok then fare enuf :) good work keep it up, looks good with the little decking thingy but put some sort of grip on because when wet it will be slipy and i think it will proberbly get anoying pedaling for a min before your actualy moving due to the wheel spinnnn :)

Little video of me riding it, bearing in mind that's the first bmx I've owned so I'm not used to riding it  ;D

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/39882/ (http://www.pinkbike.com/video/39882/)

one problem you shouldnt have to pedal half way around to get around you should be able to get speed from pumping


but that may just be because your not used to the bike or the fact the track isnt finished





neaaawwwwnnnnnnn :D ;D

Its good, But meh, still think the berms need to be bowled out more so you can pump through them. And also think your rollers need to be higher/deeper. You want to be getting through it easily without having to pedal.

Looks nice... but dosnt look great to ride at all tbh... just being honest

Lucky your not riding it then ;)

I find it fun anyway.

looks good fun, ride it for a few weeks and then work out what doesnt work so well and improve it.

hmmm, looks good in pics but video makes it seem... small?  :-\ even for a bmx

Your not ment to peddle through pump tracks

Only thing I noticed is that you didnt pump it, its a pump track, try just keeping your head perfectly level and move the bike below you and dont pedal even if your going slow, use your arms and legs, pump!

Yeah, and i also reckon you should take brake, chainring, chain and all that off, just so that you cant pedal

nah dont do that maybe a break  but not chain and chain ring because if you need to go to shop just get on the bmx will be easier to get there on a small nippy thing and was only 40£ so if niked then its not the end of the world, if you want to make shure you dont pedal just take the chain off the chainring and tape it onto frame of take wheel off and take chain off only takes a min or two :)

What we used to do was take of the sprocket/chain, and then wrap a tube around the crank arm on your back foot/chainstay, meant it flexed a little but kept still, make the bike a pure pump machine, walk to the shops!

Na I'm not taking anything off because I want to use it for going to the shops and like paul said, I'd rather get that nicked than my DH bike, and theres no shortage of chavs round here. As for pedalling on the pump track, I'm going to be making more rollers so I won't be able to pedal.

It looks quite nice, and you have an excuse for peddling, plus the fact it probably hasnt bedded in fully. But you just eliminated the entire point of a pump track

Just have loadssssss of lines crossing. Use up every inch of the garden, that your allowed to use anyway!

This is a real pump track ;)

http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=112217&highlight=pump+track (http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=112217&highlight=pump+track)

If i was you id try and build something along these lines, i.e bigger berms with bumps flowing into each other, itll be better to carry speed through. Also note that on his there are jumps into and out of berms which add a different element, as well as the pump bumps being large enough to jump. Sort of like a multi purpose track.

yeah the vid makes itlook small but you have used the space provided well.

or you could just not peddle  :-\

Jeez, learn how to spell pedale.
PEDALE.
Done.

I hope that is a joke....

I know its a new bike, but pedaling is actually going to be slower round a pump track, you sort of want to be doing a continuous backwards circle with your bars and hips.

Also the bumps are to close together and not bowled enough, maybe take the middle one out and replace with a bigger dip, while moving the end rollers in a little, also the berm needs to be more longer and vertical, it looks like your trying to turn with your body rather than pump it like a laid-down pump bump/dip.

Just trying to help, ill video a few laps of my track if you want some ideas

Yeah Ok, Once I've built a few more rollers and got used to riding a bmx I'll take another video without PEDALLING - Jizz on Meh?.

i think someone just made a tit of themselves  :D

Looks like you just jizzed on yourself :P

track looks pretty w*nk tbh mate- build everything a few feet higher and a few feet longer and more whippy and it'll work- atm just looks like bumps on the ground

ouch!

just dig untill it hurts. then keep digging. dont bother riding untill you have hte basics built.

you dont even appear to be through the topsoil. you need to dig more.

it takes alot of effort. but you are doing ok as a starter.

He's got a point, u'd be better off pumping speed humps at the moment! DIG DAMMIT!!

any more done ?

Na not because of the weather. If it stays as it was this afternoon then I should get a bit done this week.

also i know people have said it lots but just please PLEASE make your rollers higher and more mellow , i have tryed to make a pump track ( went wrong ) but the shape of the rollers took a day to get right and they want to be twaice as long as they are high and evenly spaced and of even hight to allow to get a rythem up.

if its raining you should be digging.

dont wimp out. otherwise it`ll never get done.

It's not jsut the rain, I have plenty of coursework that needs to be done and although I want my pump track to be finsihed A.S.A.P I know which priorities come first.

Erm, yeah, a pump track should come first...

Coursework is easy, regardless of the subject, the INTERNET does coursework haha.

little bit of motivation for ya:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dR2jNIY0Uyw        :)

Did some more this weekend:

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1184.jpg)


(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1185.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1188.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1189.jpg)

Overall layout looks good, but on the bumps, mine have about 2 bmx lengths from peak to peak, and are around knee height.  that feels about right, I had to chop and change as they started to close (The ones that are to close,  now that I know what im doing I just double them)

the pumps are to close to small and to steep

 :)good work but i have to agree with everyone the pumps need to be more bigg ect

I've just started building a track and those small pumps will be difficult to get speed out of, I'll get some pics of the ones I've built to give you some help but I did cheat and used a mini digger.

you built any more?

OK i've got some picks of my track, now the stupid question how do you get them into a post?

http://www.southerndownhill.com/forum/index.php?action=help;page=post#references

The [img] bit.

Looking good. Yeah like ma bro said, get some hardcore down.
(and stick a lake jump on the end, a refreshing victory) :D

Right, well I've been having a lot of coursework and revision lately, and the weather hasn't been great so I have done next to nothing of my track but I'll be doing about an hour and a half a night after school until it gets dark, like as soon as I get home so I will hopefully finish a lap of one the lines before then, and then I will carry on until the bottom of the garden  ;D

Looks good your very lucky i have to haul my fat ass nearly 2 miles from my house to my trails

Lol, I'm lucky that I have this in my back garden but not lucky that my nearest DH track is an hours cycle.

Did a little bit more today:

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1326.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1327.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/IMG_1329.jpg)

Please sort the rollers out.....they must be gastly to ride...As mentioned a number of times 'Biger (Longer, Deeper, Taller)


looking good though, and the berms dont look to bad.

Interdh5

Yeah the rollers will be sorted out after the main bulk of the track has been made. The middle triple are really nice to ride, so are the ones next to the hedge. They will be bigger though.

in the second pic those pumps look tiny, might just be the picture tho


but the burm in the last pic looks good :)

For the pump size debate:

This shot was taken (not by me) a long while back of our pump track. This crossover didn't really work but the pic shows what size the pumps seem to work at, the ones you have at the moment are just too small.

instead of 3 rollers just make 2 big ones you will get so much more speed

I've done some more of the track. The lap is finished but I need pallets which my dad will be getting from work, to take you back to the start. The other lines are gonna go straight down to the bottom of the garden because getting speed on the way back up is hard because of the slight slope.

The two rollers in the middle are gonna be made into one big one, as will the ones next to the hedge. Also, all the flat parts will have rollers, (bigger ones than there are already). There will be a line of tables, possibly some gap jumps, next to the path, starting from the starting point that is there already.

Also, behind the tyre I'll be making a small, continuous figure of 8 type mini track that the other lines will join onto because the slope means I can't do this effectively on the actual track.

Where the furthest berm is, I will be making a line that goes over that berm and in-between the tree and the wall.

Obviously, all this will take time, especially as it's only me bulding cos my brother is too lazy, but I have my last exam tomorrow so I can do plenty before I go back to school in January:


Roll-up back to the start for the lap:

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2779/pbpic2779533.jpg)

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2779/pbpic2779551.jpg)

Line I'm working on now.

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2790/pbpic2790602.jpg)

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2790/pbpic2790616.jpg)

Rollers will be going where the flat spots are:

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2790/pbpic2790623.jpg)

These two will be turned into one:

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2790/pbpic2790621.jpg)

The line of jumps will be going down here:

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2790/pbpic2790620.jpg)




Sorry for the essay.

dont take this the wrong way
but seems a lil ambitious
but fair play to you for getting something going

The pump track isn't ambitious atall.

The jumps are though, your never going to fit jumps into that tiny gap, unless there 2ft tall :)

i meant the jumps
sorry didnt specify

I don't think the pump track is ambitious cos as of tomorrow afternoon I have 3 weeks of until I go back to school. And then after that the nights start to become longer so I'll be able to get a lot done. The jumps aren't gonna be anything massive, more than likely tables cos I'm not a very good dirt jumper, and the space is about 4ft wide anyway.

word of advice take a trip to an existing pump track and look at the scale of it. the spacing of the pumps, the burms etc etc etc. because tbh it all looks a tad cramped for the spacing in the garden you have you can bearly turn the bike in the corners.

go to the following places and scope out the tracks


maindy in cardiff, its 5mins from the city center.
http://dragondownhill.co.uk/2004site/maindy.htm

tredegar pump track
http://dragondownhill.co.uk/2004site/BrynBachPump.htm


cearphilly trails usd to have one too not sure if its still there but its was tiny and super hard work but loads of fun to ride. in about the same space as your garden if not smaller. but it looked alot better than what you built

hope this helps and don't take it the wrong way.


and also invest in a set of these
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/14558/Lighting/Torches-Task-Lighting/Site-Lights/Telescopic-Tripod-500W-Site-Light#

the best £20 i could have ever spent. great for night digging in the winter!

My grandparents live in Wrexham and there's a pump track in Rhosllanerchurog, anyone know if it's still there? I go up to Wrexham every boxing day for a couple of days so we'll be going to that pump track cos it's only about 5mins away from my grandparents house.

And I realise the rollers are preety puny so I'll be making them a lot bigger, and there will be a lot more.

Nobody had a little play at the pump track in fort William? near the bowling-aly i think. great stuff :D not the biggest but cool. about the same size as the one your building but everything is bigger. but looks like your track is getting there!.

Pete, thanks for the link, I'll look into getting a set of them, but money's tight atm cos I have a new bike that I need parts for.

Anymore comments appreiciated but criticism appreiciated more.

Made the first roller bigger today although it will be going a little bit bigger. Also made a couple of berms.

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/Picture020.jpg)

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll54/SamDavies_photos/Picture018.jpg)

There will be a roller in-between the two berms:

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2800/pbpic2800605.jpg)

The last berm still needs to be pascked better at the back.

After that berm there is a solid concrete block that goes down about 1 foot deep. It was from a climbing frame I had there when I was young so tomorrow I'm either gonna put a sledge hammer to it or lever it out.

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2800/pbpic2800586.jpg)

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2800/pbpic2800555.jpg)

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2800/pbpic2800549.jpg)

get hold of a kango mate, much easier than using a sledgehammer...

That's gonna cost me a fair bit of money that I don't have. I'll try a leverage first and if that doesn't work I'll revert to using a sledge hammer.

looking good now, nice to see things coming along good, should get quite alot done over the holidays :) (thats if youve done all your christmas shoping and arent at too many parties ect :) )

The concrete block looks like cow pat!

How do you plan to make it link , doesn't look like your going to be able to go round the track again and again.

you have done a good job so far give us some more pics and vids when you are done.

I'm not gonna make the other lines link back to the top cos it's on a slope and get's slow when your on the way back up. There is one lapped line as you can see in the pictures but the others are gonna be going straight down although they will be interchanging. Where the tyre is though, I will be making a sort of mini continuous track that the other lines will join onto.

Dude get your dog into biking and get your do a bike !! :P