Quantcast

Making some jumps

rkpballer

Chimp
Feb 9, 2008
4
0
Ok. So I want to make some fun little jumps. I'm not really a serious biker like I see you guys are. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on how to make some jumps out of dirt and a shovel and some wood and stuff. Pictures and links to guides would be helpful, thanks. :tup:
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
head out into a field with your shovel, build a pile of dirt. pack down the pile in the shape of a lip that you feel comfortable with. Then build another pile a distance away you think you can jump, pack down and smooth at a landing lip. Make sure everything is good and packed. Use your shovel, feet and push your front wheel up and down the lips to ensure maximum packing qualities have been reached. Then pedal at it and jump it. Reshape it if somethings wrong. Just keep experimenting until your comfortable with it. Then start moving the lips farther apart. After that you can build more after it, so you can hit jump after jump.

I usually take the dirt for the jumps from in front of and after the jumps, so that theres no crazy holes to fall into plus it makes the jumps bigger.

check out the pictures in some of these threads for ideas.
 

rkpballer

Chimp
Feb 9, 2008
4
0
Ok so today I started out. I made it down a small path down in the woods. Started out with a little jump bout 2 feet tall. Kinda fun still working on it. Also I don't have any places to put like a 90 degree turn but I have some that are maybe 30-45 degrees. I tried making a little bank. How high should it be and could it be fun if I made it taller? Any tips would help. Thanks.
 

cmc

Turbo Monkey
Nov 17, 2006
2,052
6
austin
you gotta find things to bury/cover to make the structure of your jump. if your jumps are exlcusively dirt, it will take FOREVER to build them by hand, and you'll probably get tired and quit before they're ever a decent size.

find objects like cinder blocks, logs, railroad ties, etc. and make a LARGE sturdy pile as your base. then start throwing dirt on top. this will be so much faster and you will actually build something of a decent size. i have seen washing machines buried.

i think it is better to use a wheel barrow and dig your dirt from a pit that is not right next to or in between your jumps. if you ever get complaints from people, one of the things they dislike is the moon crater landscape of holes everywhere. and if you bail out of the line you will run into the holes.

you want dirt that has a lot of clay in it--it will pack and hold shape much better than sandy or silty dirt. around here it tends to be near rivers and creeks.

pace out your lip to lip gaps. anything less than an 7' lip to lip gap is lame. 7' or 8' gap is a beginner jump. 9'-11' is typical of a medium line. if your take off and landing are mellow, you will easily be able to jump it. being able to clear a double easily has more to do with the transition (steepness/mellowness) than with the distance you are jumping. start out mellow, like skateboarder pyramid mellow, then gradually build it up to have a steeper transition.

the typical beginner mistake is to make the takeoff transition too tight. like a 3 foot tall quarter pipe that goes almost to vert. the other mistake is build your landing too short and steep. it can be steep at the top but it needs to mellow/transition out at the bottom so that you at get more than a bike length's distance actually rolling down the landing. so start mellow then make it steeper later.

have fun. and hide or lock up your tools.
 

rkpballer

Chimp
Feb 9, 2008
4
0
you gotta find things to bury/cover to make the structure of your jump. if your jumps are exlcusively dirt, it will take FOREVER to build them by hand, and you'll probably get tired and quit before they're ever a decent size.

find objects like cinder blocks, logs, railroad ties, etc. and make a LARGE sturdy pile as your base. then start throwing dirt on top. this will be so much faster and you will actually build something of a decent size. i have seen washing machines buried.

i think it is better to use a wheel barrow and dig your dirt from a pit that is not right next to or in between your jumps. if you ever get complaints from people, one of the things they dislike is the moon crater landscape of holes everywhere. and if you bail out of the line you will run into the holes.

you want dirt that has a lot of clay in it--it will pack and hold shape much better than sandy or silty dirt. around here it tends to be near rivers and creeks.

pace out your lip to lip gaps. anything less than an 7' lip to lip gap is lame. 7' or 8' gap is a beginner jump. 9'-11' is typical of a medium line. if your take off and landing are mellow, you will easily be able to jump it. being able to clear a double easily has more to do with the transition (steepness/mellowness) than with the distance you are jumping. start out mellow, like skateboarder pyramid mellow, then gradually build it up to have a steeper transition.

the typical beginner mistake is to make the takeoff transition too tight. like a 3 foot tall quarter pipe that goes almost to vert. the other mistake is build your landing too short and steep. it can be steep at the top but it needs to mellow/transition out at the bottom so that you at get more than a bike length's distance actually rolling down the landing. so start mellow then make it steeper later.

have fun. and hide or lock up your tools.
Won't be hard to get clay. 6 inches down and your good. But 7' lame? I'd be lucky to ever get to that. I think I will try to find some stuff to make the jump out of. Its in the middle of the woods so it will be easy to find stumps etc.

Thanks.
 

Durt

Chimp
Nov 28, 2007
59
0
Build a good solid landing first. Nice and wide, approx 3 feet. Then you can build several launch lips at different distances. Or you can just tear down and re-position your launch. We have a similar jump at our spot. Nice big landing with one lip about 6 feet out and another at about 12 feet.

A jump that is solid dirt, nothing buried under, is the proper way and a hell of a lot of work. BUT if it is done right, it will last a long, long time. Seek out local DJers in your area and learn from them.
 

cmc

Turbo Monkey
Nov 17, 2006
2,052
6
austin
Build a good solid landing first. Nice and wide, approx 3 feet. Then you can build several launch lips at different distances. Or you can just tear down and re-position your launch. . .
that's an excellent idea. you have opportunities for hips too.
 

[Tha]Shovla

Monkey
Aug 28, 2007
119
0
Somewhere over the rainbow
As stated before ... bury old stuff in your jumps. At the hotel i work for now we get all our potaotes for mashed potaotes in prepeeled in water solution in plastic 5 gallon buckets.

So ... i take the empty buckets, silicone the rim of the lid and glue the lid to the bucket and then stack them however i see fit on the insides of my jumps. its amazing how much less work you have to do when you have 15 gallons of empty space inside you jumps. Talk to a local corporate hotel like Hyatt, or something like that if you are near a city .. often times they go through so many of them a week they cant keep them all and just trash them. Pluss 5 gallon buckets are great because you can dig the dirt away from your jumps and just truck it in, then you dont have unsightly holes or deep pits inbetween your landing and take off. :)
 

rkpballer

Chimp
Feb 9, 2008
4
0
So I found out one of my friends knows how to shape them up. And its worked out real good thanks for your help guys.