Posted By McCarver on December 5, 2009
Recommended Tools
You, some time, and hard work.
spade shovel.
flat shovel.
Leather work gloves
water
Rake
Wheelbarrel
A water source
A place to build the dirt jumps (preferably flat and with a lot of trees for shade).
A plan
and your mits
Planning Your Dirt Jumping Trails
You should plan for your dirt jumps before you start building them. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before planning.
1. How big do you want to build the jumps? If you are an experienced dirt jumper then building only big jumps may suit you just fine but what about the other people that will be riding there? It is usually best to make a variety of sizes so you and your friends can work up to the big jumps.
2. How much space do you have? Be aware of the area where you are building your dirt jumping trails. Make sure your plan is for the area you have and not just a random sketch of a few jumps.
3. How hard are you and your friends willing to work? You may not want to overdue your plans. It is sometimes better to start small and keep building your dirt jumps over time. If your project is too big you or your buddies may get discouraged and quit.
4. Is there enough incline to get the speed needed for the features you want to build? If not you may need to build a “roll-in” or look into buying a special bungee to propel yourself towards your jumps.
5. How is rain going to affect my dirt jumping trials? Water will stand berms, holes, pits, and other low areas of your trails. This can ruin your dirt jumps and your day. Plan ahead to dig out a draining system to direct the water away from anything that it can harm.
Dirt Jump Sizing and Distances
The size of your dirt jump is very important. You want them to be the right size to project you and your board the correct distance. You don’t want to build a jump two feet tall and have the take-off and landing twelve feet apart. It would take too much speed to clear a jump like that and you wouldn’t get any height.
A dirt jump for beginners should be about two feet tall and around four feet from lip to landing. An average dirt jump should be about four feet tall and around six foot from lip to landing. Check out some photos to get a good idea of what dirt jumps look like and how tall they are in comparison with how far apart they are.
Be sure to leave plenty of room to prepare yourself mentally and physicaly, you wont want to be hitting a twelve foot kicker one second after dropping in. What you ultimately want to be able to do is get enough speed to hit the first jump and maintain your speed by riding smooth and flowing through the track without stopping.
Sketching Your Dirt Jumping trails.
First you should check out other dirt jumping trails by either going to some or looking at photos on the internet or in magazines to get a basic idea of what you want and what they should look like.
Now go to the area where you plan to build your dirt jumping trails and start to sketch out what you want your dirt jumps to look like.
Building Your Dirt Jumps
Now that you have a plan it’s time to start building dirt jumps. Go out to your area and clear it out. Cut down the weeds, rake the leaves, and remove anything that is in the way.
It can be a lot of help to stack things where you are going to build your dirt jumps such as logs or other solid objects. This way you can pile the dirt over them and it will take less dirt to build a jump, less time, less work, and they will be more solid.(just make sure to cover them well because they will eventually errode down and rocks and stumps may make it harder to maintain).
Getting Your Dirt
The first place you could start getting your dirt is your draining system. Use your spade shovels for digging. If you dig your draining system out first you can shovel the dirt into wheel barrels and five gallon buckets then dump the dirt onto the areas where your dirt jumps are going to be.
Next you can simply find a place where you aren’t planning to build any jumps that has good dirt and start digging. Take turns digging and operating the wheelbarrows and carrying the buckets if you have friends helping.
Shaping the Dirt Jumps
“The Take-off”
Continue to pile the dirt until you get the mound of dirt the size you want. Now pack the dirt by hitting it with the shovels and standing on it. Once you get it packed down good start to shape the face of the Take-off. You want a good lip on your Take-off jump so start from the top of the jump and start carving down with your flat shovel creating a nice smooth curve.
The face of the jump needs to be very smooth and even all the way across. Continue packing the face of the Take-off. It is very important to get your jumps packed so that they are solid.
“The Landing”
Follow the same techniques used to make the Take-off jump but a landing may not be necessary for a small beginner ramp. The shape of the landing shouldn’t be near as steep as the Take-off. It needs to be shaped for a nice smooth landing like the image below.
Wet em’ down
Dirt jumps need to be watered too. The water is going make your jumps strong and solid once they dry.
Patience!
…..is a virtue, and although it is a good idea to test your track as you go it also important that you allow it time to settle in and dry before you begin to ride it. Tires will leave ruts in soft or wet dirt and you could end up destroying your hard work in just a few minutes
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