Belgian pump track bonanza
Oh yeah, pump track fever is buring hot in Belgium. These guys have a nice track in the works.
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Hey Lee,
After seeing alot of pumptracks coming up, we decided to make one in Belgium. But I have a question.
We are all mainly BMX riders. We also have a couple of 26″ riders. We used the measurements from The Fix/RhythmCycles.com pump track.
Those are good for the bmx, but are the gaps between the rollers big enough for 26″ dirt bikes to get enough speed? We haven’t had any visitors with 26″ wheels over yet so we can’t tell.
Here’s what we got so far, more coming up. When it’s finished I’ll give you a full review …
Any last tips that you have that we could use or stuff that you see that we do wrong…
And how the hell does Mark Weir get so much speed out of his pumptrack, damn …
Grtz
Steve
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Steve!
Thanks for the note. It looks like you have a nice piece of land to work with. It’s so green — here in Colorado we haven’t seen green in months.
Those rollers are tight, but you can get speed on a 26. Manualling will be faster than rolling. Here are some other thoughts:
– Fill your entire track with berms and rollers. There should be no flat ground anywhere. Put rollers at the beginning and end of every berm, then space more rollers on each straight.
– On your long straight, try five big rollers with smooth transitions. It will be FAST!
– Make the berms tall — almost a meter — and as steep as possible. Then you can go as fast as you want.
– After the outside loop is dialed, build a crossover. More turns = more fun!
I hope that helps. Send me photos.
PS: Mark Weir’s track is fast because every inch (centimeter) is smooth and banked, the rollers are big, the berms are steep, and those guys know how to ride. But I’m going to ride there right after Sea Otter, and I’m gonna show Weir that I have more hair AND more speed! 🙂
Hey Lee,
Thanks for the answers.
But still a couple of questions:
– The 5 big rollers (2 foot i assume) that you are talking about: do we use the measurements from the rhythmcycles track, or do we space them furter apart
– Do the rollers before/after a berm actually start/end where the berm becomes horizontally with the ground or do you leave a bit of space
-Can you put a 2 foot roller in front of a berm of is a 1 foot preferred?
Once again thx
Steve
– Space the five rollers evenly along the straight. One at the end of each berm, one in the middle, then one in the middle of each space. Like folding a piece of paper.
– No space! Look at your berm. See where it reaches flat? Put the top of your roller right there, and build the bank all the way to the roller. Check out these photos:
https://www.leelikesbikes.com/wp-content/031406IMG_1095001.jpg
https://www.leelikesbikes.com/wp-content/111405JonRoller.jpg
https://www.leelikesbikes.com/wp-content/111405LeeTrans.jpg
– Depends on the size of its brothers. It’s easiest when all the rollers in a set are identical. With a big roller, you need a big, steep berm. It looks like Weir’s rollers are about 2 feet.
Have fun out there, and send pictures!
Lee,
My two sons and I have been working on a pump track in our backyard for a few weeks now. We built the one like on your site. The boys were cruising around it in no time and just kept getting faster as the dirt packed down. We decided to add a straight between the two corners and my son insisted on a table so he could get a jump in on a lap if he wanted. We’re still working on it (I expect it will never be done, right?). I’d like to invite Steve and his crew from Belgium to come by and check it out, if they want. Likewise, we’d like to go check theirs out. My boys are on bmx’s but I ride my 26″ whatever bike. Just today I planted some flowers on the inside of the track, since I realize not everyone appreciates dirt the way we do. We want to share our track with other riders as much as possible, so if anyone would like to give it a shot, all I ask is that they email me first. The Dutch aren’t as lawsuit crazy as the U.S., but I do require riders to wear a helmet. Oh ya, and no spandex or math. My email is fubarbike@yahoo.com. Thanks for having a such a great website.