# Any advice for my MTB jump?



## alex.w (May 22, 2016)

Just built my first decent sized jump today, but have little to none experience building jumps. Looking for any advice on the jump (ex. farther apart, angle, etc.)



















Again I have no experience so any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.


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## BumpityBump (Mar 9, 2008)

Whiskey and speed. Please film and post.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

BumpityBump said:


> Whiskey and speed. Please film and post.


x2^


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

BumpityBump said:


> Whiskey and speed. Please film and post.


x3^


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## taprackbang (Jun 5, 2014)

*chuckle*


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## David R (Dec 21, 2007)

How fast are you planning on hitting it? Doesn't look like it'll take much to over-shoot that landing! Perhaps dig the base of the jump into the ground a bit, to reduce the angle and to prevent it moving when you hit it.

Oh yeah, and +1 for filming the first attempt...


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Hooooo! Need video for sure!


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## tk1971 (Aug 10, 2007)

Don't forget to go wide on the shot when setting up the camera.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

For sure doable. When I was younger and more resilient I used to ride over the top of a skateboard quarter pipe that was about that high judging from the picture. I got up the nerve by coming in at an angle and launching part way up the ramp, gradually going higher until one day I rode over the top.

Once I got comfortable I launched anything off it, Huffy cruisers, Schwinn Varsities, etc. No broken bones resulted.


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## Finch Platte (Nov 14, 2003)

David R said:


> How fast are you planning on hitting it? Doesn't look like it'll take much to over-shoot that landing! Perhaps dig the base of the jump into the ground a bit, to reduce the angle and to prevent it moving when you hit it.
> 
> Oh yeah, and +1 for filming the first attempt...


Yeah, maybe a board across the "front" of it, with a couple of pieces of rebar hammered into the ground to keep it from moving when you ride it.


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## rangeriderdave (Aug 29, 2008)

I'm going to be a killjoy and say start with something smaller ,just so you get a feel for what works.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

The landing is shorter than one bike length so accuracy on landing will be somewhat important (you're either going to come up short or overshoot unless you're really good at controlling speed and wheel placement).


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## alex.w (May 22, 2016)

Nat said:


> The landing is shorter than one bike length so accuracy on landing will be somewhat important (you're either going to come up short or overshoot unless you're really good at controlling speed and wheel placement).


Yea landing probably should have been farther apart.



rangeriderdave said:


> I'm going to be a killjoy and say start with something smaller ,just so you get a feel for what works.


 Hmm, contemplating on what you said. Thanks for your input. Still not sure if I should attempt it or not


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

alex.w said:


> Yea landing probably should have been farther apart.


That's not really what I meant. The landing ramp itself is very short.

Out of curiosity, how much jumping have you done?


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

good luck... hit it fast....weeeeee!


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## EABiker (Jun 24, 2004)

Make it sweet!


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## Fleas (Jan 19, 2006)

Get a butt-load more dirt out of that hole and make a tabletop jump so you don't have to worry about hitting the landing.
And yeah, stake down the front of the ramp (or bury it) so it can't move on you.
It looks pretty steep - like mucho vert and not much distance - so def. set up the video camera.

-F


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## EABiker (Jun 24, 2004)




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## slapheadmofo (Jun 9, 2006)

Take off looks pretty good, but the landing is....well...useless.

We had a little kicker similar in size and shape to yours with about a 6' table and 10' lander and my son would have to keep his speed down in order not to clear the whole thing to grass (and that's on an 18" wheeled bike). You need to scale up your landing ramp by about 20x and push it out a lot farther.









Here's a bunch of good info on spacing, shaping, etc:
http://forums.mtbr.com/urban-dj-park/dj-pump-track-plans-402237.html

Also, if you don't know how to jump, you should start smaller. Otherwise, be sure to take video, and that your health insurance is paid up.

:thumbsup:


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## net wurker (Sep 13, 2007)

Huckin Kitty can show you the way.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)




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## TSpice (May 15, 2015)

The problem I see immediately is the angle of that jump would suggest you need quite a bit of speed to clear it properly. Meaning, your front tire shouldn't be coming down before your rear tire leaves the ramp. Then the issue becomes when you hit it with correct speed, you will overshoot the landing by quite a bit. If nothing else, your rear tire may hit the very end of the landing, and your front end will slam down pretty hard. 

I would be amazed if you could hit it slowly, apex it like Huckin' Kitty, and come down nicely on the ramp. 

Table tops are the best for beginner builders. Lets you work on the jump and landing, but gives you a safety net per say if you didn't set one or the other up correctly. (Pictured above, if you chicken out, you will nose dive into the landing, which is why everyone wants you to video tape it.)


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## net wurker (Sep 13, 2007)

I'd say just scoot the wooden ramp back about 8 feet and let-er-rip!


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## mizzaboom (Jun 2, 2010)

lol, that is going to be a disaster.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

Needs some trucks...


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## Fleas (Jan 19, 2006)

TSpice said:


> ...
> 
> I would be amazed if you could hit it slowly, apex it like Huckin' Kitty, and come down nicely on the ramp.
> 
> ...


Even Huckin' Kitty, with his infinite mojo, nearly overshot to flat. That landing ramp is too small/short.

-F


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

that's just a target, not a landing...


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

alex.w said:


> Just built my first decent sized jump today, but have little to none experience building jumps. Looking for any advice on the jump (ex. farther apart, angle, etc.)
> . . . .
> Again I have no experience so any advice is appreciated.
> Thanks.


I think your launch ramp is a little steep for how tall it is. In general short launch ramps need to be mellower, and only tall launches can go up to 60+ degrees of arc. Yours will be jumpable, but will feel abrupt. If you're on a full-suspension bike may feel even more awkward. (On full-suspension, pre-loading is key, because otherwise your suspension sinks into the face of the jump, then bucks you into a nosedive after you leave the lip). A lot of DH ramps are a lot longer and flatter than you'd expect. This is a launch to step-down at Winter Park.




























For a wood launch with a dirt landing, you generally want your landing at least as tall as the launch, and even better, a little taller than the launch (a step up).

Pics from Bijou Bike Park, Lake Tahoe:


















Landings should have a lot of wheelbase to land on--like at least 2 bike lengths, which is what, around 11 feet?

Landings can be steep if they're tall. But a short steep landing doesn't work well, because there is less horizontal wheelbase to land on. See how 45 degree steepness has less room to land on? 20 degree steepness may seem boring on paper, but it's actually a lot more effective as a landing for a smaller jump. Like I said, if the landing is tall, then it can be steep, but if your jump is not tall, then make the landing long.

















I did this drawing with a 45 degree landing to transition.... but honestly I should probably re-draw it with a 30 degree landing. 6 feet tall and 12 feet of surface landing would be 30 degrees. Right-Angled Triangle Calculator









You might also want to consider digging a pit-to-pit dirt jump as well (or instead).










Here is what that looks like. Two long rectangular pits, separated by around an 8-12 foot gap, depending on how far you want to jump. But 8-12 is pretty normal.

You'll either need to wait for rain for the dirt to be damp in order to shape and pack dirt properly, or you'll need to bring buckets of water and watering jugs.

It's true you could build both your launch and landing above grade and just wheelbarrow dirt over from a source pit, but if you're in a dry climate and digging by yourself, it's more effective to dig the riding line down at the same time that you're building the launch and landing up. It's like double-digging. (In wet climates, you can have problems with the pits filling up with water.... Here in Texas, we didn't really have that problem--plus, you can dig a french drain type hole which will let the pit drain directly downwards).



















See how Buddy is jumping out of a big hole? That was originally a source pit for dirt for other jumps.


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## alex.w (May 22, 2016)

*UPDATE*

Put some more hours into the jump today. Thanks for all the advice, it's really helping out. Down here in SoCal it's hard to get the jump big (drought=can't bring a lot of water, dry landscape). I think my jump is getting a little better, let me know if improvement is needed, thanks.


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## alex.w (May 22, 2016)

cmc4130 said:


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.WestCoastHucker. said:


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Fleas said:


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net wurker said:


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TSpice said:


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slapheadmofo said:


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Nat said:


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Finch Platte said:


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David R said:


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Thanks again to all the people mentioned above for the help. Your advice helped guide me with my little to none experience about jumping let alone building jumps. :thumbsup:


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

alex.w said:


> *UPDATE*
> 
> Put some more hours into the jump today. Thanks for all the advice, it's really helping out. Down here in SoCal it's hard to get the jump big (drought=can't bring a lot of water, dry landscape). I think my jump is getting a little better, let me know if improvement is needed, thanks.


way back in the day, i learned a lot about jumps by watching videos from Sheep Hills near San Diego.

check out this video:
Bmx Inferno | Films | BMX Movie Database

in particular the Jason Ball and Shaun Butler sections. note how most of the jumps are dug down into the ground--the "pit" / "bowl" method I was talking about.


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## #1ORBUST (Sep 13, 2005)

Looks good i guess. Maybe bigger landing. Generally....if you're hitting a 6ft lip u want an 8ft landing. Smaller jumps its not as drastic but same theory. Unless your goin for a step down.

Build the landing mound as high as the ramp then grade it out.

Socal u have to haul water. Get a big garden water backpack.


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

a shovel and trial and error is the best way to learn to jump in my opinion. the learning curve is a school of hard knocks, so don't be surprised when you get to crashing more than you'd like at first...


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## tartis99 (Oct 27, 2015)

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## 69tr6r (Mar 27, 2007)




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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

Fleas said:


> Even Huckin' Kitty, with his infinite mojo, nearly overshot to flat. That landing ramp is too small/short.
> 
> -F


well? any news?


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## b.r.h. (May 3, 2007)

He died.


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## taprackbang (Jun 5, 2014)

For crying out loud, load her up and bring it..can this be made into a sticky?


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)




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