# Pump Track Savant needed in Pleasanton ca.



## bicyclemech1 (Feb 22, 2009)

Sat. August 6th starting at 8am.

The call is going out for all able bodies to do some maintenance, with a special emphasis on bringing the feeble attempt of a pump track to life.

Neither of the park stewards (Manny and Shane) have any experience building pump tracks, so we need someone who really has the design skills to come and map out something really good. Many existing features are already there, we just need the guidance to modify and build in order to tie them all together. 

Bring digging tools and a garage broom if you have them.

Bike Park is on Stanley Blvd. Next to Shadow Cliffs Park.


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

What's the compensation ?


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## bicyclemech1 (Feb 22, 2009)

*We don't have any money!!*

I think the park is lucky to have a water source.
Really, just a few hours of advice will be priceless. You need not lift a shovel. Just advise so we don't waste our efforts.


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

bicyclemech1 said:


> I think the park is lucky to have a water source.
> Really, just a few hours of advice will be priceless. You need not lift a shovel. Just advise so we don't waste our efforts.


i'd like to see what yall have done so far. pump track building is something you have to learn through blood, sweat and beers.

if you go take some good pics and post videos (from different angles) of people riding the track, i'll give you some online advice.

have you read the _DJ, Pump Track plans _ thread? I've posted a lot of stuff in there.

*DJ, Pump Track plans*
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=402237


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## East Bay Rich (Jan 24, 2004)

I replied on the NorCal forum:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=8304485#post8304485

...but here's the sat photos w/ an overlay:



















What currently exists is more of several stacked "U" (start hill to 90 degree right, to 4 180 berms

-Rich


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

do you know what the radiuses of those 180 berms are?

180 berms are actually pretty tricky to do well. a large 180 berm will suck up speed like a mthfka. a tight 180 berm is difficult for a lot of people to ride. the reason why bowls work well at cement skateparks for turning around 180 is that most people do not actually ride or skate exactly horizontally around them--they typically carve up the face and use gravity to pump down & out. sometimes they carve up down up down around a bowl face to generate even more speed. the opposite version is where you start high and pump down into the berm, ride it low around the bottom, then up and over a roller on the way out. i did a pretty lengthy post over in the Trail Building forum *Bermed corner radius sizing *https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=724304, so check that out......

so, like with this link, i'm not saying that mtbmx berms need to look like skatepark bowls. 
https://www.concretedisciples.com/feature-skateboarding-articles/item/4306-d*faces-ridiculous-redux.html
what i'm saying is that you do not want a skatepark bowl sized turn (sometimes up to 12-14 radius) if you want to "whip" out of it. not gonna happen !! similarly, you do not see guys "whipping" out of bmx track berms. they have to crank full speed into them and often crank around the berm too. 
pump track berms are a totally different deal. they have to be exactly calibrated to speed. even a small difference of 1 or 2 feet in radius, you will notice. (even though that might sound weird, any ramp rider will tell you they definitely feel the difference between a 7 foot transition ramp versus a 9 foot transition ramp). 
the other thing is that the tighter a berm radius gets, the more vertical it needs to be. the fact of the berm has to allow you to get sideways if you're truly going to pump without gravity and only with g-force. a lot of berm builders simply do not do enough work making the berms vertical enough. this is a good example of how vertical a good pumpable 180 berm needs to be:










i personally think that rectangular tracks with rounded 90 degree corners are a better pump track design... than oval/180 ends.... my friends and i built this 90 at a local park to be able to whip/jump out of. it has a roughly 7 foot radius.









the other thing that people don't put enough design-thought into is rollers. if you really want a line of rollers to be high speed, they need to be big (so a lot of bike-wheelbase fits on them) and spaced well far apart. 13-17 feet (depending). this cement roller has a great shape. pumpable tranny at the bottom, floaty/long across the top:









these back to back M180s look well done (although I haven't ridden there). reasonably tight. steep/transitioned faces....









check out this epic thread:
*pump tracks*
https://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217062


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## dirtwrx (Aug 3, 2011)

Thanks for the link, and nice pics.


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