# Making progress on my pump track...



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

Late last fall I started on a pump track but ran out of good weather and didn't get much done on it... fast forward to spring of 2007 and I'm finally making some headway..

Last year I didn't really know what I was doing so I basically made an oval with 2 big berms and a couple rollers. Bad idea. My berms had WAY too large of a radius (about 15' ) and I had to pedal thru them to maintain speed. Not good, considering this was supposed to be a pump track where pedaling is minimal. So, this year I've torn out a few of the berms and re-worked the shape of the track into more of an "L" shape instead of an oval. This weekend I made some progress on a new section that features a couple tighter AND faster berms with a bunch of rollers thrown in to maintain speed.

Next weekend I'm having more dirt delivered so I can make the berms TALLER and hopefully finish the rest of the track. Here are some pics...

*The view from the back edge of the track...*









*Here's the section I worked on this weekend.... takes a lot of riding, digging, watering, and packing to make sure the flow works, the rollers are spaced correctly, and the berms large enough...*









*Rider view of the section shown above... I need to make both berms TALLER and packed more firmly so I can maintain more speed... I thought I dislocated my shoulder when I blew thru the top of the second berm and abruptly face planted...*









*This berm has been a pain in the a$$ to get right. And its still not quite right. I'm hauling azz into this thing so I need to make it taller and pack it a lot more firmly....*









*Here's the straightaway that comes right after the berm shown above.. It currently has 6 rollers spaced about 7.5 feet apart...at the end there will be a sharp left hander leading to another straightaway with more rollers... *









More to come as I make more progress. Once I finish the basic "L" shaped layout I plan to add more sections so I can ride multiple layouts. Not sure how long its going to take to accomplish all of that because this is a pretty time consuming process AND it involves a tone of dirt, which I will need to have delivered. Stay tuned...


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

Oh, here's the bike I'm using. Only changes I've made since this pic was taken.... ditched the seat and seat post shown, replacing with MacNeil SL seat and pivotal seatpost. Bike works great for this type of riding. :thumbsup:


----------



## paintballeerXC (Jun 9, 2005)

is the 7.5 from the top of rollers or bottom?, nice track by the way


----------



## Vinny A (Oct 8, 2006)

Dude thats really sweet, good work.

How did you get all the grass up there? Just put dirt over it? I want to build in my backyard but its covered in grass and I'm not used to having to build over grass/


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

paintballeerXC said:


> is the 7.5 from the top of rollers or bottom?


They are about 7.5 feet apart measuring from the top of each roller. It took me some trial and error to figure out that distance worked right. Its really dependedent on speed though. On a different section of the track I had three rollers spaced 7.5 feet part but I'm carrying more speed there (its slightly downhill) and they ended up being too close together...so I leveled that section and made two rollers approximately 9.5 feet apart. This is why it takes so long to build one of these pump tracks LOL...lots of trial and error.



Vinny A said:


> How did you get all the grass up there? Just put dirt over it? I want to build in my backyard but its covered in grass and I'm not used to having to build over grass


No, I didn't put dirt over grass, although that might work. The whole yard had grass, so I needed to "cut" a path to get things started. My neighbor had rented a Bobcat to do some work on his yard and I borrowed it to "cut" the basic layout of the track. It had some sort of attachment that took off the top 2-3" of grass/soil, which worked great...although the same thing could be accomplished with a roto-tiller.[/QUOTE]


----------



## TXneedmountain (Feb 14, 2007)

Man that's awesome. What you need to do is get some biking friends over and say that your grillin for free and then put them to work lol...lookin nice keep it up


----------



## JoshG (Oct 16, 2004)

Nice looking pump track. Look forward to seeing more when you get the new dirt.


----------



## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

looks like a ton of fun. you should build a line of jumps next to it so you have a complete yard


----------



## jonny290 (May 8, 2007)

Agreed, get some buds and start carving that dirt for real.

Just have a 'track day' and charge one wheelbarrow of dirt moved per run  you'll have waist high berms in no time and people will have fun testing the track as it changes


----------



## xKREDx (Aug 8, 2006)

Looks good.


----------



## scabrider (Oct 3, 2004)

taller rollers and add some rollable jump like things. check out our track in this thread, there are more pics as you scroll down the page...
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=282170


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

scabrider said:


> taller rollers and add some rollable jump like things. check out our track in this thread, there are more pics as you scroll down the page...
> http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=282170


Patience grasshopper, I'm limited by two things.. time and dirt. I pretty much can only work on it on weekends so time is a factor, plus I can't go digging up the yard and therefore need to buy dirt and have it delivered. Good news is, I'm having 8 yards of topsoil delivered tommorrow :thumbsup:

Hopefully the weather holds out so I get some quality work and ride time over the next couple days and weeks....


----------



## hardway (Jun 3, 2006)

nice work! i've started one at my house too, but I don't have as much room as you. just 2 banked turns, a set of 2 rollers and one small table top, all arranged in an oval. lot's of work!


----------



## cummings (May 21, 2005)

that looks great. just wondering, where did you find a macneil post that isnt 25.4"?


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

cummings said:


> that looks great. just wondering, where did you find a macneil post that isnt 25.4"?


I got a 27.2mm post from DansComp... http://www.danscomp.com/472075.php?cat=PARTS

And then bought a seatpost shim from Jenson USA to make it fit my Cowan frame.


----------



## austinb89 (Nov 6, 2004)

looks fun man, make some dirt jumps while u still have ur neighbors tractor!


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

austinb89 said:


> looks fun man, make some dirt jumps while u still have ur neighbors tractor!


Probably won't be building many dirt jumps. I'm too old for that LOL. Seriously though, I run my own business and therefore need to minimize the likelihood of injury. I'd probably kill my self DJ'ing and my financial situation would then take a nasty hit. Gotta minimize the risk with some of these biking activities I partake in LOL. I will probably build a few sections of that track that will allow me to double some of the rollers once I get my speed up though.

By the way, I had 9 yards of topsoil delivered today.... should be a fun weekend :thumbsup:


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

Another weekend of pump track work complete. Worked Saturday and most of today moving about 10 yards of topsoil. If you compare the photos below to the ones I posted above (from last weekend) you'll notice how much taller the berms are now. I also added a few more rollers. The basic layout is now complete, just waiting for it to dry so I can ride on it. Over the next few weeks I'll be getting more topsoil so I can add some new sections inside the main loop. Here are a few pics...

*Front view looking back from the house...the section on the far right is the only thing remaining from last years attempt at a pump track. I need to add quite a bit more dirt to get the berms up higher so I can really rip thru there...*









*Rear view looking toward the house...*









*My favorite section...just after the first berm, its slightly down hill so you go thru the two small rollers pretty fast before hitting the next berm...*









*I've put a ton of work into this berm....added quite a bit more dirt to build it up taller and also watered and packed it a lot to try and get it hard. Earlier today I blew thru the top of it again and augered my shoulder into the ground...guess it wasn't packed good enough LOL...*









*Right after the berm above there are five rollers that lead to a sharp left hander. This section is tough because its slighty uphill and its taking me some time to get the pump down just right to maintain speed...*









*Another view from the rear of the track...there is a crapload of dirt in that berm...and I might have to add more...*









*Obligatory shot of the Cowan...*









Thats all for now... possibly more next weekend...


----------



## Low-Key (Sep 23, 2005)

looking good!  I rented one of those gas power tampers, it makes a huge difference


----------



## paintballeerXC (Jun 9, 2005)

looking good, im liking it


----------



## cummings (May 21, 2005)

that is a work of art. how much has all the dirt costed you total? And do you think you'll have any problems with grass sprouting up through the dirt? I did last time i tried a little dirt project. maybe I'll just soak the dirt in a weed killer spray


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

cummings said:


> that is a work of art. how much has all the dirt costed you total? And do you think you'll have any problems with grass sprouting up through the dirt? I did last time i tried a little dirt project. maybe I'll just soak the dirt in a weed killer spray


Thanks. I was trying to figure this out yesterday. I just had around 9-10 yards of topsoil delivered...that was $235. Last year I had about 15 yards delivered, so the grand total is probably around $600-700. I figure I'm about halfway done LOL.

As for grass coming thru...it does eventually start to grow. I busted out the RoundUp today and sprayed quite a bit. The more I ride on it, the less grass will grow, although the backside of all the berms tends to sprout grass in a matter of days.


----------



## Vinny A (Oct 8, 2006)

Its actually good if the backsides of the berms get grassy, the roots from the grass holds them together better 

Looks really good though, those berms are perfect!


----------



## JoshG (Oct 16, 2004)

GotMojo: What is the radius on the big berm around the tree? New work looks good.


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

JoshG said:


> GotMojo: What is the radius on the big berm around the tree? New work looks good.


Its right around 10 feet. Very fast too :thumbsup:


----------



## the_godfather (Jan 19, 2007)

thats looking pretty good now - that big berm looks perfect!


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

the_godfather said:


> thats looking pretty good now - that big berm looks perfect!


Its getting there. I would still like it to be a little taller though. I'm no expert on these pump tracks, but in my opinion the faster the berm is, the taller and "thicker" it needs to be....so you can rail around it without fear of going over the top of it. Two weekends in a row I've gone a little too high (where the dirt is weakest) and the my front wheel went right thru. Not fun :madman:

Here's a comparison shot of the same berm, before and after...

_*Last weekend it looked like this...*_









*After this past weekend it looks like this...*


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

This is the section that is giving me the most problems. There are 5 small rollers (one is not shown in photo) just after that large berm shown in some of the other photos. Its slightly uphill on this section so its very hard to maintain momentum.

I am wondering if instead of 5 small rollers spaced 7.5 feet apart, if I should maybe have 3 larger ones that are spaced farther apart? Any thoughts?


----------



## Low-Key (Sep 23, 2005)

awesome


----------



## 9.8m/s/s (Sep 26, 2005)

GotMojo? said:


> This is the section that is giving me the most problems. There are 5 small rollers (one is not shown in photo) just after that large berm shown in some of the other photos. Its slightly uphill on this section so its very hard to maintain momentum.
> 
> I am wondering if instead of 5 small rollers spaced 7.5 feet apart, if I should maybe have 3 larger ones that are spaced farther apart? Any thoughts?


Make the five into three, but make each of the three into doubles (M shaped- up, 1/3 of the way down, up, down). This will take a bunch of dirt, but it will allow you to manuel the tops of them, then slam the bike down on the backside for an insane pump that should be enough to comfortably get up the hill. It's the solution we used and it works great and also forces people to bring another skill to the table to be able to flow it.


----------



## derfernerf (Jun 25, 2006)

OT question....are you married? i could NEVER see a wife letting their husband do this . your taking up the whole back yard


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

derfernerf said:


> OT question....are you married? i could NEVER see a wife letting their husband do this . your taking up the whole back yard


Nope, not married. And my bike addiction is probably part of the reason LOL. I need to find a chick thats into bikes, but they are hard to find.

Most of my friends are non bikers and they just don't "get it". When I show them pictures of this pump track their eyes glaze over and they say I need to grow up he he. Maybe I do need to grow up, but I think its a blast playing in the dirt, building berms and rollers, then riding it afterwards.


----------



## TXneedmountain (Feb 14, 2007)

Haha man who cares what they think you got an insane pump track and will be so much more fit from all the building and riding...


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

Whoooo freakin whoooooo! I got a chance to ride for about an hour tonight. The berms are packing in nicely, although still a little soft in spots, especially the top edges. The large berm around the tree is FAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSTTTTT. I'm starting to carry some pretty good speed and can get a little air off the roller at the exit of the berm....eventually that might be a great spot for a double since the exit speed is really high.

I think the straightaway with the 5 small rollers needs some work. I emailed Lee at LeeLikesBikes.com and he recommends a 1:10 ratio for rollers, meaning if the rollers are a foot tall, space them 10 feet apart. That being said, I think I'm going to remove 2 of the rollers and build the other 3 up a little and see how that works.

Anyways, just thought I'd give a quick update. I'm going to have another 5-10 yards of topsoil delivered so I can start adding a few transitions inside the main loop. Stay tuned...


----------



## ZoSoSwiM (Dec 2, 2005)

damn dude thats sweet. I'd love to ride that! I'm actually in the process of building a small pump track too. It's a lot smaller than that but it's fun. I've put a few hours into so far. It'll be interesting to see how it comes alone. Good luck with yours!!!


----------



## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

lookin wayy good man, keep it up! having that in the back will surely be hours and hours of fun.


----------



## 9.8m/s/s (Sep 26, 2005)

GotMojo? said:


> Oh, here's the bike I'm using. Only changes I've made since this pic was taken.... ditched the seat and seat post shown, replacing with MacNeil SL seat and pivotal seatpost. Bike works great for this type of riding. :thumbsup:


Don't know how much you ask of this bike bike outside of the pump track, but a set of 2.1-ish street slicks will change your life. Pump them up around 45-50 psi and you will be 25% faster. Don't worry about grip, pump tracks are all about g-forces, you could run teflon on your berms and still stick fine as long as you get the right lean angle, which is another benefit. If you really stop to think about what your doing this will make more and more sense. At the moment you're spending a ton of time watering and tamping your berms to make them smooth and hard as concrete, then your running a 400 pound grater over them (you + bike= 200ish x 2g's).

In addition, the dust that forms on the track from the knobbies digging in will go away, and the track will have less rutts and be a lot smoother as it dries out.

Anyway, looks like a lot of fun.


----------



## ontario_bike (Dec 29, 2006)

SICK. who gives what ur friends say that is so sweet. so many ppl would love to have that and ride it!


----------



## teamhart2 (Apr 5, 2006)

hey, lookin good there, not sure what your budget looks like or anything, and for people wondering about costs for building this, if your rippin up your backyard you probably dont wanna to too much shoveling and moving of the dirt there, but check out local classifieds and maybe ask around some excavating companies, theres always people looking to get rid of fill, and lots of times theyll deliver it for free too. That way you can always pile up big tall birms and stuff, and then add some topsoil on top if its kinda crappy fill. 

Gotmojo, Im thinking youre gonna want a lot more dirt on that big birm if youre really cranking into it, cause the faster you go the higher up on it youre gonna want to be riding. It looks pretty sweet though good luck!


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

teamhart2 said:


> Gotmojo, Im thinking youre gonna want a lot more dirt on that big birm if youre really cranking into it, cause the faster you go the higher up on it youre gonna want to be riding. It looks pretty sweet though good luck!


Yea, I probably will add more dirt eventually. I rode again today and the berm is FAST. I'm still getting the hang of things though so I'm not using all of the berm....yet. This thing has potential to be super fast though.


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

9.8m/s/s said:


> Don't know how much you ask of this bike bike outside of the pump track, but a set of 2.1-ish street slicks will change your life. Pump them up around 45-50 psi and you will be 25% faster. Don't worry about grip, pump tracks are all about g-forces, you could run teflon on your berms and still stick fine as long as you get the right lean angle, which is another benefit. If you really stop to think about what your doing this will make more and more sense. At the moment you're spending a ton of time watering and tamping your berms to make them smooth and hard as concrete, then your running a 400 pound grater over them (you + bike= 200ish x 2g's).
> 
> In addition, the dust that forms on the track from the knobbies digging in will go away, and the track will have less rutts and be a lot smoother as it dries out.
> 
> Anyway, looks like a lot of fun.


Yep, I am going to try some different tires soon. I have a pair of old Bontrager SS Revolt tires that were on my XC bike that I might try. They have a near-slick center section with a few smaller knobs on the sides for cornering grip. Last I remember it was a real ***** to change tires with these Azonic Outlaw rims though, so I haven't been in any hurry to do it. I might change over this weekend. Should definitely roll better with those tires....and do less damage to the track!


----------



## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

Don't be afraid to lean even more into the turn, you can lean as far as your bike no problem. Very nice pump track, I'd pay to ride it.


----------



## opjones (Apr 11, 2007)

Gotmojo, your stuff looks really nice!! Give us a video of you once you start railing the whole thing.


----------



## Sisco_28601 (Mar 16, 2007)

nice job dude! now all you need is a buddy to take some action shots of you on that bad a$$ burm of yours! :thumbsup:

oops... sorry, I didn't see the last pics posted...


----------



## biker kid (Jan 18, 2007)

i started building a rythm section in my back next to some dirt jumps i built but there not anywhere near as good as those


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

OK, the main loop is pretty much dialed now and I've been riding it a couple times a week for the past month or so. When I first started I could barely get in 2 laps, now I'm up to about 5 laps before my ticker is redlined and I have to recover for a minute or two. Lap time is about 14-15 seconds depending on how dry and packed the surface is. I took some crappy video and posted them below....sure seems slower in the video than when I'm riding it. But what a freakin blast... I'm hooked!

I'm having more dirt delivered this week so I can add a couple transitions inside the main loop.

*Two laps on the Kona...*





*Two laps on the DK Dayton...*


----------



## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

GotMojo? said:


> OK, the main loop is pretty much dialed now and I've been riding it a couple times a week for the past month or so. When I first started I could barely get in 2 laps, now I'm up to about 5 laps before my ticker is redlined and I have to recover for a minute or two. Lap time is about 14-15 seconds depending on how dry and packed the surface is. I took some crappy video and posted them below....sure seems slower in the video than when I'm riding it. But what a freakin blast... I'm hooked!
> 
> I'm having more dirt delivered this week so I can add a couple transitions inside the main loop.
> 
> ...


Very nice! Exagerate those pumps even more and you'll reach light speed!:thumbsup:


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

snaky69 said:


> Very nice! Exagerate those pumps even more and you'll reach light speed!:thumbsup:


Yup. These videos were shot after I'd been riding for an hour or so and I was beat. I definitely notice a difference in my speed (and lap times) based on how tired I am. When I first start out I can really rip, but the longer I ride the more I start to feel it in my arms and legs, and even my timing is thrown off. Just as an example, when I go for 5 laps, by that 5th lap my line is off and my pump "timing" is off, so the lap isn't near as pretty (or fast) as my 1st lap.

I'm sure 3-4 months from now I'll be doing 20 laps and wondering what the big deal was about being able to do 5 laps. But this 39 year old body is not appreciating me doing this to it LOL.


----------



## 9.8m/s/s (Sep 26, 2005)

Good stuff man. Remember- bigger, shorter bumps make for more speed. Digging down in between the bumps even 6 inches would change the life of the track.


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

9.8m/s/s said:


> Good stuff man. Remember- bigger, shorter bumps make for more speed. Digging down in between the bumps even 6 inches would change the life of the track.


Actually, I think I'm OK with the speeds I'm getting. As I improve my technique (and my fitness), I'm sure I will get faster. I have already noticed a huge difference since the first day I started riding... the section of the track just after the berm around the tree is slightly uphill and at first I wasn't able to keep enough momentum up to get to the end and had to throw in a pedal stroke to keep me going, but I no longer need to do that.

Oh, and I thought about digging down a couple inches in between rollers, but sometimes we get a lot of rain and those areas would just hold water. We'll see though, I might just try that.


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

Here's a couple interesting views of the track. I set the camera down on a couple of the rollers and tops of the berms...


----------



## TXneedmountain (Feb 14, 2007)

awesome pump track man


----------



## ZoSoSwiM (Dec 2, 2005)

Awesome track! Looks like a lot of fun!

Well. I don't have a video camera and I'm not going to make a while thread devoted to my pump track since I just posted about it on another forum.. but here it my post from Bikemag.com

http://forum.bikemag.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=140811&an=0&page=0#Post140811


----------



## dirtyharry (Jun 27, 2006)

this may sound dumb, but what is so great about a pump track?


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

dirtyharry said:


> this may sound dumb, but what is so great about a pump track?


For me its the challenge of building up the endurance and proper technique to do as many laps as I can. It may look easy in those videos, but its definitely not easy to keep your momentum up. My goal is to be able to do about 20 laps by the end of the summer. I'm also adding some new sections within the main loop so I don't get bored with going round and round in circles.

I'm in my late 30's and run my own business, so frankly I cannot afford to take part in DJ and Park riding because of the potential for injury. A pump track looked like something that would be a lot fun, but at the same time be a relatively safe activity. And so far it has been... I've had a few crashes, but the speeds are low enough where I get back up and keep riding.

I don't think pump tracks are for everybody, especially if you are into the high adrenaline (and risk) of dirt jumping or park riding, but IMHO they are a blast.


----------



## dirtyharry (Jun 27, 2006)

actually, that sounds like my kinda activity, although I'd have to put some jumps in there . . . you can definitely see the flow in semi-decent to really good pump track riders, but I've never done it so it seems like it might get boring . . . 

I like going fast and flowy, and generally most real jumps scare the sh!t outta me now . . .


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

dirtyharry said:


> actually, that sounds like my kinda activity, although I'd have to put some jumps in there . . . you can definitely see the flow in semi-decent to really good pump track riders, but I've never done it so it seems like it might get boring . . .
> 
> I like going fast and flowy, and generally most real jumps scare the sh!t outta me now . . .


You can definitely get quite a bit of speed...just search You Tube for some of Mark Wiers pump track riding...he hauls ass.

I'm not that good yet, but have already noticed I'm getting faster. Give me a couple months LOL. Its all about technique and endurance...ya gotta have both to be good at this type of riding. And if you design your pump track correctly, you can get some nice flow going.


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

Here's another video, from a slightly different angle outside of the track..

Part of the fun is building the track itself. I had another 5 yards of topsoil delivered today and have plans for two new berms and a few new rollers inside the main loop. Thats what I'll be working on this weekend. The neighbors think I am a bit nuts LOL. But they are both a bit overweight and into more sedentary activities like gardening...nothing wrong with that, but I like something with a little more of an adrenalin rush.


----------



## ecgravity (Jul 17, 2006)

Are you counter-steering on those berms? If you counter-steer just a small bit, like on a motorcycle, you can get a ton more grip and maintain a ton more speed. Just a thought, and it's something fun to work on.


----------



## ZoSoSwiM (Dec 2, 2005)

To me.. pumptracks help you learn about the feeling of momentum on a bike. If you begin to stall you really notice it. The pumptrack forces you to learn how to push your bike in order to keep moving. Translate this to trail and you learn how to gain speed over roots, rocks, and bumps.

I agree 100% that you gain endurance from the pump track. My legs are sore as hell after a few min on my track. And I'm on a fairly small track! Talk about a quad workout!!


----------



## xcurtisx (May 29, 2007)

Good work brother - I def would put some jumps in there though.
Sick.


----------



## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

xcurtisx said:


> Good work brother - I def would put some jumps in there though.
> Sick.


I got to try a pump track yesterday and it's definitely harder than it looks, very very fun though!


----------



## bbrz4 (Jun 12, 2007)

a really good idea:
make a run up to the start of the track so oyou start with a lot of speed


----------



## Pantelis (Apr 4, 2006)

Those berms looks really nice. I wish my dad was into biking that like!


----------



## Jeff43 (May 7, 2007)

You are my hero. Great work and dedication to making your ideas a reality. 

I would need a HUGE backyard for my wife to let me build something like this in a way, way back corner, right next to the tree house i'd be forced to sleep in.

Enjoy it!


----------



## -.---.- (Jun 15, 2007)

If my parents found that I made something like THAT in my backyard they would kill me...literally. Your lucky to be able to have that and ride it whenever you want...:thumbsup:


----------



## TXneedmountain (Feb 14, 2007)

once again awesome track man keep up the good work.


----------



## GotMojo? (Mar 25, 2004)

I've only been able to ride 2-3 times a week lately but did get a chance to add a couple transitions inside the main loop this past weekend so now I have about 3 different routes I can take instead of just the 1 route around the main loop.

The frustrating part for me is getting the berms packed down. I've watched a few pump track videos on YouTube and everybodys berms seem to be hard as concrete and they can rip right around them. My berms, on the other hand, keep getting ripped up and are always loose. Part of the problem is we haven't had any rain for a couple weeks and I haven't had much time to water the track. But the main berm around the tree is so frustrating because I have to be very careful that my front end doesn't wash out on me....thats how loose the dirt gets.

Any ideas? Do I just need to start religiously watering the track after every ride? Problem with that is, it usually takes a day or more to dry out so I can't ride on it for awhile.


----------



## Pantelis (Apr 4, 2006)

I think you should just try to pack them down harder. I forget if water helps, where you put water then you pack it down, i'm not sure though. Sorry if i'm not helping.


----------



## Vinny A (Oct 8, 2006)

Pantelis no offense dude but you have been riding for 5 days, I think you are the one who needs to take advice not give it. And yes water does help pack the dirt down. Mixing water and something like calcium or wood glue and putting it in a sprayer also helps alot.


----------



## TXneedmountain (Feb 14, 2007)

I have also read that using kitty litter helps make it hard you could try that if you want.


----------



## Pantelis (Apr 4, 2006)

Vinny A said:


> Pantelis no offense dude but you have been riding for 5 days, I think you are the one who needs to take advice not give it. And yes water does help pack the dirt down. Mixing water and something like calcium or wood glue and putting it in a sprayer also helps alot.


I know, but i'm trying to help with all the knowledge i know of this. One of my friends who's been biking for his whole life told me, so i thought that would probably work.


----------

