# Built a bike ramp / teeter totter last night



## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

Had an old workbench from the garage that I'd recently disassembled and figured I'd put some of the parts to better use -- here's what I came up with for our 3 year old to play with on his balance bike (admittedly it was pretty fun on my 29er as well):






For those interested in the construction:

- Started with a bench top that was just a piece of plywood with a 2x4 frame underneath

- For the base I took 2 4x4 beams from the bench legs, screwed in 2 2x4's across them and then screwed another 4x4 across those

- Added a vertical 2x4 at the very middle of the top and 2x8's extending up from the middle beam on the base to keep it captive as it moves back and forth (allows rocking, but prevents both left / right movement and forward / back movement)

- Cut 2 more pieces of scrap plywood to extend the ramp on each side enough to reach the ground (since the overlap was slightly different on each side, the balance is uneven enough that it returns back to it's original position after each tilt)


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Ha, my kids love this stuff. We have a bunch of ramps, skinnys, 2x4, plywood stuff, tables etc. Many are small enough for my 6yo and his buddies to move around so they end up making their own improvised skate park for bikes or scooters. It's like Legos.

We watch old Jackson Goldstone YouTube stuff and that little dude was doing crazy stuff just on his strider bike and homemade stuff like this. Pretty cool. Nice work there Dad


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## Lemonaid (May 13, 2013)

Cool!


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## rabitoblanco (Feb 21, 2017)

TimTucker said:


> Had an old workbench from the garage that I'd recently disassembled and figured I'd put some of the parts to better use


That is so great! I love the baby chatter-- haha, I forget how much clearer kids' speech gets between 3 and 5.5!

@svinyard I'd love to see what you've done! I've got some stuff laying out front as well-- maybe we should start a thread of "home obstacles" ?


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

rabitoblanco said:


> That is so great! I love the baby chatter-- haha, I forget how much clearer kids' speech gets between 3 and 5.5!
> 
> @svinyard I'd love to see what you've done! I've got some stuff laying out front as well-- maybe we should start a thread of "home obstacles" ?


That's a great idea, I'll have to dig up some pics of our training stuff. Some is built and some is natural or built by some real trail builders in the neighborhood. If you build it all the other kids will show up. We just met 2 other kids and family's when I found their kids riding with my 6yo. They had spread the Ramps out about 5ft. Other kids just push your kid so much better. I'll have to find pics of our other stuff. There is a bunch of rock drops and legit stuff other trail builders have made in the area too. I walked out and saw them spreading the ramps out and thought I'd grab a pic for Grandma and the boy.


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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

*Added some more ramps*






First test of the extension I build for our Landwave ramps with my 3.5yo riding (his 1.5yo brother is the one getting excited in the background).

After we did a few test runs I moved the second set of ramps a bit closer to allow pumping through.

Build in progress:
Notches in the first plank and ends of each side to lock in with the Landwave ramps:








Putting the planks in place -- each is supported by 2x3 uprights with a 2x3 support perpendicular to the plank:















Making sure everything sturdy:








Ready to drop in place:








Lessons learned:
- Even though the extra set of ramps were only $50 used, with the extra effort it took to add in the locking mechanism I might have been better off to just build the whole thing out of wood.

- The transition between ramps is slightly higher than I'd intended, since I didn't account for how much more the plastic ramps would sink into the grass vs. 2x4's.

- The incline is a little higher than I'd planned -- laying things out some thin scraps of planks sideways seemed like a good idea for playing around with the angles for the design, but it just didn't look as steep on its side as it does when finished.


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

We've been building too - lots of fun recycling the old material from around the yard - and scouring craigslist for fun props


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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

A few more projects for the weekend:

Extended the rollers:








Added a new hill to conquer. Mixed up the difficulty a little from what I originally had in mind (20° instead of 20% grade), but it was meant to add some challenge to the loop and we can still get up it so no harm done.








In progress shot of the hill (most of the construction done using kreg jig HD screws):


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Awesome dude!


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## Allsic (Apr 29, 2020)

i got inspired and started my landwave extension...


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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

Allsic said:


> i got inspired and started my landwave extension...


And that was barely the starting point for the project!

You should see a little more of the progress we've made since then (still ongoing):
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=WDcxeXN5WHZWaUhBbjQwZGJYU2RDUFI0Y1NrS0l3


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## Marshfly (Jul 20, 2019)

TimTucker said:


> And that was barely the starting point for the project!
> 
> You should see a little more of the progress we've made since then (still ongoing):
> https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=WDcxeXN5WHZWaUhBbjQwZGJYU2RDUFI0Y1NrS0l3


What the...

That is incredible! Bravo! Do you have a 50amp RV hookup by any chance...


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Lol...seriously?? Wow dude


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

hey it's me ur lost son


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## teamsloan (Jun 13, 2007)

That is an epic backyard bike park! I keep bringing up the idea of creating the neighborhood pump track in our front yard, but it keeps getting shot down. 

...and I love seeing someone else properly using their Grand Caravan SXT!



TimTucker said:


> And that was barely the starting point for the project!
> 
> You should see a little more of the progress we've made since then (still ongoing):
> https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=WDcxeXN5WHZWaUhBbjQwZGJYU2RDUFI0Y1NrS0l3


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## nobody special (Jun 21, 2019)

Wow. We started making some dirt trails in our back yard but nothing to the extent of Mr Tucker. Thats pretty awesome, and a lot of work. Good job.


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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

teamsloan said:


> That is an epic backyard bike park! I keep bringing up the idea of creating the neighborhood pump track in our front yard, but it keeps getting shot down.
> 
> ...and I love seeing someone else properly using their Grand Caravan SXT!


I've been refining the approach for getting materials back since then -- we've since switched to using a dump cart towed with a lawn tractor.

Further improvement was getting a set of flat free tires for the cart: the old ones were pretty worn out and needed to be refilled with air every other load.

For getting the go-ahead from my wife it helped that most of the areas that I wanted to build tended to flood badly in the spring (which also led to the approach of making elevated wood structures). Probably way easier to build if you're not fighting against the terrain.


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## rabitoblanco (Feb 21, 2017)

Dude.... Tim, that's amazing

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## rtc1930 (Jun 3, 2016)

I'm a little envious of Tim's smooth rolling wood track. Our yard's topography would make it challenging but might need add some wood features. We decided to tear up our side yard to stay occupied during quarantine and the kids are loving it so far. Made some tweaks since this photo but still plenty to add.

I just showed them the pics from Tim's yard and now they want a wall ride berm in place of their dirt berm lol.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Nv63tfF6XzZvfnjEA










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## Allsic (Apr 29, 2020)

are you on youtube? instagram?


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## rabitoblanco (Feb 21, 2017)

Speaking of wallride, we've built this over the last few weeks:

I'll be lazy and reuse a video: 














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## CeUnit (Jul 9, 2014)

Wow some great setups in this thread. Would love to have the yard space to build similar setups. Over the years, we've had a few very ghetto ramps, teeter totters, and random wood pieces that we'd drag into the back alley and ride.

The upside is that no two days are the same - we always come up with interesting (and questionably safe) contraptions to ride!


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## rabitoblanco (Feb 21, 2017)

CeUnit;14715871Over the years said:


> I love that launch, ignoring the see-saw altogether!
> 
> I do love that about the daily-made jumps: there are a few pieces of wood/cinder block that are favorites, but it's almost always s new challenge, as we're blocking part of the road...
> 
> ...


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## trimess (Oct 10, 2008)

Tim, that is incredible! Do you work for a lumber company??? WOW

We've built a small trail loop in one of our side yards. I'm trying to add to it a little each weekend, but am running into limited lumber at this point. 

Has anyone built a teeter out of a log as the fulcrum? I've got a pine log (about 16-18 inches diameter) that I split in two that I think would work well. Just need to get a 2x8 that is about 10-12 feet long and screw it into the flat part of the log.


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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

I actually work in IT, so not at all lumber or building related!

I figure what we've spent isn't that different from what families here pay for something like a big summer trip to Whistler, except we get to ride on what we build all year long.

The rocks and wood chips at least have been free (Craigslist / FB Marketplace / getchipdrop.com)


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## Darth Lefty (Sep 29, 2014)

not so much going on here

#coronaramp


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## nwa bike dad (Apr 21, 2018)

TimTucker said:


> I actually work in IT, so not at all lumber or building related!
> 
> I figure what we've spent isn't that different from what families here pay for something like a big summer trip to Whistler, except we get to ride on what we build all year long.
> 
> The rocks and wood chips at least have been free (Craigslist / FB Marketplace / getchipdrop.com)


So hypothetically, what does it cost for you to come here and replicate that!?!?!? That is amazing!


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## rtc1930 (Jun 3, 2016)

Still piecing together the video of the track we built in our yard but this is the jump line in the neighborhood built by some local kids over the years. My kids beg to go here practically daily now.






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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

Just put up a video of current state for our backyard bike park:





Not sure what we'll do this year, since lumber prices look like they're going to be through the roof again.


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Tim, you build some great stuff with talent...and are an IT guy. You have the chops to get a community bike park or three built. You might consider it! You could find some city\county space, work with a trails org or yourself, 3D model it in SketchUp to sell it\fund raise, and get the thing built. These things are popping up more and more these days and if you think about it...so often kids don't have a fun place to ride a bike. Especially if they don't have a trail system and a fancy bike. If it ever turns into something you are stoked on, I have city govt. references.


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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

svinyard said:


> Tim, you build some great stuff with talent...and are an IT guy. You have the chops to get a community bike park or three built. You might consider it! You could find some city\county space, work with a trails org or yourself, 3D model it in SketchUp to sell it\fund raise, and get the thing built. These things are popping up more and more these days and if you think about it...so often kids don't have a fun place to ride a bike. Especially if they don't have a trail system and a fancy bike. If it ever turns into something you are stoked on, I have city govt. references.


It's definitely been a learning experience -- there's a big difference in some of the sections that I built early on vs. parts that I've rebuilt after riding.

We have kind of a divide in the area -- better maintained trails in upper middle class areas that have started a program to build more technical features & lower income areas that don't have much undeveloped land, but have started to see concrete skatepark type stuff pop up that has higher upfront costs, but needs less to maintain.

The city that we're in is somewhere in the middle, but they just finished with the 5 year plan for parks & rec and are working right now on plans for a skatepark / pump track. I've exchanged a few emails with the parks & rec director with ideas / feedback and the plans look pretty amazing -- assuming that they get the go-ahead from the mayor / city council, it'll be the biggest skatepark in the state.


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