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How to make a sturdy dirt jump
Planning
Ok so you are all keen to start building. But before you just get the old shovels going and start digging randomly, I would recommend strongly that you do some planning. First you have to find a spot. Now there are several elements that make a spot good and not good. Here are a few:
1) Type of soil. Try for good quality soil. Not sand but soil that will pack down well. That is an important part of getting good jumps.
2) Location. This is a tough one for a lot of people. Most people don't have enough room on their own land to build a good set of jumps. So if its not your land basically it has to be on other people land. This brings a lot of issues with it. If you build it on other people land, be prepared to have them dropped with a bulldozer at any time. Especially if you haven't asked prior permission. That is why it is a good idea to ask before you build. It is not usually that they don't want you to have fun but that they don't want to get sued if you break your arm or something. Try and build them in an area that is away from the prying eyes people who might want to wreak them for fun.
3) Space. You want a place that will allow you to have a good starting run and be able to build your trails so that the jumps will link as the area grows. You also want a pretty much flat area.
Ok so now you have found a spot. Time to plan out where you want everything to go. Make sure you think ahead. Don't just do things randomly. Remember that hopefully later on you will be getting bigger and better jumps that will link together for one smooth run with different options. This is really important.
Preparation
Ok so you have a spot, and have planned where you want everything to go. Now you need to get together the stuff you will need. This is the type of gear you will need before you begin:
Shovels, at least one flat and one pointy.
A wheelbarrow preferably.
Good strong friends.
Drinks.
How To Build Dirt Jumps: Stage One
Ok. So you have everything you need. You have the spot and you have planned where you want it to go. Now time for the hard work. I will discuss basically one double, so you will just need to repeat this process over and over depending how many jumps you want and stuff.
Now the double is made up of two jumps. The launch jump, and the landing jump. Both are as equally important as each other. So you will need to pile up two mounds of dirt. One for each jump. You will need to get dirt from somewhere. These are a few options:
1) Get if from somewhere else and bring it to your spot in a trailer or truck or something.
2) Get it from around the jump and move it to your spot.
3) Dig it out of a hole in between your two jumps. Or else dig out before your jump in a way so that it is like a little roller coaster. Make it smooth and long, so you can actually pump. If you don't know what I mean, then just forget about it and get the dirt from somewhere else.
So now you should have enough dirt available. Remember to place the dirt roughly where you want it. For a two foot high jump, you will probably want the mounds about 8 feet apart. Remember you will need to pile a lot of dirt, as you will be packing these babies down. It is a good idea to build kind of small jumps at first if you are just starting out. Another tip, if you want to save some work, you can put stuff underneath the jumps to fill out the jump. For example, a large pipe or something like that. Oh yeah, remember to use good soil for the landing side without any rocks in it cos they hurt like hell when you land on it.
How To Build Dirt Jumps: Stage Two
So you now have some big mounds of dirt sitting in front of you. Good work. Now for the more scientific bit.
This is kind of hard to describe. But you want a launch jump that has a transition similar to a ramp. So it needs to be nice and smooth curving upwards to ward vertical.So you can see they need to be pretty steep. This is a bit daunting at first but it is the best way to get the amount of air you need to do tricks. In a way it is actually safer. So what you need to do now is to start shaping you jumps into a nice curve. So get the spade with a flat head and start smoothing it down the face of the mound of dirt you just piled. Once you have something that looks good, you need to start packing it down. Use whatever to pack the dirt. Like your feet or bikes or roll you fat friend around on it.
This is kind of what the face should look like.
See how packed in the dirt is! It is like concrete. That is what you need to aim for.
Ok so now you should have your launch jump sorted out. Now you need to shape your landing jump. This is a little bit easier. You just need to make it so it has a lot slacker transition that the launch one. Make it nice and wide so when you get a bit loose you have a good space to land safely on. Pack this down well too. It doesn't have to be quite as hard as the launch one. If you want you can cover it with old carpet and it helps make it kind of soft but still holds together well without ripping it up if you land weird on it.
So now you have shaped everything, and packed it well. There is still a final prep process you need to follow.
How To Build Dirt Jumps: Final Preparation
It is always hard to not just start riding when you have packed it down shaped your jumps. But it is important to make them rock hard. Otherwise you grove them and they will fall apart really quick. The secret to making hard jumps is water. You need to get a hose and spray them down. If you can't get a hose to them then you will have to wait till it rains. Just keep packing them down.
Remember, don't ride them wet! You will groove the hell out of them.
So now you have one jump. Keep building them so the join up. Make them close enough together so the momentum from the earlier ones will give you enough speed for the next couple
How To Build Dirt Jumps : Jumping them
I am not going to go into great detail about jumping. It is something you just have to practice and learn by watching other people. But here are a few general things regarding jumping the trails you have just built. If you can already ride well, then you can ignore this section.
The Run Up
Remember to get lots of speed going into the jump. Often it will have to carry you over many of the ones you have built behind your first one. Don't over cook it. Make sure the speed will carry you exactly to the landing jumps transition. Don't land on the flat after the jump. Don't land on the landing jumps lip. You will hang and crash.
The Launch
Speed is king. If you have enough speed, then you won't have to pull up that much. Pulling up hard makes you kind of go off course as you often pull up unevenly. So use your speed and the angle of the jump to take off. Pull up a bit as well.
In the Air
Relax. Don't panic. Don't close your eyes. Try and do something with your bike in the air. It is easier I reckon to move your bike around in the air than to keep it really still. It stops you landing crooked I think. So do a little x-up or table top or something.
Once you are on your way down, point the front of the bike into the transition of the landing jump so that you land on both wheels or the front a little first.
Once you get the basics wired then move on to doing tricks and getting height.
The Landing
Land right in the middle of the landing jumps transition. It is the smoothest part. Land with the next jump in mind. So make sure you are pointing the right direction for the next jump you are doing.
That is about it really. I hope you have learned something. If you have found this useful then why not recommend this to a friend.
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