[Redlands R&C]

In ONE week, I will be able to stop living out of hotels and move into our house! So excited, its been over a month and looking forward to having a yard.

So, in addition to the other things we want in the yard (1/3 acre, so not much) we've talked about some "skills building" objects that we'd like to put in. Fairly flat, so clearly no jumps, or big drops, don't think the wife would want a 1/4 or 1/2 pipe...

I am personally leaning towards things involving balance and bike control, like skinny logs, larger rock croppings to learn how to get up and over things better, maybe a very sharp challenging turn thing.
What kind of objects would you put in to help build skills that would translate to MTB riding?:thumbsup:

 

[andy f]

I'd build a pump track.

Learn to ride skinnies by laying boards down on concrete before you build anything off the ground. You'll bust off a derailleur or bend your rear rotor if you start on elevated structures

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

I'd build a pump track.

Learn to ride skinnies by laying boards down on concrete before you build anything off the ground. You'll bust off a derailleur or bend your rear rotor or you'll shoot your eye out kid, if you start on elevated structures

Fixed that for you.

 

[KingOfOrd]

Don't forget a teeter totter....and a dog

 

[MOJO K]

Just get a bunch of pallets and some tires to stack different ways. Kind of old school trials stuff. A pump track is great, but it's a ton of work, and your soil composition can make or break it for durability vs maintenance.

 

[Finch Platte]

Swimming pool with a ramp off the roof. Thousands of videos have proven it is safe.

 

[ForrestJones]

Here's what I'm picturing...
3 rocks dug into the ground, about bench high, in an L pattern, about 8 ft. apart.
Connect them with ladder bridges.
The bridges double as benches, they face a campfire pit.
Tell your wife its a place to entertain friends and neighbors. We know what its really for.

 

[Battery]

Throw in one of these so you can look cool too

 

[tweeder82o]

a 20 step staircase

 

[Redlands R&C]

Here's what I'm picturing...
3 rocks dug into the ground, about bench high, in an L pattern, about 8 ft. apart.
Connect them with ladder bridges.
The bridges double as benches, they face a campfire pit.
Tell your wife its a place to entertain friends and neighbors. We know what its really for.

This is inline with what I was thinking for sure. Plus, this is the wife's idea somewhat because she wants to get better at riding. But definitely something like this, that isn't "obviously" for riding, at least initially until it has a bunch of chainring marks on it.

Just get a bunch of pallets and some tires to stack different ways. Kind of old school trials stuff. A pump track is great, but it's a ton of work, and your soil composition can make or break it for durability vs maintenance.

I sort of had this back in the San Luis Valley when my parents had acreage. It was good, I didn't utilize it enough back then, but it was helpful and not opposed to doing similar again.

 

[sapva]

Skinnies and a variety of boxes in different heights that you can move around. Anything fixed in place gets boring pretty fast.

 

[tweeder82o]

This is inline with what I was thinking for sure. Plus, this is the wife's idea somewhat because she wants to get better at riding. But definitely something like this, that isn't "obviously" for riding, at least initially until it has a bunch of chainring marks on it.

 

[North Coast Joe]

I've got about a 40'x60' rideable area back yard, really pretty tiny. I just couldn't get to the trails enough to satisfy my need to ride. I also needed a place to grow my skills as a noob. This layout has worked well, especially approaches and follow through.

Back there I have split firewood lines and curves to simulate tree roots, a narrow skinny, a wider, but convex skinny, a platform jump, a couple of log jumps, a ramp jump and a small rock garden. All are relatively permanent, but placed so that I can put together a course of 8-12 obstacles in a flowing course.

I ride this thing almost daily, and am surprised the turf has held up so well! Good drainage, I guess. Works for me and has made me better when I'm in the woods!

Although I can use my regular rigid mtb back there, I built a park bike that's handier in a tight area.

 

[Redlands R&C]

View attachment 1261481

That is great!! It looks nice so it isn't obvious to the casual person what it is. Looks like general landscaping! Perfect!

 

[Lone Rager]

^^^ yeah. It just looks like really questionable landscaping. Personally, I wouldn't mind it looking like what it was, and neither would my wife.

 

[Harold]

I have plans to do some stuff in my yard. I've certainly got space and I've also got some elevation to work with.

Other projects have taken precedence, but I've always got my plans in mind. I need to build a rather long retaining wall in the front to stop some erosion and make a steep slope more maintainable, and I intend to incorporate some progressive drops along it, and probably a rock "waterfall" feature of some sort, too. It's going to be a right expensive project so I'll be putting some bike features in there with it and they won't really look like bike features. Down in the more level parts, I'll probably be doing more pump track-ish type rollers and maybe a couple of berms through a wooded area. I'll put some skinnies in, too, and since I've got plenty of downed (and nearly downed) trees, I'll be using those instead of lumber.

 

[sapva]

Throw in one of these so you can look cool too

View attachment 1260983

There is your skinny. Also there is a popular school playground fixture I call the skinny from hell. About 6" wide, 12" off the ground and roughly the same length as your bike's wheelbase, followed by one or more slightly higher ones of the same length. It seems to have no practical use whatsoever in playground context, but will keep you occupied for far too long on a bike.

 

[Yorshka]

My dream would be to have like a small fountain or waterfall in the backyard, this would look amazing, especially during the hot, summer days. Maybe will think a bit more about this, and we will have the possibility, make it real. I already have a special place for it, we will lay around the artificial grass which I ordered from Artificial Grass Manchester | Fake Lawn Suppliers | Installation | Services, and in the middle there will be a small fountain. My kids will like it for sure, and not only them, mine as well, because this is a long time dream which I didn't make yet.

 

[Fleas]

The dual-purpose stuff is great!

The "landscape" stuff is great!

I have a portable teeter-totter (that I can't believe I don't have a handy picture of). It is all of 4 pieces of wood and 15 screws. It rides in both directions. Teeter-to-block/-log/-skinny is fun. Track stand teeter balance is fun. And it makes a nice little jump, too.

-F

PS - the length affects how it rides. This one is juuuust long enough (that's what I had laying around)

 

[Finch Platte]

The dual-purpose stuff is great!

The "landscape" stuff is great!

I have a portable teeter-totter (that I can't believe I don't have a handy picture of). It is all of 4 pieces of wood and 15 screws. It rides in both directions. Teeter-to-block/-log/-skinny is fun. Track stand teeter balance is fun. And it makes a nice little jump, too.

-F

PS - the length affects how it rides. This one is juuuust long enough (that's what I had laying around)
View attachment 1935498

View attachment 1935499

Good lard, the wood used just to make that will cost around $1,000 these days!