How to build a DH track

Newman06

Likes Bikes
cheers been thinkn bout making a track out the back of my place for a while and thanks to that i might now be able to make a good one... all that info is really helpfull cheers...
 

KDP-13

Squid
how often should jumps be in the track?

hey mate...

good tips, been following them, i have just started to build a track down my local mountain, we have a rock garden and a few good rocks that will be in the track, we have started to clear and build the traack now, just one question, how many jumps or drops should i put in the track???

the track all together will prob hit the 3 minute mark...

thanx tye
 

krizbike

Likes Dirt
Great advice everyone. I've just finished making my own first track. Anyone in Lismore area (Northern NSW) chat to me if you want to know where it is.

It's pretty damn fast at the moment, and only 300m in length. I'm going to work on it some more to make some slower alternatives (less steep and not requiring the ole brown undies)!

It's been raining for the last few days, so I might go for a walk soon and check it out (yeah, it's real close to my house which is great).

The cool thing is that to get back to the top you just ride up a bitumen road.

Might post some photos when more has been done. :)

cya,
Chris
 

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
Its damn obvious but i'll say it.
If you are building a serious downhill track you need car access for shuttles + machinery access for building so pick a slope that has a good road preferably public road so you dont need to maintain it + minimise turnaround time.
Otherwise maintaining your access is expensive + time consuming.
I KNOW.
 

demo man

Used to be cool.
Hey.
First of all I'd like to say, great article on how to build a downhill track and I am now looking at building one but I read in the 'how to build DJ's' article that it should not be built in a National Park- is this same for Downhill tracks?

cheers,
Alex

ps. Hopefully I haven't made to many grammatical errors, Farker's tend to be strict when it comes to that... :)
You should never build ANYTHING somewhere where you are not allowed to do so.

Doesn't matter if you're building a jump, a drop, a berm, north shore, a house, whatever it is you need to have the appropriate permission first.
 

jamis7

Likes Dirt
i found an empty creek thats been dry for like 5 years at the least is it a good idea to make a track there and have whip jumps up the walls and things?
 

tallongdownhill

Likes Dirt
They are all great ideas i've seen to many tracks shut down because of been to obvious to over ridden etc. I own 300 acres of property now where i have built my own tracks but i have still used all the above points to create my tracks some not to obviuos as i have found some idiots get up there on motorbikes which annoys me :mad: My one q is how can you go about registering tracks for others to enjoy i am looking into insurance. I would like others to also enjoy what my mates and i enjoy:)
 

Hoppalong

Likes Bikes
Enviroment

Hey man, it's great that you are concerned about the enviroment:), i know a track near me, that has just been ripped to shreds by squids making "new sweet lines" and the trees are holding on by strings. But sometimes it's unavoidable to dig out a tree but your right, it should be replanted, and sometimes dirt is the only option for jumps. Great stuff. :D
Hopson
 

Dug

Likes Dirt
A bit of kittylitter around unstable areas can help hold things together.... Fresh I hope!.....:cool:
 

Dymalla

Likes Dirt
Woah,
Thats gonna be good help for the track i plan on building on my mates property =]
haha cheers
 

huge

Likes Bikes
good advise

:)
Seeing as there are alot of questions about how to make downhill tracks, I figured I should give some advice to up and comers thinking of going and building a track.

Before even starting work on the trail you should.

1/ DO NOT make the track obvious as to where it is.

I've seen people just clear out the entrance to the trail on the side of a fire road or main street. That is stupid, you might as well just put up a sign saying here is a trail, come use, destroy or close it. Bush bash into the trail, where the trail head starts (make sure you dont step on any plants or vegatation) Take multiple lines into the trail every time, and if it looks like a trail is starting to appear cover the trail with leaves and put fallen over trees and dead fallen over plants in the way.

2/ Scout your local area, look for the steepest part. Find a really rocky area to start with (doesn't have to be ridable) Once you have found that then try and make the track on or around that area.

3/ Do not make it near peoples homes. this will piss people off because they will have bike riders screaming down near there neighbourhood. This will piss people of and almost certainly get the track found and shut down.

4/ Do not tell people where your trail is, this is fairly obvious. Only tell your close riding buddies/ friends. You don't want lots of little shits coming to your trail, building new lines, making loads of noise and destroying stuff. Word gets around, these kids could tell there parents, who could tell other people, which could also get the track closed down. Make sure you explain thoroughly to your close friends not to tell anyone about the trail.

5/ Do not cut down trees, Don't friggin do it, simple as that!

6/ Try not to use north shore obstacles, use them only where necessary. And if you do use them DO NOT nail them into trees, lay them on rocks or dig the wood into the ground.

6/ Do not leave rubbish lying on the track, take it with you. This does not give the sport of mountain biking a good look if the track does get found. If the track is bombarded by rubbish I can assure you the track won't have a chance of survival. If people have found the track and have left rubbish there, take it with you and dump it in a bin. however, if it is biodegradable make a pit and chuck it in there ,and with other dead trees. you can make a compost heap and put it on other trees or plants.


Starting the track.

1/ Mark out where you want the track with some string. Do Not make indents in trees/ or cut bark off, this can consequently kill the tree if you accidentally ring bark it)

2. Begin clearing out the track, top to bottom. Do not take out plants, only weeds. If it is necessary to take out plants replant them somewhere else. As for the width of the track, Try to keep most of it single track. The only sections that should be wide are the technical sections, i,e rock gardens.

3/ Always, always make b lines around the harder obstacles. If kids do find the tracks, and they cant do it. They will more than likely knock it down because it is too hard for them to do. But if you have a b-line they will hopefully enjoy the track because they are able to hit it, and will want it too stay there so they can enjoy it for years to come.

4/ Decide what you exactly want to be on the track, jumps, rock gardens drops... Plan exactly where you want them, how big, and check for things like run-up, run out and any other obsticles around that could cause a threat. I,e cliffs.Find a spot where they would be easiest to build and have the least effect on the environment.

5/ When building drops and jumps try to use what you can find, Don't go digging mass piles of dirt, see what else you can find. digging hug holes of dirt is not going to help the local ecosystem. try using rocks that are packed together to form a lip or landing. find some rocks (size, depends on how many) Put the main ones at the bottom and then you cant start to form the shape of the jump landing with the rocks, use the flat rocks on the top (where your riding onto or off)


6/ When building rock gardens, make sure these have several lines, that range from exceeding your ability to way below your ability. Make sure that the easier lines are slower. (same reason as mentioned before, if randoms come to your track who suck and cant do it they will want to destroy it) When you start building look for a rocky part on the hill. If there arn't many rocks on one part of the track you have to bring them in. dig them into the ground. Rock gardens do not contain, or should not contain loose rocks, they are extremly dangerous. (note, when moving rocks if there are creatures under them put the rock back ,and be careful of dangerous animals, i.e spiders.)


7/ the only place on the track where you should use alot of dirt should be on the berms. the berms should be made with fallen down trees and rocks heavily packed together. The angle and height of the berm depends on where it is placed. Basically the faster the corner the longer and less curved it should be, whereas a slow corner usually has a not as long berm and more curved. Most berms should be about 50cm high and packed down heavily.

8/ end of trail. the end of the trail should connect to a fireroad of some description. If this is not possible make sure when you walk back upto the top of trail on the trail. So that you dont trample of damage any more vegetation. If your trail does come out at the end of a firetrail make sure that you bush bash onto the fireroad. (don't tread on any plants, trees vegetation)



Thanksyou scratchy for the extra stuff. Very usefull. Cheers
 

crash

Likes Bikes
To the plow king

Thank you for such a detailed analysis of track building. Im impressed with your approach to the environment, as in my experience with certain unnamed areas some people are so wreckless and selfish that its no wonder we get frowned upon by those who make the important decisions, I guess its hard putting an old head on young shoulders.I hope they learn before its too late. because we are fast running out of good options close to home, ie outer east of Melbourne
 

Middo

Likes Bikes
Hi guys,

I spent a couple of years building walking tracks in the bush for the NPWS (and maybe even told a couple of you to take your bikes & bugger off), and I just thought I'd throw my 2 cents worth in.

You should listen to these guys - Plow King and Scratchy - they speak the truth.

From the top: Our soils are often very sandy and thin. Once you disturb the surface it will erode very easily. Rainfall here is often from storms ie lots of it in a short time which tends to get channelled along tracks eroding the s**t out of them if you haven't got the drainage thing sorted. Makes people want to ride around the outside edges, or worse, make more tracks. Makes it really obvious to the landholder/council/neighbours (I won't say NPWS because if you've gotten this far along the thread you won't be building it in a park will you?).

In the middle: The best tracks use/follow the natural landforms, using the rocks and logs where they are. Saves a lot of effort and doesn't disturb too much of the environment or natural habitat, or draw attention to youselves. It would also make it harder for the authorities to demolish jumps/berms if they are natural landforms compared to man made. Don't bring in dirt from somewhere elso to build stuff - it usually has weeds in it which is a massive problem in the bush. Its also better to put a track in through a weedy bit of disturbed land, rather than pristine bush.

At the bottom: Stay out of creeks and waterways. Use rock crossings or a makeshift bridge if you have to. You've all seen a creek crossing full of mud that makes people want to go wider & wider until you end up with a swamp. Not cool. The authorities and landholders don't look kindly on damage to natural waterways.

Lastly, if you do want to go through the whole council facillitation doing things properly way, maybe clean the joint up a bit by getting rid of some old shopping trolleys/rubbish/weeds like lantana, take some pics and prove to the council that you are responsible. It will get you a lot further than just tearing the place up.

Cheers fellas.
 

dcrofty

Eats Squid
Middo, top first post.

Bit off topic but would you be able to let me know what sort of qualifications NPWS want for your job? I'm very keen to take my career in a similar direction myself.
 

Beno1571

Likes Dirt
How do i know that the track wont get found i have done those things with alot of tracks and people go looking.:confused:
 

steffo123

Likes Dirt
My friends and i have been looking around for a while now and we think we have found the perfect spot. it is away from houses and is perfect. but we are not sure if we are to go and get a permit from the council or just build it. can u help us out on this one.:D
 

macca21

Likes Dirt
the main thing to keep in mind when you're building a good dh track is to make sure it has lots of flow to it. eg. dont have a tight corner just as you start to build up some speed. another goo thing to avoid is going straight down a hill that is too steep coz otherwise you'll just end up on the brakes all the way down trying to control your speed! last hint: scout out the area you're gonna build in so that you dont miss any interesting natural obstacles!
 
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