skatepark etiquette

Ty

Eats Squid
for all of those who are keen to try a bit of big wheeled action at the park heres some things to note before going. it's in reference to bmx bikes but it all applies to 26 inch bikes aswell.

"stolen from feeblebmx.com"

skatepark etiquette

when you hit the local skatepark for the first time there are some things to remember that will help you avoid any tense moments. normally if you're at a public park you end up riding with other bikers, skaters, rollerbladers and kids on scooters. sometimes the skateboarders will try to give you attitude but don't let them get you down. if the local skaters don't like bmx it might be because the last bmxer there cut them off or was a jerk.

understand the lines: don't just show up and start riding, watch for a while untill you know where people are going. if you understand where people are going when they drop in then you will know if you are going to be in the way. sometimes people like to transfer from ramp to ramp and will have to bail if you drop into the ramp that they want to land on. try to start where everyone else starts, it's a lot easier for people to tell if you are going to take a run if you're not all the way on the other side of the park.

bikes are silent: don't expect skaters to know that you've dropped in, they are used to being able to hear other skaters coming by the sound of their wheels. remember that you have brakes and they do not.

DON'T BE A SNAKE: people riding at the skatepark usually line up somehow and drop in one after another. if you drop in, cutting someone else off or you are taking every second run when there are 8 people trying to ride, you are being a snake. some people will snake by not checking to see who's going to drop in next, they just drop in. these people usually suffer the head on collisions because they didn't see the 200lb skater drop into the other side of the ramp.

DON'T BLOCK A LINE: if you wipe out, don't lay there in the bottom of the bowl for 5 minutes, get out immediately. if you are going to lay there on the flat bottom and make everyone wait for you you'd better have a broken bone or something.

don't ride around in circles: some people will go to the skatepark and instead of stopping in between runs they circle, endlessly carving around waiting to drop in again. it's like they start riding and they never stop. it is next to impossible to tell if someone like that is going to keep carving around or if they are going to suddenly start sprinting towards the same ramp as you.

DON'T STAND THERE DOING NOTHING: if you aren't riding go to the side and sit down somewhere out of the way. there's nothing more annoying that waiting to drop in while two people stand on the funbox talking. a skatepark is for riding and a ledge is not a bench, if you are not riding get out of the way.

KEEP LIQUIDS OFF OF THE RAMPS: this is pretty obvious. if i crash because i rode through a puddle of pepsi i'm going to be pretty pissed off.

Keep your tires clean: if you've never skated then you don't know the pleasure of coming to a dead stop instantly because your wheel hit a pebble or having your wheels wash out because you hit a bunch of sand on a landing. don't be the bmxer that rides in the mud and then tracks all that dirt into the skatepark.

the next time you go to the skatepark try not to be the reason that bikes get banned, if you have respect for other riders then they will have respect for you too.

thanks to: 'dodgy URL'
 
Last edited:

roasted

Likes Bikes and Dirt
finally!

thanks ty, if everyone read and abided by that, parks would be a much better place.


this needs to be stickied.
 
no it doesn't need to be stickied, if people disobey these simple rules apart from a few like learn lines which nobody sticks to the same lines, and little kids are always there with parents for ''happy snaps'' or whatever, if somebody stands in the way or uses a box and a bench the skaters or users of the park are gonna let them know abaout it, its just common sense put into the net really
 

S.

ex offender
Psycodh said:
no it doesn't need to be stickied, if people disobey these simple rules apart from a few like learn lines which nobody sticks to the same lines, and little kids are always there with parents for ''happy snaps'' or whatever, if somebody stands in the way or uses a box and a bench the skaters or users of the park are gonna let them know abaout it, its just common sense put into the net really
Has it occurred to you that not everybody is familiar with this?

STICKY!
 

Joel O

Likes Bikes and Dirt
i hate it when you see a whole gang of little kids on bikes getting in the way at skateparks, they give us a bad name. the worst part is their parents are normally there 2 encouraging them to get in the way then getting all pissed when sum1 tells them 2 move.
 

S.

ex offender
bikefreak said:
i hate it when you see a whole gang of little kids on bikes getting in the way at skateparks, they give us a bad name. the worst part is their parents are normally there 2 encouraging them to get in the way then getting all pissed when sum1 tells them 2 move.
me 2 4 lyfe
 

Bonnet

Likes Dirt
ive cleaned up kids on skateboards before...knock 'em flying, thing is it wasnt my fault. if they drop in on me who is already commited to a line dont expect me to be able to stop in time, i try but its just not posible in some cases. i went off and got them some first aid (both times) i didnt just run away or do nothing, i helped them, but i'll be damned if im taking responsibilty for hitting them. this article works both ways, they need to respect us also, not yell out stupid things like "its a SKATEpark, not a bike park".
 

Joel O

Likes Bikes and Dirt
i was riding belco today and there was about 5 kids under ten years old on bmx's who were just stopped in the middle of the donut trying to fix a kids helmet while a whole bunch of skaters were waiting to do a run. its not too hard to imagine why skaters often dont like bikers.
 

_J_

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I think I have learnt some new tips. Thanks Ty! And I think another point to note is that skate parks are for skaters. (Especially busy ones) So always watch out for them and dont get in their way.
 

Mahoney_007

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I got some more

1) Dont throw your freaking glass bottles on the ground(concrete).

2) Graffitti/artwork is cool, black pen stating, that "Sarah is a SLUT" is not, put some effort into it!
 

chow

Cannon Fodder
How bout they shouldnt be called skate parks cause skaters are mainly all fucking losers and they suck big black cock
 

Ty

Eats Squid
chow said:
How bout they shouldnt be called skate parks cause skaters are mainly all fucking losers and they suck big black cock
you sir are a moron..

they are called skate parks because skaters have lobbied local councils for decades to have them built in towns a cities, to a government a skatepark is just a big money pit, hundreds of thousands of dollars to build, tens of thousands of dollars to insure each year, aswell as on going maintance costs.

so next time your at your local park be fucking glad some "fucking looser skater" took the time all those years ago to convince your local government to provide funding to a project that less than 1% of their voting public actualy utilizes.
 

roasted

Likes Bikes and Dirt
ack!
revision

Graffiti is orright, if there is effort involved, and its not mindless tagging

also, DONT DO GRAFFITI ON THE RAMPS!
hard to see ramp properly, and when it gets painted over, it becomes slippy.
 

Joel O

Likes Bikes and Dirt
sometimes graf on ramps is better than that shit the council paints on, at least with graf its not a flat colour so you have something to judge your landings by.
 

roasted

Likes Bikes and Dirt
one: council dont put paint on ramps. concrete is easily the most reliable, gripiest surface available.
Graf = Paint. Paint = slippy. soo... graf on ramps: bad.
i see no reason as to why you need graff to find out where to land.

a fresh park with no graf is better publicity for park sports, looks better, and is mu7ch better to ride.
 

Joel O

Likes Bikes and Dirt
a lot of councils do paint over graf and the paint they use is often really thick and slippery. graf makes landings easier because the colour variation makes depth perception easier.

but i agree tagging is shit
 

Jimmy Mac

Likes Bikes
Thanks for the tips, they are all pretty logical, but is surprising how many people forget basic rules like these.....
Graffiti ART is cool, mindless crap written allover everything is not. Painted over graffti isn't cool, my friend broke his jaw (should have worn a full-facer!) when his front wheel slid out on painted concrete!
 
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