BMX parks and bike skills parks are awesome, but we don’t always have time to get to them. By adding some bike ramps to your driveway, a manual machine to your patio, or a full-fledged pump track to your backyard, there are lots of ways to sneak in a little bike skills practice.
In this post, we’ve compiled lots of ideas to make your at-home “bike park” rad. Some of these are cheap and easy, some are major commitments. Likewise, we’ve tried to include a mix of commercial options, as well as DIY projects.
Soak up some inspiration, grab your kids, and go get started!
Commercial Ramps
Don’t have time time or inclination to build ramps? These ready-made options are professionally designed and sure to please.
Sender Ramps
Sender Ramps have all kinds of rad ramps–straight and curved and rolling, tiny and huge. Whatever you’re looking for, they have it. And it’s probably WAY nicer than anything you could have built yourself.
Learn More: https://sender-ramps.com/
OC Ramps
These are well-made wooden BMX ramps that the whole family will have fun with. Their quarter-pipe ramps feature wheels on the back – making the ramp easy to push around the street, garage, or side yard.
Learn More: https://www.ocramps.com/bmx-ramps/
Ten Eighty Launch Ramp
This is cheap, fun, beginner ramp. Kids of all ages will enjoy this ramp. It’s easy to pull out and put away, and works just as well with skateboards and scooters as it does with bikes.
Learn More: https://amzn.to/3aqMfT4*
Freshpark Bike Ramps
We like the Freshpark bike ramps because unlike their wooden counterparts, these powder-coated steel ramps are weatherproof. They also fold up so you can store them away for the winter more easily.
The pieces are designed to mix and match so you can even create a full pump track with the rollers.
Learn More: https://www.freshpark.com/products/bike-ramps.html
Landwave Ramps
The Landwave ramps are generally marketed for skateboarding, but work well for bikes too. You can connect them in multiple ways, and they do a good job of staying connected. Best of all they are relatively affordable.
Learn More: https://amzn.to/3cR3fUo*
MTB Hopper Ramps
The MTB Hopper is definitely one of our favorite lines of ramps and manual stands. With a range from a small “Intro” sized jump to others made for moto’s, there are no limits with how big the send can be. Each ramp is made with modular pieces that fit together creating a durable, no slip ramp that can be adjusted in height and placed anywhere you can fathom. We opted for the Light model which can be folded down and packed as a back pack. It is still plenty big to send and easy to have fun with.
Read our review for more details: https://rascalrides.com/mtb-hopper-lite-review/
or learn more here: https://amzn.to/3rhaPkZ
Commercial Manual Machines
Manual machines are a great way for kids to learn to manual, as well as burn off some energy. They are relatively easy to build, but if you want a more polished version, you can buy one ready-made.
Sender Pro Core Manual Machine
The Sender manual machine is the creme-de-le-creme of manual machines. Set it up in the backyard for some skills practice, or even in the living room.
Learn More: https://sender-ramps.com/
Byclex Manual Trainer
Will work with wheels as small as 20 inches, and can double as a bike stand.
Learn More: https://www.etsy.com/listing/735342910/byclex-manual-trainer
MTB Hopper Balance
Much like the other manual trainers above, the MTB Hopper Balance can help one learn to love rear wheel only. Made from the same durable playwood materials as the aformentioned jumps, this balance device is ready to get those wheels in the air.
Learn more here: https://amzn.to/3HklkcV*
Other Cool Stuff
DD Airbags
Want to be the coolest parents on the block? Put a DD airbag in your backyard. These landing pads are designed to help you kids your kids in their gravity progression.
Learn More: https://www.ddairbags.com/
Build A DIY Bike Ramp
There are TONS of tutorials out there on how to build a bike ramp. If you have some wood, saw, screws, and a little time on your hands, there’s really no limit to what you can create.
Here are some of our favorite tutorials:
Other DIY Options
Your only limit is your imagination. Here are some great DIY at-home bike park ideas crowd-sources from the Rascal Rides community.
Build A Backyard Pump Track
If you’ve got the space (and your spouse will let you), build a pump track. Pump tracks are one of the best ways for develop skills, and having one in the backyard will let them get their 10,000 hours in.
Build A Teeter Totter
Depending on the age and skill of your child, a teeter totter can be as skinny or as wide as you would like.
Set Up An Obstacle Course With Cones
Cones can provides hours of fun. Set them up so your child can zig-zag in between them, or let them indicate the boundaries of a race course. For kids just learning to brake, you can also set them as stopping points–have them get as close to the cone as possible without running it over.
Build A Manual Trainer
Manual trainers are relatively easy to build, and let even young kids get the feel for manualing.
Here are a few good tutorials:
Create Some Skinnies
Use some 2x4s, logs, or whatever else you have laying around to practice riding skinnies, and riding up and over obstacles.
More Stuff You Might Like
- Ultimate List of Indoor Bike Parks
- In Praise Of The Pump Track: Reasons Pump Tracks Rock
- Best Mountain Bikes For Kids
About Us
The Rascals are a family of three. Kristen (mom), Blair (dad), and Parker (kiddo). We started Rascal Rides when Parker was born and we didn’t want to give up our passion for biking. As we learned, we shared. Over the years, we’ve tested hundreds of kids bikes, helmets, bike trailers, and more.
Kristen is a USA Cycling certified coach and loves to share her passion for biking with other families. Blair is a bike geek, mechanic, and mountain bike junkie. Parker is our resident tester and inspiration.
If you see us out on the trail, make sure to say hi!
How to build bike ramps – I think this is a great approach to learning techniques and improving balance even when you are inside your house. To create a bike ramp, it’s important to have three crossbars. You need a total of three vertical racks to create a good-quality cycling ramp. Then sketch a curve on one side to create the base of the bike path. You can use a jigsaw to cut a curve by tracing the sketch you made. For positions, you should find three points on the curve: the top, middle, and bottom. It will ensure that your bike’s uphill platform is firm and doesn’t come apart during use. «After you have built the foundation of your homemade bike ramp with the crossbars and vertical racks, proceed to cut the deck. For the floor of the bike ramp, cut the plywood into 24″ wide and 26″ long pieces.
Now, I think building bike ramps has become easy and inexpensive, and you can give it a try.
What is the best angle for a bike ramp? Keep the height 10 inches or less and the angle 30 degrees or less for a good starter ramp. Getting the transition right is crucial, you’ve got to decide whether you want to gain height or distance, should you have a steep or mellow curve? It’s up to you.