Steve Prokopiw Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Hers's a little vid of my son, Nathan and our dog, Kramer testing out the track last night. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2wSPrCD5nPI?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Nice track..looks like a good way the stay in shape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hers's a little vid of my son, Nathan and our dog, Kramer testing out the track last night. Dude, you made your kid a bmx track in your backyard??? That's friggin awesome!!! You should win some kind of medal for parenting awesomeness!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Very cool Steve!. Better start thinking about padding for the fence etc. he will be "Flying" soon!! Very cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow 15 Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Thats brilliant. Note to self "do not let my kids see this". I aslo wonder how long it will take him to figure out that he can make that big pile of dirt into a 'ramp to trampoline'. Perfect for backflip practise. Have fun Spidy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkaholic Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Steve, That is a rad pump track. Add some more rollers in there and you won't have to pedal at all. Check out www.LeeLikesBikes.com for more info about spacing of rollers and such. There are also other examples that people have sent in to check out. That is a really nice layout you have there. You and the kids will love it and it can be a great work out. 50 laps one direction, 50 laps the other direction = total body workout if you pump the entire thing. Kai and I have some dirt jumps in our yard and I really want to do a pump track as well but digging at our house is pretty rough with all the rocks. Hopefully this fall or next spring I can rent a bobcat and get it done. Your track gets me more amped up to do it. NICE WORK! Ink I like that you have the CX bike ripping it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Prokopiw Posted September 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hey Ink,thanks for the link.That's exactly where this project is headed in the future.For now the boys are thrilled to be pedaling and building their skills on their own track.During construction,I had them testing features and it became apparent that we would be best suited to a track that allowed for steady pedaling with some features that are serving to build their pumping skills with minimal frustration.5 year old Nathan loves it enough already to be doing 20-30 laps a session and has no trouble keeping up with 7 year old big bro Evan,who is showing his technical cautiousness(just like with skiing) but loves it too.It's cyclocross season for me so I am currently riding my single speed cross bike on the track mostly,but have a 24" bmx waiting to be flogged for lap after lap:-) In these tight economic times this track is the best investment we could have made in our overall quality of life.Racing is expensive but riding this track as much as we want is free;and all it cost to build was labor;lots of hard labor.I was a little worried the boys wouldn't take to it but they love it and it has turned out to be worth every minute of sweat and sore muscles Bike geek notes for interested dads (or moms);Their 15 pound bikes are bmx minis I built inexpensively out of all n.o.s. parts last year with a nod toward extended miles on pavement as we do quite a few rides over 10 miles,including a 28 miler earlier this summer.They completed that ride in 4 hours including play breaks at the parks along the way and ice cream at the turn around:-)The inverted knob tires (20x1 3/8) made by Intense, work equally well on a packed track or pavement.Evan runs 155 mm cranks and Nathan's little pistons push 145mm cranks.They each currently run 36x18 gears with 2 speed freewheels that allow for me to switch them to a 16 for Evan and a 17 for Nathan for the longer decents at each end of our 72 mile bike path,The Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes.Their seats don't look it, but are padded and fit their nonexistent little butts perfectly for those long rides,for which I raise their seats for better leg extension.Our bike path is among the best in the world,so we like to pedal! I think if more cycling parents knew what a proper lightweight,single speed bike can do for a kid they would find that real rides are no problem for the whole family,even with kids that weigh 42 and 52 pounds.Money well spent! ps,Ink I remember the rockiness of Colorado soil.I did this only with shovels and rakes but I would happily rent a bobcat if I was doing this in CO.We do however,have buckets and buckets of small round rocks we continually pick from the soil and that will be an ongoing source of allowance for the boys:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkaholic Posted September 25, 2011 Report Share Posted September 25, 2011 Great plan to get them hooked and build on a good thing, both skills and the track. Kai absolutely loves biking, he calls himself a BMX'r but rides mtb and road on his bmx mini with semislicks as well. We haven't been working on our tracks much lately with time being the biggest constraint so we go the the various "bike parks" around. Today we went to Valmont Bike Park in Boulder and had an absolute blast. Kai even did his first drop into the medium slopestyle line. Here is the quick vid that I shot of it. For most of this type of riding Kai uses his 16" dirt jump bike. Sometimes he will use the 20" mini race bike as well. <object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgzSctwigps?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgzSctwigps?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object> You will really love hitting your track on the 24" cruiser, especially after adding rollers to pump. Good luck with the cross season. Ink P.S. dad has fun out there as well hitting up the XL dirt jump line. <object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkLtmu_HtuI?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkLtmu_HtuI?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Prokopiw Posted September 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2011 I'm envious of your skill/willingness to do the jumps.When I raced in my teens I held my own with speed and acceleration(my eventual strengths on the velodrome) but was never confident on the jumps.Snowboarding was different for me in that regard.I'm no big air blaster by today's standards on a board but still far more willing to boost on it than a bike.You make it look easy and inspire me to work on the skills(maybe with some body armor...) My boys play with a 16" bike that was Evan's first 'big kid' bike and it is definitely a more playful bike than their minis. Nathan likes his mini the most since it is so much speedier than the 16" but Evan likes the 16" over the rollers more.How old is Kai by the way?His clip will definitely impress my boys.Thanks for posting those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkaholic Posted September 26, 2011 Report Share Posted September 26, 2011 Thanks Steve, it has taken me most of the summer to get the confidence to go for the bigger jumps. Now that I am I can't get enough of it. What a rush floating through the air like that. Not like the old race technique of clearing the length but not getting very high. And yes, safety gear can make a huge difference in your mind as well as protection. Be ready to make additions to the rollers and jumps pretty frequently as the boys skill level increases. Once Kai starts to clear them at a consistent level it is time to make them larger and change the shape to challenge him, usually a couple times a summer. We actually removed a roller today and increased a landing to be used with a 2' tall wooden "kicker". We'll start that one with plywood from jump to landing till he is making it then the plywood goes away. He also wants a wall ride after that day at Valmont. KarverKai turned 8 in April of this year. Ink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Prokopiw Posted September 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Here's Nathan giving me pointers during my first session with the cyclocross barriers on our track.He's a pretty entertaining little guy:-) <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NljB_UHGmLY?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Hey Steve, How tall is Nathan? I am looking into a mini for my daughter, she is 48". I am trying to decide between a Micro Mini and a Mini. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Prokopiw Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 My 7 year old,Evan is 48" and 5 year old Nathan is 45" tall and they are both on minis. Technically, Nathan would probably rip on a micro,but he'd outgrow it by next year and the 20" mini just hauls on the bike path.Evan wants a regular 20' for riding to school because he thinks of the mini as suggesting he's mini too.But when he trades with friends on the bikepath he appreciates his mini and the 11 pounds less that it weighs:-)That's like me riding a super-d bike up a paved hill and suddenly having an ultralight road bike appear beneath me.Amazing how heavy typical kids bikes are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 My 7 year old,Evan is 48" and 5 year old Nathan is 45" tall and they are both on minis. Technically, Nathan would probably rip on a micro,but he'd outgrow it by next year and the 20" mini just hauls on the bike path.Evan wants a regular 20' for riding to school because he thinks of the mini as suggesting he's mini too.But when he trades with friends on the bikepath he appreciates his mini and the 11 pounds less that it weighs:-)That's like me riding a super-d bike up a paved hill and suddenly having an ultralight road bike appear beneath me.Amazing how heavy typical kids bikes are. Cool. Thanks for the input Steve. You are right, it is weird to pick up one of my girls bikes and have it feel as heavy as my stumpy FSR 29er..... Not that it is, but they are tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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