How to Build BMX Quarter Pipes

Freestyle BMX riding is an extreme sport where riders use specialized bikes that can be used to perform tricks on flat surfaces as well as on ramps. Building your own BMX ramp allows you to practice your BMX quarter pipe tricks so you are better prepared when you visit a street course. While it is important to ensure that the proper steps are taken in creating the ramp to ensure it is safe, a careful builder does not need a wealth of experience in woodworking to make a ramp.

Things You'll Need

  • 3 plywood sheets 3/4 inches thick
  • Pencil
  • Tape measure
  • Jigsaw
  • Wood 2-by-4 beams
  • Nailgun
  • Wood 4-by-4 posts
  • Plywood sheets, 3/8 inches thick
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Instructions

    • 1

      Draw the sides of your ramp on two of the 3/4 inch thick plywood sheets. The side pieces consist of an arcing shape 7 feet long and 6 feet tall, with an additional rectangle along the 6-foot edge extending out 4 inches from the edge, and 4 inches below the point of the ramp.

    • 2

      Cut 2-by-4 wood beams as wide as your desired ramp length. A minimum of 6 foot wide is ideal.

    • 3

      Nail a 2-by-4 between the two sides so the top of the beam is flush with the top of the notches on each side piece.

    • 4

      Nail additional beams every 1 foot along the slope of the ramp, so that the 2-inch-thick edge of the beam is aligned with the slope of the sides at the point it is being attached. This creates the framework for the ramp.

    • 5

      Cut two beams as wide as the ramp.

    • 6

      Cut enough 3-foot-long beams to position one at each end of the beams from Step 5, with additional beams spaced evenly every 18 to 24 inches along the length.

    • 7

      Nail the 3-foot-long beams between the long beams to create the frame for the platform at the top of the ramp.

    • 8

      Cut three posts that are 6 feet long.

    • 9

      Nail the posts to one side of the platform frame, inside the framework, with one beam in each corner and the third centered across the width.

    • 10

      Place the end of the platform frame without posts atop the beam flush with the notches of the side pieces and nail in place.

    • 11

      Place a 3/4-inch-thick plywood sheet atop the slope of the side pieces and press down so that it presses against the cross beams, then secure with nails around all four edges of the plywood. Repeat if the ramp is so wide that more than one sheet is needed.

    • 12

      Cut any excess plywood extending off the top of the ramp so that it extends only 3/8 inch above the ramp.

    • 13

      Cut a piece of 3/8-inch plywood to match the shape of the top of the platform and secure with nails.