First build, learning to ride, what width/materials, etc. best...

N

NolDog1123

Member
Alright, so I have the wood collected up to build between a 16' - 18' rail/box. I'm new to the park, only hit jumps last year, no rails/boxes and want to start at home.

I've read tons of posts and have an idea of what I'm going to do - but I wanted to get input from some more experienced guys on what's the best way to get started on rails. My initial thought was to make a wide box (1.5-2 feet), but now I'm thinking it'll be better to force myself to learn on something narrower.

I'm basically going to follow this setup:

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but I was thinking about making it wider by another 2x4" so the width would be 8", most likely using HDPE for the top, with either PVC or metal piping - depending on if I can find the metal for cheap/free

My other question is whether I should make it 16-18' straight, or make ia flat/down - basically, will thinning the width and making it flat/down be more useful to someone just learning rather than a 1' wide, flat box.

 
since this is your first jib i would probably say start out with a flat box.... i dont think i would do 2 2x4's i would just go out and buy a 2x8 or 2x10 and get it atleast 16ft.

learning rails and stuff will be way easier on a box and once you are comfortable you can try 270s off and on and switchups on a box which will be a little easier to land on since it is wider, although it may not be as easy to spin on compared to a rail. my first jib that i built was a flat down box, which was nice but i had also done some rails before that so i think i had already gotten a little used to it.

if your looking to go cheap just use like 3 pvc pipes instead of hdpe it will save you a lot of money an still lasts a while, plus it slides fast too
 
Alright, I guess what I'll do in that case is a 10-12 in. wide box with 1" PVC coping on either side. I wasn't sure if PVC would be the best thing for winter, since I've read a lot of people saying that the PVC cracked easier in the winter - I'll have to try and reinforce it with foam or smaller PVC inside of it - or if I can find HDPE cheap enough, I'd like to stick with that.

Thanks for the feedback...
 
yeah i just had some luck getting puck board from a hockey rink that re did its walls... it slides real nice and is basically hdpe. you could try some local hockey rinks too they might give it to you for free like i got mine, or have you pay a little, but it would be mad cheap anyways if they did
 
by "puck board" to u just mean the plasticy material that they use for the boards? i guess that might be an obvious question, but just making sure cuz i have some friends who have a rink in their backyard (i know, they are loaded), so maybe i could get some from them....
 
yeah its just the white plastic stuff that they use for the walls. it slides real well and is still pretty dense. the stuff that i got is more than 1/4" thick and ive had no problem counter sinking it. i would talk to him because it comes in huge sheets... mine were 8x4s
 
I'm going to go with 9 in' wide with the HDPE and then have 1-1.5 inch PVC on the sides of that - so it will probably come out to around 1' wide. I have the supports put together and I think instead of a 18' I'm going to make two 15' boxes just so I can mix it up in the future.
 
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