The Kicker Ramp

Way back in 2008 I ran a little corner of the internet called Plans4Ramps where I posted easy-to-follow instructions for building BMX and skate ramps. The first tutorial I ever posted was a kicker, so it's only fitting to do the same for Build w/ Greg. But that's not the only reason a kicker fits.

The kicker is the best way to teach the fundamentals of ramp building.

Whether you're building a jump box, fun box, spine, or mini ramp, they're all scaled-up versions of the techniques used here: two curved plywood sides, cross members between them, and a plywood skin screwed to those members. If you can build this, you can build any ramp.

Go ahead, try maxing out width and height to see how this might scale to a small quarter pipe. Pair two of those together with a platform between and you're very close to a mini ramp.

Configure the ramp for you

Getting height and radius correct is the most important thing because they affect the ride. A too-tight radius on the transition feels terrible to ride but a too-gradual transition won't provide any pop.

Cutting a perfect radius

Both side panels come out of one rectangle of plywood. Cut the first arc, and the piece you'd normally throw away is the second panel, flipped over. All you lose is the thin sliver between the two curves.

The arc itself is a string and a pencil. Anchor the string, swing it across the blank, and cut to the line with a jigsaw. It's more forgiving than it sounds, because small wobbles disappear under the skin later.

Framing the ramp

The curve needs backing at least every six inches along the arc to provide a solid foundation that doesn't bounce or flex.

Skinning the ramp

You can't bend 3/4" plywood to a 6' radius so the surface is usually made up of two thinner plywood sheets that can bend more easily into shape. The sweet spot for most beginner ramps is two layers of 3/8" plywood. You'll still probably need to grab a friend to help with the initial bending, but once you get the first few screws in there, it goes on easy.

Which way you cut those sheets matters more than the thickness does. Plywood bends much easier across the face grain than along it, so the strips run across the ramp: the grain points from one side panel to the other, and the curve happens along the cut width. Try it the other way and you'll feel the difference immediately, somewhere between "two people leaning on it" and a cracked sheet.

That costs you seams. A sheet is only 4' across, so any transition longer than that needs more than one strip, and every seam lands on a cross member so both edges have something to screw into. The two layers stagger theirs, which is also why the under layer stops short of the bottom while the top layer runs all the way to the ground. Your wheels meet one feathered 3/8" edge instead of the full doubled-up 3/4" thickness, and no joint in the surface ever sits over a joint below it.

Set a gentle enough radius and the whole thing changes: at that point the ply will take the curve along its length, the strips run up the transition instead of across it, and the seams disappear. The model picks whichever way your numbers allow.

Customize and build it

The shopping list below is for the ramp you see, in the sizes the store actually sells. It comes from the same program as the model, so it can never fall out of date. Set your dimensions and both regenerate together.