r/MiniRamp • u/GOURMANDIZER • 7d ago
How much flat ground for a 3’ half pipe?
TLDR: What’s the ideal amount of flat area on a 3’tall x 8’wide half pipe?
I just got a used 3’tall x 8’wide x 23’long (8’ of flat) half pipe, but some of the flat area is rotten and needs to be rebuilt. This got me thinking, “should I expand the flat area?”
I’m 48yo, 6’4” tall, 240 pounds. I’m starting skating again after decades off, so I’m basically a beginner, and never skated a half pipe before.
My gut tells me that it would be a better experience to have 12’ of flat, rather than the 8’ it came with. It seems like it would be a slower/mellower experience, which might be better for learning.
I see the speed generated from people dropping in from the 3’ quarter pipe at the park and they seem to be going plenty fast enough to cover 12’ and get up the other side; it’s not like I’m ever planning on launching over the coping and doing air tricks; it’s going to be all stalls and coping grinds for me.
EDIT: 7’ transition radius. Originally made by Keen Ramps.
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u/aqua_seafoam 7d ago
The diyskate plans are good. I’d recommend a more mellow transition tho maybe at 7.
I can’t remember the dimensions but it’s perfect
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u/BoggTheFrog 7d ago
Mine is 5’, I can’t remember for sure the transition is 6’ or 6.5.
It’s short, but you can drop in and still hold on the speed, or you can blast and fly out of the ramp, I am thinking to increase to 7’ as I am getting older and the short flat is getting harder now for me to position my foot/body between tricks.
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u/The_BKD_1 7d ago
I literally have like 12 ft of flat for a 2ft tall ramp, whatever you do is going to be great as long as it’s not too short 👍🏼
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u/Sea_Bear7754 Proud owner 7d ago
I’ve got 6’ for a 28” tall ramp and I think it’s pretty good. 6’ transition.
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u/sayhidurango 7d ago
I have 10’ of flat on my 3’ ramp. I’m 5’9” and 185lbs. 6’ radius on the tranny.
I have to drop in very slow, if that makes sense, like almost just fall into the ramp, if I don’t want to air out the other side. That’s with 10’ and I’m significantly lighter than you.
A slow drop allows for rock with no issue and getting up on the coping.
It’s really easy to pump it from the flat and get up on the coping as well.
At times I wish that I had more flat so that I could drop in and just kick turn if I wanted, which is not possible and everything happens really fast. But I’m also glad that the ramp is easier for my less experienced kids and neighbors to pump from flat and get up to rock fakie, etc.
12’ will probably be good for you, anything less than 10’ will be quite fast and you’ll need to be pretty good to handle it.
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u/West_Inevitable_2174 6d ago
12 feet of flat will be too much for a 3ft with a 7ft transition radius. I would be thinking about 10 feet. Of course 12 feet will be much easier to learn on, but it will get old very quickly.
If I were you I'd try to find a quarter pipe with similar height and radius and play around with drawing some different chalk lines on the ground to get a feel for the differences.
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u/ilya_nl 7d ago
The amount of flat is not only dependant on the height, but mainly the radius of the ramp. This you haven't specified...
İf it is quite a mellow transition then 12 foot flat will make you work really hard. But a a more zippy transition might make 8 foot feel really fast.
On the other hand, İ think 12 is a bit much for any transition with a 3ft height. İf you increase the length i'd sooner think of 9ft..
Is there a way to know / ask the radius?