Want to build skills and confidence? Hit the pump track. A pump track is a looped sequence of rollers and berms—swoopy, banked turns—for bike riders. It’s designed to maximize your momentum, so you can ride it with minimal pedaling.
“It’s kind of like a small rollercoaster that you can ride on,” says Eric Porter, a pro mountain biker who built a pump track in his own backyard. “It’s a tool to increase your handling skills on the bike, and it’s also something that’s really fun to ride.”
The beauty of a pump track, Porter says, is that it’s accessible to almost anyone and for all ability levels. You don’t have to be an advanced rider—don’t be surprised if you see a 2-year-old out there shredding on a balance bike. It’s a learning tool that’s fun for everyone.
More From Bicycling
You can usually find pump tracks at bike parks, certain trail networks, skills parks, and other bike riding centers. You can sometimes find them in public parks and recreation areas as they’re now becoming more popular. If you’re not sure of the closest one near you, search on mountain bike-specific websites like Trailforks, or even Google Maps.
“It’s really cool to see how much they’ve grown in state parks and city parks,” Porter says.
Many pump tracks are made out of dirt because it’s cheaper to build, but they require regular maintenance due to use and weathering. Some pump tracks are made out of asphalt, too, which is pricier upfront but lower maintenance.
If you’ve never been on one, or you’re looking for tips, here’s how to ride a pump track—plus why you should, how to prepare, and more.
The Benefits of Riding a Pump Track
For Porter, translating pump track skills to mountain biking trails is the “big ticket that a lot of people don’t think about.” Riding a pump track builds your bike handling skills—including cornering, weighting and unweighting the bike, and jumping—and helps you learn how to build momentum over certain sections of trail.
“You just start to read the trail differently.” he says. If you see a mound of roots ahead, instead of assuming those roots will slow you down, you can try using them to actually gain speed—like a roller on the pump track, he explains.
Most bike-handling skills are about muscle memory and practice, so a pump track allows you to roll through a variety of features over and over to build up that muscle memory until it becomes second nature out on the trail. And that really comes in handy once you get into more technical terrain. “You start to be able to spot the perfect point in the berm to aim for, and then you start spotting that on the trail,” Porter says.
But that doesn’t just mean mountain bikers are the only cyclists who can benefit from a pump track. Road, gravel, BMX, and cyclocross riders can all learn a thing or two from the pump track since skills like cornering are applicable in all disciplines.
Another great benefit? It’s a solid workout. We dare you to try to get through a few laps without breaking a sweat and feeling out of breath. “It’s like doing intervals without doing intervals,” Porter says—which means it’s much more fun.
What You Need to Ride a Pump Track
The Bike
A “dirt jumper” is a bike made just for pump tracks and, naturally, dirt jumps. It has a rigid fork or minimal front suspension, super-short chainstays and seat tube, and 26-inch (or smaller) wheels. But mountain, BMX, and even ‘cross bikes can lap it up just fine, says Jon Gabor, a cycling skills coach in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Whatever you’re on, inflate your tires high to roll fast—but no more than the recommended max psi for your specific tires—and slam your seat all the way down so it doesn’t impede your maneuverability on the bike. If you’re on a full-suspension bike, lock out your rear suspension (if you’re able) for better efficiency and acceleration. But Porter says you might want to keep your suspension open if you’re looking for a closer feel to what you’d experience on the trail.
The Gear
Wear whatever’s comfortable, it could simply be jeans and a T-shirt. In case you need to put a foot down quickly, sneakers and flat pedals are usually preferable to clipless cycling shoes—though Porter says if that’s what you’re used to, feel free to use them. A helmet is always a must, and if you’re new to the pump track or working on advanced skills, you should also wear gloves, knee pads, and elbow pads. If you’re practicing tricks, like jumps, you should wear a full face helmet, especially if you’re on an asphalt pump track.
4 Great Helmets We Recommend
Extended coverage offers more protection.
MIPS Spherical and excellent ventilation.
Inexpensive helmet with good protection.
MIPS protection for you little ripper.
How to Ride a Pump Track
According to Porter, the first skill you need to have (apart from knowing how to ride a bike) isn’t actually the “pumping” motion, it’s knowing how to ride while standing. Kids and new riders might have trouble with this the most; if so, practice standing and riding on flat ground first.
Pump the Bike
To practice, start on low rollers or pump bumps. As you approach the roll-in, get in a ready position: standing up out of the saddle, elbows out, leaning forward and low. As you go up the rollers, unweight the front end of the bike, crest the top and shift your weight to center, then as you go down, push down with your arms and legs into the dip. Repeat this push-pull motion over each hump.
“If you were to watch someone, their upper body is mostly staying in place and they’re using their arms and legs to push their bike through the dips,” Porter explains. “They’re pushing their bike down the downside, through the bottom, and that’s what’s creating the acceleration.”
For rollers, always stay out of the saddle, keep your feet level, and keep elbows and knees soft to absorb bumps and maintain speed—especially on bigger rollers. You do not want to ride rollers seated (even if you see others doing this). You always want to be in the ready position to better absorb the rollers and pump through them.
On the pump track you get immediate feedback, so if you pump at the right place at the right time, you feel that acceleration, Porter explains. You’ll be able to feel the difference between doing it correctly versus incorrectly with a bit of practice. From there, it’s about getting your timing right and building muscle memory.
Rail the Berms
As you approach a berm, keep your speed up and your body in line with the bike. Draw the inside knee up and shift your weight to your outside pedal for traction, then lean hard into the turn. Keep your eyes up and look ahead through the exit of the berm (not down at your tire) to go through it, not over the outside.
If the berm is built properly, your bike will still be perpendicular to the riding surface, Porter says. “You want your tires in the middle of the berm. If you get too close to the outside, then your margin for error goes away. If you’re too far into the bottom, that’s where the loose rocks and stuff are and you’re going to slide out.” Ride the center, and the berm will shoot you straight out.
It can be intimidating at first, Porter acknowledges. Practice on small berms, working your way up to full speed. If you ride the berm fast enough, he says, it basically turns into another roller that you can pump through. And as with rollers, when executed correctly, you can gain speed through the berm.
Porter’s most important tip for working on your pump track skills: “Stay loose. It’s really easy to tense up.” When your body is locked up, you’re not going to be able to handle the bike the way you need to. Let the bike move around underneath you, keeping your arms and legs relaxed and ready to absorb your motion over the rollers and through the berms.
Advanced Skills
As you get used to riding the pump track, your first goal can be to finish a lap without pedaling, or with as little pedaling as possible. Once you do that, work up to two laps and then more.
Once you get really comfortable on the pump track, Porter says another great skill to learn how to do is a manual—it’s similar to a wheelie, but performed out of the saddle. The key is to not try lifting your front wheel, but instead “getting down and back on the bike, and pushing your back wheel through the roller,” he says. It’s an even faster way of getting through a section of rollers. Just keep one finger on your rear brake when practicing this.
Pump tracks often have multiple lines for jumps, tricks, and other shenanigans. However, Porter says jumping is “a whole other ball of wax” and requires a lot of practice and progression. “The pump track is a great place to start working up to it, but every pump track is different.” Many have good lines for practicing jumping, with small tables and small rollers that you can double up on.
You might want to start off with practicing your bunny hop, instead. Porter says a roller is a great aid for performing a bunny hop, since riding over one mimics that movement anyway.
Pump Track Etiquette
Before heading to a pump track just yet, you should know that there are some simple rules everyone follows (or should). It’s along the lines of skate park etiquette.
“If it’s a dirt pump track, try not to skid because it breaks the riding surface,” Porter says. “If it’s dry and dusty, and there’s water there, it helps to water it.” Wetting a dirt pump track a bit before riding, especially in dry conditions, will help to maintain its surface integrity. Likewise, don’t ride it if it’s too wet.
Taking turns is a big one. When it’s your turn, take just a few laps. If someone rides at the same speed as you, you can ride at the same time on different areas of the track. Overall, be aware of other riders—hold your line when a rider is behind you, wait your turn to drop in, and ride predictably.
The pump track welcomes everyone. Shred accordingly.
When she’s not out riding her mountain bike, Jessica is an editor for Popular Mechanics. She was previously an editor for Bicycling magazine.
Taylor Rojek is an associate features editor who has been writing, editing, and testing gear with Bicycling and Runner’s World since 2014. She was nominated for an American Magazine Award in 2017 for her work on the information-packed feature “How Cycling Works.” She has a depth of experience in both sports—she’s split the last two decades between racing on foot, with distances ranging from 800m to 26.2 miles, and on all kinds of bikes, including road, mountain, and cyclocross. This year, she’s moved away from the starting line to focus on training her dog Rosie to join her on the trail. She balances that activity with her current quest to bake—and eat—perfect homemade bread.
