How To Build A Bike Ramp

When you get tired of just riding around the neighborhood on your bike and decide that it's time for you to start impressing everyone with your aerial skills, then you need to know how to build a bike ramp. While you can purchase pre-assembled bike ramps, if you have just a few carpentry tools and a little bit of woodworking skill, you can build your own for a fraction of the price. This article will cover how to build a portable bike ramp that is two feet wide by 2 feet long, but you can increase the size of the materials to increase the size of the ramp, if you desire.

To build a ramp, you will need:

• Saw
• 2x4s
• Plywood
• Clamp
• Pen
• Wood screws
• Drill

1. Cut two pieces of 2×4 to 24 inches in length. Cut each of these pieces lengthwise to create square beams. Cut one inch off of the end of one of the beams so that you wind up with three 24-inch support beam and one 23-inch beam.
2. Cut three rectangles of plywood so that they are 24 inches by 12 inches. Stack these three pieces of plywood on top of each other and clamp them together. Use your saw to cut a curve from one corner to its diagonal corner. This curve will determine the slope of the ramp, so you can adjust it to meet your preferences.
3. Place the support beam against the edge of the curve and draw the outline of it. Draw one near the bottom of the curve, one in the middle and one near the top. Use the saw to cut out the outline that you just drew. The support beams should fit in the slots once you have cut them out. Release the clamp and separate the plywood boards.
4. Cut a piece of plywood to a size of 24 inches wide by 26 inches long. Set a saw to a depth of 1/8-inch and cut slots along the width of the back of the board. The slots need to be about an inch apart. This will allow the plywood to bend.
5. Cut a piece of plywood to a size of 24 inches wide by 30 inches long. This will serve as the base of the unit. Place the curved pieces of plywood against the edge of the base so that the lower end of the slope is on the edge of the base and the base extends beyond the sloped plywood. Place one sloped piece of plywood on each side of the base and one in the center. Drill the screws at an angle through the bottom of the sloped pieces to hold them in place.
6. Put the three 24-inch support beams into the slots on the sloped plywood. Drill these supports into place.
7. Cut a 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch slot into the bottom of the middle sloped piece of plywood. Fit the 23-inch support beam into this slot so that the sides of the beam are pressing against the sides of the other two sloped pieces of plywood. Drill this support into place.
8. Place the slotted piece of plywood on top of the sloped supports. The slots should be facing down and will allow the board to bend to the slope. Drill this top board into place by drilling screws every few inches through the top piece and into the support beams.