Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies safety requirements and requirements for testing and marking, information for users, as well as information on inspection and maintenance.

This document applies to asphalt pump tracks intended for users of bicycles, skateboards, scooters and other roller sports and equipment.

It refers to different materials of the pump track and distinguishes between the characteristics and appropriate dimensions of individual elements of the track.

This document is restricted to pump tracks constructed from artificial materials such as asphalt, concrete, or comparable nonnatural materials.

This document does not apply to pump tracks made of natural materials, in particular soilbased or earthbound pump tracks.

Purpose

An pump track is an obstacle course primarily consisting of rollers/ripples, profiled berms and small "jumps" arranged in such a sequence as to be possible to accelerate and keep your speed without pedalling. Speed is gained thanks to properly profiled obstacles (rollers), on which the user is performing updown movements (socalled “pumping”) to move forward using positional energy, gravity and centrifugal force.

Pump track is highly attractive for users of different age groups, social backgrounds, sports disciplines and roller games: general cyclists, skaters, BMX enthusiasts, longboarders, inliners, balance bikes for toddlers or people on scooters. To guarantee its full potential, it has to be designed and built respecting certain rules/standards.

Unfortunately, there are many examples of built tracks that lack expected functionality, and because of that shouldn’t be even called pump track. Establishing an official standard will save a lot of public funds (majority of investors are local governments), that won’t be wasted on infrastructure people will not use. The other important matter is the longevity of the investment. If constructed with appropriate materials, following a certain construction process with a design going along, pump track is almost maintenance free.

The standard regarding pump track design and construction will allow investors to demand appropriate quality of the finished project by asking contractor to follow the rules according to the standard. At the moment, because of the lack of proper standard, nonspecialised contractors who take part in public tender process very often build facilities that do not meet the requirements of users, and are dangerous to use. The lack of standards have become even worse, as the complexity of physical activity techniques and the opportunities of rolling equipment have turned into hightech. New rolling techniques and improved equipment require higher construction standards and – respectively – a fundamental norm at all.