Your Handy Guide to the Different Types of Skateboard ramps
Whether you’re a beginner still learning the Ollie, or you’ve been popping flips ever since you can remember, knowing your skateboard ramps is a crucial part of improving your skills and enjoying the experience.
Fortunately, we’ve put together this handy guide to help you navigate through the best skateboard ramps around today. Whether it’s your next DIY project or the next ramp to master, you’ll find useful insights on each major type of ramp.
Most Common Skateboard Ramps
1. Kickers or Launch Ramps
You can also set up two kickers faced opposite to each other with a gap in between. So, you can go up one ramp, perform a flip, and come back down on the other ramp.
The kicker is also among the top skateboard ramps for home use. As a small skateboard ramp, you also have many DIY solutions to create your own launch ramp.
2. Pyramids or Box ramps
When you put together two or more kickers with a flat deck in between, it becomes a pyramid ramp. The box ramp appears when you add two more kickers to the two remaining sides of the deck. If you look up ‘skateboard ramps amazon’ online, pyramids and kickers are among the top results you’ll see.
This multi-dimensional pyramid's advantage is that skaters get more options in the same structure to perform tricks. If you’re looking for a kids skateboard ramp, these pyramid ramps are easy to assemble and convenient for smaller spaces too.
It's also an alternative for cheap skateboard ramps because you can buy one kicker at a time and assemble the pyramid over time.
3. Quarter Pipes
One of the most common ramps at the skating circle is a quarter pipe. The quarter pipe, as the name implies, looks like one-fourth of a circular pipe. So, it looks like a curved kicker that rises higher into the air.
The most significant benefit with quarter pipes is that it offers a controlled area where you can perform air tricks and quick grabs. It’s part of a transition ramp (between vertical and flat) where a skater can perfect a variety of flips.
4. Half Pipes
The half pipe skateboard ramp is basically a couple of quarter pipes joined together at the base. The name comes from the ramp's shape, which looks like a circular pipe with the top half sawed off.
A half pipe can either be in the form of a mini ramp or a vert ramp (both explained below). It's a structure where you can constantly be moving up and down between the two edges. There are a variety of tricks and maneuvers you can execute as you skate within this controlled area.
Given its popularity and advantage, there's no wonder why it's one of the most popular ramps in skating circles.
5. Vert ramps (Short for ‘Vertical’)
Vert ramps are ramps that have a transitional slope that rises higher than other ramps. So, they can be part of a quarter pipe, a half pipe, or a bowl. The vert edges typically rise above six feet. So, a half pipe with shorter edges would be considered a mini ramp.
The skater normally does not ride over the threshold edge on a vert ramp. So, they can descend back into the same slope.
Veteran pros like Danny Way and Tony Hawk made these structures famous by using the vertical edges to rise much higher into the air. Professionals and experienced skaters can achieve over 20 feet in elevation.
Given the expertise you need to work a vert, it's undoubtedly not a beginner skateboard ramp. But once you get better control over your board, the vert ramp is where the best moves happen.
6. The Bowl
The bowl may not technically be a ramp. But we’ve included it anyway because it’s worth learning about. It’s essentially a bowl-shaped skating area that has specific curves and shape. To a bystander, it will look like an empty swimming pool with a weird shape.
It’s where you can enjoy carving and riding out the lines of the bowl. The bowl and vert half pipes are some of the biggest ramps, not counting the mega ramp skateboard structures you see in professional events.
7. Spines
Spines are skating ramps that consist of two quarter pipes that have been placed back-to-back. The two top edges join together to give the ramp a ‘Spine’ in the middle.
When you ride over a spine, you can perform flips in the air without messing up your momentum. If you find matching quarter pipes among skateboard ramps for sale, it’s a good idea to get hold of them. This way, you can put them together to form spines, pyramids, box ramps, etc.
8. Mini ramp
The Mini ramp is a ramp that does not have vertical edges that rise up further into the air. For instance, a half pipe without vert is a mini ramp. So, a mini ramp could be a spine ramp or a quarter ramp too, if their edges don’t rise beyond five-six feet vertically.
A skateboard mini ramp is one of the most sought-after structures at the skating park. Few other ramps give as much versatility to both the beginner and the expert. It’s where a novice can learn and practice some basic flips while the expert can hone the most creative moves.
For any skater worth his or her salt, a working knowledge of skateboard ramps is vital to honing individual skills. Whether you construct a simple launch pad at home or showcase a new move on the half pipe, knowing your platforms and structures will bring a new dimension to your skating performance, base of knowledge and background.