Video: Chris Burkard Rides His Backyard Jump Trail with KC Deane

Mar 29, 2022
by Schwalbe  

“There’s nothing better than seeing friends enjoying a creation you’ve made”
- Chris Burkard

His passion for surfing led him down a path to become one of the most iconic sports, nature, and outdoor photographers in the world. After extensive long distance endurance challenges like the 950 km/590mile The Westfjords way through Iceland, Chris came home to where it all started to create his own jump trails in his backyard, bringing his local riding community back together, sharing the great moments, building his dream.


Chris was not always a passionate cyclist, but his adventurous spirit saw the bike as another vehicle to connect with nature and push his exploits deeper into the unknown. Not one to simply dip a toe in the cycling waters, he dove in headfirst, chasing ultra-endurance missions and first accents of dreamt up routes in desolate locations. Iceland being a favorite destination for his adventures, he first circumnavigated the island on a road bike, later led the first East/West off-road crossing and finished it off with a winter North/South crossing of the unforgiving island.

Having chased cycling goals on all different types of bikes and surfaces, Chris was still missing that final arrow in his quiver, a mountain bike. Good friend and fellow rider, KC Deane finally convinced Chris giving the mountain bike a chance and the love affair began.



“I was on the road, riding 300 miles a day, doing ultra-distance distance races. It was a funny transition because I don’t think I’ve never fallen in love with something so quickly.” - Chris Burkard
Armed with a new passion, a little ingenuity and help from good friends, Chris realized a boyhood dream of creating his own backyard jump trail – with his local riding community sharing his passion.








CHRIS BURKARD
Height: 5’-8”
Bike: Fezzari Delano Peak - 135mm travel
Tire: Schwalbe Nobby Nic Front/Rear
Tire Size: 29 x 2.35
Tires Casing: SuperTrail
Tire Compound: Addix SpeedGrip
Tire Pressure: 32 PSI


KC DEANE
Height: 5’-10”
Bike: Canyon Torque – 170mm travel
Tire: Schwalbe Magic Mary Front/Rear
Tire Size: 29 x 2.35
Tires Casing: SuperGravity
Tire Compound: Addix Soft
Tire Pressure: 32 PSI Front/34 PSI Rear


Posted In:
Videos Schwalbe Kc Deane


Must Read This Week
Review: 1,000 Miles on SRAM's New Eagle Transmission
225985 views
Final Results from the Maydena Enduro World Cup 2023
151797 views
First Ride: TRP's New 12-Speed Mechanical Drivetrain
111186 views
Commencal Reveals 2023 Enduro Project Team Bikes
94769 views
SRAM Releases Stealth Brake Lineup
94555 views
Development Story: SRAM's New Eagle Transmission
92949 views
Specialized's New Epic Uncovered
75251 views
First Ride: 2023 Canyon Neuron
72034 views

24 Comments

  • 10 2
 KC Deane is a Tool Bagel
  • 2 0
 What’s a tool bagel ?
  • 9 4
 30+psi would rattle my teeth out
  • 29 1
 30 psi in my minions. I don't care about your opinions.
  • 4 0
 Yeah, get some new teeth then!
  • 6 4
 Finally someone with proper tire pressure! I don't know how everyone gets away with tire pressures in the low 20s. And yes, I do ride tubeless, Michelin Enduro tires and inserts.
  • 6 1
 Same here, can’t go below 30. Tell me what’s the benefit of going tubeless if you need to run these pressures?
  • 5 0
 Your weight certainly factors in - plus if you're sessioning jumps like in this vid, you need to bump up your pressure a bit. It also doesn't surprise me that people with more of an xc/gravel background like harder tires.
  • 1 0
 @transitter: Well, good question. I guess, I wanted to see if I could drop pressure by going tubeless. Turns out, I can't go much lower. I even considered going back to tubes recently but I'm still experimenting. For the gnarliest and rockiest trails I am still happy to have a tubeless system AND high pressure. But yea, I don't know the answer.
  • 2 0
 @PaulWolf: thanks, don’t like messing whit sealant and inserts so will be sticking to tubes for the moment.
  • 1 0
 @transitter: If you live in the desert, you need that auto patch ability of sealant. Tubeless is still less likely to pinch flat as well.
  • 2 0
 @transitter: tubless & sealant will reseal a thorn-type of puncture, less rotational mass and better sidewall compliance. There's more to it than just pinch flat protection.
  • 1 0
 @PaulWolf: I'm curious as to what you think the benefit of going back to tubes would be?
  • 1 0
 @Endlessmike: I have a tube in my rear wheel to increase the stiffness of my side walls so my tire wont fold over when railing berms
  • 1 0
 @Endlessmike: Sometimes I feel like running tubeless is more hassle. You have to renew sealant every 3 months. And if you forgot to do it on time, you might get a flat on the trail anyway because your sealant is all dried up. I guess no system is perfect.
  • 4 0
 Island = Iceland?
  • 2 0
 How big is this backyard? I am looking to move places and want to build something like this in my own backyard.
  • 3 0
 kinda depends what you want (you can put a pump track in on an acre lot, you can do some dirt jumps on ~2 acres), but I think for some jump trails you need the right shape of lot, a slight hill and 3-5 acres. Go find your favorite small jump track that you want to recreate, measure it on google earth and then calculate the area. You can then look at realty listings and judge the size and shape of the lot that way

FWIW I bet they have 10+ acres in this video, but you can see it's not all utilized. I bet the jumps take up 2-3 acres (albeit a long, narrow 2-3 acres.) Totally just a guess though
  • 4 0
 An acre is 4000m2 that’s a hell of a pump track, I recon you could squeeze decent dirt jumps and pump track into half an acre easy bruv@trialsracer:
  • 1 0
 @trialsracer: I've built a pump track in a 40'x40' section of someones backyard. Don't need much space depending on what you want.
  • 2 0
 I have 4 acres and have a pump track and 3 main jump trails on the back 2 acres. The property is long and narrow. Elevation drop is about 40’ length of that part of the property is about 200 yards. It’s heavily wooded. We have 4 berms that are 3-7’ tall some wood features a 10’ tall double, tables, step ups, step downs, etc. you don’t need tons of room to have fun and progress. We’ve had a lot of fun building and riding and when we travel to ride we’re immediately comfortable on the big stuff. I think it keeps my boys safer because they’re not rusty. If you can swing it i would highly recommend. Even if you just put in a small pump track.
  • 1 0
 @txcx166: Cool, this is helpful. I checked out your pics too. Nice work!
  • 4 4
 Who the Phuque is kc deane??
& who cares ?
Below threshold threads are hidden





Copyright © 2000 - 2023. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.037292
Mobile Version of Website