Hot answers tagged children
12
In my opinion, this should NOT be done.
Bicycles are very versatile, and one can not only use a single all-purpose bike for many purposes, but also to have/design specialty bikes, as it is the case of a Strida. And, by the way, is the case with a lot of child-carrying specific bikes and/or equipment.
But, as it seems to me, a Strida is a SPECIALTY BIKE NOT ...
6
To answer your specific questions first:
wrt weight: you are paying less for the children's bikes than for your own I hope? (they'll only fit on it for a few years after all) so kids' bikes use cheaper materials, cheaper usually means heavier in cycling gear. Don't expect to match your racer, but twice as much is a bit much even for a cheap model. Shop ...
5
I did the same thing for my son when he was 2. After a year and a half, he just "looked" ready. I knew he could ride so I had him try pedaling. I have a short hill in the front yard and put him near the bottom. He was determined to NOT ride properly, so after about 25 feet he "fell" off and said "SEE!! I can't do it!" I laughed and said, "You did it almost ...
5
I think that, besides having fun - which is of utmost importance with kids otherwise they give up and choose to do something that is more fun and less distressful -, after they learn to keep balance and speed up, I'd say the next things must learn are to brake properly and to control their trajectory.
That said, one of the most exciting things to do, in my ...
3
I'd suggest a visit to your local bike shop to get some recommendations from them concerning either new bicycles or possibly a used bike that's on the shop floor. Safety and reliability would be top priorities at this point. You don't want the children to have any mechanical problems going to or returning home from school. A good used bike may be a good ...
3
My daughter is 13 and it is only this year have we started looking at more "up-market" bikes for her - a hardtail (still pretty cheap by hardtail standards) and for christmas, a good-quality BMX. I am still unconvinced that she is old/responsible enough to take care of them, but we'll see...
Up until then I have always gone down the "chain store" route. ...
2
I did some research on this issue and ended up going with a trailer for my two-year old son. We use it for our daily commute to day care and work, and so far it seems comfortable for him, and easy for me to handle. Cars give us plenty of space.
My one issue is the amount of time it takes me to get the trailer out of its storage shed, lock up the shed, ...
2
However you proceed, get a bike that fits the child. None of this "(s)he'll grow into it."
Our then 4 yr old son had a bike and he was somewhat wobbly on it and I took great pains to supervise closely when he rode. One day we borrowed a neighbor's small bike (no training wheels), smaller than I'd ever seen before. It fit our son beautifully. And to our ...
2
I have no experience with kids in that age, but I think the most important skill she can have is to cover a large enough distance without stepping the ground.
How much is "enough" is debatable, but there is sort of a "qualitative" difference between running with the aid of a scooter (long, but predictable, consecutive steps), and giving the scooter some ...
2
I found this article - Tykes and Bikes - Injuries Associated With Bicycle-Towed Child Trailers and Bicycle-Mounted Child Seats
The paper estimates the numbers of trailer-related injuries and the number of child seat injuries:
there were an estimated 322 injuries associated with the use of a bicycle-towed trailer (95% CI, 158-486) and an estimated 2015 ...
1
I found this article particularly enlightening.
The short takeaway is that balance is the most important thing (before direction) Keep going until the balance is good and everything else will follow.
My wife and I are discussing at the moment the best time to get our kids onto balance bikes.
1
I really feel you're very wrong by painful methods such as "let 'em fall" to learn.
If you want them to learn without training wheels, run beside them and grab the handlebars when the look like they're going to fall over.
You have to be fit and fast to do this, but it can be done (I did it twice for 2 kids).
Just a note, if they use the training wheels ...
1
I bike with two children, now aged 1 and 4, and have tried a number of solutions. A couple specific suggestions for you:
First, some child seats come bundled with their own rack. One of them is the Topeak BabySeat.
Second, heavy duty racks include weight ratings. Old Man Mountain is a respected brand and has a rack in their line rated to carry 70 lbs. ...
1
Markijbema's comment on the original question touched on one aspect that nobody has mentioned:
"A seat is easier to combine with a typical dutch bike, which is less race-y than the crazy bikes people in other countries seem to use for daily use"
The construction and design of the bicycle determines how well it handles a load, either over the rear ...
1
My wife and I have been riding our son around in an iBert front mounted seat since he was able to hold his head up with a helmet on.
http://www.ibertinc.com/
The seat mounts on the handlebar stem and is easy to get on and off. It mounts on the handlebar stem, which can scratch the bike's paint...so i wrapped a piece of an old innertube around the stem ...
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