Kids maximum riding distance

[Reden]

Will a compact crankset do the same i.e. restrict gears enough? Or is a proper junior cassette also needed?

Gearing is done with a measurement. The ratios used can be anything.

These are the gearing listed by CSA under Road Cycling.

Nothing under mountain bikes.

 

UNDER 10 – equal or not more than 6,227 meters

 

UNDER 12 - equal or not more than 6,227 meters

 

UNDER 14 – equal or not more than 6,626 meters

 

UNDER 16 – equal or not more than 6,897 meters

[udxcob]

It must depend on the child, my son now 9 has been riding bikes since the age of 3, he rides a 35km mtb ride with ease at his own pace.

[The Guy in Pink]

Let him impose his own limit.

Whatever he wants to do let him.

We evolved to run all day in the heat of the day.

Riding a bike for 4 or 6 hours is not gonna do any harm and might do a power of good.

[DJR]

Gearing is done with a measurement. The ratios used can be anything.

These are the gearing listed by CSA under Road Cycling.

Nothing under mountain bikes.

 

UNDER 10 – equal or not more than 6,227 meters

 

UNDER 12 - equal or not more than 6,227 meters

 

UNDER 14 – equal or not more than 6,626 meters

 

UNDER 16 – equal or not more than 6,897 meters

 

Meaning that for 1 revolution of the crank, in the highest gear, that is the maximum distance the bike may travel? Do I understand correctly?

[Dicky DQ]

I do a 20km ride with my 13 year son about x2 a week with about 500m of climbing. but he goes for it because he Loooooves the the single track on the way down. So it is fun all the way round. Fortunately he prefers to spin so all is good.

[Helpmytrap]

Meaning that for 1 revolution of the crank, in the highest gear, that is the maximum distance the bike may travel? Do I understand correctly?

I believe so, at SA's a few years ago they would put the bike in the biggest gear and put the pedal at the 6 o'clock position above a marker and wheel the bike backwards. They measured the distance it took for that pedal to make one full revolution. They had a long piece of masking tape stuck on the road with the distance markings. As juniors we rode with 52x14 being our biggest gear.

 

And on the MTB scene, anyone that is 18 or younger is restricted to the half marathons ito races.

[ccc2]

Will a compact crankset do the same i.e. restrict gears enough? Or is a proper junior cassette also needed?

Maximum Gear Ratio Limits Examples

Under 10/12 6.227m 41 x 14

Under 14 6.626m 41 x 13

Under 16 6.897m 42 x 13

Junior Ladies 7.400m 50 x 14

Junior Men 7.930m 53 x 14

 

i have a full chart for all combinations of gears - pm me yr email addy

its funny how the youngsters in our club change back to open gears after the finish of 'league' but ask to change back to restricted after a few rides.

[ccc2]

i made the mistake of giving my son my old bike with campy gear set. shimano cassettes separate and are easier to get to be compatible with big blade.

be prepared for endless moans about the gears skipping and slipping because its difficult to set the limits with so few gears at the back esp for u14/u16's

[Google]

The Longest a u18 can ride according to CSA is like 60km however it all depends on the kid and his fitness. For instance I rode the Dusi Mfula aged 10 and coped fine because I took it my pace the whole way. (80km day 1, 50 day 2). There are no gearing limits for MTB because the gears are so small.

[Let's Ride]

When I was 15 I did a 5 day cycling tour with my school (cycling team). We did 100km's each day and most were on the usual gear setup.

 

Did weekends away where we pushed ourselves. Rides to Hermanus and back.

 

So let him push himself if he wants to. The key to me loving cycling was that I was never forced to ride. One guy was forced to and straight after school he stopped cycling.

[Reden]

I searched the CSA site.

Found only gearing for road bikes.

Turns out MTB's do not have gearing restrictions at the moment.

[SwissVan]

When I was 15 I did a 5 day cycling tour with my school (cycling team). We did 100km's each day and most were on the usual gear setup.

 

Did weekends away where we pushed ourselves. Rides to Hermanus and back.

 

So let him push himself if he wants to. The key to me loving cycling was that I was never forced to ride. One guy was forced to and straight after school he stopped cycling.

 

Wonder how far Danny van Poppel rode when he was a laatie

At 19 he is the youngest Tour de France rider post WW2

 

Edit I phone moment

[Gen]

Some very valuable input here if you are involved with young ones riding... was put on to this by Jeroen...

 

http://coaching.cyclingsa.com/content/30

 

 

I am reviving this thread.

 

As my kids are really into this road bike thing, I want to tread very lightly as not to have them over do it.. Especially the eldest one, as he recons everything must be ridden as if he is chasing Jens Voigt on a break.. aye I am going to have to get those gear limits sorted asap to avoid him getting hurt and damaging those growing muscles and bones. The youngest one is far more chilled and likes having a chat while riding.. The most important thing is to have fun.

 

I tried following that link.. but the page does not exist anymore.

 

Anyone have a link for me.

 

I have searched all over the web.. (perhaps I am asking google the wrong question) and only found something on an Aussie website. which is basically for the one kid age 11 it says 40-100km a week no more than 30km/1.5hr per session. for the eldest one 13yrs old 100-200km per peek no more than 60km/2hrs per session. 

 

Can this be used as a good rule of thumb?

 

http://www.hamiltonwheelers.com/racing/juniors/28-juniors-program/567-juniors-gearing-and-training-advice

[Bianchi Baby]

@Gen

We as a family are all very new to this kids cycling thing - in fact to cycling as a whole - but our 9 year old thinks he is on his way to the TdF one day so we have had to learn QUICKLY!

There is a good cycling academy in Ermelo that is doing some pretty amazing training for the youngsters and I am sure they would be glad to give you some tips. It's is called PRO-DEO cycling academy give them a call (I don't have a number but I know they work from the bike shop there).

Otherwise call Bosseau Bosshoff from Infinita cycling academy in Nelspruit, he is awesome and also very helpful with regards to what kids should be doing etc.

With regards to the gear ratios - it's a proper pain in the a$& but so necessary. The ratios are there for a reason it is up to us as parents to enforce them.

Other than that make sure even ride is positive and happy, when they are not happy or you feel you have to push a bit to get them going etc ..........it's time to rest and take the foot off the gas. Nutrition is vital so is hydration. At the end of the day they can only perform as well as the quality of the fuel they are taking in.

Best of luck

 

Edit: spelling

[Gen]

@Gen

We as a family are all very new to this kids cycling thing - in fact to cycling as a whole - but our 9 year old thinks he is on his way to the TdF one day so we have had to learn QUICKLY!

There is a good cycling academy in Ermelo that is doing some pretty amazing training for the youngsters and I am sure they would be glad to give you some tips. It's is called PRO-DEO cycling academy give them a call (I don't have a number but I know they work from the bike shop there).

Otherwise call Bosseau Bosshoff from Infinita cycling academy in Nelspruit, he is awesome and also very helpful with regards to what kids should be doing etc.

With regards to the gear ratios - it's a proper pain in the a$& but so necessary. The ratios are there for a reason it is up to us as parents to enforce them.

Other than that make sure even ride is positive and happy, when they are not happy or you feel you have to push a bit to get them going etc ..........miss time to rest and take the foot off the gas. Nutrition is vital so is hydration at the end of the day they can only perform as well as the quality of the fuel they are taking in.

Best of luck

 

 

Thanks for that.. 

 

I will give them a call

[DJR]

To add a little to all the above posts:

 

All the good coaches as well as the sports scientists and doctors agree on one thing. They should not specialize in one sport only at too young an age. In the long term it is counter productive. They burn out or become unbalanced. Let them play the usual school sports of their choice through primary school and let them try lots of things. Once they are through the biggest puberty growth spurt (from 15 or 16 onwards) they can focus more on one sport but will still benefit from other sports until they finish school. After that, if they are good at a particular thing, let them go for it. 

 

In our household we insist they play 1 team sport and 1 "life" sport (something they can carry on doing for fitness and enjoyment until old age. Things like cycling, tennis, golf..... We are a very active lot, so often it is an issue of too much to do and too little time.