mama baaisiekel Posted September 24, 2009 Share I hope some of you experienced riders can help.My 15 y old took up MTB'ing about a year ago and did his first race in May this year. He is all fired up, and seems to be improving with every race. He seems to prefer longer distances, but up to now we didnt allow him to compete in longer than 50 km distances, as we feel that we dont want him to do too much too soon, and he still can improve his speed at the shorter distances. Are we holding him back unnecessary?Also, how frequently should he take part in a race? He would do it every day if we let him, and did 8 races since May. I feel it is too much, and we should restrict him to 1 per month. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icycling Posted September 24, 2009 Share I am not a MTB rider - but 50km seems like the right distance. As for racing if finance affords it it could be as often as once per week. More importantly at this stage is bike set up and well at least in road riding gear restrictions. Naturally most importantly of all is the kid is having fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama baaisiekel Posted September 24, 2009 Share OK I know that I am extremely stupid, but what is bike setup and gear restrictions?? The having fun part I am happy to say that I understand.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis Posted September 24, 2009 Share My son is 11 years old and he usually do the 40 k on the mtb. however at the Silverstar Casino race the commissaire (not sure of spelling) came up to me and said that there are mtb rules for ages and distances and he is not allowed. Well my son got some tears in the eyes and the guy sais: "ok this time". But it also confuses me, are there rules or not. He easily finishes the 40 k races. I think a 15 year old should be fine. O yes and about gear restrictions on the road he's only allowed to ride bigger than 16 tooth. i think for the 16 year olds it's bigger than 14 tooth. They say its bad for the development of their legs if they crank too big a gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted September 25, 2009 Share I did the DC at 15 and I'm not dead yet... just (as everyone else has said) make sure he's not pushing big gears, he'll mess up his knees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rad006 Posted September 25, 2009 Share If you can afford it let him race as much as possible. It will increase his speed alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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