The official Riding with Kids thread

[Alouette3]

@Trashy dropped you a PM

[Alouette3]

Anyone got a spare "Ahead stem" adapter for the Thule Ride along mini? Just the adapter ring.

[The Ouzo]

I'm rather chuffed, just got a message from my daughters school, they are officially opening their newly built pump track tomorrow.

Right now its for the school kids only, hoping that down the line they open it to the public.

['Dale]

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

~ Frederick Douglas
 

[Darko]

Dads, what's the go to system to get my little one (3) onto my bicycle and riding with me? 

 

[PhilipV]

1 hour ago, Darko said:

Dads, what's the go to system to get my little one (3) onto my bicycle and riding with me? 

 

Yellow Feva saddle. Or one of the fancier alternatives that does the same thing. 

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, Darko said:

Dads, what's the go to system to get my little one (3) onto my bicycle and riding with me? 

 

go through this thread - you're at the right place!

[DJuice]

1 hour ago, PhilipV said:

Yellow Feva saddle. Or one of the fancier alternatives that does the same thing. 

This! Yellow Feva.

Three boys gone through it.

The middle one (3 years and 9 months), my sisters boy, impressed with him, he follows the eldest (6), took over the loaner (Norco) from Markus, one or two falls but he is cycling now.

Good for a 3km ride.

My youngest, also 3, brand spanking new green little Scott, he pushes the bike along, and that is also good! He likes to ride with me on the Feva, so now we roll the two on their bikes, Tom and I and 5 dogs trailing.

 

[Darko]

Thanks guys.

[Jase619]

Okay, so a little assistance. My sister in law is looking to get a mountain bike for my nephew, he is going to grade 2 next year, 8 years old in the new year. He intends to ride/race it in their school league. My research and reading through this thread has lead me to believe that Titan is a good choice for a kids bike(exactly what I just bought my 3 year old for Christmas) but having a fight about wheel size. All the advice tends to lean towards a 24 inch, he isn’t the tallest and definitely doesn’t have tall genes. Is this the right size? They are leaning towards a 26er of even a 27.5 because of some anecdotal evidence presented to them today. 
 

am I wrong to think that is way to big? 

[ChrisF]

14 minutes ago, Jase619 said:

Okay, so a little assistance. My sister in law is looking to get a mountain bike for my nephew, he is going to grade 2 next year, 8 years old in the new year. He intends to ride/race it in their school league. My research and reading through this thread has lead me to believe that Titan is a good choice for a kids bike(exactly what I just bought my 3 year old for Christmas) but having a fight about wheel size. All the advice tends to lean towards a 24 inch, he isn’t the tallest and definitely doesn’t have tall genes. Is this the right size? They are leaning towards a 26er of even a 27.5 because of some anecdotal evidence presented to them today. 
 

am I wrong to think that is way to big? 

 

Only one way to KNOW ....

 

let him stand over the bike.

 

Then let him sit on the saddle, while steering far left and right.

 

 

The stand over hight might be obvious, still we often see parents buying a bike that is too tall.

 

 

Steering ... going too big typically mean they cant turn the steering far without looking like superman.

 

 

 

 

For racing ... a 1x7 works well for this age group.  That said, consider upgrading those horid grip shifts to trigger shift.

 

 

 

Unlikely the bike comes with tubeless ready tyres .... slime in the tubes workec very well for us

[RobynE]

He’s not going to be comfortable riding a bike that doesn’t fit.
 

An XS 26 is still a pretty big bike for a small kid and it will likely have pretty aggressive geometry which may not instil confidence unless he’s very athletic and bold. You want something disinclined to buck him off 😂 It’s super easy for kids to go over the bars as they learn to keep pedalling and avoid the front brake if they can. They want to put their feet down and lean forward when nervous and something with an aggressive stance won’t be lekker. 

 

I would go Titan or Momsen junior range - good enough to let them do jumps etc but a relaxed sitting position and not too heavy over the front. My daughter has the Titan Calypso 26. She’s 9 now and got the bike for her 8th birthday having come off a BMX. 
 

I have not loved the Microshift Mezzo 1x8 on my daughter’s Titan - it seems to be quite finicky in some ways, and it’s needed a lot of adjusting and tweaking over the past 12 months since new which has been a little frustrating.
 

However the 1x with kids geometry has been a huge confidence giver for her and now we’ve upgraded it to SRAM 1x10 and done air fork, hydraulic brakes and tubeless Maxxis setup - over the past year she’s gone from keen but cautious to positively flying and the bike in its stock form was instrumental in that and the frame is still exactly right for her in terms of size and geometry. 

[FondTF2]

Slightly off topic but found this photo of me (on the left) and my brother (on the right) of us getting ready for a ride with our dad. Circa late 1970's

Good old BSA bikes. Mind the fashion. 

[The Ouzo]

my 8 year old is riding a 20" Titan, but the bike is starting to get a little small for her, her 13 y/o sisters 26" is a tad to big for her. 

The problem is, buying the right size means kido will get 3 years max out of the bike (probably only 2) before its to small. Buying to big and kiddo's confidence goes for a ball of .......

 

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

my 8 year old is riding a 20" Titan, but the bike is starting to get a little small for her, her 13 y/o sisters 26" is a tad to big for her. 

The problem is, buying the right size means kido will get 3 years max out of the bike (probably only 2) before its to small. Buying to big and kiddo's confidence goes for a ball of .......

 

 

Jip .... Maritz went through bikes between 13 and 15 months each.

 

 

Flip side .... buy a decent bike, take care of it, and next year the upgrade does not have to cost as much

[The Ouzo]

11 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

Flip side .... buy a decent bike, take care of it, and next year the upgrade does not have to cost as much

we've been fortunate in that we buy for the eldest daughter and that then gets handed down to the youngest.