The official Riding with Kids thread

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, dave303e said:

So our riding with kids journey started on the weekend. We started our 18month old on a Feva seat. boy oh boy what a win, I think we have averaged an hour a day on the bike since then. 
It has absolutely warmed my heart when my daughter comes through to my office with her helmet on and drags me to the bike. Every time we get back to the house after riding round the farm all you hear is "more, more" and as you ride around she just points her little hand out and she says "there" and off we go that way.

Honestly it has been such a special time for me. 

I remember those days like yesterday, probably to be found way back in this thread too!

[DJuice]

@dave303eyou have a good few years to look forward to. Our youngest, Tom, yes named after a cyclist, Tommeke, is four and we go on daily rides with his older brother and nephew. Will rank top 3 best buys.

[Pieter1]

3 hours ago, dave303e said:

So our riding with kids journey started on the weekend. We started our 18month old on a Feva seat. boy oh boy what a win, I think we have averaged an hour a day on the bike since then. 
It has absolutely warmed my heart when my daughter comes through to my office with her helmet on and drags me to the bike. Every time we get back to the house after riding round the farm all you hear is "more, more" and as you ride around she just points her little hand out and she says "there" and off we go that way.

Honestly it has been such a special time for me. 

Thats awesome!!

[Pieter1]

Pretty bleak at the moment. Well for my son’s sale. Took him to the lbs just to look at bikes and make sure of the size before we buy his and turns out the Roxter is too big. I was sure he would fit on a 24” but it is a little to big. 
so… They have a poef nice Giant stp 20” bike but I can’t justify the price for a kids bike. So now it is between the Scott Scale inr and the Trek pre Caliber. 
the Trek is $250 cheaper bit is still single speed and feels flimsy. 
My question to the guys who have been through this size and age with kids is: Is it worth it to spend a little more on a bike with 7 gears and a better feel ito build quality?  My boys live riding and the bike takes a fair bit of abuse so I want something that can last for a year or two until he outgrows it but I don’t want to hinder any progression either.

Am I over thinking this?

 

Edit: He is 4 so I’m actually thinking to go with the Trek. Think gears might be too much of a distraction. 

Edited September 9 by Pieter1

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Pieter1 said:

Pretty bleak at the moment. Well for my son’s sale. Took him to the lbs just to look at bikes and make sure of the size before we buy his and turns out the Roxter is too big. I was sure he would fit on a 24” but it is a little to big. 
so… They have a poef nice Giant stp 20” bike but I can’t justify the price for a kids bike. So now it is between the Scott Scale inr and the Trek pre Caliber. 
the Trek is $250 cheaper bit is still single speed and feels flimsy. 
My question to the guys who have been through this size and age with kids is: Is it worth it to spend a little more on a bike with 7 gears and a better feel ito build quality?  My boys live riding and the bike takes a fair bit of abuse so I want something that can last for a year or two until he outgrows it but I don’t want to hinder any progression either.

Am I over thinking this?

 

Edit: He is 4 so I’m actually thinking to go with the Trek. Think gears might be too much of a distraction. 

 

Single speed, rigid fork ... PERFECT

 

 

ENJOY

Edited September 9 by ChrisF

[Shebeen]

3 hours ago, Pieter1 said:

Pretty bleak at the moment. Well for my son’s sale. Took him to the lbs just to look at bikes and make sure of the size before we buy his and turns out the Roxter is too big. I was sure he would fit on a 24” but it is a little to big. 
so… They have a poef nice Giant stp 20” bike but I can’t justify the price for a kids bike. So now it is between the Scott Scale inr and the Trek pre Caliber. 
the Trek is $250 cheaper bit is still single speed and feels flimsy. 
My question to the guys who have been through this size and age with kids is: Is it worth it to spend a little more on a bike with 7 gears and a better feel ito build quality?  My boys live riding and the bike takes a fair bit of abuse so I want something that can last for a year or two until he outgrows it but I don’t want to hinder any progression either.

Am I over thinking this?

 

Edit: He is 4 so I’m actually thinking to go with the Trek. Think gears might be too much of a distraction. 

4 and you're looking at a 24" bike? are you married to victor matfield's sister or something?!!

My kid is turning 10 next month and is not quite comfortable on the 24" yet, choosing to stay on his 20" for now. probably an outlier but still!

[Jewbacca]

My son is 5. He is massive for his age. 30 odd kg and last measured at 116cm a few months ago

He has just graduated from a 16" to 20", like last week.

Unless your son is quite genuinely bigger than most 7 year olds at 4, a 20" will last you a good couple of years.

Buy a good one 😉 

[AgentFlash]

My son got a 20' for his 5th birthday. I would say he is on the taller side. The 20' fitted him perfectly. Almost a year on now, it still fits him perfectly with plenty room left for growth. He tried the 24' too, (Thought I may be able to skip a size) however it was much to big and heavy for him to handle with confidence.

I would say get the correct size (fit) over all other factors. However, I was under the impression that most 20' bikes came with some sort of gearing. Looking at the Trek website it seems the 20' precaliber should come with gears. If you have the option for gears, I would go for it. Has made a fair improvement to his riding coming from a 16'. My son doesn't change his gears often, but rather sets them before a stretch of riding and then leaves it there. Does seem to make finding the correct gear ratio easier. Has also allowed him to go faster at the top end without his legs spinning round like crazy.

Happy shopping.

[Pieter1]

7 hours ago, Shebeen said:

4 and you're looking at a 24" bike? are you married to victor matfield's sister or something?!!

My kid is turning 10 next month and is not quite comfortable on the 24" yet, choosing to stay on his 20" for now. probably an outlier but still!

Hahaha! Yea I went looking by myself and the 20” looked too small. Put him on a 24” and saw that it might be a little big 😂

 

[Pieter1]

7 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

My son is 5. He is massive for his age. 30 odd kg and last measured at 116cm a few months ago

He has just graduated from a 16" to 20", like last week.

Unless your son is quite genuinely bigger than most 7 year olds at 4, a 20" will last you a good couple of years.

Buy a good one 😉 

Mine is 114 cm at the moment and weighs around 26.
I did not realize how big the 24” is until I had him on it 😂 
I’m also thinking I should get the best within reason because he will definitely be on it for a few years.  

[Pieter1]

2 hours ago, AgentFlash said:

My son got a 20' for his 5th birthday. I would say he is on the taller side. The 20' fitted him perfectly. Almost a year on now, it still fits him perfectly with plenty room left for growth. He tried the 24' too, (Thought I may be able to skip a size) however it was much to big and heavy for him to handle with confidence.

I would say get the correct size (fit) over all other factors. However, I was under the impression that most 20' bikes came with some sort of gearing. Looking at the Trek website it seems the 20' precaliber should come with gears. If you have the option for gears, I would go for it. Has made a fair improvement to his riding coming from a 16'. My son doesn't change his gears often, but rather sets them before a stretch of riding and then leaves it there. Does seem to make finding the correct gear ratio easier. Has also allowed him to go faster at the top end without his legs spinning round like crazy.

Happy shopping.

They have the precaliber in a ss and a geared option. I was thinking mine would do the same. Maybe the first week he will fool around with them but from there he should be able to get the hang of it. 
 

[ChrisF]

26 minutes ago, Pieter1 said:

Mine is 114 cm at the moment and weighs around 26.
I did not realize how big the 24” is until I had him on it 😂 
I’m also thinking I should get the best within reason because he will definitely be on it for a few years.  

 

Our experience ... also bought the best Momsen 20" .... also thinking it would be an investment for years.

 

Salesmen must love parents at this stage.

 

 

Back to reality.

 

13 months .... that was it.  Time for a 24"   Okay, could have bought the 20" a bit earlier, so maybe 18 months. 

 

The 24" lasted about 15 months.

 

 

Just as we got used to this .... he stopped growing for some 2 years, with the 24-9er lasting longer than expected

 

 

You just never know with kids growth spurts.

[Pieter1]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

 

Our experience ... also bought the best Momsen 20" .... also thinking it would be an investment for years.

 

Salesmen must love parents at this stage.

 

 

Back to reality.

 

13 months .... that was it.  Time for a 24"   Okay, could have bought the 20" a bit earlier, so maybe 18 months. 

 

The 24" lasted about 15 months.

 

 

Just as we got used to this .... he stopped growing for some 2 years, with the 24-9er lasting longer than expected

 

 

You just never know with kids growth spurts.

Ja good grief! Same with shoes... His 14" bike lasted him two years so I'm hoping he grows at a steady pace but like you say they have these spurts and 2 weeks later they are 5cm taller and have chest hair.

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, Pieter1 said:

Ja good grief! Same with shoes... His 14" bike lasted him two years so I'm hoping he grows at a steady pace but like you say they have these spurts and 2 weeks later they are 5cm taller and have chest hair.

 

Too true.

 

Friday afternoon we service and test the bike for Sayurday's SPUR race .... just too find his cycling shoes no longer fit.  Mad scramble to get new shoes before the shops close ....

 

I miss those days .... now it is computer games ....

[Pieter1]

25 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Too true.

 

Friday afternoon we service and test the bike for Sayurday's SPUR race .... just too find his cycling shoes no longer fit.  Mad scramble to get new shoes before the shops close ....

 

I miss those days .... now it is computer games ....

Ja flip. We went to a resort around here and they had playstations in the kids games room… So I downloaded rocket league for them but fortunately they lose interest quickly. 

[NotSoBigBen]

It starts for my little Tintin! My wife "he'll be ok on that pink bike" .... uhhm no, Grandad will go get him his own black noise maker this weekend 😎