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Plan for introducing kids to riding

Discussion in 'General' started by grasshopper, Dec 20, 2017.

  1. DWhyte91

    DWhyte91 Well-Known Member

    Bring them to the track while you race. They’ll be hooked.

    My wife asked my 3yo “guess what we’re going to do today?!” He replied “go to the race track!!?”. We were going to the park or some shit. She looked me square in the face and said “this is your fault”.
     
  2. sdiver

    sdiver Well-Known Member

    Razor electric dirt bikes are amazingly good, require almost no maintenance and are quiet in urban areas. I told mine that if they are still interested in riding at age 12 then a mini would be next, crf or klx based. Obviously I'm not trying to raise the next MotoGP champ although Zarco was a late starter
     
  3. Champer

    Champer Well-Known Member

    We started both kids on a strider at 2 or so, and they both started riding 2-wheel pedal bikes before 4 with no real troubles. We skipped training wheels all together.

    Our daughter (now 6) started riding a PW50 when she was 5, and really likes it. We have had a XR50 since before they were born (used as a track pit bike once upon a time) but it is still too big for her as she is small for her age. Even on the PW she has trouble grabbing the brakes with her small hands.

    Our son is 4 and we haven't tried him on the PW yet because we don't think mentally he's ready for it - he'll be the one to just rip the throttle and run into the woods or out into the street. Will try him on it next summer.

    Your 4-wheel Radio Flyer is probably a good start also, we found our kids liked Y-bikes (google that), they can use them as supports while learning to walk, and also turn them around and sit on them to learn the motion of pushing off with their feet.

    The problem we had with the Razor bike is the throttle was an on/off switch, not an actual throttle. So the bike either went full speed or no speed.
     
    John29 likes this.
  4. grasshopper

    grasshopper Well-Known Member

    This thing?

    upload_2017-12-21_14-58-13.png
     

    Attached Files:

  5. Champer

    Champer Well-Known Member

    Yup, we actually still have ours from when our kids were <1 year and when friends come over with little ones it gets a workout.

    As they get closer to 2 they can really get this thing moving on smooth surfaces (garage floor, driveway, street, etc). With the wide legs it's nice as it provides support while they learn the push mechanics.
     
  6. grasshopper

    grasshopper Well-Known Member

    Cool! Thanks
     
  7. MotoGP69

    MotoGP69 Well-Known Member

    Check out the STACYC Stability Cycle. It’s basically an electric Strider, which seems like a good idea (though a little pricey). My kids went from balance bikes at 2 to pedal bikes at 4 to motorcycles at 5. Both kids could also operate my Zuma down the straightaways of my hood in their 3s (sitting in front of me). We still do this for practice.
    21909E05-CD10-4F2A-966F-31A5FFFFC531.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2017
    SuddenBraking, TurboBlew and Phl218 like this.
  8. some guy #2

    some guy #2 Well-Known Member

    Just bought my daughter's Strider bike today. Picking up a helmet before Christmas. Hope she at least tries it before she says "no no no"
     
  9. 418

    418 Expert #59

    I dont get the strider thing. Buy them a small bicycle, dont install pedals. Voila, strider bike.

    Neither of my kids show interest so far. I'm ok with that.
     
    TurboBlew likes this.
  10. DWhyte91

    DWhyte91 Well-Known Member

    You’d have to take the crank out and even then the bottom bracket is a wide point where the kids will clip their ankles.

    Also they’re a lot heavier. Bought my son a norco pedal bike and the thing is a tank compared to the strider.
     
  11. cha0s#242

    cha0s#242 Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand

    We tried going that way, but the regular bike didn't go low enough for my son to put his feet down. The Stryder was much lower and easier to operate.
     
    418 likes this.
  12. some guy #2

    some guy #2 Well-Known Member

    After seeing a strider vs even a toddler sized bike the strider is much lower to ground. Also agree on the weight.
     
  13. Champer

    Champer Well-Known Member

    Our daughter was (still is) very small for her age, we looked at tons of 12" bikes and the best one by far for a small kid is the Specialized Hotrock 12 (maybe called Riprock now). Most of the 12" bikes, the frames were too big so she couldn't touch the ground. The other makes, if the frame was small enough (Huffy), it was too short so she would almost hit her knees on the handlebars.

    https://www.twowheelingtots.com/specialized-hotrock-12-review/

    I also recommend the balance buddy when they are first trying out pedal bikes - this will save your back.

    https://www.amazon.com/Balance-Buddy-31264002-Adjustable/dp/B000MISWIW/
     
  14. Phl218

    Phl218 .

    1st time on it
     

    Attached Files:

    TurboBlew and 418 like this.
  15. Phl218

    Phl218 .

    Governor was a tad slow to go uphill, so I turned the screw out a bit.


    He had me running and catch him 10ft before the fence. Learning controls tomorrow. Probably putting a block on top of the door brake and gotta come up with something that those small hands reach the front lever
     
  16. wera313

    wera313 Well-Known Member

    I have a 2.5 year old girl. She got a Strider for her last birthday - sits on it and paddle walks now. Not quite coasting yet.

    She’s been to the local shops with me a few times. Jumped on a PW50 and said “I wanna go fast!.” Last week we bought her first motorcycle as a Christmas present together. It’s an Oset 12.5 racing edition. After research decided these were ideal until ~6 yrs when she would be ready for a gas bike. So far she’s getting the throttle control on the Oset but walk behind to help her balance.

    Highly recommend the Oset after research. Check them out in YouTube videos.
     
    Phl218 likes this.
  17. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Tyler started riding his at 5 and a half after Santa brought it. It worked better for us starting him in 2nd or 3rd, first gear had too much torque.

    We did it without training wheels, but he had already learned on my buddies PW50, which are much easier for a little kid to touch the ground and much less torque.
     
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  18. That is an epic picture for so many reasons but the main one is two fold for me (well besides they are on two wheels which is a given) 1) spending quality time with the kids 2) getting them outdoors which is obviously on a rapid f ing decline in this world.
     
    MotoGP69 likes this.
  19. Ya but that sure didn’t work out too good for him did it... wait, on second thoughts I’m pretty sure he had a good baseline before getting on pavement :)
     
  20. What does your kid have? I made a couple sets of hybrid alum carbon levers for my sons pw so I could get the brake throw but move them in closer because of his hands being small at the time. I’ll see if I can dig them up, in process of re organizing my shed/ workshop bit all totes are well labeled so just need to find it. If not I’ll probably be doing some carbon tonight for a couple small bits I’m making for my gun and could probably re do one quick with what I have laying around accessible.
     
    Phl218 likes this.

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