I have just bought my daughter her first bike.

davelakers
davelakers Posts: 762
edited September 2010 in The bottom bracket
My daughter turned 3 last week and today I bought her her first bike.
I admit to being very proud and having a tear in my eye watching her ride up and down the street as if she had been riding it for years. Hopefully the stabilisers will be off as soon as possible and that this will be the start of a lifetime love affair with bicycles.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Woo hoo!

    I was almost crying with joy the day my eldest first rode without stabilisers...
  • davelakers
    davelakers Posts: 762
    59033_467268208833_563618833_6511494_2268106_n.jpg

    47921_467267843833_563618833_6511485_7936666_n.jpg
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    NapoleonD wrote:
    Woo hoo!

    I was almost crying with joy the day my eldest first rode without stabilisers...

    He was 34. They breed them slow in cheshire. :D
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    We'll prob.go the balance bike route so we can avoid the stabilisers. One of those kiddieback tandems looks cool as well
    M.Rushton
  • father_jack
    father_jack Posts: 3,509
    mrushton wrote:
    We'll prob.go the balance bike route so we can avoid the stabilisers. One of those kiddieback tandems looks cool as well

    Then you have to buy another bike...with stabilsers just take them off and got a standard bike.
    Say... That's a nice bike..
    Trax T700 with Lew Racing Pro VT-1 ;-)
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    We'd sell the balance bike (prob. an Islay one) and just move up. Hopefully the in-laws may get one as the Islay showroom is near where they live
    M.Rushton
  • BigG67
    BigG67 Posts: 582
    When you're looking at the next bike I CANNOT praise Isla Bikes enough. A wee bit more expensive but so much easier to ride....and proper brakes!
  • BigG67
    BigG67 Posts: 582
    mrushton wrote:
    We'd sell the balance bike (prob. an Islay one) and just move up. Hopefully the in-laws may get one as the Islay showroom is near where they live

    Or take the pedals off - if you're spanner friendly, whole crankset.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Cleat Eastwood wrote:
    NapoleonD wrote:
    Woo hoo!

    I was almost crying with joy the day my eldest first rode without stabilisers...

    He was 34. They breed them slow in cheshire. :D

    It's a girl. And she was 28.
  • father_jack
    father_jack Posts: 3,509
    BigG67 wrote:
    mrushton wrote:
    We'd sell the balance bike (prob. an Islay one) and just move up. Hopefully the in-laws may get one as the Islay showroom is near where they live

    Or take the pedals off - if you're spanner friendly, whole crankset.

    Or even better teach the kid to do it (remove chainset and BB :D Sure more exciting that way. Then when she's learnt how to balance, she can put them on too.
    Say... That's a nice bike..
    Trax T700 with Lew Racing Pro VT-1 ;-)
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    BigG67 wrote:
    When you're looking at the next bike I CANNOT praise Isla Bikes enough. A wee bit more expensive but so much easier to ride....and proper brakes!
    +1000 or so
    I know no-one will believe me, but I swear this pic is not tilted
    4986514569_a74bb961b3.jpg
    (I know that's off road and so strictly taboo here, but we did cycle 10 road miles each way to get to the hill - average speed on rolling terrain just under 15mph. I can see you don't believe that either, but it's true!)

    That's Bompette on the Beinn 24 & it's a beautifully designed bike, it has no suspension but she can go down stuff I feel a bit unsure on, it's more expensive than your typical cheap kiddy bike but the residual values are remarkable. I think what I really like about it is the scaled down design - cranks, brake levers, everything is kid size, and gears & brakes are really easy to use. Oh, and the weight - it's the only kids' bike I've ever seen that weighs less than my road bike. Come to think of it, it's the only kids' bike I've ever seen that weighs less than my MTB.

    Balance bikes weren't on my radar when Bomp Jr. and Bompette were wee, but Bompette II is giving us the opportunity to find out what's moved on in in ten years or so - she'll definitely be on an Isla Rothan balance bike before too long.

    And it's true that cycling can provide some of the great moments with your kids as they grow up - first bike, first solo ride, first swerve off the towpath into the river, first trip to A&E...

    Actually family is the initial reason why I got back into cycling after a long (20 year) gap from my teens: we simply identified it as an activity that we could do as a family at any stage of life, and would also give the kids something they could take in any direction they wanted as they grew up. So far it's worked great, except that I've got hooked, curse you roadies!!!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    How old is Bompette on the Benin? I'm due to get NapKid1 (aged 6) her next bike...
  • deptfordmarmoset
    deptfordmarmoset Posts: 3,118
    NapoleonD wrote:
    How old is Bompette on the Benin? I'm due to get NapKid1 (aged 6) her next bike...

    A local young cyclists' club has a few Beinns that they lend out for rides. They have a range starting with the 20 - these should give the age ranges.


    http://www.britishschoolofcycling.com/bikes/beinn20.htm
    Looking for a cycling buddy?
  • Ands
    Ands Posts: 1,437
    edited September 2010
    We got the Beinn for our 6 year old's birthday. She loves having gears and loves riding it. Oh, and she loves having a proper bottle cage!

    The eldest had a balance bike and went straight from that to riding without stabilisers. She was off stabilisers at 3. The youngest used the balance bike a lot but refused point blank to ride the 12" Specialized without stabilisers (she was riding the bike with stabilisers because she couldn't touch the floor when we first got the balance bike). Finally got her off stabilisers over the summer hols (aged 4).

    My best ride of the year so far - 4 mile round trip to the sweet shop, avg speed 3mph - first ride together without stabilisers (her, not me) :D
    Photo0176.jpg
    Cannondale Six Carbon
  • father_jack
    father_jack Posts: 3,509
    So you didn't time her and say that's a terrible time you'll never win the tour de france? :wink:

    (a character from Harry Enfield I think)
    Say... That's a nice bike..
    Trax T700 with Lew Racing Pro VT-1 ;-)
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Cheers peeps.
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    bompington wrote:

    I know no-one will believe me, but I swear this pic is not tilted
    4986514569_a74bb961b3.jpg

    Yeah but what youre not saying is that the poor little Bompster is rolling backwards. :D
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    NapoleonD wrote:
    How old is Bompette on the Benin? I'm due to get NapKid1 (aged 6) her next bike...
    We got it for her 10th birthday but she's pretty small for her age. She will probably be big enough for the 26 soon but the 24 looks and feels right for her.
    Islabikes tend to have bigger wheels on smaller frames, so kids will often need a size up from what you think: there is a sizing guide on their website that most folks seem to agree is pretty accurate.

    At the risk of harping on, I too cannot recommend this bike highly enough - I have rarely felt like £250 was better spent (actually we paid extra for the name transfer too - I'll admit it, I soooo want that on my bikes...) and the whole bike just feels like quality. Bomp Jr. nicks it when he can get away with it, I think it's the lightness and sharp-handling feel he likes. And he's 12. And yes, I've tried it too.
    Some of the boys at the school make the odd comment about its lack of suspension or front gears, but then she just leaves them for dead whether on or off road, up or downhill.

    Bottom line is that she's really happy on it, and when your kids are happy on their bikes, you're a happy cyclist.
  • gregster10217
    gregster10217 Posts: 469
    We bought our son his first bike for his 3rd birthday, a Raleigh, from our LBS (Geoff Wiles in Strood.) Unfortunately he still hasn;t got the hang of pedalling forward no matter how much encouragement I give him.
    Any suggestions?
    Limited Edition Boardman Team Carbon No. 448
    Boardman MTB Team
  • dmch2
    dmch2 Posts: 731
    My daughter was 4 and a half before she could get up any sort of slope. It just seems that they suddenly get it at some point and then they love it. But before then it's just really hard work.

    We taught my niece to walk by holding out chocolate buttons for her and only letting her have them if she stepped rather than crawled. Maybe a variation on that?
    2010 Trek 1.5 Road - swissstop green, conti GP4000S
    2004 Marin Muirwoods Hybrid
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    dmch2 wrote:
    We taught my niece to walk by holding out chocolate buttons for her and only letting her have them if she stepped rather than crawled. Maybe a variation on that?

    Maybe my coach could try that to get me to be able to climb...
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    gregster10217 wrote:
    We bought our son his first bike for his 3rd birthday, a Raleigh, from our LBS (Geoff Wiles in Strood.) Unfortunately he still hasn;t got the hang of pedalling forward no matter how much encouragement I give him.
    Any suggestions?
    EPO?
  • RonB
    RonB Posts: 3,984
    FWIW my son managed 2 circuits of the Birmingham Skyride yesterday on his Beinn (small) yesterday. We got him this from Ludlow for his 5th B'day when it was touch and go between the Beinn small and the Cnoc 16. After that the next bike should (crosses fingers) be a road 24". Despite weekly visits to Cannock Chase for off-road stuff.

    One other thing to mention - worth checking out the excellent Sheldon Brown website about encouraging kids to ride.
  • Ands
    Ands Posts: 1,437
    NapoleonD wrote:
    Cheers peeps.
    You are welcome to take a look at or test ride the Beinn if you're up this way. Daughter has the 20" :)
    Cannondale Six Carbon
  • Wamas
    Wamas Posts: 256
    I can recommend the Ridgeback kids bikes too.
    Possibly not quite as light as the Isla Bikes (the Ridgeback are slightly cheaper), but head and shoulders above everything else. Proper rims and decent v-brakes with small adjustable brake levers.

    My 3.5 year old son has had a Scoot balance bike, and now has a 14MX ridgeback bike.
    He can go the 14MX without stabilisers as he learned balance on the Scoot, but doesn't quite get that you have to keep pedalling to stay upright, work in progress.

    http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/index.php?bi ... _bike=TRUE
    http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/index.php?bi ... _bike=TRUE
  • lfcquin
    lfcquin Posts: 470
    While my 4 month old is a bit young to be riding yet, she loves it if I grab her legs when she is lying on her back and rotate them round in a pedalling motion. She even does it herself!

    She'll be riding before she can walk if I get my way :wink:

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