When to trade up ...

slowbike

Following on from Bargins thread over in commuting chat ...

Matt_N wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

Ah - he's still on a BB - Puky - we're looking at a pedal bike now.
Like you - we have the conundrum of going for the 12" wheels now - or waiting 6 months (at his rate of growth!) and going for 14" wheels ... don't want something that's too big for him or he won't want to ride.
At the moment he loves his Puky BB and whizzes about all over the place. Lights are because we are on the road (albeit a quiet street) and because it makes it fun for him.

Sounds like our two lads are very similar.

He's really confident on it, was thinking of getting him a new one for Christmas.

The Riprock would be good it's the same with the addition of a pedal set but it has a coaster brake which I think works well as it makes sense to stop pedalling when you want to stop but I've read some toddlers struggle with them.

Isla bike 14" would be the logical choice, well designed, perfect geometry matched to toddlers and good re-sale.

I found this site the other da which highlights why most of the 12" bikes are a waste of time:

https://www.twowheelingtots.com/special ... 12-review/

We're certainly in two minds as to whether to give him a pedal bike for Christmas or wait till next summer when he'll be about 3. I've no doubt that if we gave him a pedal bike now, he'd struggle for 1/2 hr then "get it" - he's pretty much got the balance - lifting both feet off the ground and placing them in the middle - scooter style. But he has so much fun with his balance bike that I don't want to remove it too soon - plus I'd like him to be able to deal with speed a bit better - but his BB has no brakes ...

Anyway - what kicked off was this:

Slowbike wrote:

Just bought a set of these for my 2yo's bike - powered 2 x CR2032 in each light. They're not going to set the world alight with their brightness - however, for a set of see-me lights they seem to be quite good for the money (<£5) and will do nicely for Little Slowbikes accompanied rides.
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Izone-Pulse-Fr ... _84254.htm
Almost tempting to get another set for myself - for group rides when you need lights, but not to blind your mates...

matt_n-2

Yeh that's the issue I've found, he can ride the other bike but he really doesn't enjoy it and after a few goes he wants to get back on the BB. Which is fine because like you I want him to enjoy items build his confidence and strength.

I suppose I'm answering my own question, let him enjoy his time on the BB and then see where we are height and confidence wise spring time.

slowbike

I suppose one hope is that the pedal bike will increase range - as scooting takes quite a bit of leg power - it'll be quite nice to be able to take him to a coffee shop a couple of miles away without having to carry him.

One thing I will need to look out for though, the single geared bikes may not have approriate gears on - something I (now) recall having an issue with with my niece - although she was pretty good at side-by-side and getting a push ...

Steve-XcT

I suppose one hope is that the pedal bike will increase range - as scooting takes quite a bit of leg power - it'll be quite nice to be able to take him to a coffee shop a couple of miles away without having to carry him.

One thing I will need to look out for though, the single geared bikes may not have approriate gears on - something I (now) recall having an issue with with my niece - although she was pretty good at side-by-side and getting a push ...

A lot will depend where you live... for us to cycle into town involves a big hill (not a problem now but back then) but if we go the other way we can get to the garden centre (coffee and ice-cream) with only crossing 1 road... and we can get on the canal and cycle miles to various coffee shops, pub lunches etc.

We have to drive to get to the canal (just because of roads) but that's worth it because we then have miles of cycling and various nice places ... now though we just cycle trails as you have miles and miles with no traffic

slowbike

we have one trail on our doorstep - mostly flat - nice to play with.
anything else around us is either on the road (no go atm) or staying off road it's hilly and more mountain bike territory.
We can get to the New Forest reasonably easily - but it's still a day trip so needs a bit of planning.

Steve-XcT

Slowbike wrote:

we have one trail on our doorstep - mostly flat - nice to play with.
anything else around us is either on the road (no go atm) or staying off road it's hilly and more mountain bike territory.
We can get to the New Forest reasonably easily - but it's still a day trip so needs a bit of planning.

anything else around us is either on the road (no go atm)

Jnr just turned 8 and handles a bike like it's part of him... we don't even stray near roads ... we have about 200' of quiet residential road can't be avoided between our house and school and he hates it... He'll cycle a black without thinking twice but a quiet residential road scares him. He'd get off an push if he could..


Where abouts are you?
We were pretty lucky in that we have Swinley half an hour away (and it has lots of fire trails, not only single track) but there are quite a few other big areas of non MTB as well.

A lot of these are not obvious.... indeed I think I almost stumbled into some of them doing other things then thinking hey this would be a great place to bring the bikes. It's just finding them... and I don't know of a reliable formula... quite often there are places with miles of cycle paths but google doesn't put them on the first page ..

Quite often the best way seems to be when someone mentions somewhere on a forum or looking at YouTube etc.
I found places reasonably close to me that I'd never have thought existed...
(We went to Southampton Bike Park one weekend for example after seeing it on youTube... but when we were there it's got loads of "normal" cycling as well) to be fair Swinley is 30 mins drive but if we arrive late we could spend 20 mins looking for parking... so the difference isn't as big as first impressions.

opencyclemaps.org can give an idea but then you need to zoom in and check road vs not etc. and I also switch on cycle routes on my phone's google maps... etc.

We often travel a lot further as Jnr has got into XC racing and we are between two regions so we end up travelling in Kent/Sussex direction for one set and North London to East Anglia in the other ... how much planning really depends on registration time! When the pressure of being 100 miles away at 9am is taken away the planning is a lot less
(Obviously starting any day with a kid at 5am requires more than a little planning)

However even when its a more relaxed start I found routine makes it easier.
Even though he's 8 now and i shouldn't have to I get his cycling kit out the night before and he get dressed straight into it...I have no idea how (well I do they have a short attention span) but kids can easily take an hour under their own steam... school days he has breakfast in PJ's as he'd often turn up a complete mess if we didn't but it's not a big deal cycling... (and I can always have a spare top if he gets covered in egg or something)

If you can find some places and then make a regular weekend trip you'll still be planing but it will become more routine and less hassle.

Stuff like helmets and spare clothing etc. and tools I might need I prepare the night before... if not then the organising a kid part means I'd probably arrive with no helmet or less wheels than we should have

slowbike

Swinley is about 1.5hr from us - so the New Forest is closer. Will have to think about the park and ride - don't tend to do it at the moment as riding is a fairly short activity.

Regarding the lights I posted at the top of the page - they're fine - although the front one is a PITA to turn on ...

slowbike

That’s it - decision made. We’re now looking for an Islabike Cnoc 14 small - unless anyone can suggest an equivalent for a child with a 34cm inside leg.
We went out this afternoon and he was so sure of himself with feet off the ground. I even gave him a push to keep him going a bit further. So that’s a Christmas present idea sorted

matt_n-2

I've almost come to the same conclusion, he's ripping around on his balance bike and whilst it would be good to get him on a 12" pedal now, I think he'd soon outgrow it.

Have you sat him on a 14" wheeled bike, can he touch the floor whilst on the saddle, they do still recommend that for first pedal bikes you try and fit them that way?

Isla CNOC small is probably the number 1 choice (minimum inseam 34cm) but there are some others (albeit taller inseam), I was looking at this the other day: http://www.cyclesprog.co.uk/bikes/best- ... kes-pedal/

slowbike

He is 34cm inside leg ... He wanted a go on another childs bike at the park the other day - whilst it was too big (and had stablaisers and was on thick grass) he had the idea of turning the pedals - so he's definately ready.

As for size - he's got to be able to put both feet down.
Looking at his height and height prediction charts he's only going to be about 36cm inside leg by the age of 3 by which time he'll definately want to be pedalling - smallest frog is the 43 - with a 43cm inside leg requirement - which is a long way off.

slowbike

Well - it's bought and delivered ... we had a sneak look at it whilst LSB was in bed last night ... he's going to be soooo happy. Just hope he can ride it.

Interestingly - saddle in lowest position to floor is 40cm ...

matt_n-2

That's interesting, so not quite the 34cm they allude it should fit, they've not sent you a CNOC Large by mistake?

I measured my lad the other day, he's 3 in January, 98cm tall with a 38cm inseam.

I'm still not sure he's in as much as a rush to be pedalling as I am, he still loves just swooshing along on the BB.

slowbike

nope - its definately a small - you can see by the frame geometry - and the handlebars are different.

It's possible I can get the saddle down another couple of cm ... and I don't think he needs his feet flat on the floor to pedal - but sitting it next to his BB it looks a significant leap. Can't really get him to try it for size as he remembers so much atm - he won't forget that in time for Christmas!

He's definately ready to pedal - sitting him on his Isla Bienn20 - he's going for the pedals ... but of course, it's way to big for him. He still loves his BB - but I think the lack of pedalling is getting frustrating for him - especially as we ride alongside him.

slowbike

Well - he got it - and we got it on Video - he wasn't feeling too well - but still wanted to get on. Had to put the pedals on first - great fun with him helping. He's not quite got the idea of pedalling, but he enjoys scooting it around the house (slowly!) and using the brakes - may have to make up a turbo stand for him.