Kids and geared bikes - how old

joshy2

I was just wondering roughly how old kids should be before getting them a bike with gears?

My 5 year old is quickly gaining confidence on his bike and I'm thinking he'll probably start outgrowing it in about 6 months. Is it still way too soon to think about getting him a bike with gearing - or would it be good for his next bike to have it? I can't remember how old I was when I started using gears!

Thanks,

Josh

CitizenLee

We bought our eldest a Specialized Hotrock 20 when she was 7/8 and it took her ages to start using the the gripshift gears. She knew how to operate the shifter, but couldn't get her head around when and why to change gears depending on the terrain and would often end up frustrated in the wrong gear. Her sister on the otherhand found them much easier to use when the bike was eventually passed down to her (again, she would have been around 7). So based on that, I'd think 5/6 is still maybe a bit too soon... although every kid is different.

daniel_b

Our daughter has a frog 52, and was using the gears at 4.5 years old.

It has trigger shift.

Worst case, just leave it in a specific gear.

She has already notified us that she wants her next bike to have 'curly handlebars'

The Rookie

Daniel B wrote:

She has already notified us that she wants her next bike to have 'curly handlebars'

Now that does need clamping down on and fast, no good will come of it.

steve_sordy

It depends....

I always bought my grandson a lightweight bike that fitted him. Early on, they were single speed, right up to a 16" wheeled bike. His first 20" wheeled bike came with gears. It was for his 6th birthday and he was ready for gears because he was ready for mtb. He had a few problems with the twist grip because his wrists weren't strong enough. But I spent the same care and time on his shifting as I would on my own bike and I got it sorted for him. Once that was sorted, he didn't have a problem actually shifting, but it took him a few weeks to know what gear he needed to be in. It was the right time for him.

His two-years younger sister got his bike handed down two years later. So she was the same age as he was, but she has never been what you would call a natural biker. She was hard work on a bike, always has been. (The miles I have run behind her!) Getting the gears took absolutely ages. She is a bright girl, but is more arty than practical and gears are not intuitive for her as they were for her brother. He was mad keen on bikes before he could even say the word "bike".

So it depends..

joshy2

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just see what's out there when it comes to replacing his current bike. Alternatively I could just get one with gears and he can use them when he's used to it.

gomezz

My granddaughter only learned to ride her bike a month ago she is 7 1/2, so her mum & dad got her a 20 in bike with gears soon after. As with Steve she had trouble with the twist grip gears,
so with my advise they got Halfords to change the gripshift to Shimano Tourney which they did for around £16 ! she has soon learned to work them out and is looking forward to rides with granddad. As yet she only needs the middle front ring.

steve_sordy

gomezz wrote:

My granddaughter only learned to ride her bike a month ago she is 7 1/2, so her mum & dad got her a 20 in bike with gears soon after. As with Steve she had trouble with the twist grip gears,
so with my advise they got Halfords to change the gripshift to Shimano Tourney which they did for around £16 ! she has soon learned to work them out and is looking forward to rides with granddad. As yet she only needs the middle front ring.

Don't go 2x or 3x. Even my newly learned to ride wife couldn't get her head round that!

Stick with a single speed, 1x7 or similar. Changing gear at all is hard enough to get your head round without the complication of what front gear to be in as well!

And of course, it is lighter and cheaper. Young kids don't need a massively wide range of gears. They will not be going up steep hills and they won't be going super quick either. Keep it simple.

My grandson is on 1x10 and he has all the gears he needs. Although I might swap his 11-36 for an 11-42 before too long, as I've noticed him struggling occasionally on the steep stuff. Maybe that last increase on his front ring was a step too far!

slc123

My son is 6, nearly 7 and he has a single speed with trigger shifter. He was fairly late learning to ride, but is now pretty capable on the gears. I would say about 5/6 is a good time to introduce it with a view they will probably be up to speed by the time they are 7.

general-ref

slc123 wrote:

My son is 6, nearly 7 and he has a single speed with trigger shifter. He was fairly late learning to ride, but is now pretty capable on the gears. I would say about 5/6 is a good time to introduce it with a view they will probably be up to speed by the time they are 7.

I'd agree with this. Think my son had just turned 6 - got him one with a trigger shift and 8 gears. He spent a lot of time in the wrong gear, but he could use them and quickly learned about using the right gear, and now as a 7 year old, it's a big help to his riding.

larkim

My only steer would be to recommend decent trigger shifters rather than gripshift. All my boys have had trouble with the force required on gripshifters, and converting to (or buying in the first place) triggers has been welcomed by them. Especially on the Frog bike that we have where it is an Altus rear mech and shifters, it is so much easier than the low end grip shifting experience.

slc123

larkim wrote:

My only steer would be to recommend decent trigger shifters rather than gripshift. All my boys have had trouble with the force required on gripshifters, and converting to (or buying in the first place) triggers has been welcomed by them. Especially on the Frog bike that we have where it is an Altus rear mech and shifters, it is so much easier than the low end grip shifting experience.

My son also has a frog bike and big thumbs up to the components and gears on that! Seems to get on with it really well.

lettingthedaysgoby

My daughter got her Frog just before her 5th Birthday and got the hang of the gears almost straightaway. Trigger shifters are definitely way better than gripshfts.

She’s now 7, can do 20 mile rides with me and last week managed her first hill that had ramps of over 10% 8)

norvernrob

My son was 5 when we got him a Frog 52, he used the gears straight away with my advising him which to change to - he’s 6 now and can use them properly by himself.

joshy2

It seems like most of your (grand)kids have Frog 52s - how come you went for those over say, Hoy Bonaly's or Isla Beinns (which seem about the same price)? Was it just what your kids were more comfortable with?

Thanks,

Josh

lettingthedaysgoby

joshy2 wrote:

It seems like most of your (grand)kids have Frog 52s - how come you went for those over say, Hoy Bonaly's or Isla Beinns (which seem about the same price)? Was it just what your kids were more comfortable with?

Thanks,

Josh

For us it was simple - a friend who works at a local bike shop said “buy this one”, so we did 8)

steve_sordy

I chose the Hoy Bonaly 24 for my grandson. Until then he's been on Islabikes, but I thought the Hoy was a better bike for him. It had trigger shift and a wider gear range. The quality was just as high and it was £70 cheaper. It was also the same weight as the Islabike. Every other bike I looked at including the Frog was inferior in my opinion. (Spec, quality, weight, or price).

Whichever bike you buy, if your child will be riding off road, ditch the smooth tyres that come as standard (probably Kenda small block 8 ) and fit some thing better suited. Keep the ditched tyres to put back on when you are selling the bike in a few years.

slowbike

Our son is 3 and frequently uses his gears when on the Followme ... unfortunately he's on a single speed and he uses the left "gear" lever which has a strange effect of increasing resistance .... if he does it much more I will be disconnecting the back brake!

daniel_b

joshy2 wrote:

It seems like most of your (grand)kids have Frog 52s - how come you went for those over say, Hoy Bonaly's or Isla Beinns (which seem about the same price)? Was it just what your kids were more comfortable with?

Thanks,

Josh

Frog 52 for my daughter too, which replaced a bargain £100 isla cnoc.
Tbh, it came up locally for £120, so too good a deal to turn down. Happily she is not too preciousabout colour or condition, and I expect she'll only need it for a couple of years, before she needs her curly barred bike!

Will deffo scan the market (Frog, hoy, wiggins, isla etc) to see what the best curly barred bike is at the time, 24" wheel I presume. Hopefully there might be a few more options out there by then too, pretty sure Decathlon make scaled down roadbikes already.

joshy2

Great - thanks everyone, that's very helpful.

Josh