I've had three boys grow through countless numbers of balance bikes, 12", 16" and 20" bikes. A few things I have learned:
- I care much more about bike geometry than my kids do. Smaller bikes are typically worse than bigger bikes. Kid specific bikes (Cleary, woom) are better than non specific kids bikes. (My) kids don't give a hoot. - I care much more about bike style than my kids do. They don't care about racks, fenders, or lights, the holy trinity of city riding to me. The blasphemy! - I pushed kids to the next stage too quickly. I know that bigger bikes are better made with better geometry and can go faster and are more awesome. My kids liked to master their current bikes until they were way too small! My advice: wait until the kid is BEGGING you for a bigger bike. - All bikes work. Just about. It is amazing how kids can make things work. My youngest and his buddy decided to make a tandem for a street festival by attaching the front fork of one bike over the rear axle of another. I pointed out that you can't do that. And they did. And lead the parade! I still have a lot to learn, Edwin Nashville On Friday, November 17, 2023 at 4:51:00 AM UTC-6 ascpgh wrote: > Not a direct answer but for comparison information of objective spec and > geometry for a child's bike I humbly offer Brian Chapman's chronology of > bikes for his son, Tully, > > Photos of first bike: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/chapmancycles/albums/72157712905024887 > <https://www.flickr.com/photos/chapmancycles/albums/72157712905024887> > > Photos of second bike: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/chapmancycles/albums/72177720296619752 > > I know this is way outside of almost anyone's range for their child's > earliest two wheelers but interesting to see what one of the most creative > builders of frames, forks, racks brakes, trailers, pretty much anything > bike related sees as important in geometry and component spec. Brian has > some BMX history himself so these pre-geared bikes pull some personal > design experience from that. His Instagram reels are enthralling for anyone > who appreciates the process of shaping and connecting steel pieces. > > Andy Cheatham > Pittsburgh > On Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 3:55:09 PM UTC-5 fiddl...@gmail.com > wrote: > >> Since RBW regrettably doesn't make kids hillibikes, I'm going to have to >> go a bit outside of my comfort zone to pick out a first pedal bike for my >> son. He's ~3.5yo, and more than ready to move up from his 12" balance bike. >> >> Any tips from other parents who have recently gone through the switch >> from balance to pedals? I'm leaning toward something like a Woom 3 (16"), >> since they seem to be very well regarded, and I'm afraid he would outgrow a >> 14" bike too soon at this point to justify the expense. (am I wrong?) >> Probably also worth noting that a lot of his riding is currently on trails, >> so I'm definitely looking for something that will work well off-pavement, >> too. Anyhow, I'll take any advice the group is willing to throw at me - >> thanks in advance for your help! >> >> Nick >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a78ff1f9-d519-4c35-95a9-77b2a983b063n%40googlegroups.com.
