My daughter was on her bike for the first time in almost a year and a half this weekend. I just got a bike and I would like for us to do this together!
I put the bikes on the trunk rack, drove us to a big empty sloping parking lot, and we rode around for about an hour yesterday afternoon. She hasn't ever gotten all that comfortable on a bike, and unfortunately the 18 mos away hasn't magically made it easier for her! She rides just fine, but she doesn't feel like she's in control. Also, she doesn't trust her brakes because they stop her too fast (she says she can't squeeze them more gently?), so she tends to put her foot on the ground, then the pedal runs into the back of her leg.
Also, for someone just learning, I'm wondering if I shouldn't have her seat lower--so she can reach the ground more easily? It means her legs are still bent quite a bit when she's got the pedal all the way down, but I'm thinking she'd be more comfortable as far as feeling safe. I'd moved her seat up yesterday, but I think I might have made it too high, because she can just barely touch the ground when she's seated.
Any other suggestions beyond try, try again?
DieselDan
05-21-07, 06:10 PM
Kids are tough to fit. Their bodies grow at different rates in different places at different times, and that includes physical ability. She will learn to feather her brakes and keep her feet on the pedals. I can't come up with any other suggestions other then try again.
You could get her a trike.
donnamb
05-21-07, 09:59 PM
I couldn't use hand brakes when I was her age. I just wasn't coordinated enough. My coaster brake was my friend. :)
Velo Dog
05-21-07, 10:03 PM
Is it something SHE wants, or something YOU want? My daughter never did warm up to cycling, though her brother and her mom and I all enjoy it. She's 21 now and sort of envies us when we go on family rides, but she rarely comes along even though I've offered to buy her the bike of her choice (as long as it's not better than mine...).
Running the pedal over her own leg is pretty common, and to be honest, I'm not very sympathetic with people who do it more than once. My wife's been riding for more than 30 years, and she STILL puts her foot down and sort of hops along until she stops, and once a week or so she rams herself in the calf. I no longer comment on it--she knows the cause, and repeating it just irritates her.
If your daughter's brakes start to grab in the first part of the movement of the levers, you might try loosening them so the pads don't contact the rims until about halfway through the lever travel. Just be sure she can't bottom out the levers. She may be riding the levers out of nervousness, and that would give her more room so they don't come on all of a sudden.
I'd definitely lower the seat if she feels tippy or can't reach the ground easily. At this point, security and safety are more important than pedaling efficiency. Look at the BMX kids you see around town--they all ride with the saddles so low they rarely get past 90 degrees or so. Makes me hurt just to watch them.
You might also combine riding with something she DOES enjoy: "Let's ride over and get an ice cream cone" or whatever rather than, "Let's load up the bikes and go do circles in a parking lot for an hour while I tell you what you're doing wrong." then as long as she's safe, keep your mouth shut. Sometimes that's the hardest part of being a parent for me....
cooker
05-21-07, 10:03 PM
yeah, lower the seat until she feels more confident.
mirage1
05-22-07, 12:38 AM
Is it something SHE wants, or something YOU want?
...
You might also combine riding with something she DOES enjoy: "Let's ride over and get an ice cream cone" or whatever rather than, "Let's load up the bikes and go do circles in a parking lot for an hour while I tell you what you're doing wrong." then as long as she's safe, keep your mouth shut. Sometimes that's the hardest part of being a parent for me....
I'm so not the critical parent... honest! She was all excited about the idea of us riding bikes to Dairy Queen (about two blocks away) but she wasn't ready yet to ride along the side of the road, so the parking lot was just to give her a wide open space to help her get more comfortable, not for critique time. We can't ride to go get an ice cream cone when she's afraid to ride anywhere she needs to go in a straight line, so this was a first step.
But thanks for the thought--I do see that sometimes. Believe me when I say she was having fun in the parking lot, or we wouldn't have stayed an hour! On the other hand, she's so good at so many things that when something doesn't come to her right away, she sometimes loses interest, so I just posted here trying to find ways to help her learn more easily.
Thanks for the suggestions!
mirage1
05-22-07, 12:38 AM
I couldn't use hand brakes when I was her age. I just wasn't coordinated enough. My coaster brake was my friend. :)
Her dad enthusiastically chose a bike for her that didn't have them anymore...she got too tall too fast!
BigBlueToe
05-22-07, 07:57 AM
Your daughter sounds like mine. Our breakthrough came when I bought her a bike that fit her perfectly (that means no room for her to "grow into it".) Then I took her and her little brother (an avid cyclist since he was 3) to a local community college on a Sunday when there was no one there. All those cement paths going all over the place, between buildings, behind buildings, into courtyards, etc. - it was playground and labyrinth all in one. We played myriad games of follow-the-leader, taking turns being in front. We stopped at a soda machine for a cold soda when she wanted. By the end of the afternoon, she was loving her bike!
I concur with what someone else said. With kids and bikes, the destination is usually more important than it is to adults; for me the ride itself is the main attraction. When I ride with kids, I try to find a fun destination - a movie theater, a swimming pool, the beach, ice cream, etc.
mirage1
05-26-07, 12:51 PM
I just wanted to give a quick little update: We've been out around the neighborhood three times in the last three days, the last two at her request. The first thing she said yesterday after school was, "Can we go riding?" And the last thing she said before going to sleep last night was, "Can we go riding tomorrow?" :D
Yay! Now we just need to start getting up earlier... it's getting HOT.
atbman
06-01-07, 04:19 PM
Brakes on kids bikes are often awkward and hard to pull and the outer cable path can be a bit convoluted, esp. the rear brake. Is there a marked kink as it leaves the top tube to go down the seat stay? If there is, get the outer cable shortened so that it follows a smooth line to the brake.
As for banging her leg against the pedal when she stops because she puts her foot down too early, you might try one of the early techniques we teach our kids club beginners - we challenge them to come to a full stop before putting their feet down. You might also get her to try and push backwards with her arms as she stops. This stops her sliding forward off the saddle and having to put her feet down early.
You could also try introducing a few games to develop her skills. A few stones in a line about 6' apart to slalom through and gradually reducing the distance between them (get her to try and "swing" the bike thro' them rather than steering it). As she gets more confident at that, offset the stones about one or two feet from a straight line.
Then you could put them about 10' apart and ride a complete circle round each of them before proceeding to the next one.
Find out what phys. ed games they play at school and see if you can modify them for the bike.
There's a useful uk site, www.bsca.org.uk. They have a Trix award scheme - look the details up - bronze for now and make up your own certificate.
Of course, you could try and find out if there are any other parents in the same position and start a kids club. There are soccer moms in the States, I'm told - how about bikie moms?
Feel free to bend my ear via private message if you wish
Once she's got the confidence to ride one-handed, try riding in opposite directions and high fiving each other