Grandson/ mechanic
 

I've got a 6 year old grandson who LOVES to see how everything works. The last time that he was over I took him down to my shop so he could see how the brakes worked and what happened when he shifted the gears on my beater. When his mom came to pick him up, he showed her everything and operated my head and tail light for her.

Tomorrow I'm planning to rework the stem and handlebar on my wife's hybrid bike. That sounds like an ideal project that he could help with. I'm excited. I hope that he has as much fun as I think that he's going to. I think that, with help, he'll be able to cut the handlebar to width and bolt most of the parts together.

Sounds like a future engineer in the making. :)

I can remember when was about that age- My father was a mechanic and he bought me a small toolkit when I was about 8. I learnt to use the tools very quickly and I used to take great delight in taking things apart. Only problem was that I was ham fisted and damaged parts in dis-assmbling them and I did not have the skills to put it back together. I can still remember the roasting I got when took my sisters bike apart.

Keep him coming back and fore you know it you'll have a bike partner as well as someone to help fix what don't work........peace

Hope so. I can remember taking my sons on some tandem rides when they were about 11 or12. I took my younger son on a hilly, 100 mile weekend ride. The next day he wore the t-shirt that he had earned to school. One of the teachers recognized the shirt and asked if he had actually completed the ride. He told me that it had made him very proud. Made me feel good too.

I hope that I'm still up to doing those kinds of rides when the grandsons get old enough.

Incidentally, my son is also coming over tomorrow to work on his freeride bike so the three of us are going to have a three generation wrenching party. How cool is that?

Do you want to consign your grandson to a life of poverty as a bicycle mechanic? Just kidding. I would encourage his mechanical skills short of taking things apart to see how it works. Did that with a coaster brake when I was about 12. Holy cow there were a ton of parts(friction plates) and no internet to get on Park tool to bail you out.