Footwear/pedals for kid stoker
 

Hi,
As per my other thread about disc or not discs for a tandem, I'm doing a 7 day event in December with my (by then) 10 year old son. What should I do regarding footwear and pedals for him (I'll be getting crank shorteners but that's not the point). The last 4 years he's been on a tag along where he's spent his timer harnessed in and half the time his feet weren't even on the pedals. When he rides his own mtb (which he does quite well) he has flat pedals and most of his accidents are due to feet slipping off the pedals, not to mention the injuries to his legs by getting stuck by the pedals!
I've heard some say that cleats are not recommended for kids, but others go ahead and get them anyway. Do I go down that path or go with toe straps? I can't imagine flat pedals being an option. I need him to work and not fall off!
Any thoughts gratefully appreciated.:)

I would go with clips and toe straps, you should try to get small size. That helps keep his feet in place but allows float. I'd even have him reach down and cinch them up before you mounted. That is what I used many years ago when our kids were young.

I used clips and straps with the kids too when they were young. Given how quickly their feet grew, it was just easiest to let them bike in regular shoes and not have to continually get new biking shoes in addition to those. They switched to clipless as teens when their growth stabilized a bit.

my younger two have used SPD pedals since about 10 and it worked out well. The limiting factor though is shoe size. The smallest I was able to find was BMX shoes in a 36

Regular shoes are good, The Young Bloke loves to climb over rocks and logs, run about etc when we stop for a rest. When off-road he needs sneaker grip to help push the tandem up steep un-ride-able sections.

He learned to manage the toeclips and straps very quickly at age 3. Off-road these days we both use flat pedals no straps. On-road he still has clips and straps.

Half your luck, I would love to do a 7 day event with my boy. What fun!

I have two pairs of mtb shoes, sizes 3 and 4, that anyone can have for the price of the shipping. The 3's are Fly and the 4's are 661 (brand). Good condition.

"drmarkr" at the gmail place if interested.

Agree with flat pedals and either full clips and toestraps or half clips.
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Either flat MTB pedals or clips/straps. We've used clips/straps for our son (now 12.5 years old) since he's been on the back of the tandem/triplet before age 5. Sure, SPD/clipless is "cooler," but the ease factor and not having to buy new shoes all the time is what we want. He can get into the clips/straps just fine and has never had a problem with them. I like the idea of the clips/straps because they keep his feet attached to the pedals (not so much of an issue now that he's older, but a concern when younger).