Bicycle for my three year old....

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by the
I thought the irony was that he said he wanted a big boy bike, only moments before outing himself!

Brutal

[nostatic]

yeah, that's where I saw the irony.

The other part I figured was just you being annoying. Not that I have any experience in being annoying myself

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by nostatic
yeah, that's where I saw the irony.

The other part I figured was just you being annoying.

I try

[nostatic]

Originally posted by lendaddy
I try

yes, you are quite trying

[scottmandue]

Dude, man up!

[gchappel]

We have been giving you a hard time- and you deserve it.
But, research this like you would other purchases.
Here is a web page with many links about children and bikes, from how to pick a helmet to how to teach children to ride bikes. Spend an hour and read through them. This is your childs first set of wheels- porsche's are next!
http://www.helmets.org/child.htm

Gary
gchappel

[Tim Hancock]

For god's sake, don't make him wear a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads etc to ride a training wheel bicycle! The wussification of America must be stopped.

Just buy a $29.99 coaster brake job at Walmart and be done with it. It will come with the training wheels already attached. You don't need anything "better" for a toddler who is going to never ride it down the sidewalk at more than walking speed.

Next year you will buy him a KTM 50 motocross bike anyhow. Save your money for that.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
For god's sake, don't make him wear a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads etc to ride a training wheel bicycle! The wussification of America must be stopped.

Just buy a $29.99 coaster brake job at Walmart and be done with it. It will come with the training wheels already attached. You don't need anything "better" for a toddler who is going to never ride it down the sidewalk at more than walking speed.

Next year you will buy him a KTM 50 motocross bike anyhow. Save your money for that.

Hmm, the man speaks the gospel

[gchappel]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
For god's sake, don't make him wear a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads etc to ride a training wheel bicycle! The wussification of America must be stopped.

Just buy a $29.99 coaster brake job at Walmart and be done with it. It will come with the training wheels already attached. You don't need anything "better" for a toddler who is going to never ride it down the sidewalk at more than walking speed.

Next year you will buy him a KTM 50 motocross bike anyhow. Save your money for that.

Nobody said anything about wussification. A helmet on a rider- any rider- is basic safety equipment. On children in Florida and many other states it is also a law. Read and learn.
"More than 600 bicycle riders are killed in the U.S. every year, almost all in collisions with cars, and 75% of them die of head injuries. Eighty-five percent of them are not wearing helmets."
I can also post pictures of what heads look like that don't have helmets on- but it is not pretty. I don't have the data, but I suspect a child learning to ride is more likely to hit the pavement than an experienced rider.

I ride a lot, and have taught many children to ride. Tim, I assume from your strong comments you have done so as well- if that is the case I agree to disagree.

So YES, make him wear a helmet.

By the way, I don't like training wheels- and yes children can fall and crash with training wheels on. I find it easier to teach without them.

One last item- If you are going to use training wheels, I have often found it easier to teach a child to ride if you remove the seat or put it all the way down- make them stand. They learn quickly, seat can go on in a couple of days. It worked for me, YMMV.
Gary

[dhoward]

Tim, +100

[Tim Hancock]

Sorry Gary, I grew up jumping bicycles, climbing trees, skiing, shooting bb guns & .22s, roller skating, diving off of diving boards etc etc all without helmets. I did wear a helmet on ocassion while riding my minibike and most of the time while riding my mx bike.

I do not recall anyone ever sustaining a head injury while doing any of the above. Scrapes and bruises....yes. That is how kids used to learn that actions can have consequences.

My daughters learned to ride bicycles without helmets and they learned to ride MX bikes with helmets. If my daughters ever decide to get into cycling on public roads, I would probably urge them to wear a cycling helmet, but in my old school mind, toddlers wearing full mx crash gear to ride their bicycles on the sidewalk is kind of silly.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

no helmet, seems like he needs to toughen up anyway.

[gchappel]

I grew up that way as well. We also did not have seat belts, etc.
We still jump bikes, I just got off my standup jetski 30min ago where we were wake jumping, and I don't think we should keep kids from playing. A bike helmet does not interfere with anything- and unfortunately as an MD I have seen what happens to helmetless riders- including children.
Again, in many states it is also the law.
As a parent I could not live with myself if I did not protect my children where I could, but at the same time I did not limit their acitivities needlessly. Yes, I bought helmets for the kids in my neighborhood that didn't have them, some wore them some didn't. None were injured.
I vaccinate my kids against disease, I make them wear seatbelts in cars, and I make them wear a helmet when they ride.
That is the neat thing about being a parent- you can make choices. If you choose to do differently that is up to you and doesn't bother me a bit. But read the data before you make decisions for your kids. But it is a fact that helmets prevent brain injuries. I did not make my kids wear arm and leg protection- arms heal- and yes both of my kids broke bones. Brains don't heal- so I look at that differently.
I also wear a Hans device when I race, a similar decision and I don't think it makes me a wuss.
BTW, I did have a friend have a near fatal head injury- he never did regain his sense of smell. It was a toboggan accident at a church picnic- happened the run after mine. So ***** does happen. I shattered a helmet on a downhill run out at Moab several years ago- I barely felt a thing. Glad I had a helmet that day!
gary

[VaSteve]

Kids listen. I hung my two year old's helmet on the rack under my motorcycle helmet and my bike helmet. If he wants to ride his tricycle, he asks for the helmet first. "Helmet on, Daddy!!"

I never wore a helmet until after college. Now I feel naked without it.

They listen and learn, so set a good example and wear your helmet and seat belts.

[lendaddy]

"Why don't you wear a helmet when we ride bikes dad?"

"Because daddy welcomes the reaper honey"

[JavaBrewer]

Being an ex rodie I made the mistake of buying my son's first bike from a real bike shop - you get what you pay for right... So $175 later he has his "real" bike which he out grew in 12 months. To sweeten the pot it was a "real" bike w/o the poser MX graphics as slapped on the $39 ToysRUs special that my son fell in love with...

[911boost]

My daughter prefers her Honda CRF50F to a pedal bike.

She were helmets on both, but then again, so do I.

Elbow pads, knee pads, etc, now that is wussy x 1 zillion.

Bill

[the]

Originally posted by lendaddy
"Why don't you wear a helmet when we ride bikes dad?"

"Because daddy welcomes the reaper honey"

LOL.

Mine was:

"Why don't you wear a helmet when we ride?"

"Because helmets are for chumps."

"But I have to wear a helmet!"

"There you have it!"

[the]

But damn, yours is so much funnier.

Like David said, spending $150-200 on a 3 yo's first bike is a waste, I know we all like cool stuff, esp, if it drives or rides, but this is an exception, you want something that you aren't going to feel bad about getting banged up and/or tossing or giving away shortly.

[72doug2,2S]

When I was a kid in FLA we rode bikes with underwear and shorts on, that's all. No shoes, no shirt, no helmet. It's better to wear the helmet and at least flip flops and sun protection, but I think shorts are mandatory.

Does anyone remember whether the girls were wearing helmets on the Queen album Jazz?