Got my 7 yr old grand daughter a new bicycle

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

GREAT bike!
Can she ride without training wheels?
My 3 going on 4 yr old granddaughter is just now getting into the glide bike routine, you know the one without pedals.


Now, not to take away the coolness of this bike, but I have a question for anyone reading this thread. Notice how the handle bar grips on the new bike are, for lack of a better description, wheel barrow handle style, while the old bike is straight across?
Seems to me it is more 'natural' for a rider to have the bars straight across as it's easier to make turns etc.
Wouldn't this help a young rider more?
Your thoughts appreciated...

My first bike had more traditional style bars like hers, and you can still get cruisers for adults with that style of bar. I think it has a lot to do with the overall geometry of the bike.

Look at her bike, she'll be sitting up/erect. The seat is quite a bit lower than the handlebars so the position will be similar to this. Having the bars like that makes it easier to reach them when sitting erect without having to reach/stretch/hunch to reach them.



YP's bike actually has the seat higher than the bars, so he'll be leaning forward to reach the bars. I suspect for young kids and new riders having to support your upper body with your arms and reach forward is probably harder.

But that's just my intuition.

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by Ayles

Having gone through this in the last couple years... A few thoughts, buy the lightest bike you can afford. Modern kids bikes are incredibly well designed and a lighter bike is far easier to ride. Secondly, on training wheels. Skip them all together. Just find a nice flat grassy field. They will be riding in no time without the risk of road rash. I'd also go right to a free wheel bike with standard brake levers. Makes transitioning to a shifter bike a no brainer.


See Woom bikes as a great example of a lightweight well designed kids bike: https://us.woombikes.com/pages/bikes?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmPSSBhCNARIsAH3cYgbTiV7o3g6sA4 NUk5SG1mYH6nHZMVn_6MAMN8F0DtRlJLQ0Tav4QwcaAgDcEALw _wcB

Notice how all those Woom bikes have the grips straight across, not wheel barrow style?

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by masraum

My first bike had more traditional style bars like hers, and you can still get cruisers for adults with that style of bar. I think it has a lot to do with the overall geometry of the bike.

Look at her bike, she'll be sitting up/erect. The seat is quite a bit lower than the handlebars so the position will be similar to this. Having the bars like that makes it easier to reach them when sitting erect without having to reach/stretch/hunch to reach them.



YP's bike actually has the seat higher than the bars, so he'll be leaning forward to reach the bars. I suspect for young kids and new riders having to support your upper body with your arms and reach forward is probably harder.

But that's just my intuition.

Notice how the pic of the little boy shows his hands in a more natural position than those of the older lady pictured above him?
I would change the height of the bars on YP's GD's bike so they are higher so she doesn't have to reach for them or support her body weight on them.

[yellowperil]

Sitting up straight on a b-cycle or my Motorcycle would kill my back, leaning forward on my arms is the position I wanted.

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by yellowperil

Sitting up straight on a b-cycle or my Motorcycle would kill my back, leaning forward on my arms is the position I wanted.

All well and good, YP. I'm talking about making a new rider comfortable with the bike. Notice how that little boy's wrists are not cocked at some funny angle?
What would his wrist look like if the bars were 'wheel barrow' style?

Just saying I think it would improve the riding experience of your grandkid if the bars were more like his.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

All well and good, YP. I'm talking about making a new rider comfortable with the bike. Notice how that little boy's wrists are not cocked at some funny angle?
What would his wrist look like if the bars were 'wheel barrow' style?

Just saying I think it would improve the riding experience of your grandkid if the bars were more like his.

It's hard to say based on the pic. It would be easier to say if she was sitting on the bike holding the bars and the pic was from over the top. THe bars may be wide enough and that they don't put her arms/wrists at a funny angle. Or maybe they do. Without seeing her on the bike, I can't say.

[yellowperil]

and no need to ask a kid |"How does that feel" he doesn't know or care, he just wants head over to his pals house and start cruising.

[sugarwood]

That red bike sure does not look like a 1970s bike.
I don't recall seeing flat handlebars like that until decades later.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Superman

Ha! Gulf livery!

Sort of.

Hmm...the orange does look good!

[flatbutt]

..

[yellowperil]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

That red bike sure does not look like a 1970s bike.
I don't recall seeing flat handlebars like that until decades later.

I think I bought that bike in '74 and it was exactly what I wanted, still love ridin' it.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by yellowperil

Supercycle?

[yellowperil]

[yellowperil]

Here she is riding it home from the bike shop, about a mile away. She hadn't been on a bike for 35 years, stupid me " are you sure you can still ride that?" Her "You never forget, get out of the way, see ya at home"

[Scott Douglas]

That's great! Wish I could get my wife on a bike.
Notice how her hands are in a natural position with those bars, unlike your granddaughter's bars which turn her wrists at an awkward angle?

[oldE]

Geez, Dennis, with the price of gas, I don't blame you for forcing your wife to pedal her...self around town.

Best
Les

[oldE]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

That's great! Wish I could get my wife on a bike.
Notice how her hands are in a natural position with those bars, unlike your granddaughter's bars which turn her wrists at an awkward angle?

Scott, I find if bars like those are rotated down about 20 degrees the wrist angle is almost perfect.

Best
Les

[aschen]

being a cheapskate and the rate at which kids outgrow stuff I try to buy used bikes.

Bought one for my 7yo daughter as well recently. When the bike HAS to be pink it really limits your options. Just as I was about to give up and spend the 400-500 on a new one a pink and girlie haro showed up on facebook market place for 150$.

[Tobra]

You can get a little stuffed animal thing that wraps around the handlebars, gives you a small unicorn sitting on the handlebars.

You can paint it pink if it has to be pink.