Looking for new bike recommendations or a way to augment my kids bikes. I don’t even intend to ride fast but my bike is fast and my kids always lag behind . They both ride Trek Precaliber bikes.
Two things I think might be the problem: the foot pedals are flat and slippery with no grip. My kid’s feet’s are always flying off them. The wheels seem a bit knobby and thick.
The photo is the exact yellow pedals my 4 year old has. My 6 year old has a better set of pedals on her 16 incher.
My 10 year flies past us all on his Marin and he has semi slick tires.
by According_Trainer418
8 Comments
Small kids bikes have single speed with low gearing. At any higher speed, it gets out of control easily especially if there’s no free hub.
Once my kid got onto a Woom 4 with 9spd he was able to do much better. We did a rail trail ride and brought the smaller Woom 3 and he struggled again for the same reason, spinning too fast even though he’s very capable otherwise.
But also go easy on your 4yo, man. Just have fun riding bikes.
Consider that maybe your 4 year old isn’t as fast as an adult because they are a small child.
Is it realistic to trade in the kids for upgraded models?
kids bikes have small wheels, that means the bike goes slower.
I have sometimes pushed my children so they’re the same speed as I am.
My kids found that the “half” toe clips stopped their feet always sliding off the pedals. I didn’t think they’d like them but they did. Most cheap kids’ bike pedals such as the ones in the photo don’t have any bolt holes to attach the clips.
Your 4yo rider might be ready for gears, which is unusual for a rider of that size and why there are no 16″ bikes with gears on the market that I know of. Cycle Sprog is probably the best resource for good kids’ bikes.
Definitely do give your precocious tots the best appropriate bikes you can, but consider that there is no way they are going to keep up with an adult at that age. Have you considered riding a 16″ singlespeed BMX yourself?
IDK how big your kid is, but the Trek Precaliber is heavy AF for a kid’s bike. We shelled out the money for a Woom for our petite kid (have gotten both a 3 and a 4 used although the used market for a 5 seems tough). Worth every penny. Still, we have to plan for an average speed of 6mph for my 8yo when we go places. She has hit 10-12 mph on certain trail sections, but she takes hills and turns slower. A 4yo and a 6yo are going to be slow.
https://preview.redd.it/2r73f436l3uf1.jpeg?width=888&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=237c50ef7984ce6fbd5bfcdcd433da1c0ee88abb