Do kids still ride bikes?
Discussion
At the weekend we were driving through an estate when we were passed by a teenager on a bike going the other way. Not a lycra clad cycling enthusiast, not a BMXer doing stunts, just a normal looking normally dressed kid riding a drop handlebar bike looking like he was going from one place to another.
And it struck me - you never see that any more. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a kid on a bike who just looked like he was simply going somewhere.
When I was a kid (when I were a laaad, during the war, etc) we all used bikes to get around. Everyone went to school on them instead of in the back of mummies 4x4.
Do schools even have bike racks any more?
And it struck me - you never see that any more. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a kid on a bike who just looked like he was simply going somewhere.
When I was a kid (when I were a laaad, during the war, etc) we all used bikes to get around. Everyone went to school on them instead of in the back of mummies 4x4.
Do schools even have bike racks any more?
iambeowulf said:
Do you live in a proper posh place or rough as s
t hole?
I see kids on bikes all the time and I go out with my three kids often.
Do they go out on them on their own and use them to go to their mates or where-ever? Or just parent sanctioned cycle rides?t hole?I see kids on bikes all the time and I go out with my three kids often.
To answer your question, neither posh nor s
thole - it is hilly though...I suspect that gas something to do with it. That and the Faily Mail's paedophiles. Paedophiles as far as the eye can see!
In my immediate family kids have bikes, but they're used for occasional 'bike rides', they're not transport to get the kids where they want to go - that's what parents and cars are for.
In my immediate family kids have bikes, but they're used for occasional 'bike rides', they're not transport to get the kids where they want to go - that's what parents and cars are for.
iphonedyou said:
Virtually none, I'd say.
Would you? Given the amount of parental paranoia you see these days I wouldn't surprise me. Look how many kids get driven to school because of road dangers and perceived paedos. It's bedlam around school gates at dropping off/collecting time these days, total snarl up of traffic. soad said:
Ari said:
As transport?
No. At least not to the school/s. Local park, local shops/library, back streets etc.
But I almost never see kids looking like they're just popping to their mates house or to the cinema or even to school come to think of it, hence wondering whether it was just me.
Seeing the kid on a racer on an ordinary road with a bag over his shoulder looking like he was just going somewhere was really stand-out unusual.
Kermit power said:
I suspect much of that is down to the fact that these days, kids bikes actually can be used for recreational purposes!!
I had a Raleigh Chopper as a kid, and my mates had either the same or a Grifter. We used them a lot, but three gears and the weight of a small terraced house (a quick google suggests around 16kg for the Grifter and a staggering 18.5kg for the Chopper!!), they weren't really much use for anything other than a quick ride round to a mate's house!
My daughter's Islabike, on the other hand, weighs in at under 10kg with 8 gears on a wide range cassette with proper working brakes (something the Chopper certainly never bothered with!), so she's perfectly confident riding down 10 foot bomb holes and up the ever side. We might've tried that once on a Chopper, but probably not twice!!
Sure, at £400, it's expensive for a kid's bike, but I don't think it's any more expensive than the Chopper and Grifter were in their time.
I was from the Grifter/Chopper era and you're right, despite being massively desirable they were pretty rubbish as actual bikes! I had a Raleigh Chopper as a kid, and my mates had either the same or a Grifter. We used them a lot, but three gears and the weight of a small terraced house (a quick google suggests around 16kg for the Grifter and a staggering 18.5kg for the Chopper!!), they weren't really much use for anything other than a quick ride round to a mate's house!
My daughter's Islabike, on the other hand, weighs in at under 10kg with 8 gears on a wide range cassette with proper working brakes (something the Chopper certainly never bothered with!), so she's perfectly confident riding down 10 foot bomb holes and up the ever side. We might've tried that once on a Chopper, but probably not twice!!
Sure, at £400, it's expensive for a kid's bike, but I don't think it's any more expensive than the Chopper and Grifter were in their time.
But that said, there were far more 'racers' about at that time, often with ten gears (you had to have two shift levers on the down bar or you were nobody!
)StuntmanMike said:
Same here, the thing is, I survived some horrific crashes on them, ( like we all did LOL ) but my kids scare me to death on their's, even though it's all part of growing up.
In answer to you OP, not that much, they prefer scooters, I practical lived on my Grifter ( made out of scaffolding poles ) compared to them.
The MK1 choppers were the worst. The seat went right back over the rear wheel so there was no weight at all over the front tyre so it would skate straight on! And the gear shift was all set to impale you when you crashed!In answer to you OP, not that much, they prefer scooters, I practical lived on my Grifter ( made out of scaffolding poles ) compared to them.
The MK2 they bent the back forks forward to shorten the saddle and push the rider further forward. Also made it harder to give 'backies'. Oh, and a tee bar shifter so you were slightly less likely to impale yourself. Cissies bike!
MK1
MK2
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