Three year old son on electric bike?
Discussion
My lad is three next week, and I’m also now going part time to do more of the Dad thing. This gives me an excellent opportunity to live my dreams vicariously through him.
He has his balance bike, and he is all right on it. He can navigate the thing with minimal fuss. He can just about pedal on his pushbike with stabilisers but needs practice as he is a bit of a lazy s
t, (and does that retarded backwards peddling thing that kids do), but soon he’ll be sorted at riding a pushbike with stabilisers. Physically he's as big as 2-3 year olds get without being a freak or a fat little st.
But I have some questions...
When do you let them loose on a self-propelled bike? Is the consensus you wait until they can handle a pushbike without stablisers? Only I’ve yet to meet a 2-3 year old who can ride without them so I'm not sure about this, should I just throw him on a low power one as soon as possible?
What do you do about protection? I mean obviously a helmet, probably gloves, but beyond that is more necessary for bimbling in a field? I'm not risk averse but I'd rather not be reckless about it.
OSET seems to be standard brand for this sort of thing. But £950 is actually a fair chunk of cash now I’m a fking peasant part-timer. Is there another electric bike brand I should be looking at?
Thoughts appreciated.
(Vaguely relevant father/son comments, and stories also well received.)
He has his balance bike, and he is all right on it. He can navigate the thing with minimal fuss. He can just about pedal on his pushbike with stabilisers but needs practice as he is a bit of a lazy s
t, (and does that retarded backwards peddling thing that kids do), but soon he’ll be sorted at riding a pushbike with stabilisers. Physically he's as big as 2-3 year olds get without being a freak or a fat little st.But I have some questions...
When do you let them loose on a self-propelled bike? Is the consensus you wait until they can handle a pushbike without stablisers? Only I’ve yet to meet a 2-3 year old who can ride without them so I'm not sure about this, should I just throw him on a low power one as soon as possible?
What do you do about protection? I mean obviously a helmet, probably gloves, but beyond that is more necessary for bimbling in a field? I'm not risk averse but I'd rather not be reckless about it.
OSET seems to be standard brand for this sort of thing. But £950 is actually a fair chunk of cash now I’m a f
king peasant part-timer. Is there another electric bike brand I should be looking at? Thoughts appreciated.
(Vaguely relevant father/son comments, and stories also well received.)
I was riding a Honda QR50 (I think, the off-road monkey bike) when I was 4. Obviously that was a petrol powered bike so comes with the added risks associated (heat, no remote control etc) and I was ok. I assume I was riding bicycles without stabilisers by then.
I only remember one thing of it though and that was hitting a tree which was big enough to have a ramp angle up it so I flipped the bike and got stuck under it. Other than that it all went well and it certainly didn’t put me off bikes
ETA; as far as protective gear went I had an open faced helmet which (from the look of a photo) was about 100 times too big! Elbow and knee guards wouldn’t be a bad bet for how little the cost and easy they’d be to wear to begin with though?!
I only remember one thing of it though and that was hitting a tree which was big enough to have a ramp angle up it so I flipped the bike and got stuck under it. Other than that it all went well and it certainly didn’t put me off bikes
ETA; as far as protective gear went I had an open faced helmet which (from the look of a photo) was about 100 times too big! Elbow and knee guards wouldn’t be a bad bet for how little the cost and easy they’d be to wear to begin with though?!
Edited by srob on Friday 22 June 10:50
He had the bicycle too young so we didn't have a choice about stabilisers, I'm not even sure he was even two years old before he inherited it from his cousin (who he idolises, so I had no choice but to set it up for him). I'm not convinced his learning has suffered for it, it's just a matter of whether or not it's a necessary prerequisite of riding a small motorcycle whether he needs to be able to ride without stabilisers first I guess.
Definitely hear what you're saying about leaning though, I try and promote the balance bike for that reason.
If the chats I've had to be believed there's quite a few who start their kids on these things at three years old, the marketing guff with these products all also seems to begin at three. I know they develop at different rates etc, but I would trust him on one at this age, the counterargument is it's a hell of an investment for me to start him too soon and put him off (which is a valid point someone else said).
It is quite amusing how much parents opinions of safety gear has changed. You regularly see grainy pics of open faced helmeted infants on red hot little 2T motorcycles. He's going to have to wear something, but I tend to find people are overprotective so I'm flexible, I guess I'll just see what more experienced folk are doing with their kids. I don't have the knowledge to argue the toss about something so important.
Definitely hear what you're saying about leaning though, I try and promote the balance bike for that reason.
If the chats I've had to be believed there's quite a few who start their kids on these things at three years old, the marketing guff with these products all also seems to begin at three. I know they develop at different rates etc, but I would trust him on one at this age, the counterargument is it's a hell of an investment for me to start him too soon and put him off (which is a valid point someone else said).
It is quite amusing how much parents opinions of safety gear has changed. You regularly see grainy pics of open faced helmeted infants on red hot little 2T motorcycles. He's going to have to wear something, but I tend to find people are overprotective so I'm flexible, I guess I'll just see what more experienced folk are doing with their kids. I don't have the knowledge to argue the toss about something so important.
Edited by Prof Prolapse on Friday 22 June 11:10
I’m an advocate for wearing protective gear early really, mainly as you get used to wearing it so miss it if you’re not.
I didn’t do any of that and so find even wearing earplugs horrible to the extent I don’t wear them as I find it disorientating. Similarly with back protectors and even feeling claustrophobic when I tried on my brothers fancy carbon fibre Shark full-faced helmet last week.
Obviously with him being so young you don’t need to worry about that yet but worth bearing in mind for as he gets older
I didn’t do any of that and so find even wearing earplugs horrible to the extent I don’t wear them as I find it disorientating. Similarly with back protectors and even feeling claustrophobic when I tried on my brothers fancy carbon fibre Shark full-faced helmet last week.
Obviously with him being so young you don’t need to worry about that yet but worth bearing in mind for as he gets older
The sooner you can get him onto a bike the better, as he’ll learn and it’ll become second nature to him at that age. Get the stabilisers off the pushbike too and spend a day or two teaching him to ride it. I see kids around the race paddocks who don’t look old enough to be out of nappies on balance bikes, pedal bikes and all are probably better on them than I’ve ever been, or ever will be!
I’d suggest some protection, but at this age kids bounce, rather than shatter like us old fogeys. I reckon, helmet, gloves, some decent boots and knee / elbow pads should be enough. Expect to be buying new boots every other month though
Kids stuff for MX is unbelievably cheap compared to the road stuff you’re used to buying for yourself.
I’d suggest some protection, but at this age kids bounce, rather than shatter like us old fogeys. I reckon, helmet, gloves, some decent boots and knee / elbow pads should be enough. Expect to be buying new boots every other month though
Kids stuff for MX is unbelievably cheap compared to the road stuff you’re used to buying for yourself.
Osets my be pricey but buy second hand and you will not lose anything when you come to sell it in a few years time. If he is a big three he might just fit on the 16.0 model which will last him far longer than the 12.5.
The silent running is the best bit, you can take him down the local public park and people do not bat an eyelid, try doing that with a petrol bike and expect the police to show up.
The silent running is the best bit, you can take him down the local public park and people do not bat an eyelid, try doing that with a petrol bike and expect the police to show up.
Prof Prolapse said:
My lad is three next week, and I’m also now going part time to do more of the Dad thing. This gives me an excellent opportunity to live my dreams vicariously through him.
He has his balance bike, and he is all right on it. He can navigate the thing with minimal fuss. He can just about pedal on his pushbike with stabilisers but needs practice as he is a bit of a lazy st, (and does that retarded backwards peddling thing that kids do), but soon he’ll be sorted at riding a pushbike with stabilisers. Physically he's as big as 2-3 year olds get without being a freak or a fat little st.
Nooooo!!He has his balance bike, and he is all right on it. He can navigate the thing with minimal fuss. He can just about pedal on his pushbike with stabilisers but needs practice as he is a bit of a lazy s
t, (and does that retarded backwards peddling thing that kids do), but soon he’ll be sorted at riding a pushbike with stabilisers. Physically he's as big as 2-3 year olds get without being a freak or a fat little st.Don't do that. Riding a bike with stabilizers just teaches kids to ride a trike, not a bike. A bike you turn by leaning, and control with the bars. A trike you turn by moving the bars, and the wheels control the lean.
If your lad is good on a balance bike, (can do "no feet" for 10-20s ish down a hill or whatever) you'll be able to go straight to no stabilisers in about 1/2 hour as soon as he is strong enough to pedal. Have 2 of you and set him off at 1 end / catch him on the other, then do turns, then stops etc and you're sorted. There's some good youtube videos about on it:
I watched this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imPQ3lysWnU
and one I can't find from Islabikes and our lad is flying along now. I've avoided all the aggro of grazes, putting stabilisers on / off, etc etc.
It might be even earlier if you have a power assisted electric bike thing, but I would check the weight - 3 year olds are small and if the bike is heavy, he might not be able to balance it easily. I've literally never seen a kids e-bike so others will have much more educated opinions!
My lad (nearly 5 now) went straight from a balance bike to an oset 12.5, no stabilisers at any stage. It took about 10 mins for him to grasp the concept of a throttle but after that he was away. You can set the speed to walking space so injury risk was next no nothing.
My daughter who's younger will be straight on it when her legs are long enough. Like most have said the resale loss is minimal and the bikes are well made.
My daughter who's younger will be straight on it when her legs are long enough. Like most have said the resale loss is minimal and the bikes are well made.
Thanks for your assistance chaps. The clip was very helpful. It does sound like he may be a bit young, and I need to patient. I actually watched another clip after it on autoplay where American bloke said "I rode for 50 years without a helmet, so I'm teaching this kid without one", which was similarly quite enlightening. God bless Amurica...
Anyway, thanks to everyone's input I have a plan now, I'm going to get him out on his balance bike a bit more over more distance, and I'm going to check the size of his bicycle and get the stabilisers off it. I am convinced.
After that I'm going to see where he is. If he's up for it, then I'll get him an OSET for Xmas, but I think it's more important to keep the experience positive than to worry about how quickly I can get him tearing around the local fields. If he grows out of the bike sooner then I just have to accept that, a second hand market will take the edge off the costs I'm sure.
Anyway, thanks to everyone's input I have a plan now, I'm going to get him out on his balance bike a bit more over more distance, and I'm going to check the size of his bicycle and get the stabilisers off it. I am convinced.
After that I'm going to see where he is. If he's up for it, then I'll get him an OSET for Xmas, but I think it's more important to keep the experience positive than to worry about how quickly I can get him tearing around the local fields. If he grows out of the bike sooner then I just have to accept that, a second hand market will take the edge off the costs I'm sure.
I bought my lad an Oset when he was 3 but he couldn’t ride until he was about 4 - when he got the hang of it he absolutely loved it - the torque and speed limiters are really useful when they start off
He is now 6 and getting a bit big for it so plan to sell it and buy a bigger version
He is now 6 and getting a bit big for it so plan to sell it and buy a bigger version
Kickstart said:
I bought my lad an Oset when he was 3 but he couldn’t ride until he was about 4 - when he got the hang of it he absolutely loved it - the torque and speed limiters are really useful when they start off
He is now 6 and getting a bit big for it so plan to sell it and buy a bigger version
Did he learn to ride a pushbike first?He is now 6 and getting a bit big for it so plan to sell it and buy a bigger version
If you're selling let me know...
My son went from a balance bike when he was about 2-3 to a push bike (briefly used stabilizers because it was a bit too big for him) when he was 4 and started riding a PW50 just before he was 5.
My view is that the balance bike gave him the basic balance, the push bike gave him co-ordination and fine tuned his balance (the very nature of pedaling unbalances the bike). Both the things he learned on the push bike have helped with the dirt bike as riding that across a field is a lot more difficult than skooting a balance bike along a pavement.
My view is that the balance bike gave him the basic balance, the push bike gave him co-ordination and fine tuned his balance (the very nature of pedaling unbalances the bike). Both the things he learned on the push bike have helped with the dirt bike as riding that across a field is a lot more difficult than skooting a balance bike along a pavement.
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