3yr olds can ride.. what next?
Discussion
Hey guys.
im just wondering, what would be the best path of progression to follow.
fight now they obviously have the smallest free wheeling pedal bikes available.
but im just wondering whether i shold follow the fisrt bike > bmx > mtb path
or jsut go straight for the kids MTB and skip the bmx stage completely.
reason i ask is that i obviously want to ride with them, and getting them a bmx would me i'll be getting one for my self, and then taking them to the local skate parks.
i know that BMX'ing can install some skills useful in mountain biking later on, and having already stumbled across a new skate park on one of our rides, i know that they seem to love it regardless of the obvious danger it presents lol.
but my true love is hitting the trails and going flat out for as much of it as possible!
any subjective opinions ?
thanks
im just wondering, what would be the best path of progression to follow.
fight now they obviously have the smallest free wheeling pedal bikes available.
but im just wondering whether i shold follow the fisrt bike > bmx > mtb path
or jsut go straight for the kids MTB and skip the bmx stage completely.
reason i ask is that i obviously want to ride with them, and getting them a bmx would me i'll be getting one for my self, and then taking them to the local skate parks.
i know that BMX'ing can install some skills useful in mountain biking later on, and having already stumbled across a new skate park on one of our rides, i know that they seem to love it regardless of the obvious danger it presents lol.
but my true love is hitting the trails and going flat out for as much of it as possible!
any subjective opinions ?
thanks
Coming from a BMX background I've gone with a 16" BMX as we ride park together most of the time, and BMX tracks a few times a month.
The BMX obviously has no gears to worry about and takes a few crashes without any worries.
BMX tracks are a great starting point if you plan on progressing to MTB trails as if the little one can get over the jumps at a track these days MTB trails will be easy and being a sort of loop you can keep an eye on them from one spot where ever they are on the track and when they take a dive it's only ever a short ride to pick them up again.
I guess the kids size plays a big part in bike choice I went 16" as it suits park better but a mate has gone 20" with his as he only rides track and has bought a specific Mini 20" BMX for his lad.
The BMX obviously has no gears to worry about and takes a few crashes without any worries.
BMX tracks are a great starting point if you plan on progressing to MTB trails as if the little one can get over the jumps at a track these days MTB trails will be easy and being a sort of loop you can keep an eye on them from one spot where ever they are on the track and when they take a dive it's only ever a short ride to pick them up again.
I guess the kids size plays a big part in bike choice I went 16" as it suits park better but a mate has gone 20" with his as he only rides track and has bought a specific Mini 20" BMX for his lad.
tty plastic wheels on their bikesMy OH's son has just expressed an interest in learning to ride a bike (he's 11 FFS !) so we're going to start him off on a BMX until he gets the hang of it and then he can move to an MTB later if he wants.
TBH I can't believe that at 11 he can't ride a bike, I was doing jumps when I was half his age ! This dire situation must be put right
TBH I can't believe that at 11 he can't ride a bike, I was doing jumps when I was half his age ! This dire situation must be put right
Mr_C said:
BMX skills are brilliant to have from a young age. Saved my skin out on the MTB more than enough times... and it makes you better at doing massive jumps on the MTB!
thats what i was thinking, ive seen quite a few mtb tutorial vids where they mention their bmx background. and how it was useful for learning things such as pumping etc
My daughter is 3 and has mastered the balance bike so am looking to get her a 'proper' bike soon. A colleague races BMXs so I took her to the track a few weekends ago and there was some 4 year olds racing! Was amazing to see them riding over the jumps etc.
I think I'll get her a BMX first and then worry about MTBs etc later on - the crash speeds seem to be a bit lower on BMXs and I think the skills will be very useful long term.
I took her to Swinley forest with her balance bike a few weeks back and she loved riding some singletracks so hopefully cycling is in her genes!
Will pass her balance bike onto my 19month old son and see if he can catch her up!
I think I'll get her a BMX first and then worry about MTBs etc later on - the crash speeds seem to be a bit lower on BMXs and I think the skills will be very useful long term.
I took her to Swinley forest with her balance bike a few weeks back and she loved riding some singletracks so hopefully cycling is in her genes!
Will pass her balance bike onto my 19month old son and see if he can catch her up!
Great topic! My daughter's just coming up to 2 and I was thinking of a balance bike, but now I'm sure of one! And its great to see that it won't be too long before I can take her out on some trails. Our neighbour's lad is about 10 and seems to be a bit unsure of going off-road - can't be having any of that...
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