Kids Cycling

Better bikes for kids

Posted on by allterraincycles

Cycling is a great activity, whatever your age, so introduce your children to the joy of two wheels as soon as you can. From runner bikes, scooters and tricycles, there’s a huge selection to choose from. It’s just a matter of measuring up the best bike for your child so they can find their balance and coordination, build up their cycling confidence and eventually move onto larger wheel sizes.

As well as the convenience of having kids who can transport themselves and don’t need a constant taxi service, lots of research shows that children who cycle are more confident and independent.   And, of course, it’s also great exercise – there’s even evidence from teachers that children who walk or cycle to school are more alert and perform better in class.

What’s more, the advances in materials and technology which have transformed adult cycling in recent years have also hugely improved children’s bikes which are now considerably lighter weight and perform better. These lightweight aluminium frames takes the strain out of cycling making it easier to pedal up hills with just the freewheel down to look forward to!

Safety is, of course, paramount, so the starting point is to invest in a quality, new bike to ensure that your child not only has the right size bike, but also that it is in good working order. Secondhand bikes are obviously more of a risk as you don’t know what damage might have been done to them previously.  It’s also important to check that the bike is marked as conforming to British safety standard BS6102/1 and that it has separate front and back braking systems.

All of the leading brands such as Trek, Giant and Cube offer an excellent selection of bikes specifically designed for children. A reputable bike retailer will advise on the best size for your child – while it’s tempting to buy a bike that your child can grow into, a bike that is too big (or too small) can be dangerous. Remember, you can always raise the height of the seatpost and handle bar stem as necessary.

There’s even a range of bikes called the Orbea Grow which may well save you a few upgrades as they have been specially designed so that they can be extended as your child gets bigger. The Grow series starts with the 0 balance bike for two year olds, moving to geared 1 and 2 models with pedals.  The frame is adjustable in three directions, including lengthening the frame, in order to accommodate growing bodies and it is estimated that the Grow 2 will accommodate children from around five and a half to nine years of age.  Built with aluminium frames, they are also compact and light.

Orbea Grow 2 7V

Orbea Grow 2 7V

For a first bike, your child should be able to sit comfortably with the seat at its lowest setting and just reach the ground with the balls of his or her feet. Check that he or she can brake, turn the handlebars and change gear without over-stretching. Generally, bikes for 5-8 year olds tend to have 20″ wheels; those for 9-11 year olds usually have 24″ wheels; and 26″ wheels are recommended for children over 11 years of age.  As your child becomes more confidence, you can make slight increases to the seat height until he or she can just reach the ground on tip toes, giving a more efficient riding position.

As well as a shiny new bike, it’s also important to invest in a new, good quality cycle specific helmet that fits your child properly. While cycling helmets are not mandatory in the UK, we highly recommend them.  Another tip is to buy mudguards, many new bikes don’t come fitted with mudguards, but they’re certainly worth having to make cycling in bad weather more comfortable – and save on washing!  If you think your child may be cycling at dusk or night, you’ll also need lights and there are lots of really powerful, rechargeable lights now available.

There’s no doubt that most children love the fun and freedom of cycling, so get them started young and their bike might become their favourite way of getting around!

It was 20 Years ago today …….

Posted on by allterraincycles

… that I bought All Terrain Cycles.

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Tony Booth MD of All Terrain Cycles

Hardly Sgt Pepper I know, but never the less a very important day in my life.

Then known as Riley Brother Cycles this family owned Cycle specialist had been trading since 1907 and was located on the High Street of Crosshills, in the foothills of the Dales between Skipton and Keighley.

Back in 1996 we crammed ourselves into a few hundred square feet. We mainly sold Mountain Bikes as was the case in the mid 90’s. Occasionally with 24 gears and flashy things like V brakes!

How the world of bikes has changed in the last 20 years.

By the late 90s we had taken over the flat over the shop , created a wacky Cave room complete with Pterodactyl flying over head, opened a BMX shop further down the Street, and needed a separate warehouse to support the huge increase in stock.

By the early 2000’s we were bugling at the seems. Our Crosshills shop just couldn’t take any more stock, and half of what we had we couldn’t find ( or so it would seem at times  !)

The hunt for new premises followed and after much deliberation, saw our move to Salts Mill.

salts fit1 copy

Salts Mill Shed 48 late 2005 – Prior to refit for All Terrain Cycles Now our Workshop by front door

salts fit2 copy

Rear of Salts Mill Shed 48 late 2005

You needed a good imagination but after months of hard work and long days this became the amazing shop we have today ………….

 

 

 

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All Terrain Cycles – Salts Mill Bikestore 2016

May 2014 saw the opening of a second Bikestore, located at Sandbeck, Wetherby, this new venture is on the same scale as Salts Mill Bikestore. Like Salts,the store offers our customers a huge selection of Bikes both Road and off Road, and a massive selection for  Ladies.

 

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All Terrain Cycles Bikestore Wetherby – opened May 2014 10,000sq ft of Cycle Heaven

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of Customers for their continued support, as well as the dedication from our staff, many how have been working at All Terrain from the 90’s.

My family and I ,look forward to the next 20 years.

I wonder what bike technology will be like in 2036 ?

 

 

Some tips on teaching your child to cycle

Posted on by allterraincycles

Learning to ride a bike is one of the landmark achievements in any child’s life, not only is it the sense of mastering a new skill and the confidence it brings, but also it’s their first taste of independence.

Two wheels or three

There is no right way or wrong way to learn to cycle. Most of us will remember our first tricycle or bike with stabilisers and, undoubtedly, they offer the greatest stability and allow children to get the hang of the pedalling without having to worry about toppling over. But they are cumbersome and awkward to manoeuvre, for the child and the adult.

Given balance is actually the main part of cycling – the pushing round of the pedals is simply a way of propelling oneself – some argue that tricycles and stabilisers delay a child’s two wheeled progress. This is where balance bikes come into their own, encouraging the child to develop a sense of balance and feel for what happens if they lean from one side or the other. They don’t generally have brakes as the feet do the stopping (be warned, shoes may not last long!)

Some consider that children who start off on balance bikes go straight to a two wheeled pedal bike more readily, because they are much less likely to fall, having already developed a sense of balance. Children are often naturally inclined to run along with the bike and some persuasion may be needed to get them to sit on it – it may be easier to focus on getting their feet off the ground rather than their bottom on the seat. Encourage them to scoot along, using their feet, taking larger and larger strides so they need to balance for longer between each stride.

Although specific balance bikes are available, it is just as effective to take the pedals off an ordinary bike. You just need to make sure the bike is small enough that they can comfortably straddle the bike with both feet flat on the ground, so they can scoot along without feeling out of control, and then simply take off the pedals. The added benefit of this is that when they have got their balance, you can just put the pedals back on to take them to the next stage.

Whichever method they’ve started with, most children will be ready to try a two wheeled, pedal bike by about five – which is normally when the back-breaking work starts for the parent running alongside, trying to steer! Steering through their shoulders does avoid some of the pain and gives the child a greater sense of freedom, while still knowing you’re there for emergencies.

If you have gone down the stabilisers route, the transition between to two wheels will take a little time, maybe a few weeks, but they’ll soon be off. Don’t rely on stabilisers for too long though – children who do tend to find it harder to get the hang of having just two wheels.

Having started, now you need to stop!

Introduce the idea of braking at the same time as they’re learning the pedalling bit. You don’t need to focus on it too much, as you’ll undoubtedly be around for the first rides to stop them careering into something, but at least get them to understand that pressing the brakes means they can stop before an obstacle. This is why it’s best to start them off in a large, open area so there are fewer things to crash into. Although it might be tempting to start on grass, thinking it will cushion any falls, tarmac is much easier to ride on.

When they’ve built their confidence and can balance and pedal, it’s time to focus on braking – explaining the need to use both brakes at the same time, to avoid going over the handlebars or skidding, and to brake gradually. Now is also the time to encourage them to look around, especially in front – rather than at you – and to understand when they need to break or change direction to avoid things.

The most important thing to remember is that all children are different and will vary in their two wheeled ambitions. Some will want to learn earlier than others – and that is the key, the child has to want to learn and it should be fun. Seeing a friend or sibling riding around, enjoying newfound freedom is often a good incentive but three or fours years seems to be about the average for the first cycling adventures.

Similarly, there are many different approaches to learning to cycling but whatever the method, there will inevitably be a few crashes, bumps and grazes along the way and then, bingo, that Eureka moment will happen and they will never forget how to ride a bike.