Maybe went a bit overboard...

[Mustangski]

My five year old son, William, outgrew his bike so I was on the search for a replacement. I came across a rocking Mongoose Pug fatbike, 7 speed, disc brakes, and in his favorite color blue. The thing is basically brand new, previous owners son only rode it twice and it looks like it. I may have let the extremely low price and personal excitement get away from me as I believe it may be a bit too big for him currently. The seat goes low enough for him to reach the peddles easily, and I had an old quill stem laying around that was shorter to bring the handle bars back some. He can reach and operate the brakes fine now as well. The only problem is that he is still on training wheels and can't balance the bike yet, I need some heavy duty training wheels that will fit around the rear derailleur.

I found some online with prices and reviews all over the place, anyone have personal experience with kids training wheels on a 20" wheel with gears?

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[onsight512]

If you can get the seat low enough that he can stand flat-footed on the ground, pull the pedals / cranks and let him use it as a balance bike for a bit.
My oldest son had been
riding a bit with training wheels but didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Three days with the balance bike was all it took. I could see he had the balance so I put the cranks back on. He was immediately riding/pedaling the bike. It looked like magic.
I started my younger son on a balance bike and he was riding/pedaling a regular bike, around a bmx track, before he was four years old.

[Mustangski]

We had him on a balance bike for a while, he easily balanced it and was coasting with his feet up in no time. His balance bike has a crankset that could be bolted on, after a while I put the crank on and he didn't want to ride it. I think he could balance when interested, however it seems right now he would rather be able to keep his feet up and just pedal.

[Hilltopperny]

I think it'll be tricky for him to ride a fat tired bike as the balance is usually different from a regular bike. I got my daughter to ride without training wheels after multiple unsuccessful attempts when she saw another child who was a bit younger do it. She immediately took off with more confidence and that was that. Now she rides her road bike with me.

I think that kids just need confidence to actually follow through, but a heavy fat tire bike might take a bit more power and momentum to get him moving thus making it a bit more difficult to stay upright once the bike starts to drift one way or the other. Add gears in and it may also end up a bit confusing. I'd try something a bit smaller and with no gears first. Once he feels comfortable on that then you'll be able to get him on the fatty:beer:

[oldpotatoe]

My five year old son, William, outgrew his bike so I was on the search for a replacement. I came across a rocking Mongoose Pug fatbike, 7 speed, disc brakes, and in his favorite color blue. The thing is basically brand new, previous owners son only rode it twice and it looks like it. I may have let the extremely low price and personal excitement get away from me as I believe it may be a bit too big for him currently. The seat goes low enough for him to reach the peddles easily, and I had an old quill stem laying around that was shorter to bring the handle bars back some. He can reach and operate the brakes fine now as well. The only problem is that he is still on training wheels and can't balance the bike yet, I need some heavy duty training wheels that will fit around the rear derailleur.

I found some online with prices and reviews all over the place, anyone have personal experience with kids training wheels on a 20" wheel with gears?

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not trying to 'Dad' ya but I'm going thru this with my 5 year old grand daughter..I think time to find a soft landing place and get them to ride w/o training wheels..IMHO, of course.

[buddybikes]

In few months he will probably be jumping on it. Need something in meantime due to overgrowth, go to town recycling and grab something then give it back.

[teleguy57]

Great thread. Rather than hijacking this I'm going to start a new one on when to teach a child to ride.

[Mustangski]

He is willing to try, we have been practicing in a grass lot. It is more that he isn't yet interested in riding without them. When my daughter was ready, she was asking to get rid of the training wheels and learned quickly.

He seems to be too distracted when riding, I may have to seek a smaller bike until he can ride without training wheels and fit better on the fat bike.