Three things to know before buying your kid a Bike Child Anatomy Weight Proper Fit Childhood First Bikes My first bike was a “too big for me, hand-me-down” yellow Schwinn Sting Ray “banana bike”. It was beautiful…and it weighed a TON. Well maybe 35 pounds, but to a 10 year-old it might as well been a ton. It took everything I could muster to pull it off the ground. Not much has changed since then, I mean, the bikes are more updated, but they still weigh a lot for kids. Child Anatomy We bought a couple bikes for Christmas when the twins were five. In order to save money during the Christmas season, we bought the bikes from Target. They were inexpensive Hello Kitty bikes in sweet pink and white frames. We determined the fit based on the girls weight. This was a mistake. Most kids bikes are smaller versions of adult bikes which don’t take into account a child’s anatomy. When the snow melted and spring arrived, we took the bikes to the local school parking lot to teach them how to ride. Weight The bikes were so heavy (30 pounds) they were difficult for them to turn or to lift off the ground. If we equate that to adults, our bikes would weigh 180 pounds! We also noticed it was difficult for them to pedal up the smallest hills around our neighborhood. Even though we initially saved money, they had bad brakes, bad tires, bad components and were too clunky. We gave them to goodwill before the girls felt confident riding. I’ve read reviews of kids bikes on Amazon that say “It is not a light bike…but that’s what makes it sturdy.” Well, that’s what makes them tough to ride too! Proper Fit Last summer, I learned about Woom kid bikes from the Snowbird Ski Resorts Outdoor Gear Fest. Woom had shipped over a dozen bikes for the high school mountain bike team to introduce younger kids to the sport. My girls got fitted to the right bike size and huzzah! My girls confidence soared as they picked up the bikes and rode through the mountain trails. They begged me to get them new bikes. They were hooked. Woom Woom is not a large bike company. They focus solely on child/youth bikes. They know you can’t shrink an adult size bike and have correct sizes for each developmental stage. The geometry of the bike varies. For example, the typical 3 to 4 year-old would need a bike with a low center of gravity, low seating position and no pressure on the handle bars. They need higher handle bars so they can look forward when they ride. My partner, Kathy Dalton, interviewed the two brothers who founded Woom. Give her podcast a listen. I appreciated their advice on bike safety and how they created their child/youth bike. Reasons to like Woom Bikes Upcycle Membership: It’s like an exchange program. As your child outgrows her bike, Woom refunds 40% of the purchase price of the
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