Choose a children's bicycle suitable for the child's height
CHOOSE A BICYCLE FOR A CHILD BY HEIGHT
Dear parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and just good people who decide to buy a bicycle for a child, you should erect a monument for it. Nowadays, very few people think about how to attract a child to recreational activities and active pastimes. We spend fabulous amounts of money on buying expensive electronics, going to entertainment centers, junk food, and do not always pay attention to the essential and vital things. What is an essential part of any living organism? Of course, movement! And the more it is present in our lives, the healthier, the more beautiful, the more resilient, the smarter we are, and so we can go on and on. An active lifestyle brings out a leader in each of us, because by practicing any kind of sport, we unconsciously set certain goals and move toward their fulfillment or overachievement (run 1 km, drive 10 km, stop 15 times, etc.) Buy a bicycle - it means taking the first step in teaching your child to balance safely. No sports equipment trains muscle memory like that and doesn't motivate you to do it again and again. Only a bicycle can make these workouts not only useful, but also give you a sea of unforgettable emotions and impressions. In addition to maintaining balance, cycling contributes to the active growth of muscle structure not only in the hip region, but also in the back and even in the arms. What can we say about the legs ... By cycling every day, your child trains the heart, prepares it for important life trials.
How to choose the right bike for your child
But not everything is as perfect as it seems, especially if you choose the wrong bike. Many buyers, resorting to choosing the first bike for a child, are guided only by the age of the child, which is fundamentally wrong. After all, children, depending on gender or hereditary characteristics, can have significantly different growth at the same age. And modern bicycles are designed so that a particular model can cover a child's height by only 20-30 cm Let's take a look at the numbers (see tables below). As shown by statistics collected and collated for years, the scope of a child's growth and age is cardinal. Yes, such that you can safely lose the choice of correct bicycle wheel diameter and child height by choosing a great age. How will you obviously ruin all attempts to introduce a child to a bicycle and even waste your money.
I can confirm that for the first few times even with the stiff ones you will feel the pain, but believe me that as time passes, if you go out regularly things will improve. It is the people that once they find the right sela, they buy two pieces, because in case the saddle goes out of production, they will have a rezerva one.
Based on the child's growth characteristics we proceed to choose the bike itself. Let's take a look at their types and determine which is the best: 12" wheels - these bikes are suitable for children with a height of 85 cm to 105 cm. They are necessarily equipped with additional wheels, protection of all sharp and protruding parts.
Such bicycles are suitable for children from 1.5 years to 4 years old and are the first bicycle in their own right. Recently, so-called balance bikes with the same wheel diameter have appeared. Their advantage is that it is easier for a child to learn to maintain balance because he does not need to think about pedaling as well.
The racing cyclists completely lack pedals and transmission, which allowed the entire structure to be considerably lighter.
16" wheels - bikes of this type are suitable for children between 95 and 115 cm tall. They are still equipped with training wheels and have all the necessary protection against injury. On this standard, children ride from 3 to 5 years old, when they are smart enough to pedal and keep their balance. After a few weeks of riding, you can slowly remove the extra wheels and give your child the opportunity to ride without a safety net.
18 " wheels: this standard appeared as a panacea for parents who delayed their child's introduction to cycling. And even if the child is fit to ride a 20" bicycle for all intents and purposes, some parents want to buy a bicycle with training wheels so that the child does not waste time with independent instruction. The variation in the growth of these bicycles is 100-120 cm.
20 " wheels: it is believed that a child who has reached a height of 110-130 cm and an age of 5-8 years can quickly acquire the skills of maintaining balance and pedaling. Therefore, training wheels are no longer installed on such bicycles. Because of the intelligence of children of this age, some models can be equipped with speed transmission.
Diameter 24"-is considered a teenager's type and is suitable for children 130-150 cm tall. Often such models are a smaller copy of adult bicycles, have a full multi-speed transmission and even a suspension fork. When buying a bicycle, be careful. Seasonal factors should be taken into account. In a nutshell, if you decide to buy a bicycle for a child at the end of the season, be careful: after all, during the fall-winter period, the child will gain a couple or even more inches and will no longer be comfortable on a purchased, apparently properly selected bike. Think ahead, but don't overdo it 😉
What threatens the wrong diameter of bicycle wheels for a child? If you thought that all children's bikes differed only in wheel diameter, then we dare to disappoint you. Depending on the size of the wheels, the length and height of the frame, the width of the steering wheel and seat change.
In addition, a bicycle can be with or without mounted wheels, which is important for young children who cannot ride. When choosing a children's bike with wheels more than necessary: the child will always reach the pedals, so the fifth point will rub and the riding time will decrease significantly; as a rule, larger bikes are heavier, respectively, they are more difficult to carry and accelerate; the child's hands will always be tense, because he will have to reach the steering wheel, which is installed farther than necessary.
When choosing a children's bicycle with smaller wheels than necessary: it will be uncomfortable for the child to pedal and the steering wheel, he may touch the steering wheel handles with his knees. the child's weight will be distributed over the seat area, much less than necessary, respectively, this is fraught with unpleasant sensations: pressure and rubbing of the fifth point. the child's legs will not fully bend and he will not be able to fully accelerate, ride and enjoy the ride.