Riding with Kids

Riding with kids can be both amazingly rewarding and extremely frustrating, sometimes in the same ride. The bike industry does not promote the family biking experience.  I've seen some family photos in just a few pamphlets. Usually the image of mountain bikers is of a group of male friends on some amazing mountain ripping down hill.

Therefore information on riding with your kids and how to improve the experience is hard to come by. We have spent many days on the trail and have learned a few lessons that have helped us to improve the experience. I first started mountain biking on my own. I thought the experience was amazing and wanted to share it with my wife. My enthusiasm did not translate to a fun first ride. She hated it and refused to go again. I was too pushy and wanting to ride and it made her experience not fun.


So I started biking on my own with friends. My parents had also ridden on the mountain bike trails. I did a few rides with them. I then took the plunge and brought my oldest daughter along. She was eight years old at the time and we rented a bike for her. I took my daughter along as well as my mom. It was a good experience for everyone and my daughter enjoyed it enough to want to continue riding.


Our riding progressed throughout the summer. As my riding skills improved I continued to want to push faster and ride harder. This is where the challenge comes in. When I ride by myself or with my buddies our riding is much more aggressive. When it comes time to ride with my family I've learned to slow down and just enjoy the time. A big thing I've learned is to not ride behind anyone and yell advice. Everyone seems to hate this. They feel as though you are riding them and yelling. This just frustrates everyone more. I've learned to ride in front and show my kids how to ride. The kids will see how you ride and follow your lead. This seems to be less intimidating and more encouraging.

I started to take my 5 year old daughter on rides as well. She still rode a bike with training wheels by herself. I purchased a trail a bike and pulled her behind me. This was a great set up allowing her to still be a part of the experience. It does take more work but the rewards are worth it. She has progressed to her own bike and we bought her a fat bike this winter. We haven't ridden it in the summer but looking forward to riding this summer.



This brings about the next point equipment. Setting your kids and spouse up for success is huge. The first mountain bike we bought for my oldest daughter was ok. By the time we got rid of it she had bent the rims quite a few times and was out riding the bike. Definitely a great starter bike for the first few rides but quickly failed to stand up to the abuse. We bought her a fat bike and her confidence has increased. With increased confidence comes more aggressive riding at faster speeds. Which makes our riding together more fun. I am a big fan of Fat Bikes for riding our local trails here in MN. Everyone's local trails are different. The confidence given to new riders is immense. My daughters, wife, parents, and I all ride fat bikes.

With my children enjoying the activity of mountain biking I was able to get my wife to try as well. We rented her a fat bike and went out on the trails as a family. This ride was very different then our first ride together. Definitely a different feel. My wife enjoyed it enough that we bought her a bike and she has even started setting up rides with her friends. Watching her progress has been awesome. After riding with my daughters my expectations of biking have changed. I've learned to just enjoy the ride and time with family.

This fall I started riding with our baby. I have a front carrier that all my kids have used. It is great as my daughter rides in front in close proximity. I can see what she is doing, and she can see my hands and communicate with me. It is a system that works well for us.

Mountain biking is a great activity for all ages. Everyone in my family enjoys it. My 1 year old daughter to my 55 year old parents is riding together. It is an activity that all enjoy. It is great to be outside together.

I'll just list some tips that have improved my family riding.
Work on yourself. Get yourself to a place where you can be a good leader.
Change expectations. Riding with family isn't about speed or getting far. Just enjoy the slower pace to  
find new parts of the trail.
Good Equipment. You can cheap out on kids bikes but the experience for them isn't as good.                                        Investing in a good bike can help their confidence.
Snacks. Take breaks frequently and make the entire experience enjoyable.

Framed Wolftrax Review

I started my off road riding on a fat bike. It was a Framed MN 2.0. A fully rigid bike with a 2x9 drivetrain, and mechanical brakes. This was my first "real" mountain bike. Wow having a real bike from what I grew up riding was quite the leap in technology. But after riding for the year I soon realized the downfalls of this bike and started looking for an upgrade. My main priority was getting a bike that you could put a suspension fork on, and future upgradeability.

My first Fatty

My search led me to the Framed Wolftrax. My local bike shop stocks Framed bikes. The Wolftrax was the new model with wider  front and rear hubs. An upgraded 2x10 driver train, ability to run 5" tires, bluto compatibility, more trail oriented geometry and an awesome red color.

Wolftrax

 Initially to save on cost I bought the Framed Wolftrax with a rigid fork. The bike was purchased in the winter. I was able to ride the bike all winter without missing front suspension. I attempted to set my Wolftrax up tubeless with the stock wheels and tires using fattystripper. It was an unsuccessful attempt and I became frustrated with tubeless very quickly. One of the major downfalls of framed bike lines is their wheels and tires. The inability to set up tubeless seems to be a mark against any new bike. Definitely something to take into account. 

I upgraded the cockpit immediately after purchase. I put on a shorter stem and wider riser bars. This was the same set up I enjoyed on my first bike. I enjoy the quicker steering and more aggressive feel of the short stem and wide bars. I get more room to move around on the bike, and am in a more comfortable riding position for going downhill. 

Once spring rolled around it was time to get a bluto fork. One of the main reasons I upgraded to this bike. I was able to find a used Bluto for $350 on fat bike trader, Facebook group. Putting the Bluto on changes this bike. It makes it feel even more aggressive and having the suspension up front really helps for those long trail days. I understand why some people are against this fork. Having the noodle feeling in a fork isn't the greatest. Immediately after riding rigid the noodle of the fork was felt. After riding for a while the noodle effect goes away and I started to enjoy how the front fork just absorbs the hard hits. 

  

As I continued to ride I wanted to try hydraulic brakes. I have read mixed reviews of hydraulic brakes versus mechanical for extreme cold temperatures. I read several reviews before selecting the Shimano SLX. Definitely a worthy upgrade I feel. Really allowing you to use one finger braking. I ran my bike all through the winter. The bluto fork and hydraulic brakes held up fine in temperatures down to -20 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Air on Detroit Mountain

I also purchased a 29+ wheel set to run in the summer. With the bluto, upgraded cockpit, and 29+ wheel set this bike becomes and awesome hardtail. I have yet to meet a trail in MN that this combo does not thrive on. This bike is built for MN style trails. Lots of climbing with some great downhill sections. I took this bike to Detroit Mountain, for lift serviced down hill runs. I rented a Trek Remedy for the first half of the day then rode this after. I can say I enjoyed riding my hardtail 29+ bike over the Trek. It might have just been a comfort and set up issue. You always like something more when it is yours. But riding the bikes one after the other I was just not blown away by the full suspension trail bike like I thought I would be. 

So now to the downfalls of the Framed Wolftrax. As I stated before cockpit. For me the cockpit does not work well. I like a short stem and wide bars. This of course is personal preference and something everyone has to decide for themselves. That being said, my wife and mom both ride Wolftrax. My wife was having wrist problems switching the cockpit made it more comfortable for her. My mom had shoulder problems. Upgraded her cockpit and the problems went away. This may be due to us using these as mountain bikes or just all of our body proportions. But it has been an upgrade that we all did. The wheel set also isn't the greatest. When you ratchet the rear hub while climbing through rock gardens you can feel the engagement isn't as quick. This is compared to my 29+ with the pub hubs. Definitely a better, quicker engaging hub when ratcheting. Tubeless is huge in the current bike market. With more bikers using fat bikes all year round everyone wants to shave weight to ride faster. With the factory set of rims and tires tubeless just did not work for me. Maybe others know more but it prevented me form riding and anything that does that just isn't worth it. These are really the only complaints I have about the bike. Otherwise for the money it is a bike that has taken abuse and allowed me to ride anywhere I want. I would definitely continue to recommend this bike for purchase with people knowing probably have to upgrade cockpit and tubeless may not work. 

Theodore Wirth Bike Trails

Diamondback El Oso Nino

Our middle daughter is 7 years old. For her birthday this year she wanted a fat bike. So began my search for a 20" childs fat bike. It seems like this is a small niche with very few options. A lot of bike companies make a 24" fat bike which can be for a child or shorter adult. My search lead to a lot of dead ends. There was a few companies who used to make kids fat bikes but stopped. My search was narrowed down to two bikes. A Diamondback El Oso Nino for $400 or a specialized Fatboy for $770.  I also looked at Mongoose bikes from Walmart. I just could not trust my daughter's safety to these bikes. Looking them over the build just does not seem on the same level as the Diamondback. I also have a younger daughter looking to the future I wanted the bike to last as long as possible to pass down.

Unfortunately neither bike was stocked anywhere that we would be able to test ride them. We would be buying and ordering off the internet. My first online bike purchase. My local bike shop offered to help assemble the bike. Although the specialized looks like it has higher end parts I just could not justify the added $300. Therefore the option we chose was the Diamondback. There is a weight penalty and a lower part spec. I know with young kids a bike being any heavier is bad. An extra pound to a child means a lot more than to an adult.

Looking at photos online we were able to plan for the bike. My daughter has twist grip shift on her current bike. She does not like this set up. She finds it hard and uncomfortable to shift. With the help of my local bike shop we ordered a thumb shifter that worked with the bike. My daughter picked out grips and pedals. The final custom touches for any bike. When assembling the bike we did have to maneuver the brakes around the thumb shifter. I had an old set of brakes off my bike we ended up using. Just a word of warning if you want to put on thumb shifter try to find one that is compatible with the Tektro brakes that come stock.

Finally it came time to ride the bike. The low standover is great. The 7 speed gear ratio has been great so far. We haven't ridden off road yet just around our neighborhood. My daughter is figuring out how to shift her bike. The thumb shift is a great improvement over the grip shift. She can easily shift through all of the gears. We just need to work on when and why to shift now. The gearing seems to be a good spread.

My daughter states her favorite part is the big tires, and being able to ride with her family. Not the most thorough and in depth review but she likes it. That is the best review for me. The first initial rides on the bike were rough. It was cold winter my daughter was wearing heavy pack boots and snow pants. She found this combination difficult to get the bike started. Now that it is a bit warmed and she is in tennis shoes. Getting the bike started is much easier.

We have not ridden off road but so far the fat bike is doing great. My daughter enjoys it and is building confidence on it every time we ride.

I will continue to update, as we move into the summer and start off road riding.