Oh god not another _________country article
Dadcountry
I’m here to tell you that when you become a parent, your bike riding habits will change. You’ll have friends who will tell you this isn’t true; they’ve either completely forgotten what life was like before, they don’t have kids, or they’re lying.
Like all things parenting, the process ebbs and flows as snack and nap times evolve, how much of a disaster your kid is that particular hour/day/weekend/month, how exhausted you are, and how accommodating your partner is feeling. But, overall, expect less time to ride. Hopefully if you’re thinking of becoming a parent – or are already on the path – this isn’t a shocking revelation.
It's easy to make jokes about short travel bikes being for dads; they're great for pinned laps under the gun, fighting off the dreaded dadbod, and generally used on less gnarly trails.
I’d also bet that you’re like me and hoping your progeny will like bikes, but trying VERY, VERY hard to not force it. We spend a lot of time on bikes as a family; they’re our primary mode of transportation around the city. Fortunately this high exposure led to a kid who (so far) loves riding bikes. The upshot here is now I’ve got a bit of that lost riding time "back", although my new Dadcountry* rig perhaps doesn’t look like what you’d expect. It's not a gravel bike, it's not a downcountry bike, it's not a Darco, and it doesn't have a motor.
*I’m using the term Dadcountry here because: I’m a dad, it sounds kind of like the much maligned ‘downcountry’, and would abbreviate to DC. But hopefully this piece should apply to all parents regardless of gender.
The Evil Faction II, in size large. One brake, one gear, and 26" wheels - this is dadcountry. It's Evil, so of course you can get one in black, but this is the 'protein powder' colorway. Complete bikes carry an MSRP of $1650US.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of why a dad would get a bike designed for cool kids, some folks are probably wondering how to get their child to ride and it's an important part of why. I don’t have the answer to how to get your kid to ride, but I can explain our journey and maybe you can glean something from it. I’d note none of this is a recommendation, and you can and should exercise your best judgement on when to try anything; consult both guidelines from major medical associations like the AAP and manufacturers, and always wear a helmet.
Perhaps most importantly, let the kid lead – there’s always next week or next year to try bikes again. If I’ve learned anything from parenting, it's how true the adage “the only constant in life is change” is. For reference at the time of writing, A is about 2.5.
This is our version of a minivan and was A's first exposure to bikes. This rig still does the daycare run most days.
Bicycles are a big theme around our house – not just as recreation but as utilitarian transportation. On top of mountain bikes, I commute on a gravel bike, there’s an e-cargo bike, and another step-through urban e-commuter. As such, A was in a trailer early on; first with 3 block trips to the park to crawl around on a blanket, building up to present day where 20 kilometer plus round trips on the weekend* are common, even here in the hills of North Vancouver.
There’s pros and cons to using a trailer; it's bulky, heavy, can be difficult to navigate obstacles, and is so painful to pull up hills without e-assist. And in the wise words of Morgan Taylor, "It's not an ‘if’ you’ll roll it, it's ‘when’.” The upshot is inside is dry, wind-free, has built in roll protection, has space to bring toddler accoutrements (of which there are always a lot), and it’s full of snacks and toys. While I do plan on getting a kid seat this summer for convenience on some journeys the trailer has been invaluable and will stay in the family until he outgrows it.
*We’re more constrained by the lack of safe routes than the number of electrons or will to go farther abroad. If you're opposed to protected, separated bike infrastructure (probably because you're a strong, confident rider), you can f*** right off. Tow a baby or toddler around to get groceries for a little while and see how your perspective changes.
Yo dawg, I heard you like bikes... While a bit ungainly, this works surprisingly well now that it's been through a few iterations.
The next step for us involves a thank you to @TheBikeDads for loaning us a Mac-Ride. There’s a couple different options for shotgun-style seating (Andrew reviewed the similar Kids Ride Shotgun Pro); my main recommendation here would be that no matter which brand you choose, don't get the "pinches your frame with giant bolts for attachment" style, the extra cost to save your frame, being able to swap bikes easily, and just remove it in 30 seconds in general is money well spent.
We started with short, smooth rides when A was around 18 months of age and my Santa Cruz Tallboy earned the title “Gigglefactory 3000” as it became his first real foray into riding bikes. Eventually, we were doing 15 kilometer loops; unsurprisingly we had the best success on flowier trails, and he learned to lean, what bumps feel like, and what going fast and slow feels like. While we’ve largely phased this riding out, I know plenty of parents with three and four year olds still getting out there on a shotgun setup. I can also see it coming back into use as we spend more time mountain biking as way to portage between sections that are un-run-bike-able (it turns out that 29’ers may roll over roots and holes pretty well, but 12” wheels don’t.)
"Siri, show me how many things you can attach to a bike". I utilized a 3l Tailfin V-Mount pack as a diaper bag and for snacks.
You can also get tiny handlebars like these by Kids Ride Shotgun - these are great especially when your kid is smaller as it keeps them a bit more upright. Eventually, this is a downside as their head hits your chin over and over.
Later on we ditched the bars, they're not necessary.
Everyone has a first bike, right? Long before I knew he’d need it, I picked up an Early Rider run bike that sat in the corner by the door (These are hard to get in Canada, as they don’t have a distributor). My theory here was so "A" would be "acclimated" to it; he’d occasionally knock it over, spin the tires, get bored, and move on. Every now and again, we’d ask if he wanted to ride it, and the answer was generally a steadfast “NO".
Until one day, when I got back from a rare ride in Squamish (Remember what I said about ride windows getting short? Squamish is suddenly 10x farther away than It used to be), a switch flipped inside his tiny 21-month-old brain and BOOM. All we wanted to do that day was gingerly walk our bike up and down the alleyway. And from that point onward he’s on a run bike more days than he’s not; pumptrack, to and from daycare, alleyway cruising, BMX "racing", and increasingly out on the trails.
It doesn't really matter what bike you take on adventures around the neighborhood. Photo: Mom
Early on it was a walking pace shuffle. Now that he's riding fast, long pants, shirt, and gloves are mandatory. No one wants to deal with an Owie.
It wasn’t long after A started riding regularly I decided I’d need a new bike to “keep up” with him, and hell, maybe tricks aren’t just for kids and I could relearn some of the ones I could do 20 years ago? Worst case scenario; I knew spending time riding pumptrack would be good for my mountain biking. Best case scenario; maybe I’d get back to dropping into bowls and hitting proper dirt jumps. Let’s go through the Evil Faction II to touch on a couple points before you go and hit the local Facebook Marketplace buy and sell group (or better yet, your local bike shop) once you’ve finished this article and are inspired.
With one gear, one brake, and timeless geo there's only so much to critique. The chromoly 3-piece cranks are exactly what I'd spec, however the micro-drive 9t driver in the rear gives a gear ratio that's WAY too high.
The bike came with house brand bar & stem, I've swapped out the bar for a OneUp with a bit more rise, and cut them down to 760mm. The EDC Lite is an incredibly convenient addition on a bike like this.
I've never had a bike with I-Beam!
One brake, one gear, sliding dropouts, and a half-link chain. The 9t sprocket has proved nearly impossible to replace with something larger as Novatec only services OE's. Silver spokes at the valve stems is a nice touch.
Nowadays, you’ll find me at one of a couple local pumptracks, multiple days a week with A, doing less riding than toddler helping but having a blast. As any parent knows, snack time is essential, and this means sometimes Dad gets to do a couple laps.
While I’m not good by any stretch of the imagination, even in a few short months it's easy to feel and measure progression at the pump track; while mountain biking it may be hard to tell if you’re improving, it's impossible to hide at the pumptrack; you’re pulling gaps you weren’t before or you’re not, and there’s nothing like repetition for practice. Made a mistake in a corner mountain biking? Maybe you’ll see that corner in a week. Made a mistake at the pumptrack? You can see that corner again in 15 seconds. And again. And again, until you get it right, are too tired, or "someone" ran out of Cheerios.
In 2011 Cam said laying it flat was, "one of the places he impressed us most", and Stephen Matthews won the NSMB Airprentice comp. In 2023 he's just another dad at the pump track.
I'm even older than Stephen, so trying to re-teach creaky joints how to lay it over is hard. Photo: Deniz Merdano
It's important to note here that this experience doesn’t require a dirt jumper. You can go have loads of fun on your current bike, if you live in the real world where space and money are inevitable constraints. You could also do this on a 20” and save loads of space.
Or get creative, get together with a few other parents and split one. There’s no way you’re doing laps more than 15% of the time you’re at the pumptrack anyway; it's exhausting. There’s also a used market here; dirt jumpers haven’t changed appreciably in decades, so as long as it's something with a serviceable fork and marginally operable brake, you’ll be fine. Or go all in and get something like this EVIL, the same lack of change means this is the dirt jumper I got in 2022, and that I plan on having in 2032.
The pumptrack has the best graffiti.
Remember when I said you could get some lost riding time "back"? Prepare to spend a lot of that rescued time doing this. Photo: Deniz Merdano
This spring I’ve set a goal to go dirt jumping once a month; A isn’t ready to ride at our local spot yet, but even sneaking down for 30 minutes at lunch occasionally will pay dividends for me on the trail. Dirt jumps are another place where repetition is the name of the game, and there’s no way to hide your mistakes. It's a use-it-or-lose-it skill I lost at least 15 years ago. We'll see if it's one you can get back.
In short, I’m excited about this bike. There’s a joy in a simple machine on seemingly simple features. It's enabled me to share something directly with him as he grows in a way that standing around or running alongside doesn’t, and I think it makes him more excited to go ride when he can ride with me.
Snacks are important for a couple reasons: avoiding meltdowns, and giving Dad time to ride. Photo: Mom
Tool break! A's bike has matching EDC Lite. Photo: Mom
Couple 'o rigs.
This isn’t going to be any kind of “review” in the traditional sense. What can I say about a dirt jumper, when my last proper experience was eons ago? The idea here is that this is the first in a series; we’ll revisit Dadcountry again in a few months for an update, and we’ll talk about that Kids Ride Shotgun bike some of you have inevitably spotted very soon.
But I also want to hear your experiences, tips, and questions! Are you apprehensive about anything? How long did you use a shotgun seat? Are you my friend who now has a Chromag Monk and a BMX race bike? What brand did you find that makes the smallest gloves? And who out there has a solution to my gearing issue?
Seriously though. How do I ditch the 9t driver?
Comments
Perry Schebel
11 months, 1 week ago
man. i'm smiling at so many relatable sentiments, but also kinda shocked at how long ago having smol kids now seems (as the guardian of now teenaged progeny). time, it flies by surprisingly fast (embrace every moment).
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
And there was a lot of moments I had to cut out to keep this under 3,000 words!
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Bikeryder85
11 months, 1 week ago
This. This is why I come back to NSMB every day, you guys are not afraid to be dads...love it.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Ok, but lets be clear, there's lots of parts of being a dad that are scary and I'm afraid of. Like when he starts saying "I GO FAST FAST" at the top of a big hill...
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Bikeryder85
11 months, 1 week ago
Literally laughed out loud at that one! Yes, there are a ton of terrifying dad moments when teaching your groms how to ride! It's amazing what kind of terrain makes you pucker when it's your kid a, not you, riding it!
The memories are oh-so rewarding though.
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Guy Elliott
11 months, 1 week ago
This is the way.
By far the best rides are those with your kids, including the ones when you left the diapers at home or watching from behind in slow motion horror as they OTB after trying the “big” to them roll on CBC for the first time.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Eeesh, we're a ways away from any rock rolls on CBC, but yeah. He's already to the point where I have lots of "oh god this is scary to watch" moments. But so far he's got pretty good preservation instincts, and will only do things he's actually capable of, and will stop, go around, or walk things he can't do.
That's not to say he doesn't crash, but I trust him... as much as you can trust a 2.5 year old... to make some decisions on what he wants to ride.
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Todd Hellinga
11 months, 1 week ago
can relate to most of this, luckily I already have the 14 year old chromag monk dirt jumper with saint cranks I haven't had to think about since, well, when did I get the bike again? Can also confirm that the macride is still good for the 4-5 year old when they get tired going the long way for ice cream on the run bike, or pedal I guess when they're starting....may have happened on Sunday, but shoutout to momcountry too, cause they're doing it too!!
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Despite everything I said in the article, I'm sorry, but you're too old and crusty and not-cool to have a dirt jumper. Especially a Monk.
But yes, big shoutout to moms! Everything would be impossible without them.
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Lu Kz
11 months, 1 week ago
Dadcountry sounds like less of a genre of bike and more like... well, I'll use it in a sentence and see if it makes sense.
Imagine this: two 20-something enduro-y guys are riding past the pump track to the trailhead proper, and as they ride by, they see lots of families enjoying said pumptrack. One rider starts to slow down, like he might do a lap, and the other says to him "We can't stop here, this is Dad country".
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Strongly debated this gonzo reference, and Dadcountry for Old Men.
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Hollytron
11 months, 1 week ago
My best trail name that hasn’t been used yet is “Flow country for old men”
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Lu Kz
11 months, 1 week ago
Stellar name, except it has to be tech, because all the grumpy old dads in my area prefer tech to newschool flow trails.
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Pete Roggeman
11 months, 1 week ago
Truth.
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Lu Kz
11 months, 1 week ago
As you said it was hard to get this one down to 3,000 words, it sounds like you already have your next two dadcountry article title. Sorted.
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Velocipedestrian
11 months ago
20 somethings can't afford to come down with a case of Dad, that shit lingers for years.
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earle.b
11 months, 1 week ago
I just went down memory lane scrolling back trough old pics. According to IG I have been dragging smol humans around in either a trailer, a child seat or a tow strap for 374 weeks. Of those weeks only a handful of them without bikes in the kids life due to snow.
Someone asks how you get your kids into bikes....just start doing it when they are tiny and they won't know any different. Sure the odd time they might not want to, but mostly it just ends up second nature.
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BarryW
11 months, 1 week ago
Good stuff Cooper. My kids are all grown up now, and I didn't ride at all back when they were younger, but my now 21 year old daughter became my hard core sea kayak partner for years and years.
It makes me remember so many beautiful memories where we did mellow stuff so she could come with, and very occasionally getting to do the big stuff I like. And eventually her doing it with me.
Now her and her boyfriend ride mtb a little and the wife and I are very excited by that.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
There's a dad we see at the pumptrack sometimes on a Honzo. The basics are "I'm not into bikes at all, but my kid loves this, so I'm trying to learn too," which is a neat perspective. Also his kid rips, hah!
But yeah, I ts all about building things up to do it together (and eventually on his own); tools, working on bikes, riding, and all of it really. Its SUCH a pain in the ass to have him in the shed when I'm working on things, when he's trying to "help" and "NO LET ME DO IT BY 'SELF!!", but its an investment. It feels like a big investment sometimes, because things take 8x as long, but its also mostly funny and I'm happy to let him learn, fail, succeed, get frustrated, and help out when he asks for it. Lotta learnin' to do when you're two.
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Guy Elliott
11 months, 1 week ago
The hidden dad agenda: grooming our future biking buddy(s)!
I am amazed at the skill of the Goldstone generation, BUT the skill of the next generation of rippers is going to be bonkers (i.e. kids like Cooper's and Andrew's (and hopefully mine) who have been groomed by shore veterans).
Now we just need to make sure there are still skinnies and teeter totters around for them to ride (Thank you NSMBA).
Guy
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Skooks
11 months, 1 week ago
So true. One of my favourite riding buddies is 11 years old and rides just about anything on the shore. He is the best rider of his age I have ever seen and definitely one of the most naturally talented rider of any age that I have had the pleasure to ride with. It's is so awesome and inspiring to see him progress and how much he loves riding. I hope he manages to avoid serious injuries and that bikes continue to be a big part of his life.
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Moritz Haager
11 months, 1 week ago
Great article, and completely agree with the comment above that its these types of articles which embrace the real and humanistic side of life and mountain biking that make NSMB my favourite site. Also totally agree with not pushing your kids to do this and that the time flies by. I have a 12 yo and a 14 yo. Both actually quite naturally talented riders. Unfortunately my 14 yo shattered his liver dirt jumping 2 years ago and both boys have been out off mountain biking since. The younger one will still occasionally go with me, but the older one not. However both still bike commute to school so I count that as a win. He seems like he might be interested in road riding so now that he’s nearly my height I think I will give him my old commuting road bike and take home out. Maybe he’ll grow to like gravel?
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Yikes! I also have to admit... of the four surgeries I've had in my life from mountain biking, they were ALL dirtjumping related. I'm glad your kid has healed up, but I can understand how that might put you off for a bit. Or forever.
Gravel is fun, I promise!
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dsc
11 months, 1 week ago
I also just did exactly this. My 4.5 yr-old was on a balance bike since before she was two and has been pedaling for seven or eight months now. She's taken to pedaling quickly, but my commuter is too fast for her 20" wandering pace, and the MTB was too much of a pig to ride around the neighborhood and pump track, so dirt jumper it is! I found a mint Deity Cryptkeeper and have been having a ton of fun on it on rides with her.
Fun story: We have a little bike park nearby, and a couple of weeks ago I thought she might be ready to go down the easiest trail. She loved the lift ride up, and actually did really well on the first few little berms and rollers. However, I misjudged how rough even the not-so-rough sections would be on 20" wheels and no suspension, and even though she was having fun I could tell she was getting a little overwhelmed. So I started giving her assists where I'd put my bike to the side, run along beside her holding the back of her saddle, she'd steer and brake while I made sure things stayed upright. After a little way I'd find a good spot to pull her off the side of the trail and sit, I'd run back up the trail and get my bike and then ride back to where she was waiting.
We ended up doing this pretty much the ENTIRE way down. After running down the hill halfway bent over holding her bike, and then running back up it to get my bike in 100 ft sections, I thought I was about to die at the bottom. But she was so stoked at the end and wanted to go again (we opted for popsicles instead), and that it was all worth it. We probably won't try the park again for awhile but it's awesome seeing kids enjoying bikes.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
This experience resonates with me, and my back.
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Karl Fitzpatrick
11 months, 1 week ago
I'm not assuming anything and rough trails are rough trails especially without suspension but I'm always shocked at how hard a lot of parents pump kids' tyres up. If they're under 20kg and you can bottom the tyre on the rim bead with your thumb, it'll be grand 😁
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Yeah, I went on a bit of a tubeless experiement that failed for his bike. Maybe we'll cover that in the next piece.
Agreed that tire pressure needs to be "shockingly low" for 30lb kids!
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Skooks
11 months ago
We used the split inner-tube ghetto tubeless technique on our kid's bikes once they started riding 24 inch wheels. Schwalbe made presta valve tubes for small wheels, and I think they even had removable cores. This let us run lower tire pressure, but the biggest benefit was fewer flat tires.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months ago
I've got tubeless Schrader valves and gorilla tape, but the problem is the tires won't properly seat on the rims, even with a tube.
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chacou
11 months, 1 week ago
This is the way.
I'm a couple years past this, but strongly believe that balance/push/strider bikes is such a critical phase. My daughter 9 and son 7 both used the same balance bike. Big sister passed hers down 4 years old to her 2 y/o brother, she got a 14" Woom and in no time taught herself to pedal (thanks to the balance bike!). She graduated to a 16" Woom, lil bro got the 14", rinse repeat. We have many friends that skipped the balance bike altogether and missed that opportunity, they're now with 1st and 2nd graders with "training wheels" bikes that weigh close to 30lbs and losing their hair stressing out teaching the kid how to pedal (not to mentioned witnessing lots of tears, which is never a good way to get the kid hooked).
Meanwhile, mine are now on 24" and 20" hard trails (that I've gone to lengths to keep weight in check), with nice 10 speed drivetrains, air forks, tubeless, and love riding single track. Recently installed a dropper on my daughter's 24" and converted sons' 20" to a 11-42 cassette w/ Zee FR deraileur, it's made the riding with them even better as the instances of hike-a-bike have considerably dropped. Granted you still have to take a patient approach, not push them too hard, nothing too steep, rocky, or rooty, but they're excited to hit the bike parks this summer and I'm getting more trail time. My "dadcountry" bike is a steel Marino hardtail, I've ridden the full suspension twice so far this year!
Thanks to The Bike Dads, Andrew Major, and others for lots of motivation and advice getting the kids hooked.
Before you know it you'll be getting asked to film ;)
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
We're going to cover balance bikes very soon here so I want to keep some of my thoughts secret for now, but I absolutely agree they're amazing. And I already get asked to film... but its just so he can watch it on my phone 10 seconds later.
What I really love here - beyond how well you've built up your kid's bikes to maximize the experience - is the really nice ramp coupled with MDF plywood & stacked 2x4s here. I've got a lot of experience with landings like that, but sadly most of my takeoffs looked the same. Or were pallets. I'm concerned your kids aren't being exposed to nearly as much tetanus as I was as a kid.
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chacou
11 months, 1 week ago
Yeah when you buy the nice ramp you gotta use scrap lumber for the landing, but that's 3/4" solid plywood, way more sturdy than MDF! And the 4x4 with stacked 1x2 boards (from a pallet) are all screwed together with some reclaimed, stripped 3" deck screws, it's the perfect mix of classy and sketchy ;) ...with some custom spray paint thanks to the kids, the "M" is my daughter's "tag" lol.
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Skooks
11 months, 1 week ago
Agreed. Training wheels are a great way to get kids frustrated and turn them off biking. Teaching them to ride a balance bike, then adding pedals once they are comfortable is the way to go. I took the cranks off our kid's bikes and slammed the saddle which worked great after I learned the hard way that you need to take the BB axle out as well (sorry kids!). Once they had the balance figured out it was a very easy transition to learn how to pedal.
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Velocipedestrian
11 months, 1 week ago
I just used the crank bolts to hold some table leg caps (feet?) over the square tapers & BB shell.
It gave the weans 'pegs' to stand on, which they enjoyed.
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Skooks
11 months, 1 week ago
Bike were always a big part of life for our kids. Started them in the bike trailer, then ghetto run-bikes (kid's bike with the cranks removed), then trail-a-bike. Older kid fell in love with mountain biking and started riding real trails with me when he was around 8 years old. It didn't take him long to get better than me on the downhills but I could still smoke him on the climbs. I think he was around 14 when he put his hand on my back to push me up the road on Fromme. I definitely wasn't ready for that and it was a great motivator to climb faster! I vaguely remember doing many dawn-patrol and night-rides to get a ride in when the kids were small. Bikes are awesome, kids are awesome, and kids on bikes are the best.
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Landonarkens
11 months, 1 week ago
❤️
My dadcountry bike is an XXL Mongoose Title BMX race bike, the red color matches my daughter’s micro Mongoose Title.
She was stoked to win snack-shack tokens at the track last summer. 😄
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Perfect!
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Landonarkens
11 months ago
Oh, and my daughter really likes the fit of her Zippy Roos gloves.
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Ryan Walters
11 months ago
Great stuff Coop. You touched on it briefly with Squamish suddenly being much further away - I find I’m probably riding about the same now as I did before my daughter was born, but the size of the missions have definitely decreased. I used to do lots of bike park, bike weekends, racing all over BC, etc. Now, I’m perfectly content with the huge variety of trails in my backyard, and this is good, because any further away might as well be a different country as far as effort and planning go.
We’ll see how this changes after our 2nd arrives in 8 weeks!
I should dust off my BMX and join you for that once a month dirt jump session.
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tdmsurfguy
11 months, 1 week ago
Great read. Love the pump tracks for the kids improving too. It’s fun to watch them learn how to corner better and better.
On kids gloves, I had decent luck with Dakine. They had a small set that I think my daughters started with around 3.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Yeah, the progression day to day and week to week is wild. We went to the half-track BMX races last night and he managed to get up two of the big jumps himself for the first time... and then every time after. My back is stoked.
And noted re: dakine!
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tashi
11 months ago
While I’d never reccomend their adult gloves, Giro makes some nice kid-sized gloves too.
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Velocipedestrian
11 months ago
Our first set of Giro kids gloves have just been passed down from 8yo to 6yo. No holes yet.
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mrbrett
11 months, 1 week ago
Love it, Cooper. I have a 9 year old and a 4.5 year old and have had a lot of similar experiences.
The pics of you walking around with a helmet on pushing a run bike feel the most relatable.
Only one unsolicited humble suggestion for your KRS/MacRide years: some sort of bar bag/frame bag/accessory carrying device has gone a long way to making both kids happy on the bike. Snack carrier, small toy from home, found treasures all fit in nicely. Decathlon has basic bike bags starting at about $15 so everyone gets one too.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Yeah I've got a few different frame bag options - generally a Tailfin V-mount pack carries a few things.
The pics of me walking around pushing seem to resonate with a lot of folks, including my physiotherapist.
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4Runner1
11 months, 1 week ago
Great read! My kids are 8 and 10 now, and it’s crazy how quickly the years go by. Both started out on run bikes, my boy an Early Rider and my girl on a Norco Mermaid. I’ve kept those bikes and they will hopefully be keepsakes for them. If not, ol’ Dad will cherish them!
Both of my kids enjoy riding to this day and I’m always stoked and proud to follow them down a sweet piece of single track.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Heck yeah! I'm looking forward to similar experiences, if that's the path he chooses.
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Tremeer023
11 months, 1 week ago
I have two boys, 7 and 9, and tried really hard not to force riding on them. The eldest enjoyed the balance bike and learnt quickly. He's confident on his 26" now.
However, I think I was too relaxed with the youngest as he wasn't so bothered with the balance bike and has only now learnt to ride properly, and he's still on a tag-along for longer rides. Lots of proper group rides to be had soon though : )
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Guy Elliott
11 months, 1 week ago
Have a whole crib of kids. (teens, tweens, and 3 year old).
Bikes are fun, climbing is hard (especially on heavy bike relative to your 5-12 year old muscles), and Slurpee's to end. Don't force it, but keep at it.
Dad Hack: Whistler Bike Park and bringing a friend, has been a great way to get them back into biking when enthusiasm is low and also is the progression multiplier of getting a lot of kms in short time (I've had more laps on Easy Does than A-line in recent years, but don't care).
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
The bike weight:kid mass ratio is pretty wild when you do the math.
Its pretty easy to understand why kids BMX race bikes look the way they do.
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Velocipedestrian
11 months ago
I feel the bringing a friend is the universal key to this hack. My squad are much harder to get motivated and quit much sooner when it's just me and them.
Inviting a buddy means they have a peer to show off to, or keep up with.
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tdzride
11 months, 1 week ago
Great read with very relatable experiences! My 1 yo sits in a copilot limo on the back of my cross bike for now, but we got her the strider bike with rocker table to try and get her into bikes early. That tailfin dry bag strapped to your bike is a great idea, I'm definitely going to find something similar for longer rides
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Seb_Kemp
11 months, 1 week ago
This was a great read, Cooper (even if I skim read it...'cause dad life).
I can relate to the stable of power-hour-or-all-the-hours Dadcountry™ bike and a Dicking About Bike but can't bring myself to love the SUV bike yet. There's a gap out there for a ebike for daily duties that's not lame, heavy, uncool and unreliable. Something slim, slick, smart and fast.
My personal Gigglefactory 3000 is an ebike and the adventures we've had has been eye opening for me and my two little girls. You should stop hating ebikes and love your knees, old man.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Someone your age calling me "old" is pretty rich.
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Pete Roggeman
11 months, 1 week ago
You're both old and relatably crusty.
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Blain Echols
11 months, 1 week ago
Man, the MacRide was so much fun. We did it with both kids, but both are now too tall. MacRide discussions are the best: "Dad, it felt like were were flying!""Why can't we catch THAT guy?" "We're going soooo slow." "WOOOHOOOO!"
The next piece of equipment in your progression (depending on your trails, I guess) is a Towhee or similar bungee/leash setup for when they're on pedals, but not quite strong enough to do much uphill. We have a few nice mostly-downhill flow trails with low-traffic road access for the climb so you can tow the kid up. You get your workout, and the kid gets to blaze down.
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Karl Fitzpatrick
11 months, 1 week ago
There are a LOT of dads pitching in here which is beautiful and the reason I'm admitting to not knowing if someone has mentioned this but my youngest is almost at the point where she is too big for our Doolittle (proto-Shotgun style) seat.
When she was on a balance bike and even a 14" pedal bike, I could hook the nose of the saddle into into the hand loop of a day pack and it was manageable enough to ride with her onboard and her bike slung to my back (along with a range of snacks, lollies etc) to parts of the trails she could handle at which point, off she'd get onto her own bike until she was ready to be shuttled again. Was a great way for me to ride a bit further and for them to see and ride slightly more adventurous laps.
The harshest part now is not only that her 16" bike is just a bit too big for this arrangement, but she's not as able to make it to the parts of the trails under her own steam that I could otherwise take her to.
You'll speed up and slow down (quite a lot IME) as they gain pedalling independence/ confidence.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Yeah that's the kind of portage arrangement I'm thinking!
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Velocipedestrian
11 months ago
A snowboard pack / baby carrier / etc might make the 16" a bit easier schlepp. But no getting past the helmet to the chin when they're too big for the Dolittle (we had the same).
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XXX_er
11 months ago
So instead of a run bike my ski bud bought the smallest pedal bike he could find and had the chain & cranks taken off at the LBS. When his daughter asked for them he had me put the cranks and chain back on to make it into a pedal bike, I don't know how the sizing worked out but it would appear bro only had to buy 1 bike instead of 2 and his daughter thot I was cool.
another buddy of mine got his kid a slightly used Spawn and from hat i have seen a high end bike for your kid is really worth it
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Cooper Quinn
11 months ago
There's defintiely a pretty wide margin between "nice" kids bikes and "cheap" kids bikes. And overall quantum of spend isn't vastly different, when you consider it in the context of adult bikes to go from crappy to nice.
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XXX_er
11 months ago
well I just wana say i see value in paying > 600 $ for a kids 1st pedal bike which is a lot of money for a 16" kids bike especialy at a time when mom & dad will be short of $ but it looked to me like mini-bro really liked the bike, I think the Spawn was lighter, he rode it further than yer average mini bro which is a good thing it is still good for his little brother and
and has high resale to other parents who will pay too much money for a bike
of course its never too soon to get a kid in the habit of paying ridiculous prices for bikes or any sports gear
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Dan Lees
11 months ago
Love this article! Some of my best riding memories are relatively tame rides with my offspring.
My tips after 15 years (now I feel old) of BikeDad-dom.
1) Run/balance bikes are awesome, run bikes with a rear brake are awesomer.
2) Small gloves - look at Moto-X brands, my kids had Fox gloves as their first gloves as their XS kids ones are tiny.
3) Ignore suspension on kids bikes, at first. My boys had Islabikes initially (i.e. sub-24in wheels) for easy UK Blue trails and laps of the village and pumptrack. They were light and Just Worked.
4) Weigh stuff - the application of a set of scales and a relatively small £/$ value can reduce kid bike weights by a couple of lbs easy. Tyres, posts, bars, saddles and stems are the usual culprits.
5) Fit a dropper post - my kids cornering technique increased exponentially as soon as I was able to fit one. Worth the extra weight IMHO.
6) Prioritise your kids bike stuff over your own. You probably can do without that new shiny thing or jersey in the on trend colour but your kids will always get bigger.
7) Finish your ride with cake/ice cream.
8) Take LOTS of snacks and have back up snacks.
9) Ride with other families, kids love riding with other kids.
Things like the MacRide and Towhee weren't around when my kids were little (they are now 13 and 15, and nearly as big as I but we definitely would have used them if they were.
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DadStillRides
11 months ago
So relatable and a fun read!
I agree the trailer is the most practical kid hauler until they grow out of it.
Sadly, my dj is my least ridden bike since I've had kids. Probably has more to do with where we now live having no bmx trails scene and that trail bossing a set is a full time job on its own.
For me, the kid-free rides depend most upon quality of lights and living with less sleep. I've been surprised how much fun I've had riding tech trails in the dark. Find another dad in your situation, and it can be a magical thing.
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Morgan Heater
11 months ago
I used to attach a rope to my waist and bungie it to my kids headsets to give them a bit of a pedal assist for longer trail rides when they were in the 6-9 year old age. More exercise for me, which dampened my froth a little and made it easier to be ready to quit when they were done. Definitely required gears though. I've seen dads on ebikes recently doing the same thing, and it's definitely cheating.
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Carym
11 months ago
I am one of the lucky ones. Started my son in a Burley. He is 19 now, we still ride together, even with him kicking my ass.
https://ibb.co/QDvN0y3
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cyclotoine
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Mac-riding with my first dropped off when he was three as his sister arrived and I haven't been doing it as much with her because we do most things together. we did a couple of family Mac rides last summer when they were 2 and 4 but my son, while within the weight limit is really too tall and it's pretty awkward. He was late to get the run bike and went through a phase of loving it when we were mac riding more, he even got into the pump track but his interest has waned. We don't have a real pump track near our house so that doesn't help. I have a 2004 Mountain Cycle hardtail I've been meaning to slap together as dirt jumper. It will cost almost nothing and weigh a ton but will hopefully be fun when we do to some of the local dirt pump tracks. My son is 5 and still not interested in pedaling. He's not a risk-taker and I'm not pushing him. He'll never be one of "those" kids, I'm still happy to walk with them (3 and 5) now as they ride their run bikes to the mini pump track or the playground.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 2 weeks ago
At times its difficult to remember... but you do have to remember that its not about what YOU want them to do, its what they want to do!
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Zero-cool
11 months, 1 week ago
I think I’m a few years ahead of you (4 1/2 year old twins). We still use the KRS seat a bit (coupled with hired e-bikes) and new school long reach bikes help with chin space. My kids are not on 16” wheels now and we spend at least 3 days a week either on bimbles through the woods or pump tracks (Bristol in the UK has so many different pump tracks and they just keep building more). I’m just building up an old Charge Blender form old parts for the very same reason you have the Evil. I found that a slack 29er hardtail with 140mm travel A- sucked on pump tracks, and B- made it a real struggle to go slow enough for the kids to keep up. Also 140mm travel and 2.5 29er wheels meant I couldn’t feel how rough going it was for their 16” ones. So it’s 100mm Marz DJ1s and single speed for me now.
And at 44 it was a good excuse to justify a jump bike
In the UK there’s a company called Tigo that make toddler sized gloves, pads and a lovely Hoody with built in elbow pads so you kids can be padded up without noticing (they also make one with soft back protection for slightly bigger kids as well).
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Twins sounds hard.
Riding a big squishy bike on slow tires, vs a proper hardtail with fast tires at 50psi at the pumptrack makes such an insane difference. I mean, it should, but its wild to experience back to back.
And yeah, little tires! I remember years ago laugh at some groms at the top of Schleyer in the Whistler Bike Park discussing how it was a hard trail for 20" wheels, and a lot better on 24" wheels. I laughed at the time, but it would make an ENORMOUS difference on a rough trail like that.
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Zero-cool
11 months ago
My old jump bike has long since been sold and ‘upgraded’ into a 6” freeride bikes, then DH, the Enduro bike and now I’m coming back to the jump bike 20 years later.
In the UK Frog bikes make a tiny balance(run) bike so we got 2 for ours when they turned 1. As a 1 year can’t destroy it we sold it secondhand for pretty much what we paid for it(and even that was a lot less than what all the others sold theirs for on FB and eBay , I hate price gouging). Thank’s COVID for making bikes so scarce and inflating the prices of new bikes ya bugger!!
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Lynx .
11 months, 1 week ago
Very cool article Cooper and while I don't have any kids of my own, I sure spent enough of my earlier years helping raise a few, enough to get mistakenly called Dad a good few times. Love the run bikes, wish we had them or that I'd heard of them back when I was trying to teach those kids to ride. Definitely something with smaller wheels and very simple like a D or old HT would also be my bike of choice.
To me, this is why you have kids, even though I did and still do give the dads I ride with a hard time about not being able to ride as much now they have young kids. I used to love teaching the little uns I helped with and then as they progressed to no training wheels and then a 26" wheeled bike, then 650B and could come on proper trail rides with me, that's why you have kids, because you WANT to spend time with them teaching and watching them grow, not thinking, man what a chore, how much longer like some parents do.
As to how to solve the 9t cog issue, pretty simple IMHO - you must have a spare 135x10mm 32 hole, HG hub lying around somewhere, just strip out that Novatec and be done with it, choose whatever size cog you want.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Man, I don't have a hub like that laying around, though!
Also, that'd probably mean I'd need new spokes, I'd need to build a wheel, etc...
I think there's drivers available, but they all seem to be on weird european websites that won't ship here, on on EbayUK, and also won't ship here. Its such an annoying problem (and a very BMX like problem).
We'll talk about the brilliance of run bikes in a piece coming soon here. And, yes, you should continue to give all the dads and moms around you shit. And, yes, it should be because you want to, but also... I think most parents will agree its not always a smooth ride and there's definitely times when you're thinking "how much longer?!" even if its just "how much longer until naptime"
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Alexander Filler
11 months, 1 week ago
Could you take the opposite approach and leave the driver and get a smaller chainring? Not sure what comes stock on that thing, but given it is 3pc crankset you should be able to fit some absurdly small BMX chainring.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
It's a 25t, so about the best I can do is bump down to a 23t I think. There's maybe a couple brands that make a 21t, but I've never actually seen them in stock. But I am very open to links and ideas!
Its 100% BMX gearing, 25x9.... but its on 26" wheels.
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mrb-mtb
11 months, 1 week ago
I'm running 25x9 on my BMX so that sounds like really hard work on a 26". I found 1 (one) 20 tooth sprocket from a company I've never heard of called fareast cycles: https://www.kunstform.org/en/fareast-cycles-sprocket-p-17713
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Cooper Quinn
11 months, 1 week ago
Well, expensive experiment, but I've ordered one of those! I'll report back!
Ron Callahan
11 months ago
I had the same problem with an Octane One hub with a 9t driver. I don't know what the front chainring is on the Evil Faction, but trails company Inspired makes a 22T chainring that makes the ratio a little easier on the knees. Ultimately, I ended up building a new rear wheel with a Hope Pro4 DH/trials hub. Not the cheapest, but at least I can work with different gear ratios now for the track.
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Cooper Quinn
11 months ago
Yeah I'd *really* like to avoid building a new rear wheel here, but... that may be where we end up eventually! We'll be checking in on this bike occasionally over the next while, so we'll see!
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Velocipedestrian
11 months ago
Almost 'how much longer', just Is it bedtime yet?
Full of relatable stories from the parenting frontlines.
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Zero-cool
11 months ago
Can anyone recommend a gear ratio for pumptrack and pottering around family trails with kids? My donor cranks are Zees with a 32 chain ring so want to know if I need a 16 or 18 on the back. Ta
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Cooper Quinn
11 months ago
Youll be fine with either, TBH. I'd go 16, 2:1 or a bit taller is pretty normal.
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Zero-cool
11 months ago
Thanks.
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Connor Gillan
11 months ago
Just get divorced then you can ride all the time, (1/2 the time)... at least these things resell well.
And you can build stupid things like this..
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