A first look at this mini-shredder
Kids Ride Shotgun Dirt Hero
I’d say a lot of folks reading this probably have a similar memory to one of mine – the day the training wheels came off. The act of taking the training wheels off is such a collective experience we use the phrase to describe removing aids and protections in general life. With this one act, your parents turned biking on its head and suddenly the days of getting high centered in puddles were over. I remember going back and forth in an outdoor basketball court behind my elementary school, wobbling around trying to figure out how to keep a bicycle upright when on one run down dad said, “I wasn’t holding on that time!”
My child will not share this experience.
You can do wheelies over all the sidewalk expansion joints on the way to daycare on the Dirt Hero, but there's no training wheels. It's also not a very fast way to get anywhere. As an aside, Patagonia makes some of the most durable kids stuff we've found.
At some point in the decades between my time in the basketball court and now, a much better method of learning to ride has been popularized. Run or strider bikes teach children the hardest parts of cycling: balance, steering, counter steering, and even braking, while leaving arguably the easiest part, pedaling, until later. Run bikes can be made with lower standover, are lighter and have fewer dangerous parts, and they even come in wood, a la chukudus. Frankly they’re brilliant, and as I mentioned when we were talking about Dadcountry and getting young kids on bikes, my kid has had one since before he could walk.
And now he has a new one. How spoiled is a kid that’s had two brand new bikes before his third birthday? Very. I don’t remember my first bike, but I guarantee it wasn’t anything like this. Kids Ride Shotgun is a brand built on getting kids on bikes early with their Shotgun seat which Andrew reviewed here; this technique was also my son A's first foray onto two wheels on my path to Dadcountry.
It makes perfect sense for the people at Kids Ride Shotgun to take up the next link in the chain with run bikes, and they’ve done so with the Dirt Hero, a bike with a pile of clever features showing it was designed by people who have kids that ride, and who care a lot about making sure that first experience can be a good one. And crucially for parents, it also has features that should mean it’ll work for your kid longer than other options; this is important given everything you see in the pile below rings in at 653 CAD.
Kids these days are spoiled - they don’t even have to pick a wheelsize to be a jerk about. The frame kit is 254 CAD, and includes everything but wheels and the corresponding dropouts. Wheel kits come in 12" and 14" varieties, and are 192 and 218 CAD respectively. And no, we’re not going to try it as a mullet setup.
The Dirt Hero has everything you’d expect in a high end run bike - it's relatively lightweight, it has sealed bearings in the headset and hubs, and overall feels like a “real” bike, not a toy. Currently, the bike is built up with 12” wheels. This requires installing the appropriate dropouts and integrated brake mount on the rear end using the tools in the box, then it's just a matter of using thru-axles (like mom and dad’s bike!) to put wheels on and installing handlebars.
Assembly is a one-Cheerio-cup job, because two-year-olds can't drink beer, and you don't need a full beer for the job anyway. It's quick.
All the tools you'd need for assembly are included - a nice feature if you're handy with tools, but perhaps not running a fully stocked bike kit. Definitely have your little one "help".
Stickers of dinosaurs riding bikes! Temporary tattoos of dinosaurs riding bikes! Kids Ride Shotgun really know their audience - the cutest mudguard you ever did see is also included.
Complete, with 12" wheel kit and no brake.
You should, of course, utilize all the ‘help’ you can get during this unboxing and installation. Especially the most important parts - picking the colour of the top tube protective sticker, and some temporary tattoos for everyone involved. 'A' picked the blue sticker (I’d note it looks and feels a lot like the DYEDBRO kits I use on my bikes, it's quality) and with that we were ready to ride.
It looks like a "real" cockpit, and it is. The bars use a standard 31.8mm center, but step down to a narrower than normal diameter out by the grips for small hands. The headset runs on sealed bearings.
The ubiquitous 12" Crown Gem tires adorn most kids "mountain" bikes. They look the business. Similar to Geometron Mutators, small adapters bolt to the fork for 14" wheels, and separate rear dropouts for the larger wheels.
The footrest is removable, and would be an intense - if brief - source of frustration and tears. There's also a nice functional molded rubber guard on the downtube, just like a real bike.
The dropouts are a two-bolt-per-side affair. While any post mount disc brake will work with a 140mm rotor, the KRS rotor has a special plastic insert to keep tiny fingers out of what is one of the most dangerous parts of your bike. Tips for when to install a brake from other parents welcome below!
"THE BOO [blue] ONE" was the sticker of choice. Which wasn't a surprise, frankly.
A already knows how to ride a run bike, so beyond that it was a matter of setting saddle height and we were off to the alley. And the first ride was a complete failure. The Dirt Hero has removable plastic around the “bottom bracket” area for kids to put their feet on when coasting. I’d mistakenly pointed these out during assembly, and A couldn’t get the coordination together to use them. So we melted down, and quit for the day.
Fortunately the progression toddlers can have from day to day is insane, and on the way home from daycare the next day, we were gliding along. I wish my riding improved at the same rate… or at all.
Day two, and we'd figured out the footrests, albeit with a disconcerting amount of staring straight down while rolling along.
He also selected the blue OneUp EDC Lite over the green one. This required some 'custom' work to fit in the steerer of his Early Rider. I don't think you'd have to do any modifications to make it fit the KRS.
The EDC Lite sticks firmly enough in the steerer that A's still not strong enough to get it out himself. He takes great satisfaction in putting it away, though.
My Dadcountry Bike also has bars from OneUp, as well as matching EDC Lite tools. This bar/stem/tool combo has been swapped over to the KRS.
It's been about a month on the Dirt Hero, and there have been two changes. It's no longer “MY NEW, NEW BIKE” it's just “my bike”, and I swapped out the cockpit and EDC Lite from his old bike. It's A’s quiver killer - seeing duty at the pump track, as a commuter, on the trails mountain biking, and half-track BMX racing. There’s only two niggles on the Dirt Hero so far, and the first isn’t attributable to KRS. The ubiquitous 12” Vee Tire Co. Crown Gems won’t quite seat on the single wall rims, so there’s a bit of a tire wobble. The second is the lower front edge of the plastic footrests is a bit sharp, and if A is in shorts* it’ll nick the back of his calves. I’ll probably try and heatgun this edge to fold it over a bit. Beyond that there’s nothing else I can nitpick so far, really. It's a great bike!
*I know, I know. I try to keep him in long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when riding.
Helmet? Check. Gloves? Check. Paw Patrol shoes with rapidly disintegrating brakes/soles? Check.
And that's why we wear a helmet and gloves. After a few tears, we declared "I'm all good!", got back on, and went to get sprinkle donuts at our favorite coffee shop.
Can you buy cheaper run bikes? Absolutely – but I’d urge you with everything I can muster to buy something at least halfway decent, with real pneumatic tires and that can’t do double duty as a boat anchor. If you ride quality stuff, your kid deserves to, too.
If you want to splurge a bit or live by a “buy once, cry once” philosophy, the Kids Ride Shotgun Dirt Hero will grow with your toddler and has all the features I’d be looking for. Kids bikes also retain a remarkable amount of value, and the build quality here is clearly such that it'll survive multiple kids, if that's your chosen path.
There’s also no need to buy it all up front - get a frame and some wheels and you can add bigger wheels or a brake later. Or if your kid is older and just learning, start with 14” wheels! The modularity and optionality is a great feature, and the whole package is littered with nice, thoughtful touches that clearly show it was designed by and for people who care about getting kids the best first experience possible on a bike.
Half-track BMX racing is followed by the more important part of Thursday evening - ice cream.
Learning to earn his turns - at this phase he's pretty good at getting up "technical" things, getting back down is harder.
Soon enough these two will be having "I'm on 14" wheels now, they're way better over roots than those 12" wheels" conversations, I'm sure.
This bike is here for long term review, so we’ll check in on this as A grows; we’ll see how the bigger wheels work, if it needs higher rise bars… who knows! I think I’m most excited to see him start wearing out Crown Gem rear tires doing disc brake induced skids when his hands get a bit bigger. While we won't share any memories about training wheels, we can share the memory of trying to do the longest skid down the driveway possible, and then going back up and trying again.
Find out more or order a Kids Ride Shotgun Dirt Hero.
Comments
kcy4130
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I'm guessing Major will be along in a minute recommending mulleting it and an angleset.
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Tjaard Breeuwer
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Cushcore first.
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DanL
10 months, 3 weeks ago
push on grips at the very least
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BC_Nuggets
10 months, 3 weeks ago
"Soon enough these two will be having "I'm on 14" wheels now, they're way better over roots than those 12" wheels" conversations, I'm sure."
Pick a wheel size and be a poopyhead about it.
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Ripbro
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Love the work less ride more sticker on a kids run bike
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Karl Fitzpatrick
10 months, 3 weeks ago
While I'm fully on board with just how ridiculously good run bikes (and kids bikes in general) are now, I find it hard to determine how they can possibly cost so much money and the cynic in me only sees opportunism from brands that know there are parents out there that'd pay up. #capitalismiguess.
Bike's are and always be awesome though. One of my many parental challenges is keeping my kids on the right size bike (they grow so damn fast!) for as cheaply as possible while making their experience positive, fun and leading them wanting more.
This has meant cobbling together bikes with u- brakes (and the best brake cables/ housing money can buy), decent tyres etc.
The biggest revelation lately is getting them each a small light that we can take out after dinner on the poorly lit gravel paths that follow streams and fields near our house. Same old trails. Maximum adventure feels!
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ackshunW
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Agree on the cost! Balance bikes are a total gamechanger, and this one seems well thought out. But I also feel it falls into the category of “boiling frog expensive kid stuff”, as in, every couple of years there’s a new company selling SOME baby-or-kid related thing, for another 20% higher than the previous most-expensive-version. Then it gets popular and normalized and the cycle starts again. So now plenty of new parents think it’s a reasonable or even ::essential:: to get the current gold-standard $1800 bassinet (good for 6-8months!) or the $1400 stroller. Some of the stuff is higher quality and has a resale market, so that’s a good trend. . . Okay losing my train of thought. Anyway bikes are good, my 2 year old is currently learning his balance on a secondhand Macride and 4th hand free Firstbike.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I agree on some of what you've said like strollers and car seats, but for bikes I'm not sure I agree. I mean save some small material quantity costs for the frame, a bike like this has literally everything a "real" bike has except for a drivetrain. Same amount of cutting/mitering, similar amount of welding, etc. And yet it costs only a couple hundred bucks - its a full order of magnitude cheaper than most frames reviewed on this website.
I get what you're saying, but honestly its pretty insane we (myself included) think/expect things like this to be cheaper when you look at the full value chain.
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ackshunW
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Of course I’m happy to give anything “bike” a less-stringent smell test!
But in this case, I compare to the Early Rider Bigfoot (already kind of crazy $$$!!!), but that comes in kind of A LOT cheaper, also with aluminum frame, same tires, sealed bearings, etc. And comes stock with a brake! Buy the time you’ve added the KRS brake to this one, the Bigfoot is more than $200 cheaper.
And what do you get for all that$$?
- Disk instead of rim brake (totally completely not necessary in any type of balance bike shredding)
-thru-axles instead of bolt on. How does this improve the bike?
-the modular concept - in my opinion, the utility of this is an illusion.
-the added $$ does not go towards domestic production, or philanthropy, but rather to marketing (if I am wrong and KRS has a robust advocacy/ donation policy let me know, would be happy to be proven wrong)
I just don’t see the value personally. I like nice things, I like sharing bikes with those around me, but I’m nearly offended by the sell on the added features which are actually useless in practice. It’s signaling or rampant consumerism or… Or maybe I’m also a little offended by SHOTGUN in the name. Either way, some companies have won me over and I’ll recommend to anyone who will listen, but I don’t think I’ll ever be advocating for this bike.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I'm seeing the Early Rider listed at $269US, and the KRS at $340. So not nothing, but not a huge difference. As you note, the KRS doesn't come with a brake, but you also don't have to buy the KRS/Magura brake, any post mount disc will work (as I said in the piece, though, I would very strongly recommend a rotor with a guard, as disc brakes are basically finger guillotines)
At the end of the day back to your original comment, yes, used is definitely a great route and I'd advocate for (as I said) a lightweight bike with pneumatic tires, but if that's not in the budget and you get your kid on a bike and they're stoked? Win.
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ackshunW
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Haha thanks for getting back to my grumpy post with a reasonable response. Rereading it, I do sure sound sour, but that’s not my whole personality!! I guess my point is that ::I’M:: not stoked about the ever-upward creep in consumer goods (that fridge used to be just fine, but now it doesn’t even have WI-FI, what an outdated hunk of trash!). . . Whether or not that’s an evil ruining society, I do not have the tools to make the argument.
But back to bikes, thanks for the review, love the dadcountry series and all the biking with kids content!! Lots of good advice and stories to swap.
Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Ha, don't worry, its difficult to out-salty me.
Totally understand where you're coming from, but you should definitely just throw your fridge in the woods and get one that requires an app.
Robin Grant
9 months, 3 weeks ago
Hey @Cooper Quinn - if you were spending your own money would you go for a Kids Ride Shotgun Dirt Hero, or the Early Rider Big Foot 12 (which is about half the price here in the UK)
93EXCivic
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I bought a Production Privee Mini Shan and it has all the same things (ok not thru axles but those don't seem needed) and even with shipping from Europe was significantly cheaper like probably $180 USD.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
It looks like those are listed at €190.83 now, which is just about $250CAD before shipping. So cheaper, but not much cheaper. Those look nice!
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93EXCivic
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Oh I was seing $439 on the KRS website but I see that includes the Magura brake.
Justin White
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I think a lot of the high-3- to 4-figure pricing on strollers and such is just brand-taxes that people are willing to pay to maintain an image. We were gifted a $700 folding wagon/stroller, and it's pretty nice, but I would never buy it myself, because it's not even close to twice as nice as a decent $300 one. But the brand name is prominent, and people like to show off.
But if you don't care as much about looking expensive...
A kids bike just doesn't need the same kind of stuff that a "real bike" has. We have an Early Rider Charger that costs for a whole bike basically what this frame costs. Yes, it doesn't have the wheel options, but it also intentionally (I think) lacks the things like thru-axles and disc brakes and a hydroformed downtube. Simple straight-gauge tubes with only a couple simple bends for the stays and fork, bolt-on hubs, v-brake mounts, wheels probably machine-built. All things that don't require quite as stringent tolerances to easily handle the forces my 4-year-old will put into it. The cost-benefit trade-off of fancy tubes and high-precision parts simply doesn't need to be made on toddler bikes, while it's almost necessary to keep my bike alive and kicking.
It well-made and so should hold it's value, but I'm not sure the market for used $300-500 toddler bikes is really very big.
BTW, I love Kids Ride Shotgun stuff. I have 2 seats (though my wife would really rather pull a trailer so I really only use the Pro), a handlebar, and even the book. But, even if we didn't already have the Early Rider, I could not see myself ever buying this bike for this price.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
The Charger is great - that's what A had previously. Its also a very well made, high quality product. The only thing worth swapping on it may be the tires, he was over and under-steering on trails with those things. Get some Crown Gems.
And no, a kid's bike certainly doesn't need stuff a big bike has. But that said, no one needs most features on the bikes we have either, and if they weren't available we'd be rolling around out there on steel double diamond frames and grinning.
I would argue that weight is a huge component of what I'd be looking for in any kids bike, though. And the tradeoff engineers have to make is weight vs toddler-durability and cost.
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Justin White
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Yeah, sure, no one needs anything fancy. Sure, a steel double diamond rigid with QR skewers and rim brakes is plenty fun, but trying to do what I do on my modern 150mm trail bike would rapidly deteriorate the bike, or me, or both. But skilled adults can utilize almost everything a modern precision made mountain bike can offer. On contrast, no toddler has the strength or weight to ever put a balance bike through what even remotely requires the same kind of (expensive) precision.
So, yes, buy your kids good shit: they'll hopefully appreciate it, and you'll appreciate not dealing with tears when the cheap shit fails. But getting to good, or even great, for kid usage does not require building to the same level of products made for us grown-ups.
albert03
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Way back when I worked at a Trek store for a bit, they had a trade-in program for kids bikes that was really good. I think the current deal is you get 50% of the original purchase price credited toward the purchase of a new bike if you bring it back to the store within three years. This seems like a reasonable way reduce the cost of keeping kids in bikes as they grow.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Some LBS's offer lease programs and similar trade in programs as well. Definitely worth talking to the folks at whatever shop you frequent!
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OldManBike
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Great review.
On the cost issue, my experience (US east coast) has been that nicer kid bikes retain their value really well, so that in the end we came out far, far ahead of where we'd have been if we'd been buying department store kids bikes. (Of course quality used would be even better but finding what we wanted was tough, although no doubt getting easier now.) So spending silly money on kids bikes ended up being a lot less of a big deal than it felt like at first.
Also, my two cents of bike-parenting advice is don't let your bike-head identity warp what's fun for your kid. I had vivid dreams of my daughter blitzing around the neighborhood on a balance bike at record-young age, but she had other plans. She even preferred the training-wheel bike for a while, how mortifying. But we mostly got over ourselves and let her be in charge of what she wanted to do. In the end I believe that's maximized how much lasting satisfaction, confidence, and fun she gets from it.
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ackshunW
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Hahaha “how mortifying”. Excellent advice about letting them find their own path. Don’t be “THAT” little-league parent, just in Mt Bike form.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
100% - hopefully that was part of the takeaway from my piece last week: let them lead.
https://nsmb.com/articles/dadcountry/
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Velocipedestrian
10 months, 3 weeks ago
We dodged this social horror
>She even preferred the training-wheel bike for a while, how mortifying.
By never having trainer wheels in the house.
When it was time to introduce pedal bikes I just removed the entire drivetrain for the first few outings so the size & brake acclimation could happen in the familiar balance bike style.
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IslandLife
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I get it, love it and each should spend whatever they see fit. For others... my boys absolutely loved their second hand Striders that I picked up for $75 each. Used run bikes are easy to find while still being essentially new as little riders don't put much stress on them... and at that age, the love for a used cheap version vs a brand new overpriced version is essentially the same. I'd say the experience is pretty damn close as well.
Mine were pretty quickly onto 14" pedal bikes and I sold the striders for $50 each. My vote is to invest that $600 in a future bike fund because their future bikes will be stupidly expensive. My boys are 12 now and ripping around on bikes that I did not foresee them riding when they were toddlers, ha!
This is definitely more for the Dads/Moms than the kids, haha, love it!
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
There's no argument the used market is a great place for *all* kids stuff, for sure.
And I hear you about the cost, and everyone's situation is different, but there's also a couple ways to look at it.
While a couple hundred bucks isn't nothing by *any* stretch of the imagination, the total quantum isn't actually that bad. Its big on a percentage change, but overall they're all (Specialized Hotwalk aside) not that expensive and retain a lot of that value in the used market.
All that said... totally hear you re: saving every penny for those bikes down the road! They certainly don't get cheaper!
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IslandLife
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Yep, totally see how some may go for it. I do wonder how easily these would sell on the used market competing against $50 Striders though, ha!
And yes, exactly, Maxxis tires have gotten expensive AF... that's not a good comparison, haha!
I'd suggest people use that money for those two golden Maxxis tires for their own bike. Little Jerry will love his used Strider, I promise.
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lkubica
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Brakes as soon as kid can squish the levers. For my kids, force needed was the only obstacle, they had no problems with coordination. Place for disc brakes is a great feature of this bike, my kids were not that lucky and had a mechanical rim brake. Your only problem will be how to find the smallest lever possible and how to make those breaks weak enough.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
That seems to be the common thread - put brakes on ASAP.
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Velocipedestrian
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Many mechanical brakes use a grub screw to adjust the reach - fitting a longer one can get the lever closer to the bar.
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Tremeer023
10 months, 3 weeks ago
That is easily the best looking and (seemingly) best designed balance bike I've seen so far. Had a Strider for my 2 boys which was pretty good at the time.
I agree with putting a brake on a kids bike. I was surprised at how much my boys enjoyed using their brakes and finding that braking control for themselves.
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Dustin Meyer
10 months, 3 weeks ago
“MY NEW, NEW BIKE”.
I love it. My 3 year old puts "My new" in front of so many things that he said "My new dad" the other day. My wife just about died laughing.
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UFO
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Quality kids bikes are worth the money, but I'd take the balance bikes out of that consideration personally. It's not difficult to find a more than good enough balance bike that will provide all the value you need for your kid for that 1 or 2 years, new or used. We used cheap $5-20 used balance bikes in the 2-4 ages for both our kids before graduating them up to good pedal bikes.
For my son when he was 4, he got handed down his sister's 16" Early Rider Belter when she moved up to her 20". I took the cranks, bb, and belt off and he had a great balance bike platform to continue honing his confidence with full front and rear v brakes. He ran the balance setup for about 2-3 months then I put the drivetrain back on, and he was pedaling on his own within about 15 minutes. No training wheels with him at all to unlearn his balance skills.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Awesome!
Early Rider definitely makes a bunch of very nice, well made, well thought out products as well. At least from my limited experience with them.
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Hugo Williamson
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I have similar dad/ kid set up, NS traffic frame, all second hand or parts bin build, and a Ridgeback Balance bike, again second hand. I reckon the total for both bikes was about 1/3 to a 1/4 of the total cost of the Shotgun!!
I think the kids bike essentials are pneumatic tyres and a rear brake.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Ya there's a solid used market for sure. I've never actually used the non-pneumatic tire versions but from what I've seen it's something I'd say is pretty essential.
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ShawMac
10 months, 3 weeks ago
My oldest kicked ass and got really confident on run bikes, but we still needed to do training wheels. She never had a big wheel or any other pedal powered toys, she there was no muscle memory for her to get on a bike and pedal no matter how good she was on the run bike. Then it was hard to get her to give up the training wheels. Patience was key which is hard for bicycle obsessed dads to do :)
Now she rides a 16" belt driven Early Riders at speeds that makes me want to look away lol. Especially when seeing the pedal strikes in the turns!
Good kids bikes are expensive. Cheap kids bikes weigh as much as my Banshee 29. That said I see no real reason for almost anyone to buy a brand new run bike unless it is to have swagger with other parents. They almost never wear out, and SO MANY are for sale or given away for free because kids grow out of them almost every season, and at that age the kids themselves don't give a shit what they are on.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Patience is key applies to pretty much every aspect of parenting, hahah. And agreed - there's a great used market for pretty much all kids stuff out there. As I mention to my partner regularly... it turns out we're not the first people to have a kid!
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UFO
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Similar story with my eldest, she mastered the run bike but I rushed her into learning to pedal and thought the progression step was to learn to pedal confidently with training wheels, then lose the wheels. Problem was while learning to pedal she became overly reliant on the counter balance of the training wheels and basically lost all of her balance bike skills; but she could pedal and self propel which she really liked and wouldn't go back to her balance bike. She got frustrated, I got frustrated, it ended up taking about 6 weeks for her to get it back and put it all together.
I did not make the same mistake with her brother, but more on that below...
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tashi
10 months, 3 weeks ago
My eldest fell in love with the run bike, wanted to move up so I got her on a tricycle to learn pedaling. Since a tricycle is clearly shitty compared to a bike (made clear to her by her time on the run bike) she only rode it enough to get the hang of pedaling.
When she asked to try the pedal bike I told her she knew how to balance from her run bike and how to pedal from the tricycle, she just needed to put them together. That gave her the confidence she needed. Helped her for two tries and off she went. So proud.
The boy is similar so far but impatient to get on the pedal bike so doesn’t want to try the tricycle at all. I think he’s going to have to learn pedaling from the bike.
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ShawMac
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Yeah, we actually went back and forth a bit. I whipped those cranks on and off a few too many times. She actually rode the length of the street her first time, then had a crash the next time she tried and we had to reset to the run bike and training wheels. She had the skills but not the confidence.
Based on what I am seeing my son (youngest) may have an easier time. He throws caution to the wind in everything he does whereas my daughter was a little more reserved about things. She had the skills but was too afraid of crashing. My 19 month old son after getting on the run bike decided he wanted to ride it up and down our cement stairs because he had seen me ride my biked down them once.
They are definitely wired a little differently!
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UFO
10 months, 3 weeks ago
If I had one knock on the Early Rider 16 and 20 we had, they could both do with a slacker head tube angle. Seeing our kids rip down the street then see the handlebar twitch due to the steep HTA was so scary. But then again my formative riding years were with 71+ degree HTAs
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XXX_er
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Another plus might be that kiddo will already be used to the bike when you put the pedals on ?
I just did the mechanical part but I think it all worked out pretty good
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DanL
10 months, 3 weeks ago
when on one run down dad said, “I wasn’t holding on that time!”
oh the feels.
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Kyle Doherty
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Can you upgrade to bladed spokes?
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Seems like a good idea for small fingers.
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tashi
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Since you asked about brakes: based on my kids I say as soon as possible. The first time they go too fast for their foot “brakes” is freaking terrifying and dangerous. IMO If their hands can grab it, put on a back hand brake so they know how to use it when the time comes.
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Interesting, that seems to be the common answer here. "ASAP"
Sounds like we'll be trying that sooner than I expected.
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mrbrett
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I agree with this reasoning. Once my kids were going fast enough that the Flintstone stopping method wasn't enough it was already too late. Also have had success with Shimano levers that seem to have small hand friendly geometry.
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93EXCivic
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Cool but I think for the money the Production Privee Mini Shan is the best value. IIRC it ended up costing me about $250 with shipping from Europe and has everything this one has except the thru axles and I am not sure thru axles are needed.
What disc brake do people recommend for a strider bike?
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XXX_er
10 months, 3 weeks ago
My ski bud bought his daughter a 16" bike at the LBS, he had them take off the crank & chain to make a run bike and saved the parts. Eventualy she asked for the pedals so i put the chain and cranks back on the bike, I'm not really sure about how the sizing worked out but ski bud only had to buy one bike instead of 2
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Pulling the pedals off is a great strategy for older kids just starting, absolutely. But we won't be on 16" wheels till like... 2025 or 2026?
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ShawMac
10 months, 3 weeks ago
I did that too on her 14" Spawn. Then training wheels. Then back to pedals off. Then pedaled and it was happy days.
Learning to brake was/is the next adventure.
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Tjaard Breeuwer
10 months, 3 weeks ago
This comment has been removed.
UFO
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Our preowned 16" and 20" Early Riders cost the same as this run bike with both sets of wheels... I recovered my buy in cost on both of them when they moved onto their 24" bikes at ~6-7 years old
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Cooper Quinn
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Yep, there's lots of good value on the used market for sure.
We won't be on 16" wheels for... years still, but whatever his first pedal bike is this is the strategy we'll employ.
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UFO
10 months, 3 weeks ago
16" for us was from ages 3-5, 20" 5-7, then 24" from 7 onwards until 11-12 I expect.
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earle.b
10 months, 3 weeks ago
It's nice kit...but buy a $130 Strider instead. The foam tires are fine, by the time they can out ride the foamies it's time to move up. Same for the brake, skip the brake. By they time they need a brake it's time to move up. Don't be in a rush to move them up either, seen plenty of kids struggle to get around the pump track on pedals and not enjoying when a kid that might be a touch big/old for a run bike is shredding around the track and enjoying every second of it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAQ5pE2HowG/
I guess if you're rolling around on a 12k wunder bike it makes sense to spend $600 on a run bike, but it's not needed. The experience isn't going to be any better. If this is an un-noticeable expense in your spending go for it, but if you even need to take a second to think about how this works in your budget, just don't and buy a $130 new Strider (if you can't find a used one for much less).
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Velocipedestrian
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Excellent video.
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tashi
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Strong disagree on the brake. Both my kids were too fast to stop before they were ready to move up to the pedal bike.
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