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It feels like these days on STW you have to ride a rigid flat pedal bike or you can't learn to ride properly!
Nothing wrong with that viewpoint. Personally I got all that out of the way when I was five, but maybe there are a few late starters about here.
I asked my 10yr old (who although isn't actually very interested in riding is perfectly proficient with changing gears with the tripple on her hardtail) how long she reckoned it'd take most 10yr olds to get the hang of it if explained properly.. "Two, maybe 3 rides" was her answer "maybe more if it's a boy" 😀
why not leave the Granny ring on and teach him what it's for, and how to use the shifters (incl. soft pedalling).
teach him to wheelie, a granny ring can come in handy for wheelying up boring long climbs.
Before the singlespeed my boy had a 21 speed bike for two years. We had big arguements trying to persuade him to change gear. I even changed the twist shifters for rapidfire pods to help him but still he refused. Left to his own devices he used two gears, one when he was seven and the next one up when he was eight.
This is an interesting thread. I'm just building up my eight year old daughters 24" bike up. I'm in the process of trying to build it up as light as possible.
I've opted for trigger shifters, rather than the grip shifters she's used too. I've been wondering if 21 gears was a few too many. Or whether to stick to a single ring up front.
Hmmmmmmmm
+1 for shorter cranks.
My lad is obsessed with his gears and likes nothing more than slamming it into the big ring at the front and smallest on the back on flat sections and zooming off.
Recently built this up for my son. Its still a bit big for properly chucking about but his 20" was on its way out and he has a BMX for that sort of stuff anyway.
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7061/6929874700_1143f2d130.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/37621241@N05/6929874700/ ]003[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/37621241@N05/ ]ianvincent[/url], on Flickr
Going with short cranks will restrict the number of gears as the most readily available ones are BMX race cranks, you will also struggle to get a front chain ring less than 34. That said, 34 up front and 9 speed out back seems to be enough for my son.
Forget the "go rigid" stuff, the more fun the kid has the more he/she will ride and the more they will learn. Pinballing down a rocky trail with no suspension will not be fun and is likely to put them off.