My kids are at the age (6) where they need to start learning gears as it’s a chore having to stop and do it for them at the top and bottom of hills. Does anyone have any advice on good ways to go about this? I’m assume a nice flat tarmac area is a good start.
I seem to remember someone on here suggested colour coding their shifts as it was easier to tell little Tarquin it ‘press the red one’ rather than going up a gear. Any advice on what’s best to do this? Tape? Paint? Blood of a virgin sacrifice?
All advice greatly appreciated
ta
Pick any two...
Colours and/or "TOMMY THUMB/PETER POINTER!!". A coloured shifter extender (available on etsy these days) certainly helps too
I just shout to my daughter in plenty of time that she might want to think about shifting and then tell her 'thumb' or 'finger' and she knows which shifter lever to hit.
Mine were OK at the actual changing but they had difficuly knowing which gear to be in before it was too late and they ran out of momentum. They also used to try and look behind them to see what gear they were in and be off balance so I would look at the hill ahead and tell them "right top button x 3" etc. It worked well.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) my kids haven’t discovered PlayStations and consoles yet.
After last night's ride, this is not a problem limited to kids!
I've found once the kid reaches about 9 they start to change their gears...before that age I think they just enjoy pedalling about and don't really think of what is approaching (in terms of changing gears)...
My daughter's just turned 9 so hopefully on the next ride I won't be shouting "change gear!" At her all the time!! 😜
Coloured nail varnish or paint pens to colour the up and down shifter levers. Easier to offer a reminder to shift by yelling a colour rather than up or down lever.
Getting them to actually change gear in advance of hills etc... practice practice practice!
Interesting one, mine completely took against trigger shifter on her frog 20inch wheel bike, tears and breakdowns whenever mentioned as it was too hard to press. From age 6 to 8. Only just when she was outgrowing the bike did she start to experiment, but very stop start and
2 mins on her new scott scale 24 inch with twist grip she was away and chatting on telling me about how great gears are and how good she is doing changes.
On the flip side friends have indicated there child hated twist grip and as soon as they were on trigger with colour coding it was a game changer for them.
^ kids are kids and changing things is good 🤷♂️
I think they just get more used to it as they get older and more practiced. It's something that's very hard to "learn" I think, especially for younger creatures. My older ones (8 & 10) now ride to school by themselves and this involves a steep hill, so this has been good education!
^ agree with this. Both of my kids ignored all suggestions about using gears when they were younger, and thumb vs grip shifters made no difference. So I let them get on with it and at some point when they had grown a bit and were stronger, shifting became less of a hassle than pedalling in the wrong gear and then it came naturally. Plus dad nagging you to change gear = no fun; working out how to ride up hills and then hurtle back down = fun.
I just want them to get the hang of the physical action of changing gears. I’m sure I’ll have to keep reminding them to actually do it for the next few years.
Thumbs up 👍
Finger fast
That's how we remember it here
My daughter has a trigger shifter with a little number display, she’s 6 and a bit and has grasped ‘bigger number go faster, smaller number easier’. I just try to give her a bit of advance warning to change and whether to go bigger or smaller and that seems to work ok.
‘Thumbs up ‘
Was how I taught my stepson to change down for climbs.
I was wondering when the OP will introduce double declutching...
Finger faster
Thumb easier
That seemed to work for us.
My eldest niece kind of got it without much prompting from the age of about 6 (she was riding a brilliant little Frog at that time with 1x so very easy to understand).
She will very occasionally ask me (riding behind her) how many gears she has left to go but otherwise gets on with life pretty well. She's got a XXS Trek MTB now, one of Dalby's ex-hire bikes that they sell off at the end of each year. Hefty thing but super capable.
The younger niece (9) rides along in a total daze looking at flowers and birds and squirrels and only realises she needs to change gear when she's half way up a hill. She honestly has no concept of reading the trail, looking ahead or forward planning.
I've used the same Thumb Up and Finger Faster as mentioned above, that mostly cuts through the lack of concentration. Sometimes though you just have to let them work it out; having Dad / Uncle ride behind shouting "change gear!" or "pedal!" gets kind of boring.
The eldest knows Dalby Blue by various markers where she'll get flapjack or Haribo if she's cleared the previous section so she nailed general bike handling pretty quick when that concept was introduced! Now she just has fun and there's no need to remind her to change gear or stand up or pedal.
My son (8) has had gears for about a year, only just getting the hang of when & where to change. His is gripshift so a bit easier to figure out than triggers. Still some days where he just puts it in 1 and sits there spinning because "it's easier!" though...
I guess I should just set them up with AXS and have a selection of Pods on my bars to control it remotely. Lol.
Mine is 7. When I ride behind him I just call out "big button 3 clicks/ small button 2 clicks" etc.
However he is convinced that the faster his legs go the faster he is so loves it in the biggest rings even on the flat.
Bike has Microsoft Advent shifters and mech which seem quite light and easy to use.
Mine is 7. When I ride behind him I just call out "big button 3 clicks/ small button 2 clicks" etc.
However he is convinced that the faster his legs go the faster he is so loves it in the biggest rings even on the flat.
Bike has Microsoft Advent shifters and mech which seem quite light and easy to use.
Is it fitted with a Gates belt drive as well?!?!
same as many on here with my 8 year old daughter, thumb for easier gear, finger to go faster (uuugh, that reads horribly).
Also trying to get her to look ahead and pre-empt the trail, so not trying to change into a easier gear halfway up a climb.
Then add in to try and stand up over the rough bits.
little by little!
I took her to Swinely the other day, we did two laps of the blue, she was loving the berms by the end. a real progression. prepping her well for Morzine in a couple of months.
The twins have figured out the standing up on tough and downhill parts (having a pump track 5 minutes away from the house helped with that), except my daughter is determined to keep trying to pull no footers at every opportunity, she saw a BMXer do it and is now convinced that ‘stunts’ are what she wants to learn, (despite me pointing out that she should learn to ride first🤦🏼♂️).
With our three - I started on flat ground. I didn’t use the words higher and lower gears - just easier and harder instead. Easier - push with your thumb - harder pull with your finger. That seemed to be more intuitive for them.
I used to ask them when riding did they want to make turning the pedals harder or easier. That and talking to them as we rode rolling terrain, seemed to do the job most of the time.
Obviously, they didn’t get it right 100% of the time - but as time went on, they changed gear more effectively.
Cheers for all the replies. Our local blue trail is pretty flat (so far it’s 1st for the uphill and 3rd for the rest), but we’ll be going to a local tarmac area to learn gear changing.