Kip Jr is 4 and a half and sleeps like a dream in one of these types of bed
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worlds-Apart-401GRF01U-Gruffalo-ReadyBed/dp/B007Y50XYW
We use a sleeping bag plus extra blankets or duvets if it’s nippy. Never had an issue since using it, not the most practical if you’re backpacking. They do come in bigger sizes but they look a bit different. Depends on the of the kids really.

Thank you Samuri. First attempt at clicky and it didn’t work…there’s a surprise!

I can help here unless you’ve actually got something in which case it’s too late!

Kip Jr is 92cm tall, inside leg 36cm and is nearly 4 1/4 years old.

She’s had a Strider since she was 2 and is still too short for a pedal bike. The Strider was great but now she has more confidence we see it’s cons.

1. Solid tyres have no grip when flying around around at high speed and leaning over, especially on loose stuff. You can upgrade but that’s more money.
2. Brakes – there aren’t any. This is now starting to be a pain as she whips around the skate park and down hills. She’s going too quick for her shoes to be good enough. You can get a foot brake but again it’s more money.
3. No rake on the forks (as mentioned about the Puky I think) means wobbling when flying down said hills, this is not confidence inspiring!
4. She is starting to look a bit big on the bike as the reach is short. Her taller friend who has one looks really out of place on it.

She played on a friends Frog balance bike and that was wicked. Grippy tyres, brakes, wide bars for bigger kids. If she’d been taller at 2 we’d have gone for that but the Strider was the smallest we could get.

I would just like to say that your kid is amazing.

I am now going to read all the other posts to find out how I can get a pedal bike small enough for my nearly 4 1/2 year old who is still in age 2 clothing!

The balance bike is fun but we are really starting to need brakes!

EDIT: We watch other kids riding bikes on YouTube because Kip Jr loves to see other kids doing what she does. The BMX twins are her favourite.

Congratulations, it is very ace isn’t it!?

The advice to take videos is spot on. Photos are great but moving pictures do so much more. We don’t have many from when Kip Jr was very young but those we have are very precious.

All things pass, the good and the not so good, try not to worry too much (in the style of of Baz Luhrman…If you mange this tell me how).

A good friend of mine recommends a Kindle if your missus likes reading. So much easier to read one handed when small child falls asleep on you.

Check out slings, your local area may even have a sling library, these are brilliant and I wish we’d used a better one earlier on.

Enjoy it, it gets better and different all the time.

Ray Mears was asked about central heating last Autumn on The Chris Evans show. The sports guy was saying it shouldn’t go on til October or something, Ray’s lovely response was, “If it’s cold put on the heating, any fool can be cold!” Colder in our house than outside tonight, heating on at Mr Kip’s request.

Glad you found it. Perhaps someone could guess where a 3 year old hid our Diablo light. Been gone for over 6 months and no sign at all, gutted!

Summer 2006, completed PGCE that June, got first teaching post due to start 1st September, spent summer holidays having a ball flying around Scotland and Wales on my bike. Bought new bike, rode it on epic(ish) route in Brecon Beacons end of August, totally misjudged drop off and shattered collarbone.
On the day I should’ve started my new job I was in hospital having it plated back together. As it was a PE post they wouldn’t let me back until after half term and then it was to teach numpty kids no one else wanted maths and science. Let’s just say it was a steep learning curve!
However, it was possibly the best thing that ever happened to me as I ended up riding Mayhem in 2007, 08 and 09, 24/12 loads of times, other events that I did quite well at as well as going to the Alps and all over the place. I now have a job in the bike business that suits me down to the ground while Kip Jr is young, although I hardly ride a bike at all any more due to said child!

Ah, Northwind you may be right! It was late and I didn’t have chance to check out rim strips with valve attached.

I have no experience of them at all and my advice is based purely on using yellow tape and a standalone valve with removable core.

Good luck Bikemanspen, I’d be interested to find out what worked for you.

For once I can actually give some proper tech advice on something instead of just giving opinion!

The air is probably coming out of the hole around the valve because you haven’t nipped the lock ring up enough. The rubber bit on the valve inside the rim is designed to fill the gaps but if the compound is quite hard it may not deform enough to seal it initially. I had to use pliers to get it tight enough on our test rig when we were testing the new tubeless valves we were looking to distribute. It was the first time I’ve gone tubeless and found it massively demoralising until we got it sorted.

It’s really hard to fully inflate the tyre with air leaking out at the rate we had (and it sounds like you have) and so the sealant doesn’t go where you want it to go for long enough without the tyre going down. Once the lock ring was ultra tight we had no problems inflating the tyre.

The trick is to back the lock ring off a little so it’s finger tight once the tyres have sealed, otherwise you’re knackered if you do need to put a tube in.

I also found that hammering the bike around Cwm Carn seated the tyres nicely and now they hardly lose air at all. So chuffed with the valves and sealant that we are going to distribute them!

Sits back with brew and biscuits and waits for the collective to tell her she’s wrong…….

Edit: check out PinkBike.com – Technical Tuesday: Tubeless Conversion for a really clear How to video that also says how long it could take to get it to work. The valve lock ring thing I suggest is from personal experience not PinkBike.

Kip Jr loves it too, and I don’t mind watching it over and over as well. Avoid Arthur and the Invisibles like the plague though…it’s rubbish!

When I was expecting Kip Jr I sold my giant anthem, the first full suss I ever owned. I was sure I wanted something with more suspension so I could ride bigger stuff a bit harder. I bought a trek EX8 which had 120mm instead of the 90 I was used to.

It has taken 4 years, a new set of wheels and a dropper post to make me like the bike! However, I did ride the Anthem all over the UK and Europe over 2.5 years whereas I’ve really only knocked about local trails on the Trek. I’ve also done significantly less mileage on the Trek. I do get Anthem envy though and still wish I’d just bought the newer Anthem! Hey oh, can’t afford a new bike now so we’ll never know!

I know the Cann’s and they’re lovely. They ride like demons too so they can have whatever names they like!

I have taught:
Zarathustra
Troy Eagles (so not a super hero)
Brock
Tiana
Shaya

And wished my mother in law had told me about the name she hates and won’t actually use for her friends grandchild…Zephyr, would’ve used it as Kip Jr’s middle name in a flash..

Peabrain – I wish Kip Jr had been 83 cm when she was 2! She doesn’t have a problem with braking or pedalling and can scoot the Haldon pump track better than kids bigger and older than her, it’s just reaching the floor and having the strength to pull the brakes that we have issues with!

I’m in touch with Isla Bikes and there’s usually one or 2 up at Haldon when we’re there so will try next time we’re up.

Cheers for the advice.

Loving this thread and it seems that it is bang on time for us.

Kip Jr just turned 4 and has been whipping about on her Strider bike for 2 years. I work above a bike shop so had her round the other day to sit her on a pedal bike without stabilisers on and lo and behold she can reach the floor on tippy toes. It was a 12″ Hotrock and if we trim the post she’ll be able to reach the floor properly with both feet. As she’s only 90cm with a 36cm inside leg (using the Isla Bike book method) it seems the Hotrock is the only one she can ride at the moment.

Question is…how have your kids got on with the coaster brake? The guys in the shop, who I know and trust all say their kids didn’t get on with it, yet almost all of America and Europe seem to cope. I’d rather wait until she’s older and get a Cnoc 14″, but judging by their info, that’s going to be a couple of years. She’s not desperate yet, but I can see it becoming an issue as she gets older.

Any advice and other bike choices welcome.

After much perseverance we have a 4 year old “good eater,” which, according to the laws of parenting and those who know best, is the true marker of being a good parent! Nothing else says you are a good parent than having a child who will eat everything (not that ours does), if you have managed this you are a success.

Clearly this is rubbish, you are a good parent because you care about your child, listen to their needs and try to do your best for them. There may be many reasons why your young ‘un won’t eat and it sounds like you are searching as many of them out as you can. All kids are different and many different things work to get them to eat. Some are natural dustbins, some are more cautious or more aware of textures and tastes.

The best advice I’ve seen here so far seems to be based on, don’t make it an issue or you’ll really make it an issue and, let’s be honest, there is nothing more stubborn than a 4 year old who doesn’t want to do something.

It takes time and patience and lots of deep breaths and ignoring and trying not to get concerned but you’ll get there. Good luck.

Kip Jr started walking at 14 months and got her balance bike at 2 years old. We went for the Strider bike as she has inherited her parents’ lack of stature and was only 78cm tall! No other balance bike goes as low as the seat actually drops below the height of the wheel due to the geometry of it. It took a while to get the hang of it but She is just about to turn 4 tomorrow and is still quite happy on it. We can’t see her moving on to a pedal bike for a while as none of them are small enough and she flies on her bike. She is still only about 90cm tall on a good day in big shoes!

Things we have noticed though.

The solid wheels are great for stopping punctures but do wash out a bit on gravelly stuff (like the skills area but not the pump track at Haldon!).

There is no brake, although you can fit an after market foot brake thing. In US and Europe they often have pedal back brakes which we are considering for her first pedal bike.

There is also a great piece on why not to buy your child a 12″ pedal bike (unless it’s a Spesh Hotrock) on twowheelingtots.com but I can’t get the darn thing to work right now!

Good luck and if you want her to ride a bike, don’t get a scooter, you’ll lose her to the dark side!

Not quite that model so no Andy unfortunately! All good for everything else though and no lube required!

Cheers people! Just getting rid of pen marks and scrapes and he looks ace. Completely intact too so previous owner wa clearly a lot better with their toys than I anticipate Kip Jr will be!

Looking through I have to say I also have M520 pedals and Deore brakes from CRC. It would appear that all I have to do now is get Aldi kit small enough to fit me and I’m on to a winner!

8O

That is all!

You, sir, should read Bounce. The myth of talent and the power of practice by Matthew Syed. It’s a fascinating insight into how elite sports people become elite. The best bit is that elite sportspeople don’t see falling as failure, they see it as part of the learning process. Therefore, in order to become better you have to ride at the very edge of your skill, which will result in stacks etc.

There is more to it than just that, but it is a great read and motivated me to get out and ride to get better, not just ride. I then stacked after 30 mins and have been off the bike ever since with a stupid ankle injury!

Hey ho!

Go see a good recommended physio as CG says. They will give you exercises to suit your need. The wrong exercises will make it worse.

I hate you!

Sorry, just read your post properly!

I can heartily recommend both chiropractor treatment and physio guided exercises working on your core.

Knackered my pelvis alignment with never stretching after riding duly commute for too many years, got the pain sorted by chiropractor but never got pelvis fully realigned. I then had a bad off which exacerbated the issue but wasn’t picked up fully until I got pregnant. Fantastic support from ante and post natal NHS physios gave me really good guided exercises that got progressively harder until my core muscles were able to pull everything back into place. Result was no back pain, no neck pain, no hip/pelvis pain. However, I became lazy and let the exercises slip and the issue is returning slightly, this is one of those things you need to continue throughout your life once sorted as it takes more than a year of right to sort out nearly 40 years of wrong!

As a final note, a podiatrist at the London Bike Show 2 years ago said I had one leg shorter than the other. Funnily enough this was not the case once I got my pelvis sorted out!

Unless you have been in a major accident where you have either broken your leg or damaged the growth plates whilst still growing it is highly unlikely you actually have one leg shorter than the other. It is more likely a skeletal imbalance, often related to your sacroiliac joint (well said Cinnamon Girl).

IIRC that joint is not a fixed across your body and is therefore susceptible to being twisted which can result in one side being higher than the other. This is then manifested as one leg shorter than the other.

My dad shattered his femur over 30 years ago and spent a good deal of time in traction in the hot, hot summer of 76. He has one leg 3/4 inch shorter than the other. I was 4, it wasn’t my leg and I remember it. If you have no recollection of an injury such as this, I’d suggest checking out a physio (or a hypnotist as you clearly hiding some sort of memories!).

Made me chuckle too!

May be an infection called follicalitis (I think), mate had it years ago, no sign of in-growing hairs but returning boils were the thing. Antibiotics cleared it up.

The argument put forward last night was how can a manager discipline his players when he behaves in a disrespectful manner himself? I love watching football, used to play a bit, 5 a side at workout despair on a regular basis about the lack of respect shown by all and sundry when playing, watching or generally having anything to do with the game.

I was most impressed by the reaction of the French RFU (or whatever they are called) to drop Picamoles for his disrespectful gesture to the referee when he was sin binned during the France Wales game. His gesture was deemed to be out of order by everyone and as such he had to face the consequences. The level of respect expected in rugby should be expected in football.

I’m checking out some of these films on wiki as I haven’t heard of a few. Oh my word…Nobody Knows, how did you last the course Whatnobeer? It sounds absolutely devastating.

Requiem for a dream, yep won’t be watching that barrel of laughs sounding film either.

After much discussions with Mr Kip it looks like a sprocker is out. Whilst I am experienced with dogs and would be happy to have one and put in the required work, Mr Kip has never had a dog and doesn’t like “straggley looking dogs” and struggles to get past our friends mental beast!

Sigh, my search starts anew. Personally I love Patterdales but that’s just not practical due to the whole, too independant, leg it off after small furry things. Would keep the cats out of the garden though, hmmmm!

Why the rehoming?

Done, if for no other reason than it’s nice to help someone achieve their dream.

It’s been a rubbish week here and I think that someone deserves some niceness in their life, hopefully karma will notice us for once!

Very disappointed as I read the title as “Snow socks for cat” and was expecting humorous cat pictures!

Oh, outspoken, how could you not love a dog like that?

What are they like for noise? Our next door neighbour has a cocker that barks at anything and howls like crazy sometimes. Not as bad as he was but was a very distressed dog for quite a while.

Also, do you trim in the summer? The dog, not you, don’t need to know your personal habits!

^^ Shouldn’t you?

Sorry, no not that exciting. Feel free to add your own tale though!

Sorry guys missed the posts on this.

Rostrevor was great fun, big warm up slog but worth it. Swoopy and lots of chances to hone my air time! Highly recommended!

Castlewellan was also fun although loads was closed due to tree fungus, with more closures due, but this may be all done now. John at Life was great to chat to and gave loads of tips on how to get the best from the trails.

Again swoopy and fun with a bit of a sting in the tail that has apparently led to a few broken collarbones!

I think I preferred Rostrevor but in fairness we didn’t get to ride all of Castlewellan.

As I’m not a chap I can’t answer the question but I’d just like to say what a wonderfully heartwarming thread this has been.

Well done all you chaps, you are a credit to your children!