On Saturday I did relapse into Fredness a bit by taking a spin on the Renovo, but I did return to the Jones on Sunday for some more fat-tire cyclocrossing:
Along with my son:
This particular three-race series is now over, and I'm impressed that he rousted himself early three Sundays in a row in order to do the bike racing--though the sweet bike did serve as motivation:
If you're outfitting a child of similar age I highly recommend this bike, though if you really want to project your Fredly aspirations onto your kid you can always go for the "Pro" version:
Not ridiculous at all! Scoff if you will, but but a high-quality balance bike is a great investment as it will last for years and your child can ride it well into adulthood.
No, the real irony is that when it comes to balance bikes the wooden ones are the cheapest:
That's now how it's supposed to work:
Podium! All that slacking off in the back of the pack is really paying off
ReplyDeleteI think the cheapest balance bike is the one where you get one of those little kid bikes and throw away the cranks and training wheels, but yeah, weird that the artisianal wooden version is the lower-cost option.
ReplyDeleteAlso, podium - thanks for timing your blog post for my lunch break.
Holding out for Magnesium.
ReplyDeleteCanadians and helmets. Ha ha
ReplyDeletehttps://globalnews.ca/news/4466967/edmonton-daycare-playground-helmet-policy/
I was teasing my brother after he bought his daughter a really expensive balance bike (not sure if it's the one referenced above, but similar), she'll never notice or care about the weight difference. His comeback sold me: "I'm the one who has to carry it home".
ReplyDeleteHow's it going? Long time no read...
ReplyDeleteThey didn't quite make balance bikes the right size when my kids were first learning, so I made one myself out of 2x4s, some wheels off an abandoned golf bag carrying thing, and a hinge:
ReplyDeletehttps://i.imgur.com/2tI3372.jpg
Worked fine, even in adverse conditions:
https://i.imgur.com/4Li6zEE.jpg
Where the hell are people finding dirt? All I can find around DC is mud mud mud. Lots of road and some gravel riding lately, and almost no mountain biking.
ReplyDeleteMy three-year old daughter enjoys the wooden Like A Bike that her two older brothers thoughtfully broke in for her.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, during a recent pediatrician's appointment, my six-year old was asked what were some of the highlights of his summer. He responded that learning to ride a pedal bike without training wheels was the best. The pediatrician (who we think is wonderful) then asked about helmet use and emphasized the importance of always wearing a helmet. I just bit my tongue : /
That's definitely an artisinal push bike dan. What is the seat made of, inner tubes?
ReplyDeleteI love the balance bikes - my kids were too old for them when they first appeared (I know, I know, the German guy built the first one in , like, 1840, but I'm talking about the recent era). I'm convinced my kids would have been much better off with them.
ReplyDeleteWait 'til the youngest of your seventeen little ones follows his next oldest sibling and tosses his hat into the ring.ahem,chainring.
ReplyDeleteDuder, the Jones is far more fredly than the renovo: unconventional handlebars, total rejection of racebike or "performance" norms, retro grouch parts, comfortable sensibilities. All you need is a Bell V one and helment mirror, and you are there! You gots the jorts already.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm pretty convinced I'm crap on the bike, cuz I grew up in the pre balance bike era.
ReplyDeleteIn another 3 years, get your kid a Dura Ace version, with tubulars....
ReplyDeleteStill many grownups can't ride a bike and probably lowering the seat, removing the pedals and scooting along til they can balance is the best way to learn.
ReplyDelete@anon 3:36 it's a tiny bit more plush than that, it's some pool noodle foam cut to size and held in place with inner tubes tied around the 'seatpost'.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:46pm, your sense of bicycle history, development, and function would seem very much preordained by peer pressure from when you were 13 yo. The bicycle need not conform to the dictates of the cool group in Jr. High (aka middle school). Try to think for yourself; scary, I know.
ReplyDeleteNice personalization on you kids bike.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, I think George Foreman named all his 17 human children the same also.
DeleteI have resisted the temptation to drag my offspring on to rides that I like - he rides around for fun and transport - I don’t want to ruin it for him. Ok implied - he refused my offers to go on rides I like.
ReplyDeleteHappy National Lobster Day!!!
ReplyDeleteSnob is going to start wearing chunky glasses and growing a magnificent beard the way he keeps talking about his Jones! (I know, I know, I had one)
ReplyDeleteWeepy sidewalls,
ReplyDeleteWhat junior high did you go to, that kids even knew what a Fred is? In my day, a GT with mags and dayglo splatter paint was the ride to have. The Fred prejorative was traditionally directed at cyclists who don’t conform to the “rules” of racing style diktats. Which is much more of an adulthood clique.
And again we see the magic tent that is the pejorative “Fred.” Racing/competitive bro/industry types use the word to label useful bikes and practical riders as dorky and slow. Uncool, in other words. Cyclists (of both sexes) who don’t need to compare dick size use it to label the crabon/Lycra riders as desperate wannabe jocks who buy into the old Racer myths. Can cycling culture just agree on which group the term Fred insults? At the moment all cyclists are Freds to someone. Why do we hate each other? It is possible to race bikes, be fit, and not be an elitist douchenozzle. It is simultaneously acceptable to use bikes for transportation and fun, without an inferiority complex.
ReplyDeleteSo, now that Renovo has closed its doors do you get to keep the wooden bike?
ReplyDeleteAs I've said repeated Sojourn Cyclery is the real deal...