Be Excellent To Each Other

Any balance bike will do. What i did with MiniKov was just take pedals off his bike.

I like this idea. Good man.

Bike seat: I have a Hamax Kiss and still take my daughter out on it. She's 5 in a couple of weeks.

Balance bike: don't get one of these. Mini Fop found it much too heavy to get on with.

I considered a balance bike but then realised that Randall is lazy so I would have to push her everywhere on it, and it's only work going downhill sio balls to that.

Same experience for me. Nothing more frustrating than shuffling down the street, stooping over a bored child so you can push them on their balance bike while they paddle like a half-drowned dog in a pond.

If you want to go the other way, away from safety etc, come to Whitstable for lessons in how to take your little girl to school as she stands on the handlebars of your bike. Bloke here does it regularly - kind of amazing; her balance, his ability to hold on and the sheer insanity of the thing.

I took Minikov to a tennis court at the park. he whizzed round

When bored, we left

Dempsey sat on a paw patrol bike in Halfords and it fitted but she wasn't strong enough to turn pedals. She then detonated when we had to leave as I had ignored her advice of "Let's buy it!".

Pick it up today! Woowoo

This is what I was planning to get for him

http://www.tesco.com/direct/zycomotion- ... d=497-2811

It looks good and its one of the more expensive ones so thinking (maybe naively) that it will stand the knocks my son will give it.

Agree with the point that he might get board but hoping I can build some interest over Christmas as my Dad is coming over and he does anything granddad tells him

Bike is part of a general plan to get him doing a bit more including swimming, he loves water but gets pissed off when he can't move himself around.

Not sure if he is like other kids with his wiliness to get out and do things, but he can be really lazy with walking wanting me to carry him all the time.

I don't think it matters with a balance bike on the cost, very few moving parts.

Don't forget kids have much smaller legs and have to take more steps to cover the same distance as you, so get tired much quicker than adults.

Apologies if this sounds obvious/granny sucking eggs type thing, but I've seen parents try to transition from pushchairs on e.g. the school run and will literally go from child sitting one day to walking the next and then get cross at the kid because they can't walk to and from the school without wanting to be picked up.

Balance bikes are awesome. I'm sure they helped my kids make a quicker transition from having having stabilisers on pushbikes to going without them.

I find with my son that if we meet my brother somewhere for a walk then he will happily walk for miles, if I take him to the park around the corner then he wants to be carried.

Also when we go to the supermarket I will park as far away as possible as its just habit now to get steps done, so he wants me to carry him until we get to the doors then he wriggles until I put him down and is off to the toy section bugging me to get him Thomas trains!

On the topic of swimming lessons we had a call back from somebody who does 1-1 at the local pool £20 for 30 mins

I have a mate who's boy is around the same age as mine, he said you should not put stabilisers on the bike when they move from a balance bike?

Also my brothers son is getting swimming lessons and he has been told no arm bands when he takes his son outside of the lessons, he gives him a blow up ring instead.

Still some way to go for both for my son!

I chuck Tubbs into a rubber ring and she'll bob abut a bit and do some kicking to swim a length or to eventually, then she just wants to jump in a lot. I think MrsA wil take Withnail and I to some place for swimmng lessons (£20 an hour)because I dunno how to properly do it, i just go as it is realtivly quiet for an hour or so.

We can't use this swimming instructor as she only teaches when he is in nursery, so plan is to call another pool close by. No way I'm going to teach him as he will just want to piss around with me, but he will do what another adult tells him as long as I'm sat in the viewing area. He goes to a gym type class on a Thursday and parents have to sit in a viewing area, he always does as he is told in this class.

yes I pay £30 for 45mins for 1 2 1 for me

They weren't on for long, just long enough for them to get used to the whole peddling thing. If I remember correctly both my kids learnt how to ride without stabilisers at 4 years old.

Just tell him it'll turn you purple.

For balance bike to pedals transition I recommend a bikybiky vest (on phone, you'll have to google it). About 4 hours with this and you can eBay it in my experience. It's good for getting them used to balance bikes too.

Good for getting them used to the idea of being taken by eagles too.

Important, that.

Number 6 if you don't include the tandem

I like that.

It looks quite smart. Once I strip the reflectors off and stick SPDs on it, it'll be better. It's 140mm travel, apparently.

Look at that saddle, be like sitting on a razor blade.

Shape of saddle makes them comfy, not padding.

Classic.

I were right about that saddle though.

First ride out on it so I went for a noodle up to the top of Baildon Moor. It was wet and muddy, and the bike flatters me and my poor line choices. I stopped to fiddke with the seat far too often but soon will have it adjusted correctly. I really like it, and the 2*10 gears have a really good range.

Went to Stainburn today for the second outing. Bloody loved it, the rear of the bike floats over stuff, and it's got loads of traction over the bumps. Still went "Nope nope nope" at the four foot high rock drop off thing (pictured) though. I found things so much easier than I had before, like the entrance chute into the red run where it is steep, rocky and rooty. I even began laughing over a rock garden inbetween berms. Bloody love it, grip here, speed there, and gearing good, too. Just need to sort the saddle, now.

Who's Rover is that?

Rule 25 followed.

I saw the owner. He's devillishly handsome, and rogueishly charming​

My current record stands at 18x

Crikey. Good work.

I want to change the shifters on the boardman, as the current SRAM ones aren't as comfortable as Shimano's Rapid Fire Plus ( they are like orginal rapid fire, using thumb for up and down), and I need to sort out seatpost and saddle, as it isn't right at all. I don't think I can legitimately argue for a dropper right now, though, at £300. I might stick some bar ends on it, though. And the clipless pedals, they are important.

Get a brand x or a tranzx roughly £140 fitted! You have stealth holes in the frame?

Oh, super, thank you. I shall have a look. And for frame holes, too.

Couldn't see any frame holes.Went Stainburn this morning, rode into a tree after locking rear and sliding. Oops. At some point a couple of front chainring teeth have been chipped off, too. Still love it, really need to fit SPDs.

Something like this then
https://www.stif.co.uk/mtb/product/ks-e ... Ar7N8P8HAQ

I really can't ride off​ road with SPDs. I ride with a group and the guys in SPDs fall off at least 100% more.
Got out on the Roady for a couple hours last night which did wonders for my mental state

Took my planet x out on a 43 mile ride yesterday. Loved it.

Cant walk properly today and the 1 hr recovery ride hurt.

I think i need a new saddle, if my distances are getting longer.

First 'proper' ride today. On mile one I arrived here. Despite reading regularly about cars being pulled from the ford after being stuck, I rode through it anyway. And got stuck. Miles 1-16 were completed with wet feet. Aching quite a bit now, as it was a proper slog in places, due to my lack of match fitness.

Get yourself some sealskinz socks.

I've been out riding recently. Put new boots on the bike that have made it much easier to ride in an urban environment. Obviously the scenery isn't anywhere near as pretty, but the roads are so awful I suspect the ride wasn't anymore comfortable than yours, even though I'm riding and Orange Pro

I was looking forward to a nice ride today, but have come down with a cold, so gave it a miss.
Off to watch the Redditch Tour event on Tuesday I think.
http://www.tourseries.co.uk/venues/redditch/

Or use the bridge

I'd really like an Orange Pro, but Finance Controller might have other views on the matter. They are very popular around here. I met the Hope Technology guy, Woody, the other week. He was riding their new prototype enduro bike ("Probably around £7-8k, fully built"), and he was a really nice guy.

Yesterday's route is quite nice (Bingley and Harden Moor) , it gets all the climbing done at the start, and then it's mainly singletrack on the off road bits, linked by quiet roads. It follows the old pack horse trails that linked the mills. It'll keep you interested, and is a good route post work. Looking at strava, all the downhill off road bits were considerably quicker, which is the bike, not me.

That looks excellent. Have I seen it on tv? I like criterium races, might take Hale to Otley races tbis year.

It's shown on ITV 4, normally a few days later. It's a nice format for new spectators to watch as there's enough variety in the fitness of the field so there's always someone coming past after a few laps. The redditch circuit is easy enough to ride in person and the steep hill is enough of a challenge on tired legs.

A few years ago there was a short race for teams from local businesses to have a go at in the afternoon, but we found out too late to enter.

Some one stole my PK Ripper that my wife bought for me in parts



I had it locked in the hallway but the guy in the flat above us came home really drunk and had a fist fight with his "mate". I was just listening to it but the woman in the top flat phoned the police, who came after the guy upstairs had gone and then left the door open so my '13 Ripper disappeared.

I phoned the insurance company who initially said they were not going to pay out because it was not locked "down" sorta thing and I burst into tears. They phoned me back a couple of hours later and said they would pay, yay !

So I decided to get another PK Ripper. As it happens it worked out well, because at the exact moment my bike was stolen the only Ripper available in the UK was the dog's balls version. A recreation of Mike Buff's 1980s bike.



Sealed Skyways, Redline Flights etc.



I changed a few things. Carbon post, Primo pedals and ODI Mushroom 2 ltd ed. Thing is, I never even rode it. It's still in the hallway awaiting final tweaks. What I wanted was a Quadangle like the one that was stolen from me in Brixton in '98. I got clonked over the head and it was gone. It looked a bit like this one.



But was all red. I loved that bike as my grandfather bought me the F&F just before he passed away

So I decided to build another one in his honour. Started out by locating a frame and fork set from a 2007 (as it's Cro Mo so would hold my 18st ass)



Arrived all the way from its spiritual home (CA) about a week later.



And then over the space of three months I gradually bought all of the parts. Thanks to my wonderful wife and mother a chunk of it came as birthday presents and a bit of paint and powder and an awful lot of work later and, tadaaaa.

John Coffey! Hope you're well, apart from some cunt stealing your bike.