AdventureManCO 

Hey all!

So, I've been enjoying the C&V world for the past 5-6 years or so. I've got two kiddos, a 12yo and a 10yo. We'll go on bike rides here and there, but I enjoy the lion's share of the riding in our family. They each have bikes, appropriate to their size. You could say they are fair weather riders. They do enjoy it, but there's other things they like more.

I was talking to my daughter the other day about how she might like to try a 'skinny tire' bike to make her go faster. Her first response was, "But daddy I don't really want to go faster." Fair enough! Still, it got me thinking about all those lovely stories about kids riding with their parents, and even growing up and also sharing a love of C&V.

My kids are still fairly young, and I know that parents can have their influence, but I thought I'd ask the collective a couple of questions, and maybe we can share some 'best practices' amongst ourselves.

1. How did you get your kids interested in riding bikes and see that develop in a positive way?
2. How did their interest in bikes turn more toward C&V? (if applicable)

This is an open ended discussion, and it almost goes without saying that the biggest thing covering over all of this would be 'Dont force it' - bike riding should be fun, and inevitably there are kids that will never enjoy riding the same as others might. But I'd like to at least do my part not to shoot myself in the foot with them and at least make it as enjoyable as possible.

And lastly, just in case all of you were wondering/worrying...no I'm not putting them on any Huffys







After all, such a sophisticated ride needs to be appreciated only after years of experience and refined taste under one's belt.


Thanks all!

fabiofarelli

Start early without pressure, this is almost 40 years ago.



For years he did not ride a racing bike and about 10 years ago it started again. Some oldies were soon in his barn.
This is six years ago, Eroica Limburg.



And this Eroica Germania 2020.



He's 45 now and rides modern and cv, even a speedelec gettin' to his job.

Dfrost 

My son, Peter, is a lugged bike fan, although he’s also been enjoying my former Klein that fits him better than me. Here he is with the orange (his favorite color after spending HS years in the Netherlands) Erickson gift bike from his wife and me on a week-long cycling vacation in Bend, OR, that was a gift from him to me. That’s my oft-shown red Marinoni behind the Erickson. BTW, that long wheelbase Klein will be an excellent bike to tow their dog trailer.

merziac

Oh boy, what a question.

My son started working when he was 13 so he got his first bike to ride to work.

Schwinn Madison SS/FG that served him well so it was a very C+V adjacent.

It was stolen as were several others along the way, many weren't his fault.

He leaned in a bit on his own and was always interested but not much hands on until several bikes in he wanted a good road bike.

We got him a 76? Raleigh Super Course that we tore completely down together, he was all in on it, scrubbed every single part and I had him test fit everything before cinching it all down.

He did very well and it was a fantastic bike that got more attention than the Merz it was sitting with at the motel and Concourse Eroica 2017.

That bike was stolen off the front of a Trimet bus and he was crushed as he didn't think to keep an eye on it.

We built him another bike but it wasn't as nice so he lost interest a bit and rode the crap out of it anyway.

He still gets it and is all in on my obsession so its all good.

His last SS/FG is rebooted and ready for Christmas so hopefully he will get riding some more. He's been driving for 3-4 years so he's only ridden a couple of times a year with me on Fathers day and my Bday.

I didn't force him but always told him if he rode and saved, we would help with a car, he never saved so......

Some of this was what got me back on the bike, he complained for awhile about me driving when I "made" him ride.

I started riding a lot so that became moot.


He rode the crap out of this one too, hope he rides it more.

Insidious C. 

My son participated in cyclocross at an early age. He remembers it fondly but his interests moved away from from cycling. I built my daughter a bike that she rode only once. I made no effort to steer but rather incouraged them to pursue their own interests. They are both happy and I am not dissapointed. I would totally enjoy a father and son Eroica like fabiofarelli however.

Pompiere

When my son was a teen, he asked me if he could ride with me in the upcoming MS150 ride. I had ridden the previous year with some work friends. I said "Well you are gonna need a bike, what about this one?", and showed him the Club Fuji I had used for the previous year's ride. He had gone through a growth spurt and was nearly his adult height, so the Fuji was a good fit. After he took a spill when he drifted off the road edge while reaching down to shift, I installed a pair of STI levers for him. That was over ten years ago. He took the bike to college and then to his new job when he graduated. He told me that people he rides with cannot believe his bike is almost as old as he is. We still go for a ride sometimes when he comes home to visit, but he'll take my newer road bike with STI while I take one of the old ones.


1989 Club Fuji w/ 105 STI

Me in red, my son in orange at MS150.

-holiday76

Yeah. He did/does. His first decent road bike was a really small, white Cannondale that is still floating around and I need to sell to someone. He’s ridden my Carlton Flyer when he’s with me and I’m sure he isnt going to wheelie it into the bushes or the side of a building.
he also road a good bit a Fuji Finest that i restored years ago and has been set up as a town cruiser for some time.

Now he’s 14, 6’3” x size 14 shoe (both numbers shared by me) so technically he can ride all my stuff. Not cool if you think about it.

Russ Roth

My three kids all ride to different extents, part of it is finding what makes it fun for them. My oldest gained interest after watching me do a cyclocross race, the middle was interested in being faster than the older kid, the youngest has sort of been dragged along and might not have a long term interest. All three of them like cross racing and MTBing as the primary sport. But also just use bikes for fun adventures, we like rides into the city to visit the museums.

Personally I wouldn't try to get them into C&V, old bikes are nice for general riding but newer bikes can have obvious advantages especially for a rider who just wants to ride. My kids all had trouble shifting road bikes, electronic made that easier, the youngest I didn't bother with the actual shifters but shifter buttons instead. 1x12 gave the kids all the gears they needed and easier to shift than figuring out a front crank. With their MTBs the thumb shifters are easy for them but also went 1x10 for ease of shifting.

Edit: It might help to get them involved in a club with similarly aged kids, my oldest is now 13, 12 when she was beating those two women at the track earlier this summer. All three are part of a team that trains together at the track and encourage each other.

52telecaster

My kid rides vintage because he just likes old stuff. He plays old guitars, basses and drums too. He sings ancient music as well. Not sure why he does any of this.

Between Fender Bassman cabinets.

RustyJames 

AdventureManCO my son just turned 13 and has “sort of” ridden C&V.

His first real bike was an early 2000s Redline BMX (~4 years ago) and his current is an XS(39 cm) late 90s Trek. He transitioned when he discovered gears = speed. I chose the Trek deliberately since I wanted the bike to have 26” wheels and possible rack mounting since he rides it to school.



He loves this thing and it is near mint. $80 well spent.

ACHiPo 

Love this!

John E

The secret is to buy C&V bikes for them. I gave my elder son my 1980 Peugeot PKN-10 (pictured, back when my grandsons, now 8 and 6, would still fit in the kiddie trailer) because, as much as I loved riding it, it was one size too long and too tall for me. My younger son found a ca. 1980 Centurion road bike, which was his main transportation while away at university. It's due to a major servicing / overhaul, which should be a good father-son project, a bit easier than the two VW/Audi timing belt jobs we have done together.

My old PKN-10, which was my son's kiddie-puller, when the boys could still fit into the trailer. My son was grateful for my triple chainring and wider-range freewheel conversion -- low gear is now 34T/26T, about 35 gear-inches.

AdventureManCO 

Great responses so far everyone, I really appreciate it. Keep 'em coming.

I think the secret for my daughter is just asking what her favorite color is and then getting her a bike in that color, or choosing a powder coat for her bike.

Kabuki12

My daughter with her second vintage road bike . This was years back right after Pastorbob rejuvenated the Regina FW
She started with a Motobecane Gran Jubile mixte . She paid $120 for it and it had Mavic wheels with Campagnolo Record hubs , Cyclone derailleurs. She now rides a Motobecane touring model from about 1980 or so . The Raleigh in the picture , a Super Grand Prix was upgraded to Mavic wheels lace to Campagnolo Record hubs like the Moto mixte. We still have all three, not sure where she gets that from….

Classtime 

Keep riding with them in cool places like wilderness forest roads. My kids were in pretty good shape by 9-10 years old and we’d pass many adult MTBers on the climbs which is great fun for kids. C&V for them is STI so make it easy for them to be in the right gear. Get them the best and most dependable equipment you can. You ride the old bike unless they want you to get a new bike😁. DO IT NOW WHILE THEY STILL GO WHEREVER YOU TAKE THEM. Don’t encourage little league or ayso. Enter cycling events and maybe your wife can take them along to cheer you on and then they might like to enter next time. My daughter loved the colorful kits as we sped by over and over again in a criterium. I got her a club kit and we raced for our club in a couple seasons of CX along with my son. My daughter’s Schwinn Madison was stolen in NYC and she’s now riding a USA Raleigh w/ STI in Brooklyn but an indexed 7 speed Trek 710 when she visits here. My son crashed his Trek 560 into a car and now he rides an Ironman with 6800. He won’t let me move the parts over to a lighter frame! He likes the lugged steel frame.

smd4

I was just happy that my kid knew that "Cinelli" was Italian.

Trav1s

At this point, my 9 year old daughterwill ride whatever is available. She's currently riding a newer aluminum Cannondale but I'm working on an older Trek 800 Sport for her. It's on the stand and I hope she will join the clean up and reassembly. I've debated a color change for additional fun but might just touch up the scratches, polish the original purple/silver paint, and assemble it with mostly new/nice used parts. I'm having fun hunting for stuff and she likes to watch/up with the assembly so I think she is hooked. Time will tell.

sloar 

My youngest always liked vintage bikes, she liked what I liked. Until she turned into a teenager.

repechage

My son is happy to use what is given to him. Index is required. I will blame the 24” wheeled Fuji Ace he was introduced to shifting with. Also “cyclocross” inline brake levers.
He does use toe clips and straps, took a while for him to accept them. He has mastered the pedal flip to engage the foot into the clip/strap. Uses Campagnolo form factor pedals.

Deal4Fuji

I'm happy both my daughters appreciated the love of steel bikes and were willing participants in cycling.


They each have 2 vintage bikes, but now they're both in large cities (Seattle & DC) and have Pelotons they ride more than road bikes. We rode oldest daughter Aaryn's Team Fuji and Lotus Excelle on our first Seattle visit, along with Lime bikes


Younger daughter Liz has probably the most "classic" of the family bikes, this chrome Ochsner


....and her 1st a Raleigh Super Grand Prix


one of the most recent rides with Liz was the Ride DC ride in September:

Deal4Fuji

Shopping by color backfired on me on my 1st attempt at getting the kiddo's a bike of their own:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...e-edition.html

northbend 

I guess I’m just lucky. My kid liked riding bikes and hanging out with me.
Started by taking my kid with me strapped in a Childs bike seat mounted on the back of my MTB. We’d ride around the neighborhood on some easy paths.
He loves speed!
He progressed to a trike and then a small bicycle with training wheels.
We’d make a point to go out in rainstorms and hunt for puddles to go through.
The real good ones were puddles that were narrow enough for his training wheels to get high centered in… I’d get him to pedal as fast as he could to throw huge rooster tails of water off the rear tire. He’d laugh so hard!

He gets older and I give him several bikes including an old Yo Eddy MTB, he takes it with him when he goes to Western Washington University and it somehow evades ever getting stolen.

My son's drop bar conversion by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

We celebrated his 21st B.D. with a weekend trip to Crater Lake

It doesn't get much better than this by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

He gets married after receiving his undergraduate degree and moves to Colorado to pursue a Phd.

My wife n I drove out to Colorado once specifically to do the Iron Horse Classic in Durango.

It was great spending a full day with him on the bike. The wives gracefully put up with our nonsense that weekend.

Iron Horse Classic finishers by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Most of our visits to Colorado did not involve bikes. Time has to be shared with our wives who aren’t all that interested in our sport.
We did manage to organize a couple of trips to Montana to ride Cino and I’ll tell you, nothing is sweeter in the C&V world than riding Cino with your kid.

My all-time favorite Cino photo by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Another Cino…

Cino (photo by David Kashuba) by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Last spring after 12 years, my son and his wife decide to move back to the PNW. He’s now teaching at his alma mater in Bellingham, Wa.
He’s only a couple of hours away by car now and we've ridden together a couple of times including a weekend camping trip this past summer.

West Beach by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr]

Dfrost 

I need to also mention my daughter, whose 1985 Miyata 310 is a few years older than she is, with the Brooks Team Pro bought in 1980 for my then newish 912.

She found the Miyata in really nice shape when her former bike was stolen while attending Savannah College of Art & Design. I restored it to multiple speeds (Savannah doesn’t require much in the way of gearing!) after she moved to Vancouver, BC for graduate work as a digital artist. She now lives nearby in Seattle and appreciates the lovely Triplizer added to the DA crank since this photo, especially since she hasn’t bothered getting a driver’s license at age 34 and lives up a Seattle-typical steep hill above the downtown area.

She graced me with the lovely artistic interpretation of her bike a few years ago. The copper pedals and bottle cage received esthetic approval by our esteemed @RiddleOfSteel before purchase as gifts for her.