D
dhudes
Guest
My 2 daughters, 8-1/2 and 10-1/2 are getting into bicycling. They love
to go with me but their steel frame department store bikes, bascially
MTB frames with no shocks and wide tires on 20" for the younger and
22" wheels for the older, are relatively heavy and the girls have
trouble with hills, though they are young strong and determined. I
ride a hybrid with clipless pedals and MTB shoes and have experienced
the dramatic improvement in efficiency after having switched out the
platform pedals for shimano MTB clipless pedals. I would like to
improve my daughters' pedaling efficiency so they can better enjoy
cycling but I am concerned with practicality and safety.
Clipless pedals might prove too much task loading for them especially
the younger. There is also the concern of the effect on growing feet
and frankly the expense of bicycle shoes (if indeed I could even get
them in their size; bicycle shorts were difficult enough to find but
Perl Izumi does have youth sizes that some dealers carry).
Toe clips seem, in abstract, an appropriate solution but I'd
appreciate feedback on this from anyone with any experience with
children and toe clips.
to go with me but their steel frame department store bikes, bascially
MTB frames with no shocks and wide tires on 20" for the younger and
22" wheels for the older, are relatively heavy and the girls have
trouble with hills, though they are young strong and determined. I
ride a hybrid with clipless pedals and MTB shoes and have experienced
the dramatic improvement in efficiency after having switched out the
platform pedals for shimano MTB clipless pedals. I would like to
improve my daughters' pedaling efficiency so they can better enjoy
cycling but I am concerned with practicality and safety.
Clipless pedals might prove too much task loading for them especially
the younger. There is also the concern of the effect on growing feet
and frankly the expense of bicycle shoes (if indeed I could even get
them in their size; bicycle shorts were difficult enough to find but
Perl Izumi does have youth sizes that some dealers carry).
Toe clips seem, in abstract, an appropriate solution but I'd
appreciate feedback on this from anyone with any experience with
children and toe clips.