Assembly of child bicycles

[len]

"Eric S. Sande" > wrote in message >
,
> and what is up with these training wheels, anyway?
>
IME, they are there to help the kid break his collarbone. :<} Len

[Eric S. Sande]

Uncle Eric (despite his flu) has to do the bicycle assembly routine
this weekend. Other than the basic tools, i.e. cone wrenches, grease,
headset and BB tools, is there anything I need to know that isn't
adult bicycle specific?

Or can I treat these bicycles as I would miniature road commuters,
and what is up with these training wheels, anyway?

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------

[Ray Heindl]

"Eric S. Sande" > wrote:

> and what is up with these training wheels, anyway?

They allow the kid to use the bike for a while before he starts bugging
you to teach him to ride.

When I learned to ride, the training wheels were quite helpful. I had
made no progress until one of them fell off, at which point I suddenly
discovered I knew how to ride.

--
Ray Heindl
(remove the Xs to reply)

[S. Anderson]

"Eric S. Sande" > wrote in message
...
> Or can I treat these bicycles as I would miniature road commuters,
> and what is up with these training wheels, anyway?

As a point of reference, training wheels were despised almost as much as
baby seats as far as installation goes. Sometimes it's smooth sailing,
sometimes it's a frustration party and you have heavy implements in your
hands when the party takes a turn for the worse!! Not good!! :-)

Cheers,

Scott..

[Q.]

"Ray Heindl" > wrote in message
...
> "Eric S. Sande" > wrote:
>
> > and what is up with these training wheels, anyway?
>
> They allow the kid to use the bike for a while before he starts bugging
> you to teach him to ride.
>
> When I learned to ride, the training wheels were quite helpful. I had
> made no progress until one of them fell off, at which point I suddenly
> discovered I knew how to ride.

I had a tiny little red bike when I was about 3 ... I was barely able to
talk before I asked (begged) for a bike. I can remember my Dad and his
friend Eddie trying to get the training wheels to stay put, then they gave
up. I never did use them, never missed them either. We had a huge yard,
and I would ride for hours and hours every day. (The only cool thing about
my Dad was his love of bikes ... feels good that I get them for him now.)

I just recently tried training wheels on my friends daughters bike. They
did more harm than good ... the path we were riding at wasn't level enough,
and she kept unloading the rear wheel so it just spun. Wasn't long before
she got frustrated and started to cry, so we took them off and before you
know it she was riding with the "big kids".

Why not try it without the training wheels first? Kids still surprise me
how fast they learn.

C.Q.C.

[David Kerber]

In article >, "Q." <LostVideos-AT-
hotmail.com> says...
>
> "Ray Heindl" > wrote in message
> ...
> > "Eric S. Sande" > wrote:
> >
> > > and what is up with these training wheels, anyway?
> >
> > They allow the kid to use the bike for a while before he starts bugging
> > you to teach him to ride.
> >
> > When I learned to ride, the training wheels were quite helpful. I had
> > made no progress until one of them fell off, at which point I suddenly
> > discovered I knew how to ride.
>
> I had a tiny little red bike when I was about 3 ... I was barely able to
> talk before I asked (begged) for a bike. I can remember my Dad and his
> friend Eddie trying to get the training wheels to stay put, then they gave
> up. I never did use them, never missed them either. We had a huge yard,
> and I would ride for hours and hours every day. (The only cool thing about
> my Dad was his love of bikes ... feels good that I get them for him now.)
>
> I just recently tried training wheels on my friends daughters bike. They
> did more harm than good ... the path we were riding at wasn't level enough,
> and she kept unloading the rear wheel so it just spun. Wasn't long before
> she got frustrated and started to cry, so we took them off and before you
> know it she was riding with the "big kids".
>
> Why not try it without the training wheels first? Kids still surprise me
> how fast they learn.

Remembering how long it took me to ride without them after they had
been on for a long time, when my kids were learning, I left them on just
long enough for them to get the hang of pedaling, braking and steering,
and then they came off again. It was only a couple of weeks IIRC, and I
think it helped because they hadn't become dependent on them.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

[Mike Kruger]

"Eric S. Sande" > wrote in message
...
> Uncle Eric (despite his flu) has to do the bicycle assembly routine
> this weekend. Other than the basic tools, i.e. cone wrenches, grease,
> headset and BB tools, is there anything I need to know that isn't
> adult bicycle specific?

I don't recall anything, other than the fact that the Murray and Huffy
manuals I used
to do the assembly were remarkably good. That's a number of years ago,
though.
The bikes themselves were simple single speed coaster brake models. If you
were a 17
year old paid the minimum wage to put one together in 5 minutes with no
prior instruction,
the result might not be pretty. However, you should have no trouble with a
bike of this type.

If it's a fancier model, the most problemmatic aspect will be the brakes,
which
sometimes are hard to keep in adjustment on a cheaper bike.
>
> Or can I treat these bicycles as I would miniature road commuters,
> and what is up with these training wheels, anyway?
>
You don't say how old the child is.
If it's a small child who's likely to be going 3 miles an hour on the
driveway and might not be able to stay upright, I'd say you are better with
the training wheels, which make the bike more like a tricycle. On the other
hand, if the kid is 11 and can do backflips on skates, do the kid a favor
and leave them off.

I don't know your relatives.
If you leave the training wheels off, what happens when the kid has the
first fall and scrapes a knee? Will you hear "Dammit, Eric, you left the
training wheels off and now little Chris is scarred for life"? If so, leave
them on. The kid may fall just as much or more, but Uncle Eric won't be the
scapegoat.

--
Mike Kruger
I didn't believe in reincarnation last time, either.

[Eric S. Sande]

>You don't say how old the child is.

Well, one of them is older than the other one, that's for sure.

I am guessing here, uh, maybe four and six?

The older one is female, and will be receiving the "Disney Cinderella
Princess" bicycle, which is sort of pink and purple.

The nephew gets a "Harley Davidson" which is much the same except
that it is red and yellow.

For such small bikes they were surprisingly heavy. The pink one was a
Huffy (both were PRC products). Single speed coaster brake models
with stamped steel front caliper brakes.

They came partially assembled, but not well. I guess I'm not
going to make it as an Xmart bicycle assembler, as it took me almost
ten hours to strip them down to parts, wax the frames, repack and
adjust all the bearings, and do the reassembly.

The parts quality was actually not horrible. The pink/purple one was
noticeably better in terms of finish.

The wheels (16") with one exception were properly trued and tensioned.

My overall impression was that these bicycles were much heavier and
"featurized" than they needed to be.

I chickened out and put the training wheels on.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------

[GWB]

"Eric S. Sande" > wrote in message
...
> >You don't say how old the child is.
>
> Well, one of them is older than the other one, that's for sure.
>
> I am guessing here, uh, maybe four and six?
>
> The older one is female, and will be receiving the "Disney Cinderella
> Princess" bicycle, which is sort of pink and purple.
>
> The nephew gets a "Harley Davidson" which is much the same except
> that it is red and yellow.
>
> For such small bikes they were surprisingly heavy. The pink one was a
> Huffy (both were PRC products). Single speed coaster brake models
> with stamped steel front caliper brakes.
>
> They came partially assembled, but not well. I guess I'm not
> going to make it as an Xmart bicycle assembler, as it took me almost
> ten hours to strip them down to parts, wax the frames, repack and
> adjust all the bearings, and do the reassembly.
>
> The parts quality was actually not horrible. The pink/purple one was
> noticeably better in terms of finish.
>
> The wheels (16") with one exception were properly trued and tensioned.
>
> My overall impression was that these bicycles were much heavier and
> "featurized" than they needed to be.
>
> I chickened out and put the training wheels on.
>

A good way to teach them to ride is to take the pedals off and lower the
seat so their feet can rest flat on the ground. Then let them sit and
"scooter" around on them. They will be balancing in a very short time at
which point you can put the pedals back on.

[Eric S. Sande]

>A good way to teach them to ride is to take the pedals off and lower the
>seat so their feet can rest flat on the ground. Then let them sit and
>"scooter" around on them. They will be balancing in a very short time at
>which point you can put the pedals back on.

That seems to be a good idea. I'm just tech support according to my
brother's wife.

Maybe I'll suggest that to her over Christmas dinner.

I'm all ready in deep kimchee with her over a casual remark I made
when under considerable stress.

Hopefully I'll be able to redeem myself by expertly advising her on
how to raise her children.

I'd love to teach these kids how to ride. However there is a certain
resistance there. And a physical barrier. Neither of the parents is a
cyclist, either chidhood or adult, and we aren't adjacent.

Too bad. The kids won't learn to ride, I'll be disappointed, and nobody
will profit over the situation.

But I have my devious ways. I have been subtly planting the idea of
cycling in my brother's mind, chiefly by luring him with my old Raleigh
road bike and making fun of his ever enlarging beer belly.

That works on his mind, increasingly.

I will use any means to achieve my objective.

I am a true *******, unfortunately.


--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------

[Rick Onanian]

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 04:30:37 -0500, "Eric S. Sande"
> wrote:
>I'm all ready in deep kimchee with her over a casual remark I made
>when under considerable stress.

Hi! Welcome. Get comfortable. Here in deep kimchee, there's lots of
us who are here as a result of "casual remarks". Even if you get
out, you'll be back.

>Hopefully I'll be able to redeem myself by expertly advising her on
>how to raise her children.

Yes, that's certainly a way to get somebody who's frustrated and
angry at you to relax and forgive. Oh, and did I mention that I'm
continually in deep kimchee?

>But I have my devious ways. I have been subtly planting the idea of
>cycling in my brother's mind, chiefly by luring him with my old Raleigh
>road bike and making fun of his ever enlarging beer belly.

Making fun of it? Try considering the aerodynamic and inertial
advantages of it. He's probably more aerodynamic than you are! He'll
drop you like a rock as soon as you go down a hill.

>That works on his mind, increasingly.

Remind him that he'll need to carb-load before riding and
protein-recover after. That might work on his stomach, which is
where he keeps his mind (if he's of a similar species to myself).

>I will use any means to achieve my objective.
>I am a true *******, unfortunately.

Isn't it funny how "*******" has become an insult while it's actual
meaning (child born out of wedlock) is no longer taboo?
--
Rick Onanian