On May 21, 9:39*am, Peter Cole wrote:

I blame the parents. If the parents (dads, to be sexist) don't
understand simple bike operation & maintenance, how can they teach their
kids?

It's a problem, all right, and not just for little kids.

We're Warm Showers hosts, so we get to meet a fair number of bike
tourists. One guy, perhaps 25 years old, stayed overnight a few years
ago, riding west from his media job in New York City (although he'd
been raised elsewhere). It was his first bike tour.

Anyway, all the way from NYC to Ohio, his seatpost had been slipping
down as he rode. The bike was brand new and post seemed to be the
right size, but there was some burr of metal in the slot that
prevented the pinch bolt from doing its job. He was desperate to find
a bike shop.

Instead I got a hacksaw blade and cleaned out the slot. He was
astonished at my skill and my collection of tools. (Wow! A hacksaw
blade!)

And BTW, that same guy seemed fascinated by the Amish, who have large
communities not far from here, right on his route. We recommended
some good Amish restaurants to him, but later found out he got nervous
and decided to eat in the Burger King instead. He was afraid that the
Amish would be mean to him because he was not one of them!

He was a nice guy, and I give him lots of credit for doing the tour.
But I hope he got inspired to learn a little about tools and about the
world - things that should have happened when he was 12!

- Frank Krygowski