Any advice, 12 year old wants to start cycling.

greenmat

Looking for advice about starting my 12 year old son cycling. Fairly new myself to the sport, last 2 years so really still learning the ropes. My son is very interested in getting a road bike, I think the smallest Adult frame should fit fine and last a few years. He can manage about 25-30 km on the flat on a mountain bike with me fairly handy at about 15 kmph, so a road bike should do him wonders. Just looking for any advice to get him started. Not many clubs as far as I can see cater for young riders, so It looks like just him and me for the next while till he can do about 50-60km and join in with slower club spins.

Many Thanks in advance.

bcmf

whereabouts are you and someone may be able to point in the right direction clubwise.
Also do you have a budget for a bike?

greenmat

On the Northside, not far from Dublin Wheelers, was told maybe a little too young to bring out with a club. Budget about €600, wait till she realises how much all the cycling gear will cost on top of that.

12 sprocket

Greenmat
Cycling ireland have a new booklet available YOUTH CYCLINGTRAINING FOR SUCCESS AND FUN that will help with understanding how to train youth cyclists, it includes training programmes and sessions for each age group.

greenmat

12 sprocket wrote: »

Greenmat
Cycling ireland have a new booklet available YOUTH CYCLINGTRAINING FOR SUCCESS AND FUN that will help with understanding how to train youth cyclists, it includes training programmes and sessions for each age group.

Thanks for that, great starting point.

cdaly_

Avoid putting him on a frame that's too big. Even the smallest ladies frame may be too big (unless he's catching up on his mammy height-wise)...

greenmat

He seams to fall into the height bracket for some makes smallest Adult frames. It's very tempting to get a Frame size he will "grow" into but I know thats wrong and dangerous.

Kav0777

Have had a look at islabikes, they might be more suitable than a small "adult" bike with a wider range of gears?

http://www.islabikes.co.uk/

greenmat

Kav0777 wrote: »

Have had a look at islabikes, they might be more suitable than a small "adult" bike with a wider range of gears?

http://www.islabikes.co.uk/

Thanks for that, not too bad, but for similar price could get a basic Gaint locally.

slow

If you intend getting him racing, if he's born in 1999 he'll be under 14 in 2012. Don't buy a bike until you can get the correct gearing. Youth riders can't race on the gearing that the bikes are sold with. For U14s, 49, 39 chainset with a 16-27 cassette gives him 20 gears.

For under 12, it's 46x16 maximum. Although some Giant Defy bikes have a 34x12 gear if you disable the outer chainring. A bit of research before you buy will prevent hassle later.

greenmat

slow wrote: »

If you intend getting him racing, if he's born in 1999 he'll be under 14 in 2012. Don't buy a bike until you can get the correct gearing. Youth riders can't race on the gearing that the bikes are sold with. For U14s, 49, 39 chainset with a 16-27 cassette gives him 20 gears.

For under 12, it's 46x16 maximum. Although some Giant Defy bikes have a 34x12 gear if you disable the outer chainring. A bit of research before you buy will prevent hassle later.

Thanks for that, not really thinking of racing, just for fun and fitness. Got into cycling late in life myself after spending years wondering about it and now regret all the missed years. He loves going for spins with me and as we all know here it's the best sport on the planet.

morana

greenmat wrote: »

Looking for advice about starting my 12 year old son cycling. Fairly new myself to the sport, last 2 years so really still learning the ropes. My son is very interested in getting a road bike, I think the smallest Adult frame should fit fine and last a few years. He can manage about 25-30 km on the flat on a mountain bike with me fairly handy at about 15 kmph, so a road bike should do him wonders. Just looking for any advice to get him started. Not many clubs as far as I can see cater for young riders, so It looks like just him and me for the next while till he can do about 50-60km and join in with slower club spins.

Many Thanks in advance.

very good publication from the CI office all about beginners. you should try get a hold of it. also, you can email rachel for a list of the sprocket rocket clubs in your area. If your not a member it doesn't matter we will still help you along.

Lumen

morana wrote: »

very good publication from the CI office all about beginners.

Is this stuff available on the web? If not, why not?

morana

Lumen wrote: »

Is this stuff available on the web? If not, why not?

No its not because it cost us a good bit to produce. I think that it will be free when you do certain programmes e.g "Gearing Up"

We found that in the past people would look for a bundle of them and they wouldnt get distributed because they were free!

Ring up and tell them I sent ya and they might give you a discount!!! (or maybe not)

Lumen

morana wrote: »

No its not because it cost us a good bit to produce. I think that it will be free when you do certain programmes e.g "Gearing Up"

We found that in the past people would look for a bundle of them and they wouldnt get distributed because they were free!

Ring up and tell them I sent ya and they might give you a discount!!! (or maybe not)

With the greatest of respect to your tireless contributions, that's just the sort of arseways thinking I'd expect from Cycling Ireland.

morana

Lumen wrote: »

With the greatest of respect to your tireless contributions, that's just the sort of arseways thinking I'd expect from Cycling Ireland.

please elaborate?

Lumen

morana wrote: »

please elaborate?

Admittedly I'm arguing from complete ignorance, but that's never stopped me before. :pac:

Presumably there is a part of CIs budget which is directed at marketing and communications around youth cycling, by which I mean producing various communications which result in higher takeup.

The most obvious way to use this money effectively is to spend it on commissioning (i.e. the intellectual content bit) and distribute it electronically, for free, using the internet, for instance by sticking it on the website or using other free channels (Facebook etc).

Instead, your post implies that the money has been spent on producing and printing dead-tree literature, the cost of which is so substantial that you not only have to charge money to people who want to read the "leaflets" or whatever, but you won't release the source material to your own members who paid for it through their subscriptions.

Maybe the reasoning is that if was on the CI website it would be impossible to find, like the other 99% of useful content on there.

Forgive the rant....

morana

No Problem we like rants!

well we have to charge for something. Subway sponsor the youth focussed SR programme and I am sure the participants will get a free copy, free helmet,free T-shirt and what ever else they get free for €8. 1800 young ones went thru it last year. That money pays the administrators wages.

Now a youth licence costs €5 and that gets them full benefits as all other members. so its fairly good I think. my son plays soccer he pays 20 a month. I dont accept that giving free literature will get more youths into the sport if it did we would have a healthy compliment already.

But I agree for kids in the sport already we should pass it on and possibly by using their logon to the website.

Regarding the website it has been reorganised somewhat so the endless link to links should be gone and the search works......

greenmat

morana wrote: »

very good publication from the CI office all about beginners. you should try get a hold of it. also, you can email rachel for a list of the sprocket rocket clubs in your area. If your not a member it doesn't matter we will still help you along.

Hi Morana, if I go into cycling ireland office will they give/sell me a copy? Will also ask about Sprocket Rocket programme. He's showing an interest and would love to develope a love of cycling in him as it's the greatest sport on earth, just took me till 40 to realise it.

morana

greenmat wrote: »

Hi Morana, if I go into cycling ireland office will they give/sell me a copy? Will also ask about Sprocket Rocket programme. He's showing an interest and would love to develope a love of cycling in him as it's the greatest sport on earth, just took me till 40 to realise it.

let me make sure they have it.

greenmat

morana wrote: »

let me make sure they have it.

Cheers, thanks for that. I'm enjoying ur chat on here, not really aware of all the politics involved in Cycling Ireland, so will stay well away from that topic. Once again, many thanks to you and every poster here.

morana

greenmat wrote: »

Cheers, thanks for that. I'm enjoying ur chat on here, not really aware of all the politics involved in Cycling Ireland, so will stay well away from that topic. Once again, many thanks to you and every poster here.

its all good clean family fun!!!:D

High Nellie

Hi Morana,
do you not see anything a bit odd about a cycling federation charging children for advice about cycling?

12 sprocket

to high Nellie

its an excellent training guide for youth cyclists their parents and coaches, certainly worth investing in. And as someone already mentioned if you want your kid to be coached in soccer or most other sports it costs money and very substantial money in some cases.

It seems like a great resource that will guide young cyclists towards better performances and enjoyment of their cycling.

morana

High Nellie wrote: »

Hi Morana,
do you not see anything a bit odd about a cycling federation charging children for advice about cycling?

to be honest I think it is pitched not at the children but at parents or coaches as 12 sprocket pointed.

If it was a ladybird guide to cycling then you might have a point.