Chunk Jr.

[Enel]

I took little E out to the new mellow "Dells Light" trail to see how he could do in some mildly technical terrain.

He did surprisingly well in the chunky parts, and better than fine on the climbs. I am most pleased with how his brake control on the descents is improving. I won't say I wasn't a little bit worried about a yard sale on some of the tech sections, but big wheels, low COG and low body weight can cover over a lot of sloppiness.

Fun was had.



First tech section....passed.





 


He went back to clean this about five times before getting it.




Sometimes it ain't gonna happen.



It wasn't all tech.




Time to head down and hit a few tech sections:



I'm proud of the ratchet pedaling in that one

[29Inches]

Way cool!

[giantbikeboy]

Very cool post. SkilZ!

[theGreenEGg]

That's awesome! Looks like a really fun place to play around.

[titusbro]

So I guess he's now your 'Chunk-ster'...

Great Job Little E!

[KRob]

Nice job! We need some details.

How old is your son?

Looks like a single speed, right?

What size wheels? Looks like 26"? What's the bike weigh?

Thanks.

[SlowerThenSnot]

awesome

[Leopold Porkstacker]

Seriously kickass!!! Is your son around 7 - 10 years old??? Both my 4.8 and 6.3 year olds just watched those videos and were showing enthusiasm toward one day riding terrain like that.

[eatdrinkride]

Wow that's pretty darn cool. I've been out to the Dells and that aint no playground. Well, it is..but you know what I mean. I think Ken B. from Pivot (and a local Phoenix rider) has a very impressive video on the Pivot site featuring The Dells.

Good job guys.

[Enel]

Nice job! We need some details.

How old is your son?

Looks like a single speed, right?

What size wheels? Looks like 26"? What's the bike weigh?

Thanks.

10
SS (he has tried gears, prefers SS, I think it is better for early riders)
26"
24lbs...so about 35% of rider weight

He is a pretty persistent kid as demonstrated a few months ago:



I was sort of surprised to see this part of his personality because he is very easy going and non-competitive normally. It really bugs him if he can't ride something though.

[SlowerThenSnot]

always love seeing kiddos out doing it! Enel always welcome(and your mini-me) this way if you wanna get away from your chunk and come play on some SW utah chunk....

[cluster_tolerance]

10
SS (he has tried gears, prefers SS,

He is a pretty persistent kid as demonstrated a few months ago:

I was sort of surprised to see this part of his personality because he is very easy going and non-competitive normally. It really bugs him if he can't ride something though.

Man that is cool! He is throwing rocks with his power through his wheels. Thanks, I really liked seeing this!!!

[KRob]

10
SS (he has tried gears, prefers SS, I think it is better for early riders)
26"
24lbs...so about 35% of rider weight

He is a pretty persistent kid as demonstrated a few months ago:



I was sort of surprised to see this part of his personality because he is very easy going and non-competitive normally. It really bugs him if he can't ride something though.

Yeah, I was thinking he was only 9 or 10. He is way more advanced technically than my 12 year-old. I need to show him this video.

I'll bet my son's 24" Specialized Hot Rock with 21 gears and pretend suspension fork is pushing 30 lbs easy.....and yet I have a devil of a time getting him to shift (he prefers to stand and mash up hills) and that fork is useless and probably heavy. Maybe SS rigid is the way to go.

Other ways to lighten up his bike? Do they make folding bead tires for 24" wheels. His are wearing out and all I could find in the shops in Moab were wire bead pigs.

I saw an XS titus RacerX for sale in the classifieds the other day for $1400 that weighed only 21lbs. I was really tempted to get it for him. If he was showing a little more commitment to it and I didn't think he was going to grow 4-5 more inches over then next two years, I think I'd have done it.

[SlowerThenSnot]

Yeah, I was thinking he was only 9 or 10. He is way more advanced technically than my 12 year-old. I need to show him this video.

I'll bet my son's 24" Specialized Hot Rock with 21 gears and pretend suspension fork is pushing 30 lbs easy.....and yet I have a devil of a time getting him to shift (he prefers to stand and mash up hills) and that fork is useless and probably heavy. Maybe SS rigid is the way to go.

Other ways to lighten up his bike? Do they make folding bead tires for 24" wheels. His are wearing out and all I could find in the shops in Moab were wire bead pigs.

I saw an XS titus RacerX for sale in the classifieds the other day for $1400 that weighed only 21lbs. I was really tempted to get it for him. If he was showing a little more commitment to it and I didn't think he was going to grow 4-5 more inches over then next two years, I think I'd have done it.

Small block 8's in 24" are a pretty light tire... google bmx cruiser tires and you well have lotsa of options krob

[Boyonabyke]

Like Father, like Son. The kids got talent... and a great teacher too.

[Enel]

Yeah, I was thinking he was only 9 or 10. He is way more advanced technically than my 12 year-old. I need to show him this video.

I'll bet my son's 24" Specialized Hot Rock with 21 gears and pretend suspension fork is pushing 30 lbs easy.....and yet I have a devil of a time getting him to shift (he prefers to stand and mash up hills) and that fork is useless and probably heavy. Maybe SS rigid is the way to go.

Other ways to lighten up his bike? Do they make folding bead tires for 24" wheels. His are wearing out and all I could find in the shops in Moab were wire bead pigs.

I saw an XS titus RacerX for sale in the classifieds the other day for $1400 that weighed only 21lbs. I was really tempted to get it for him. If he was showing a little more commitment to it and I didn't think he was going to grow 4-5 more inches over then next two years, I think I'd have done it.

The problem with cheap kids bikes is that they are cheap, heavy as pigs, and generally crappy in the shifting dept. The RX would be awesome for him IMO.

My son should probably be on 24" wheels, but I just skipped that wheel size because I have enough wheel sizes to keep track of and the decent used stuff is mostly 26". He is growing into it nicely though. How many decent 24" suspension forks have you heard of? I don't know of any. Anyway, he is bugging me for a fork and I think he is about ready.

At slow speeds, at his weight and just beginning to bike, I think the most important thing is to learn to keep the thing on the trail, stop safely when necessary. The less other do- dads that the newbie rider is thinking about, the better IMO. Rigid, SS, platforms seems to do the job although a set of clip in pedals is on the near horizon. Rigid reinforces good habits, and proper shifting can be learned any time there is room in the brain, once the riding itself becomes more automatic.

[~martini~]

Damned near best thread evar. I've been taking the girls out on trail since they were able. The 4yo just got her first taste this past week. Can. Not. Wait. to get more trail time with them. So soon!

[Loudpawlz]

Still abusing your youngster by making him ride the SS?

[clarkrw3]

10
SS (he has tried gears, prefers SS, I think it is better for early riders)
26"
24lbs...so about 35% of rider weight

He is a pretty persistent kid as demonstrated a few months ago:



I was sort of surprised to see this part of his personality because he is very easy going and non-competitive normally. It really bugs him if he can't ride something though.

Do you know how tall he is? GREAT thread and he has skills!! looks like he needs some gloves in this vid

[KRob]

The problem with cheap kids bikes is that they are cheap, heavy as pigs, and generally crappy in the shifting dept. The RX would be awesome for him IMO.

My son should probably be on 24" wheels, but I just skipped that wheel size because I have enough wheel sizes to keep track of and the decent used stuff is mostly 26". He is growing into it nicely though. How many decent 24" suspension forks have you heard of? I don't know of any. Anyway, he is bugging me for a fork and I think he is about ready.

At slow speeds, at his weight and just beginning to bike, I think the most important thing is to learn to keep the thing on the trail, stop safely when necessary. The less other do- dads that the newbie rider is thinking about, the better IMO. Rigid, SS, platforms seems to do the job although a set of clip in pedals is on the near horizon. Rigid reinforces good habits, and proper shifting can be learned any time there is room in the brain, once the riding itself becomes more automatic.

Good points, E. Sorry for the threadjack.

The other thing the small 26 wheeled bike may have an advantage on is fewer pedal strikes. Over the past year or two riding behind I'd noticed how many pedal strikes he was getting and wrote it off to inexperience, but I measured the other day and there's only about 2" from the pedal to the ground when in the down position.

I think I'm going to start shopping some mid to higher end small 26ers for him. I couldn't find that RX when I went back and looked.

[Krein]

Wow, Eric, he's a spittin' image of you. Rigid, SS, pads, all he is missing is the full face helmet and gardening gloves!

This is a seriously cool post, wish I had seen it before coming to visit. His skills are insane for his age. I wouldn't have guessed he could ride a lot of that stuff. Keep up the good work getting him out there and what not.

[Velokid1]

I missed this thread Eric... good stuff. Your kid is awesome. We'll be trying to keep up with him in another 10 years. We'll be all old(er) and broken(er) and he'll be just finding his legs.

Hopefully your boys and mine will all be part of the same high school mtn bike league!

[Padre]

Why didn't you take me on the Dells Light? haha

[tshulthise]

Good stuff. I used the second video to show my group how to properly roll a drop. That was a great shot of how to do it properly. Thanks.