# Nephew can't ride a bike ...



## levad (26 Jul 2010)

My nephew is 13 and cannot ride a bike. I have just had an email from my sister who says that they are thinking of getting him a recumbent trike so he can go out with his mates. Does anyone have any recommendations? Type, supplier etc. They are near Southampton.

Ta.


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## byegad (26 Jul 2010)

Depends on how much they want to spend and how tall he is. A tall 13 year old could ride either of my trikes, but you're looking at around £2k for either new. The cheapest new trike is the £320 KMX, for just over £1100 there's a Catrike. Both the KMX Storm, Cyclone and Catrike Dash are limited for rider height. As with anything I'd expect you get what you pay for, although KMX are heavily built and, from what I've heard, hard to break, they will be harder work on hills due to the weight. 
Second hand trikes do come up but not that often. I'd be iffy about buying some internet only available trikes that come up on such as ebay without a careful inspection for design values and build quality.


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## mark barker (26 Jul 2010)

KMX trikes are good fun, and as their website suggests they're the 3 wheeled BMXs of this world. I've not tried their more expensive models, but the old 6 speed 20" wheeled model I had a play with was huge fun riding through the woods!


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## Sh4rkyBloke (26 Jul 2010)

Why doesn't he just learn to ride a bike like his mates have? So he's come to learning later than most... big deal. Cheaper in the long run too.


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## Mad Doug Biker (26 Jul 2010)

Sit him on a bike and push him down the nearest hill, telling him to watch out for the bend at the bottom. He'll soon get the hang of it!!   

Deary me, and I thought I was old learning when I was 8!


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## arallsopp (26 Jul 2010)

levad said:


> My nephew is 13 and cannot ride a bike. I have just had an email from my sister who says that they are thinking of getting him a recumbent trike so he can go out with his mates. Does anyone have any recommendations? Type, supplier etc. They are near Southampton.
> 
> Ta.




Is that 'cannot ride a bike' as in 'has some mitigating physical issue that prevents him from using a normal bike' or as in 'has not yet got around to learning'.

£425 sees him sorted with a two wheeler Estrellita 2 wheel recumbent, suitable for kids up to about 5ft 2. KMX is the cheapest entry point in the trike world.


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## levad (26 Jul 2010)

arallsopp said:


> Is that 'cannot ride a bike' as in 'has some mitigating physical issue that prevents him from using a normal bike' or as in 'has not yet got around to learning'.
> 
> £425 sees him sorted with a two wheeler Estrellita 2 wheel recumbent, suitable for kids up to about 5ft 2. KMX is the cheapest entry point in the trike world.



I don't know why he cannot ride a bike, I need to find that out!! I will pass on the info gleaned so far, thanks folks.


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## levad (26 Jul 2010)

levad said:


> I don't know why he cannot ride a bike, I need to find that out!! I will pass on the info gleaned so far, thanks folks.



I think he suffers from dyspraxia, some suffers are unable to coordinate enough to ride on 2 wheels. They are waiting to hear if and when they can try a KMX.


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## Arch (26 Jul 2010)

levad said:


> I think he suffers from dyspraxia, some suffers are unable to coordinate enough to ride on 2 wheels. They are waiting to hear if and when they can try a KMX.



If he has it bad, then a trike might be just the thing - and a KMX has the advantage of being the cheapest, and actually intended to be thrown about a bit - many other trikes might be a bit too 'precious'. As a Catrike Dash owner, I can heartily recommend it, but I don't tend to ride it off kerbs and so on.

One thought though - how has he tried to learn? If he's tried to master it all in one go it might well be too much for him - it might be worth seeing if he's ever tried the scooting method (pedals off, saddle low, scoot the bike along to get the feel of balance and steering. When confident free wheeling and 'running' the bike along, pedals can go back on). 

If he's tried this, apologies for the presumption.


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## arallsopp (26 Jul 2010)

Arch said:


> If he has it bad, then a trike might be just the thing - and a KMX has the advantage of being the cheapest, and actually intended to be thrown about a bit - many other trikes might be a bit too 'precious'. As a Catrike Dash owner, I can heartily recommend it, but I don't tend to ride it off kerbs and so on.
> 
> One thought though - how has he tried to learn? If he's tried to master it all in one go it might well be too much for him - it might be worth seeing if he's ever tried the scooting method (pedals off, saddle low, scoot the bike along to get the feel of balance and steering. When confident free wheeling and 'running' the bike along, pedals can go back on).



Just to clarify (and potentially save a broken leg) Arch's learning approach should NOT be attempted on a trike, or indeed any recumbent.


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## CopperBrompton (27 Jul 2010)

I'd echo the suggestion for the KMX. Cheap, designed for abuse and the weight won't matter if he's got the energy typical of a 13yo.


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## 3tyretrackterry (27 Jul 2010)

Try ebay for KMX they come up fairly regular i dont know what the budget is but item 200500254469 has 4 days to run on a 165 Buy it Now


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## MartinG (27 Jul 2010)

Arch said:


> If he's tried to master it all in one go it might well be too much for him - it might be worth seeing if he's ever tried the scooting method (pedals off, saddle low, scoot the bike along to get the feel of balance and steering. When confident free wheeling and 'running' the bike along, pedals can go back on).
> 
> If he's tried this, apologies for the presumption.



+1 (worked brilliantly for my kids)


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## Riding in Circles (27 Jul 2010)

He is quite welcome to try a Dash up here, it is a fully featured road trike, Just a scaled down version of the Catrike adult models designed for kids and Arch.


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## Arch (27 Jul 2010)

arallsopp said:


> Just to clarify (and potentially save a broken leg) Arch's learning approach should NOT be attempted on a trike, or indeed any recumbent.



Yikes! Yes, thanks for making that point! 

Not sure anyone would need it on a trike though...

Having said that, I had to teach a chap at work to ride our upright trikes, and he did keep trying to put a foot down when he stopped.


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## Arch (27 Jul 2010)

Catrike UK said:


> He is quite welcome to try a Dash up here, it is a fully featured road trike, Just a scaled down version of the Catrike adult models designed for kids and Arch.


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