# Teaching child to use brakes/gears



## johnr (15 Jan 2010)

Granddaughter No 1 got an Islabike for xmas. It's her first 'big' bike after a couple of Specialized kids bikes. She's nervous of the brakes (we haven't broken the news to her about gears yet). She'd use the brake occasionally on her smaller bikes, but usually just stop pedalling and/or use her feet.

The Islabike is capable of much faster speeds than she's used to, so her old technique isn't going to work. Any tips/exercises we could use to get her used to using the brakes?

She's rather nervous of any new physical challenges, so I want to be confident about what I'm doing/suggesting before going out with her.

And now the snow's all but gone, that could be this weekend


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## summerdays (15 Jan 2010)

Tell her how to use them -both of them - stopping vs slowing down - and not to grab them but to pull them on gently. And try getting her to do some games which involve using her brakes ... draw a line on the pavement - can she cycle along and try and stop on the line (using a combination of speed and brakes). 

Don't worry about gears yet - that comes after brakes and some kids take much longer than others (my youngest - sorted it out before his sister 4 years older!).

What size of Islabike? Age of child?


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## Davidc (15 Jan 2010)

I had problems teaching my daughter how to use brakes. Basically she could make the bike go, and stay upright, but for some reason wouldn't use the brakes to slow down and stop.

I took her to a sloping path with a gently increasing gradient and got her to ride along beside me with me walking. It took a few rides down but she got there and once learnt never forgot.

Son, on the other hand, worked out how to use them the same day he learned to balance, then slammed the front one on and went over the handlebars, which was a rather more painful learning technique.


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## johnr (15 Jan 2010)

Thanks. She's 7 next week, but very tall for her age. She has a Beinn - either 20 or 24. We measured her before ordering. She's a bit intimidated (I think) because it looks like a grown up's bike, not the barbiecycles her friends have.

We have some very quiet country lanes a few miles from here, I was thinking of taking her over there in the summer when she's comfortable with the bike so we could test gears.


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## swee'pea99 (15 Jan 2010)

Just take it really slow, somewhere totally safe, and try to organise the 'teaching' so that you can constantly praise her for stuff she's getting right. You could, eg, start off with a 'going in a straight line' bit...then go on to a 'going in a circle' bit....then a few bits of 'going at the same speed as me' bit...generally try to get her into an 'I can do this' stuff' frame of mind, then sneak the brakes in on the sly while she's feeling positive and confident.


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## summerdays (15 Jan 2010)

When I was teaching gears to my son (probably just turned 7 ish but might have been slightly younger), I would tell him when I changed down a gear. He was constantly wanting to be in the same gear as me - as his bike at the time was a 6 speed and mine a 9 speed, there was a little bit of fibbing going on, but he seemed keen to be doing it the same as mum. 

He also would change gear and then ask me to guess which gear he was in (he hadn't sussed that I could tell from where I was cycling behind) so guessed some correctly and some wrong. 

Islabikes are lovely - the Beinn 24 which my 8 yo (nearly 9) got last summer has a blue detail on the bike - but he's small for his age. He got a couple of comments from kids at school - but he knows its so much nicer to ride than their BMX styled things. And the other kids want to have a go on his bike since his is different.

If it helps get her a pink barbie bell which she will soon grown out of probably .... now if you want a recommendation for a bell there are some lovely ones out there - this is the company my bell is from. Its sold in some shops here - but kids often ask about my bell.

http://www.pylones-usa.com/pylones/product.php?product=64&category=2


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## Dave5N (15 Jan 2010)

The Go Ride stuff is ideal - cones, stop boxes etc


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## johnr (15 Jan 2010)

"If it helps get her a pink barbie bell which she will soon grown out of probably .... now if you want a recommendation for a bell there are some lovely ones out there - this is the company my bell is from. Its sold in some shops here - but kids often ask about my bell.

http://www.pylones-usa.com/pylones/p...=64&category=2 "

She's more Star Wars than Barbie - I've bought her a topeak alien back light... but at least I now know where they got my last year's Xmas present!

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Keep them coming.


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## Muddyfox (15 Jan 2010)

I cant help with the bike tuition ... but 

Does'nt Summerdays sound like a lovely Mum 

Simon


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## summerdays (16 Jan 2010)

Jakes Dad said:


> I cant help with the bike tuition ... but
> 
> Does'nt Summerdays sound like a lovely Mum
> 
> Simon



Ah thank you - sometimes I can be nice ... but sometimes the mum from hell


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## Panter (16 Jan 2010)

johnr said:


> Granddaughter No 1 got an Islabike for xmas. It's her first 'big' bike after a couple of Specialized kids bikes. She's nervous of the brakes (we haven't broken the news to her about gears yet). She'd use the brake occasionally on her smaller bikes, but usually just stop pedalling and/or use her feet.
> 
> The Islabike is capable of much faster speeds than she's used to, so her old technique isn't going to work. Any tips/exercises we could use to get her used to using the brakes?
> 
> ...



Good luck 

I had trouble teaching my Daughter, she's also not very confident with physical challenges.

I thought I'd done Ok after I'd explained all the theory and warned her about grabbing the front brake and the associated risk of sailing over the bars, she was using both brakes in a controlled fashion with no incidents at all until one day in the New Forest...

Off she goes, hurtling down a hill which ended up on a track (all off-road) as if approaching a T junction with trees all along the furthest side.
Proudly watching Daughter zipping down the hill, my joy turned to concern as she showed little sign of stopping as she approached the ever looming treeline.

Her flailing legs and wail of despair confirmed that something had gone very wrong and my mind was full of worry that I hadn't sorted her brakes out properly or something as I ran down the hill to pick her up and dust her off after the inevitable impact which followed seconds after.

On closer inspection, the brakes were A1 and I asked, incredulously, why she didn't brake harder to avoid hitting the trees.
"cause I didn't want to go over the bars" she wailed...

It's a fine balancing act indeed


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## summerdays (16 Jan 2010)

Panter said:


> I asked, incredulously, why she didn't brake harder to avoid hitting the trees.
> "cause I didn't want to go over the bars" she wailed...
> 
> It's a fine balancing act indeed



Why not practise doing some emergency stops with her then so that she knows how the bike reacts. Start doing them at low speed first and gradually increase the speed. 

But I've also been there with my non-confident daughter - in the Forest of Dean - luckily I had my first aid kit as she had wounds on both knees, elbow and both hands. It was hard work getting her back on to cycle the remaining 3 miles or so back to the car park. She still treats that hill with a bit of caution now 4 years on so it obviously left an impression.


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## Panter (16 Jan 2010)

I did straight after 
She was surprised just how quickly you can stop on a loose surface!

It's horrible when they come off and loose confidence


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## Mark_Robson (16 Jan 2010)

Wow I remember how frustrating it was to teach my son how to use his gears. For some reason he couldn't change gear and pedal at the same time. After explaining to him that he had to do both at the same time he got into the habit of changing and pedalling backwards at the same time. This resulted in a jumped chain at every attempt to change up or down. 

He didn't have a problem with using his breaks though. They normally get the hang of breaks after their first collision with s wall or a tree etc.


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## Arch (16 Jan 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> Wow I remember how frustrating it was to teach my son how to use his gears. For some reason he couldn't change gear and pedal at the same time. After explaining to him that he had to do both at the same time he got into the habit of changing and pedalling backwards at the same time. This resulted in a jumped chain at every attempt to change up or down.



Should have got him some hub gears....

I can't add any advice for the OP, but the idea of making it into a game sounds good. Find a nice big empty tarmac area, get some big pavement chalks, and draw out some slaloms and stop lines and so on.


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## Arch (16 Jan 2010)

Mark_Robson said:


> Wow I remember how frustrating it was to teach my son how to use his gears. For some reason he couldn't change gear and pedal at the same time. After explaining to him that he had to do both at the same time he got into the habit of changing and pedalling backwards at the same time. This resulted in a jumped chain at every attempt to change up or down.



Should have got him some hub gears....

I can't add any advice for the OP, but the idea of making it into a game sounds good. Find a nice big empty tarmac area, get some big pavement chalks, and draw out some slaloms and stop lines and so on.


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## johnr (16 Jan 2010)

Her dad has appointed himself chief trainer, so I've passed on your tips. We had a quick lesson in theory in the front room this morning. She's got down the squeezing hard to bring everything to a complete stop. 

Gentle pressure, or feathering, to slow down is another matter - maybe influenced by the fact that if we kept rolling we'd run into her little sister who has the safety sense of a lemming .

We're working on my bike tomorrow: cleaning, fitting new tyres and adjusting the brakes. We'll have a play with the brakes whilst the bike's on the work stand.

Thanks again.


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## johnr (16 Jan 2010)

Her dad has appointed himself chief trainer, so I've passed on your tips. We had a quick lesson in theory in the front room this morning. She's got down the squeezing hard to bring everything to a complete stop. 

Gentle pressure, or feathering, to slow down is another matter - maybe influenced by the fact that if we kept rolling we'd run into her little sister who has the safety sense of a lemming .

We're working on my bike tomorrow: cleaning, fitting new tyres and adjusting the brakes. We'll have a play with the brakes whilst the bike's on the work stand.

Thanks again.


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