Gear Selection Mystery

[grhm]

And why does every non enthusiast have a rusty chain and cassette? It only takes a couple of seconds with some 3-in-1.

Possibly, but it can take less than a week for a chain to go rusty - mine did this winter. Fettling chains seems to be dirty, thankless work and you have to keep doing it - or you do nothing, it goes rusty, it makes some noises and is harder to pedal than it could be but it works.

Unfortunately my wife is very much of the leave it to rust opinion and moans at at amount of time I spend cleaning and fettling my bike (which isn't much, maybe look at the chain 1 or 2 times a month, clean it one every other month ish)

Oh and I've tried the wipe-lube-wipe method, but I've never managed it in least than 10 minutes - and the cloth never come clean at the end. And I always feel I probably failed to get it into the rolloers properly and left too much on the outside to rapidly become a grinding paste.
Probably doing something wrong...

 

[Arch]

I admit I took it for granted that you wouldn't buy a child a bike and not show them how to use it.

That is certainly the case with the last two bikes I bought for children. Careful explanation of the gears, then demonstration, repeated every time they wheeled them out yada yada yada. Not a blind bit of notice - next time they're both graunching along in little chainwheel and sprocket. Perhaps they just do it to wind me up.

When I worked on the tryout roadshows, we had all sorts of bikes, hub gear and derailleur. You'd put a lid (or yoof, or even adult) on one, and say "Now, this has hub gears, so ease off to change" or "Now, this is derailleur, so don't change unless you are pedalling" and they'd nod solemnly as if to say "I know that!" and off they'd go, either instantly changing gear while stationary for the derailleurs (preferably twisting the twistshift back and forth like a motorbike throttle), or standing on the pedals at top speed for hubs...

 

[Dave5N]

I find it hard to get kids to use the right gear.

Remote-controlled gears is the only way forward.

 

[BIGSESAL]

Most kids that have bikes don't use them for the pleasure of cycling. They use them as a quick way of getting to their mates. Or they show off by riding no handed. Or they pull skids. Or they put a bottle/can in the brake mechanism so the bike will sound like a motorbike.

They don't actually really care about their bike that much. They don't clean it. They don't put a lock on it when they go into the shops. They don'y care what gear they are in, as long as they look cool they are happy.