Biking With Kids

It has been cold with very little snow here in the North East.  While the lack of snow has put a damper on the skiing and snowshoeing, the conditions have been perfect for mountain biking.

Riding on the Lake

I have made a couple of key adjustments to my wardrobe and bicycle since I started winter mountain biking last year. The first change is for my feet. I tried using my normal clipless pedals with booties, but I just couldn’t keep my feet warm enough. I now use hiking boots and regular pedals, which keep my feet much warmer and allow me to ride longer.

Rigid Voodoo

In addition to swapping out my clipless pedals for regular ones, I also swapped out my full suspension bicycle for my fully rigid one. It turns out that freezing temperatures and bicycle suspension just don’t mix. Last year I ended up having to take apart my rear shock because the seals had gotten too cold, causing the shock to be “stuck down”. I really haven’t missed the suspension, all of the snowmobile trails are quite smooth, as is the lake.

Here is a video and a few more pictures from my 2010 winter riding:

You can ride ice with no studs, if you keep the tires clean of snow

Ice Crystals

Fresh Tracks

Frozen River

I was fortunate enough to see the Race Across The Sky film on October 22nd.

Race Across The Sky is a documentary about the 2009 Leadville 100 mountain bike race.  There was a lot of hype around the race this year because Lance Armstrong was returning to have another go after coming in second in 2008.

One thing I really enjoyed about the film was it showed how many families are involved in the race.  Moms, dads, and grandparents racing and being cheered on by children of all ages.

If you missed the one time showing on October 22nd, don’t worry, it looks like there will be another showing on November 12th.

I found a neat video about the 2009 Leadville 100 here.

I’m sure this is old news to most, but since I just found out about it, I thought I would spread the word.

This past March (2009), after a year of research and pondering, I purchased a KidzTandem from Chris Brown at Brown Cycles in Grand Junction Colorado.  Chris was great to deal with and has a real passion for biking with his own kids.

Arrival and Assembly

Excitement mounted as I got the call that the bike had been delivered. As we tore into the box, we found our new gray tandem was just as quality as we had hoped.
I spent the evening putting on fenders, cargo rack, wheels, handlebars and adjusting the brakes. I also swapped out the stock seats for the ones that we normally use.

It's Here!

Fresh out of the box

A nice user manual

Ready to go

First Ride

The rain/snow finally let up enough for us to try out our new toy. I took a quick ride by myself to get a feel for the bike. I was a little wobbly at first, but after a hundred yards or so I had the hang of it.
Next the kids took turns taking rides, they were smiling ear to ear.  The fenders worked great to keep the spring mud off of us.

In the above video you can see the optional child’s seat.  This has been great for kids that are still a little small to pedal.

Configurations

Over the last six months the KidzTandem has surpassed my high expectations. We’ve done everything from road riding to singletrack mountain bike trails and the bike has performed beautifully.
Below are some of the different ways we’ve used the KidzFirst tandem:

With Sidecar

The Sidecar worked OK, but because the sidecar wheel is so far forward, its scrubs a lot when you turn. I decided to move the sidecar back to the regular mountain bike until I can build a mount to move the sidecar toward the back of the tandem.

Notice the different handlebars for the captain.  I swapped out the comfort handlebars for some straight mountain bike bars.  At 6′3″ I needed a little more room to stretch out.  With the handlebar change I had plenty of room to get comfortable.

Side Car from the other side

Sidecar in motion

With Trail-a-Bike

We put a ton of miles on with the trail-a-bike. This worked really well, other than the fact that the largest child is getting a little heavy for the trail-a-bike itself.

Trail-a-Bike off-road

Once again in the photo above you will see different handlebars.  I swapped out the kids bars with a straight bar and some bar ends.  The kids enjoy having more than one hand position on a long ride.

I also added Power Grips to the child’s pedals.  These grips are easy for the child to get in and out of, but keep their feet from slipping off.

Singletrack at Bradbury Mountain State Park

The latest thing we’ve done is to add some fat tires and head off road.  We were able to tackle all but the toughest single track at Bradbury Mountain.  My child was yelling “Woohoooo!” as we swept though the downhill corners.

Fat rear tire "borrowed" from my wife's old mountain bike

Conclusion

The KidzTandem has been a great way to get out and enjoy biking with my kids. It is a quality product that really delivers.
I will continue to post about our uses of the KidzTandem. If you have any questions please post a comment or send me a message on the Contact Form.

My son and I participated in the first Bond Brook Trail Day.  We cleared around 2 miles of new single track, and got to ride it afterword!

I was planning on doing some cross country skiing this morning.  I checked the temperature, -5 degrees F, cold, but not as cold as the last 4 mornings.  I suddenly got an idea, it hadn’t snowed for a few days, so the snowmobile trails should be good and packed.  Why not get the Stumpjumper out?

On my top half I wore my snowboard helmet, shell, fleece and long underwear shirt.  On my bottom half I wore my Goretex riding pants with long underwear underneath,  wool socks and my biking shoes.  I contemplated swapping out my pedals and wearing my hiking boots, but decided that I didn’t want to take the time (this would prove to be a mistake).

The ride was great.  The trails were well packed, only allowing the tires to sink in about a half inch or so.  The only way the trails would have been better is if we had a warm day (haven’t seen one in a while) that melted the trails and then they refroze.  Then the trails would be smooth and hard, making for some nice fast riding.

On my way back, my toes started to get pretty cold (should have changed those pedals).  My shifters also started acting up, my rear derailer could only downshift one gear at a time, and my front shifting was limited to the lower two rings.  The brakes also felt pretty stiff.

When I came inside and took off my shoes there was frost on my socks!  If I do any more cold riding I will be swapping out the clippless pedals for standard ones with power grips.

I decided to ride my bike to the post office today.  The temperature was a balmy 35 degrees and the sun was out.

Stepping outside I realized that the wet ice on the driveway was going to make things a little tricky.  When the temperature is well below freezing, riding on ice isn’t too bad. Your tires kind of stick to the ice if you make no sudden movements.  Today was warm enough to have a nice layer of water on top of the ice. I tried to ride it but every time my front tire hit a rut it would wash out.  I decided to walk the bike to the road…

Makes me wish for studded tires...

I checked out the snowmobile trail that leads to the other side of town.  A little test walk showed that it was frozen enough to ride on top..Nice.

Looks can be deceiving.

I was cruising along nice and easy at about 10 mph when all of a sudden my front tire broke through the ice, then the back.  I downshifted to try and dig my way through, but it was too mushy. I tried in vain to keep riding, but it was no use.

Look closely and you can see my track in the mush.

Luckily there was a side trail that leads back to the main road right next to me. I took a left and made my way back to the dry pavement.

Road riding it is.

I pulled into the post office just before closing and picked up the mail.  The most interesting mail item was a new Performance Bike catalog. I decided the catalog would be the perfect companion for a hot chocolate when I get home.

Destination reached.