We’ve got a junior high at the end of our block. As the weather has warmed, each day I see quite a few kids riding their bikes to school. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of them has their seats set WAY too low. They are all riding various versions of hybrids.
Does anyone know whether this is a modern “style”? Do people think it looks “cool”? Or is every single one of these kids - and presumably their parents - idiots? Because I can’t recall a time that I was too young to know that the leg should be slightly bent on the down pedal…
Hell, last summer I raised my 8-yr-old grandkid’s seat. I recently asked if her bike still fit her (we are the “bike” grandparents.) She said yes, but the seat just needed to be raised a tad. So she knows that at age 8…
It is possible, but these are definitely not BMX style bikes. And it seems to be across the board - boys, girls, athletic types, geeks…
I agree that many/most people have their seats to low, but I was hesitant to expand beyond what I see out my front window every day. My sister and I bike quite often and, a fair number of the cyclists we see are somewhat serious - what we call “fancy pantsers” who appear to put some attention (and considerable $) into their gear. But there are many many more casual bikers who seem to be emulating “low riders”.
Perhaps they are all emulating one-another. Or, they have the seat set low so they can reach the ground when they come to a stop, and stay seated. I see kids from the high school ride by 2x a day on the bike path across the street - I will keep an eye on seat height and see what’s up around here.
I don’t quite understand this. Do you mean stop and have BOTH feet flat on the ground? Because I’ve never perceived it difficult to stop and place one foot on the ground while keeping my butt on the seat.
Saw a video today. Big Harley type motorcycle with trunks etc. Stopped at a light and there were outrigger wheels keeping it upright. Light turned green and as he started off, the outrigger wheels retracted.
I see this all the time in my neighborhood and it drives me nuts to watch the poor kids working so much harder than they need to.
My assumption is their parents don’t know how to adjust the seat, or don’t have the tools. In some cases it looks like they are still using an older bike, and they may want to avoid putting their center of gravity too high.
I have stopped myself from stopping some of them and offering to fix it but then realize that probably wouldn’t be welcomed.
I don’t know about how easy it would be to stop, but I could see it being more comfortable.
I also wonder how much of this has to do with pedal-less bikes being the standard way to learn to ride a bike these days. The idea is that the main issue is not learning to pedal, but learning to balance and steer. And that things like training wheels actually harm your ability to steer, since you need to lean to steer properly.
When I see those bikes, they seem to be designed to allow the kids to have both feet flat on the ground when stopped. That way they can give maximum force when pushing off the ground, and have maximum braking potential.
I think it may be that non-cyclists don’t prioritize being able to have their legs stretched all the way when the pedal is down. They don’t need to maximize efficiency or riding duration.
Yeah I think those that would want to put both feet on the ground still view a bicycle as a toy, or just something to get around the neighborhood, and have not realized the potential freedom a bicycle offers - these poor souls are likely to keep the seat too low.
But, a properly fitted bike where your knee is slightly bent when the pedal is at it’s lowest position may require the rider to dismount in order to place their foot flat on the ground (because a pedal at it’s lowest position is still a few inches above the ground). There are bikes, like Electra brand, that are designed such that the rider can remain seated while their foot is flat on the ground at stops, and still have proper leg extension while riding, but I suspect the kids in your neighborhood are not all that tuned-into these things.
I’m 99% sure this is the reason. When first learning to ride a bike, it’s much easier to start and stop if your seat is low enough for you to touch the ground with both feet without dismounting. It’s not necessary to learn a more efficient method if you never bike more than a few blocks from your house.
I think this is the correct reason. Most POBs aren’t worried about efficiency or long term ergonomics. They’re just tooling around and are looking for ease of use for frequent stops and starts.
You need to have an understanding of the process involved in teaching a child to ride a bike. To start with, having their feet on the ground is their place of comfort. It can take a long time to transition from that to understanding that you pedal the bike a lot more than you stand it up so it is better to be comfortable pedalling at the expense of being less comfortable with your foot on the ground.
You are welcome to try and convince my children to ride with their seats higher. We sneak the seat up when we can, but doing it in one hit results in them just not riding their bike. We have tools, we know where the seat should be, we have flash road bikes and do 100 mile rides on them, etc. None of that helps convince a 6 year old that their seat should be, from their perspective, uncomfortably high.
1: During Jr high school it’s common for students to have growth spurts. 2: It is also uncommon for Jr high schoolers to maintain their equipment, or even know it needs such a thing. I think it’s a case of 1+1=2.
I suggest you get the kid a unicycle. After he or she learns to mount and ride it properly and can wheel around the neighbourhood, they may be ready for the leap to two wheels.