Video: How To Get Kids Hooked On Mountain Biking - How To Bike with Ben Cathro

 Laughs.... laughing at yourself and with your friends is a key ingredient in bringing people back Good luck!

 Kids can be super self conscious about everything and think everyone sees everything. Make it not about gear as much as possible and model that whenever you can be it flat pedals or riding in “normal clothes.” They don’t have to buy or wear or do x to be mountain bikers. They’re mountain bikers today just by showing up.

 @bhuckley @blinglespeed: Thanks, I will keep those ideas in mind!

 Totally. Explain how the most amazing rider in Whistler is always, without doubt, the teenager riding the most clapped out 10 year old ex-rental bike in jogging pants and a k-way jacket.

 The best part is when they get faster than you. I watched my son go from crashing head over heels the first time he went over a jump at 7, nailed that same jump finally at 10, we had to let him overcome those fears at his own pace. Then at 16 kicking my ass down Prevost and Whistler, and watching him gap Crabapple hits a year later!

 @blinglespeed: all you said, and focus on incremental progress. When I coached, we had a philosophy of moving participants along the progress chain only once the skill they're working on was coming naturally and with little to no apprehension.

 More downhill than uphill at the beginning. Shuttles are great. Once they are hooked, then get them to start earning their lines.

 @locaroka @mikedk @Bomadics @bishopsmike @blinglespeed @bhuckley Update: All the beginners impressed me a lot! If anyone had a hard time it was me, my asthma kicked in mid ride but i still enjoyed it thoroughly.

 I just recently started one at my high school and I figured out that everyone wants it to be so formal that it’s not much fun. I try to organize rides but the school wants everyone to have physicals and all sorts of other BS

 @Acarder: I think its the opposite at mine, it took a while to get approved but now were basically allowed to do whatever we want once we have the waivers.

 Having gone through years of biking with large groups I think everyone needs to understand, some people when things get out of hand continue to problem solve and believe they will be ok, typically they shake off the vast majority of crashes, if they have them at all. Others freeze when they start to panic, they get injured a lot and can go from easy cruising on a blue to broken bone in no time.
You can't take the latter group and expect them to dirt jump/DH/Enduro ride. You have to accept that there are categories of riding with different focus and what is fun for the first group is dangerous for the second, what is challenging and enjoyable for the second group (XC typically) can be dull for the first group. All riding is great, but understand boundaries and encourage enjoyment even if it is found from achieve something you don't naturally care about. The guy that doubles up a set of easy Berms isn't the example everyone needs to follow to have fun.

 @blinglespeed: Why would anyone be self conscious about flat pedals?

 Fantastic advice here!!

 You want to go find some lizards? Works every time (for a 5-7 year old anyway)

 @deez-nucks: That would hook me in immediately lol (20 year old)

 I can’t say enough good things about a Mac ride (or something similar) my son didn’t even like going on trails all that much, but some of the best memories of my life were riding around the hood with him.

 Congrats in advance!

Biking with kids is better than ever these days, lots of lighter bikes with kid-sized brakes and shifters, legit MTB balance bikes, trail a bike type things, bike trailers and better cockpit seats.

Cockpit Seats: Since that's where you'll be starting, take it from me... you don't want one of those seats with a highback... they just get in the way. We had a Yepp and the highback was too high and too reclined, so the kids heads would constantly be bouncing against my chest... reach was an issue.

What you want is one of the crossbar seats, like the kidsrideshotgun.com... much more natural position for them and for you... plus they aren't strapped in, so if you do end up in a dicey situation (believe me it can happen when you least expect), you can grab/protect the kid easier than having to reach around a chair.

Trailers: we had a Thule (double chair) that was absolutely great for city rides (and it doubled as a running stroller), but wasn't great on trails... too wide. (and super heavy). It still got plenty of use though, just not for my original ambitions. I did see a dad on a single-wheeled trailer, zipping through some single track... it looked very impressive. I think I just found a review of it here (and in comparison to a more traditional Thule or Burley it came out on top.

enduro-mtb.com/en/mtb-bike-trailers-for-kids

Have fun...

 @bhuckley: Thanks for the awesome advice! I am for sure excited to share my biggest hobby and passion with my kids, the same way my parents took me for bike rides when I was little. the advancement of all these ways to bring your kids along with you is a massive upgrade from the plastic chair on the back of my dad's road bike staring at his back.

 +1 fot the shotgun. I have a v2, I didn't expect easy installation/good materials or even to work for me (didn't know if my 18 months toddler would like it) l but i was shocked how easy to setup, well made and natural for the little one was since the first ride. The best part is that i can do a one hour ride (with ot without my wife, extra bike points there!) and having even more fun than a solo ride lol. Is a very special moment to ride with your kid.
My only advice is to avoid too harsh trails (the weight and balance of the bike gets a bit weird) and the last 20 minutes of the ride i prefer to stay close to home in case the little one gets too tired/sleepy.

 @bhuckley: I found the Yepp brilliant for when my daughter was tiny, and gave me peace of mind to have her strapped in securely and protected between my arms. As she has got bigger and older, the move to a Shotgun seat has been a massive success, she absolutely loves it and has learned when to stand and attack, and when to sit and chill.

 @bhuckley: Good advice! I have the Yepp (not ideal but quite good for 1-2yo) and Shotgun standard and pro models. These are way more versatile, roomy and allow for a much better bike handling. Just bear in mind that with any of these seats installed, the use of a dropper post is, at least in my opinion, mandatory. Balance cat get tricky with a kid on the bike when stopping Same goes for the pedals, be sure to be fast unclipping or ride flats

 Don't forget weehoo. Better than a trailabike. Lower center of gravity. Adjustable for kids size.

 kiddo is 15 months almost and nowhere near a KRS seat. She is however on a Thule Yepp Mini (basically a KRS but more of an infant seat) and we've gone on a few rides this winter. It's fun getting her out and about. She is pretty quiet but takes it all in.

 mine yelled out "pedal to the metal" when he was on the trail-a-bike behind me. hahah! he watched a lot of monster truck videos

 @swedishfishmx: Luckily both of my kids are in the 99th percentile for height, and have had freakish neck strength since they came out of the womb. As I understand it, 14 months is pretty early for being able to reach the foot pegs on the KRS.

 @julianw: Hahaha, I love it. My son tells me to "Go fast!" when we're slogging up hill. I hate having to admit that I'm already giving it all I got, pushing us both up the mountain.

 My two cents: I'm one of those guys big on balance bikes, one kid made a quick transition to pedals, the other didn't want to leave the balance bike (which was fine). We weren't so happy with training wheels, especially on trails... if they've spent any time on a balance bike, it's a matter of a couple of weeks (and some investment of your time) to get them on pedals. But everyone's mileage varies... just get them on something! (early)

As for bike quality and resale... completely agree, it's absolutely worth it to invest in a LIGHT mtb-specific hardtail for your kiddos... skip the heavy suspension (IMO) and focus on weight, weight, and easy to use brakes/shifters. We did Spawn, but there are so many out there now... however at the time we started with a 16" Specialized Riprock and it was 26 pounds!!!! The equivalent 16" Spawn was 16 pounds... huge difference for the kids.

 @bhuckley: completely agree with you on the suspension comment, especially on the 16" and 20" bikes. The kids weigh nothing and will benefit more from a light bike then one with suspension. Both of my kids are on 20" Giant STP mountain bikes now but I went with the plus sized tire option (20x2.6) instead of the suspension. I can run both of their tires at 9 psi and the extra grip gives them a lot of confidence on the trails (or wherever)

 @SATN-XC: Yes I see so many poor kids on hardtails with heavy coil forks that do nothing. Rigid with plus tires up to 20” is the move. Both of mine are/were on the REI drt with 2.6’s. Just have to remember to air them back up for hard surface riding cause holy rolling resistance Batman.

I got my oldest a 24” Forth hardtail. Affordable, solid spec where it counts, and light for the cost. Definitely noticed speed increase dramatically with the larger wheels and air fork.

 Yeah, it doesn't matter. Neither of mine had any ability or interests with a balance bike. They had a ton of fun on pedal bikes with training wheels, and have graduated. More important to get them engaged and having fun rather than get them on the ideal training path.

 I would add:

3. Find that family with similar budget and lifestyle with their youngest kid 1-3 years older than your oldest, I had 2 families call me when they spit out gear out the back end.

 @bhuckley: totally agree on the weight issue. Suspension for a 6 year old is in most cases just a burden. My two kids had 20” and 24” hard tails with rigid forks with 2.6” wide high volume tires which provide lots of cushioning with very little weight. In our case they were Commençal Ramones bikes but many brands offer this kind of bikes. I think they are great. Lighter, cheaper, and easier to maintain.

 Great advice. It's not always easy to find kid friendly trails.

 @funkendrenchman: We always just cruised the sidewalk, or sometimes the slow neighborhood roads.

 100% my daughter turns 4 in a few months, but family chill rides around the neighborhood worked wonders for us. We let her lead... because she insists... but it's flat enough and the rolling resistance isn't too high so she's gotten great at just riding around.

 This is what we do too, but we are quite lucky as we have a traffic free path to the next town so we can just use our bikes when doing regular stuff. Sadly it's becoming unusual for kids to just ride bikes here.

 That shotgun will be essential when the baby gets older, so you can continue riding with the older one. My 5 year old mountain bikes, but I'll still put her on the Mac-Ride when the older one is doing longer/harder trails.

 I agree that bike trailers are a great investment. In addition to carting the kids everywhere by bike or by pushing it (running/walking), I also use it for our weekly groceries and other shopping. I rarely ever drive the car now.

 you sound like your old man, when your kids ski they are on old wooden skis and cranky old boots, or parabolic with nice boots? Kids are out for fun, making it fun is key,

 Assuming you're a guy and she's a gal (just based on statistical probabilities), and based on what seems to work in my relationship and for friends of ours - pointing her to women's rides and women's clinics, arranging group rides with other couples, treating rides together as dates. And don't ever put yourself into a position of being her coach.

 My kids used nutcase helmets until they were big enough to move into an xs mountain bike lid.

 Giro helmets

 Abus Smooty

 Nah, that's the way are in the UK, even kid's bikes. I learnt to ride in the Continent so my brakes are "swapped" to the locals. Nobody asks me if they can ride my bike, hahahaha!!!!

 Also interested in the technique!

 This as well