How to teach your kid how to mountain bike

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One of the greatest joys in riding is being able to ride with my 8 year old son. When he is out on the trail asking me “did I get air?” it is hard not to get a tear in my eye. It is awesome to share the sport of mountain biking with those that I care the most about.

Here is how I went about teaching D to ride on technical trails in a way that was not only a great time for him but also safe.

My Theory on Which Bike to Buy Your Kids

My theory on purchasing kid bikes is pretty simple.

Buy the bike that fits them properly and don’t buy junk.

Let me start by saying I understand where the minds of most parents go when buying kids bikes. You don’t want to spend a lot of money because they are going to outgrow it and you want it to last as long as you can. What ends up happening is that the kid is riding a bike that is far to big for them and it is usually poorly made. How would you feel about mountain biking if you rode a bike that was 2 sizes to big for you and it weighed as much as you did? You would probably hate it and never want to ride again.

I know my theory essentially requires more money put into the sport as you are buying bikes more often. It does. But you can also find bike shops that will do trade-ins on kids bikes as long as you keep everything that came with the bike. We found one locally and for Daniel’s past two bikes, we went there. That takes some of the financial burden off as well as having to worry about selling the bike. If you don’t mind selling on places like Facebook marketplace…better bikes hold more value unlike the cheap bike that will end up in a garage sale or at Goodwill.

The great thing about most kids bikes is that it isn’t crazy expensive to get them something that will perform. We “splurged” on his latest Specialized to get fat tires that would help with the rocks here in Georgia and that came out to just under $500. Do not get them that crazy heavy full suspension bike from Walmart.

The Push Bike

One of the best things we did starting out was buying him a push bike. I would strongly recommend any parent doing the exact same thing and there are a ton of companies out there making this style bike now.

A push bike does something very important in the development of learning how to ride a bike. It teaches your kid how to balance a bike before learning how to pedal. It is vastly easier to learn how to pedal a bike after you know how to balance one. A word of warning though…you will not have the family video of trying to teach your kid to ride without training wheels for the first time…because you will not need them.

When your kid is ready for their first pedal bike (typically a coaster bike without gears), you will not need to put on the training wheels at all. They will just get on and start to pedal. There will be some learning on how to smoothly pedal but they will already know how to handle the bike. It is a much better way of learning and transitioning to more traditional riding. The push bike might be the best innovation in children learning how to ride.

The Gear

I know this is just telling you to go out and buy more stuff but it is important! They will need a quality helmet that fits well, some riding gloves and a kid’s hydration pack. These are essential gear items that make a really big difference in comfort.

The kids hydration pack was huge because they never have to worry about having enough water. A lot of kids bikes have a hard time holding water bottles (if they can at all). It is also hard to drink from water bottles for kids while riding. The hydration pack allows them to just drink from a straw and they can do it while pedaling. As a bonus…the pack also protects their back if they fall.

Teaching to Ride with Gears / Prepping for Trail

I laid out a very specific way I wanted to teach D how to ride with gears and get him ready for trial riding. Now I had taken him out several times on dirt even in the push bike days but now I wanted to get him prepped for some local trials that we could ride together now that he is on a bike with a front suspension fork and gears.

Start off in the neighborhood or other paved area with some hills

Our neighborhood is pretty hilly so we started off here. I wanted a controlled, smooth environment to really concentrate on properly using gears and climbing techniques. When a kid does not know how to climb correctly…trail riding is miserable for them and you.

What usually happens with kids when they are just riding with their friends is that they are highly erratic in the way they ride. There is a lot of spinning really fast to go no where…peaking heart rates for no reason…not holding a straight line…name a rookie mistake, they are probably doing it. It is just how kids play when they are with each other and that is fine just goofing around in the neighborhood. When you are trying to finish your first 4 mile loop with climbing involved on a trial, it kills everything.

D and I would ride the neighborhood a couple of times during the week. I would ride behind him and remind him…

Remember…be smooooooth.

You’ll hear me say that a lot at the beginning of rides with him! As I am riding behind him I am letting him know if he is in the right gear or not, how fast he should be pedaling and whether or not it is a good idea to stand or not. The idea is to get him as efficient as possible and practice that so it becomes second nature. When he was able to climb our whole neighborhood (which is one big hill) without looking like he was dead at the top or having to stop, I knew he was ready to try to tackle harder trails.

Plan the first trails very carefully

Luckily for us, we have a wide variety of local trails and each of those trails have their unique characteristics. The first trail I took him to for his “real mountain bike ride” is a short loop locally that has some fun sections, short climbs and easy access back to the car if needed. He loved it. He got to pop off of roots and get used to climbing when the surface wasn’t smooth. It was his first taste of “real mountain biking” and it got him hooked. All of the prep we had done had made the first experience a great one even with a couple of falls in the mix.

The second trial was slightly harder. It was longer with more sustained climbs. When we started the first climb he went a little wild on it forgetting to settle in and be smooth. It was a great lesson that you have to always stick to the skills you learned to ride correctly. On the next climb he did a lot better job of using his gears and taking his time. He was able to clear some pretty technical climbing sessions while not blowing up at the same time.

From there I just keep progressing him more and more. The idea is to challenge him but not overdo it right away. I want there to be sections that he might not be able to clear but if the entire trail is that way…he won’t enjoy it. As skills progress so do the trail difficulties of where we ride. We also go back to the easier trails pretty often as it is fun to just rip around as he gets better.

How to ride with your kid

When we first started riding on trials, Daniel really wanted to be behind me. He liked to watch me ride and “do tricks” and he didn’t want to feel like he was holding me up. It didn’t work. There are several things that happen when you ride with your kid following you instead of you following them.

1. You aren’t able to coach them during the beginning stages.
2. They try too hard to keep up and waste more energy.
3. They start to compare themselves to you riding and get frustrated when they can’t do things.
4. You aren’t able to praise the good things they are doing and encourage them to push harder.

One of the key things during those first stages of riding mountain biking trails together is the ability to talk your kid through a lot of what they are experiencing on the trail. I find that when I let him know what is coming, what to expect and how to tackle it…the riding experience goes a lot smoother. I am also able to remind him to be smooth and egg him on to try new things and tackle new obstacles.

This does mean that my ride is A LOT slower than usual but we are not out there to break speed records. Besides…there will be a time when he is going to drop me anyways. I might as well enjoy these times watching him learn and ride.

The other thing that is really crucial during this time is managing their moods. When kids get tired or hungry…they get emotional and overreact. I remember one time when Daniel cleared this really rooty climb he got to the top and looked angry. I was all ready to high five him for doing such a great job when I asked him “what’s the matter? You did great and cleared that section!” His response…”yeah. Barely.” He was tired from the climb and completely effected his mood about what had just happened.

Always carry enough water and food for both of you and really have an open mind about how they may react to things on the trial. We sat down, had some water and talked a little bit about how mountain biking will be challenging at times but that is a lot of the fun of it. When you try hard and succeed…it’s a really good thing. You don’t need be frustrated. You are not always going to clear everything and there will even be times when you wreck. It is part of the sport.

One thing I did that had a positive effect that I did not expect…

I have always been a sucker for a good mountain biking movie. I think the first time I saw “The Collective” really turned me on to watching mountain biking on a screen. I started to watch some YouTube videos and movies with Daniel as something to do together. As he got more into riding, he started enjoying them a lot more as well.

We were out riding the neighborhood because it had rained that day and something really cool happened. When he passed me after I went over a rock, he put his arms behind him riding while coasting downhill. To anyone else watching…you really wouldn’t think anything of it but I knew what he was doing as soon as he did it. He was recreating the scene with Stevie Smith and Gee Atherton in Follow Me. When I asked him about it when we got home, he said that watching that movie reminded him of us riding together.

There are also some great videos on YouTube of younger kids just shredding. Those videos are more relatable and create a great conversation on progression and practice. He has really enjoyed seeing kids around his age just kill it. It is very motivating.

Having your kid enjoy the multimedia side of mountain biking not only shows them what can really be possible on a bike…but it gives riding a bigger than life feeling to them that they want to replicate really cool scenes. It just adds another cool element to the sport. And honestly…with all of the crap that is on screens these days it is good for him to watch something that has a positive outcome.

Now your kid is really mountain biking

Those are the steps I took to teach my kid how to mountain bike on real trails that we can now ride together. It worked out really well and now he is asking when he is going to get his first full suspension bike. His passion for riding and his abilities are going to make it so we are probably going to make that investment.

Getting out as a family and riding bikes or doing other sports is some of the best memories we have as a family. I find that it is harder to get kids outside these days to do these activities when there are so many other distractions out there. It is great to be able to share the passion for riding and pass that along to the next generation. I really feel like if more families did that these days…we would all be better off.