Why children's bikes have pedals on front wheels?
Is there any mechanical advantage/disadvantage of this arrangement?
I think with front wheel drive mode, pedaling will be difficult when steering the wheel - isn't it?
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I imagine it's mostly down to producing something mechanically simple and inexpensive but part of me wants to propose that it's yet another example of front wheel drive being targetted at the less experienced driver who, when competent, will eventually move on to a RWD.
:-))
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Sat 11 May 13 at 19:17
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Its more like, once you have mastered FWD, RWD is a doddle.
You do know the Mondeo is FWD don't you there mr H?
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Bicycle was front wheel drive when it was invented.
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>> Bicycle was front wheel drive when it was invented.
It was two wheel (foot) drive when it was invented.
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Its more like, once you have mastered FWD, RWD is a doddle.
Twaddle.
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Mechanical simplicity must be a big factor.
Also the relative scale presumably plays a part, in a way I can't work out.
If you imagine a full-size adult bike with pedals on the front wheel, it would be impossible to pedal and steer unless you were sitting on top of the wheel, like on a penny-farthing.
But how is it possible for a small child? Are their legs longer in proportion to body size?
Gearing also is a factor. Front-wheel pedals can have only one gear, which meant an enormous wheel on the penny-farthing. Perhaps children's strength in relation to a comfortable pedalling speed is different in proportion?
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I don't recall seeing a child's bicycle with pedals on front wheel though tricycles had that layout as long ago as my 1962 Tri-ang and well before.
Trend now is away from small bikes with stabilisers. Instead there are balance bikes from age 2/3 ridden hobby horse fashion and perhaps with foot pegs for when balance begins to be acquired. It certainly took both mine a long time to wean off stabilisers and my neices were even slower.
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>>to wean off stabilisers
I've just been having great fun teaching Number_Nipper (5) to ride a bike. He has ridden behind me on a bar, and we did the old fashioned thing of me walking behind him, holding the saddle, letting go when he felt like he was balancing.
However, the easiest way I found was to take him to a field. I told him he was going to fall off a few times, but, it wouldn't hurt. Half an hour later, a few falls later, he was away. Stopping is a bit hit and miss at the moment, but, he's getting there!
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By the time Beestling Minor was five and old enough to pedal a bike he was too tall for anything that would take stabilizers, so his first bike was a Beinn 20 by Islabikes and he just got on with learning to ride it. I think the Isla was actually lighter than the 16"-wheeled steel thing (with stabilizers, although he soon found they slowed him down and asked me to remove them) his brother had learned on. I would certainly recommend the no-stabilizers method - and Isla's machinery without reservation.
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Agree with Will..
Child No 1 never used stabilizers and just got on with it. Child 2 had stabilizers for a while, and learned nothing until I threw them away.
Ditto armbands in a swimming pool.
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>> Mechanical simplicity must be a big factor.
>>
>> Also the relative scale presumably plays a part, in a way I can't work out.
>> If you imagine a full-size adult bike with pedals on the front wheel, it would
>> be impossible to pedal and steer unless you were sitting on top of the wheel,
>> like on a penny-farthing.
>>
Search recumbent bicycle, the pedals can be out in front of you together with the steering wheel.
My two little ones learned to ride without stabilisers, took the pedals off until they got their balance using the bike as a laufrad then just add pedals.
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>> the easiest way I found was to take him to a field...
We did that with my son, and chose one with a downhill slope. He got the hang of balancing pretty much straight away. Only downside was that when he eventually slowed and fairly much inevitably fell off, he landed on a wasp nest...
Other than that it was a good day !
I took him swimming too from when he was a tiny baby. Never used floats or armbands.
Pleased to say he's now very competent both on a bike and in the water. Not keen on wasps though.
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>> Pleased to say he's now very competent both on a bike and in the water.
>> Not keen on wasps though.
>>
Interesting analogy, suggesting that too much wasp protection actually delays an ability to cope with wasps?
There are two principles with wasps:
1) Don't provoke them
2) If you have provoked them, run!
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>> Search recumbent bicycle, the pedals can be out in front of you together with the
>> steering wheel.
True, but all the pictures I could find showed the pedals connected to the back wheel via a long chain, not driving the front wheels and actually turning with the steering.
Or is there a kind that does?
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That Triton looks as if it's rear-wheel steering. An interesting challenge, or as the blurb puts it ... "fun".
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Interesting. I remember as a child finding the pedals on the front wheel really difficult to use because pushing the pedals wobbled the steering from side to side.
Do these adult bikes have gears? Is it possible to have something like a Sturmy-Archer, with the pedals mounted on the sprocket rather than the wheel axle?
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...pushing the pedals wobbled the steering from side to side.
Oh, Cliff! That'll set GB off on one about the supposed benefits of RWD.
};---)
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Don't forget the braking on that front wheel too and you are asking one wheel to do far too much.
Add in some sort of automated gear change that would do it for you when a certain load/road speed was reached and we'd just need an electronic brake on the rear wheels for the full set.
;-)
Last edited by: gmac on Sun 12 May 13 at 13:38
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Adult vs child bike design - Runfer D'Hills
