Hey all, this is my quick list of my favorite 20″ bikes for kids. How I picked these 20″ bikes for kids We run regular kids bike buses to school and bike parades, and our own kid has since moved up to a 24″ bike. I had set up a running feed of used 20″ bikes to help set up my own kid as well as others who we ride with. Who are 20″ bikes for? Generally I think 20″ bikes fit kids who are about 5-8 years old. Our kid is of average height, and they used a 20″ bike from age 6 to age 8. There’s a bit of overlap between sizes – they rode a 16″ bike from age 5-6, and I imagine will ride a 24″ wheeled bike from age 8-11 or so. There are exceptions […]
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The 2nd Annual Emeryville Tree Lighting and Car-Free Holiday Lights Parade was a blast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYpkpmOiRgM The 2nd Annual Emeryville tree lighting and holiday lights parade was a blast, just like last year. We met at city hall and though we thought we got there “early”, there were already about 100 people milling about, checking out the Pixar booth and picking up some LED lights. We saw a bunch of people on cargo bikes, regular bikes, and kids bikes. As it got a little darker, Mayor John Bauters made some announcements and thanked Xtracycle and Blue Heron for having cargo bikes ready for Santa and the reindeer. The Emery dance team did an fantastic performance, and then the Mayor led the kids in some cheers to light the city hall tree. Someone who had just bought a Bike Beam LED flagpole light said hi, it was good to see him and his kid as well […]
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Riding our Xtracycle Family Cargo Bike in Oregon City
We spent a couple of days in Oregon City with the Xtracycle Swoop cargo e-bike (an electric longtail family bike) and had a nice time using it as our primary mode of transportation. Riding the cargo bike to the Oregon City Farmers Market I took the cargo bike and the two kids up Linn Ave to get to the top of the Hill in Oregon City, where the Oregon City Farmers Market is located. It’s at the corner of Beavercreek and Kaen Rds, at the Clackamas County Red Soils campus. The ride up was okay. Car traffic was moving kind of fast, which is a little unsettling in the bike lane with kids on the back, but it felt okay. We had to stop briefly because my kid was having a moment. The bike was fine. It felt stable […]
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Neighborhood Bike Parades That Help Kids Learn to Ride Together
The kids bike parade is a way to let kids play, ride bikes together and learn to ride safely. Children and adults make new friends and build community by bike. How did the bike parade start? Earlier on in the pandemic, we learned that COVID spread mostly through poorly-ventilated air. We tried to think of ways to still foster social interactions between children with a lower risk profile. Our family and a lot of others have gone with their kids biking to spend time outdoors. We started by turning a birthday party into a evening bike ride. Kids had fun biking together and being able to see each other not on a computer screen! Parents got a chance to ride with their kids and others. Neighbors were treated to a lively mini parade. A few parents loved the […]
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Making it fun: Gear for biking ourselves and our kid in the rain
Biking in the Rain with a Kid Our family doesn’t own a car, so when it rains we often still ride our bikes. This sometimes can present challenges when riding with a kid. The rain has returned, at least temporarily, in the Bay Area. So we got out our waterproof outerwear for the rides to school and back. Here the gear we use for biking in the rain. Biking Rain Gear (for the adults) I’ve been bike commuting to school/work for nearly 20 years now, and my bikes and gear have evolved considerably. Here is my current setup for biking in the rain: On the Bike Fenders: I have the type that mount to eyelets on the bike and cover a lot of the wheel. Some of the temporary solutions work ok, but it’s nice having more wheel coverage. I […]
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Bicycle infrastructure and riding with children
If you’ve been riding your bike for a while, you’ve probably heard some variant of “Get off the road!” coming from an irate driver more than a few times. (There are a lot of links out there that try to answer the question, “Why do people shout at cyclists?”) Though it can be at best unpleasant to hear, I do wish that it was easier to ride on a dedicated path that’s not shared by automobiles. Reducing the idea of bicycling to solely a recreational activity has made it harder for people to safely ride as a mode of transportation. And without a network of routes to reach areas where people can ride bikes for recreation, people often need to put their bikes in or on their cars, and drive to a destination. I think that many people want to […]
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