Does anyone remember a kid's book about a cat and a bicycle ? I think it was a purple/red/brown/white hardback

Jelloise

It was at my library in the early 1970's, so it was published no earlier than about 1970.

Answer
Could it have been one of the "Rotten Ralph" books by Jack Gantos? [published in the '70's]
http://www.amazon.com/Rotten-Ralph-Jack-Gantos/dp/0395292026/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213879517&sr=1-1
"Kirkus Reviews Rotten Ralph is a mean-eyed, saw-toothed, bright red cat, so bad he makes Awful Alexander (see above) look like a goody-goody. In fact his behavior is a seamless mix of bratty kid and badmannered tomcat--he smashes his bicycle into the dining room table, then chases birds in the back yard when he's hungry. ("You're worse than rotten, Ralph.") After Ralph disrupts the acts at the circus he's left behind and ends up in a cage, fed stale popcorn and old candy apples, when he refuses to work. He's eventually found in the street--menaced by gangs of feline toughs and suffering from "alley fever"--and rehabilitated by his forgiving family;"

Balance bicycles for toddlers - do/did you have one?

eml

I would like to get a balance bicycle for my son who is 20 months. I was going to buy one for his birthday which isn't until the end of November, but I am considering just going ahead and getting it for him now. I was looking at the Strider, as they seem to have gotten the best reviews at that price point and I won't spend more than that. Do/did you have one for your toddler and were they able to use it before the 2 year age mark listed on the bike? What were your experiences with one?
Not a tricycle - he already has one of those. A balance bike is basically a bicycle without pedals.

Answer
My son got his Strider when he was 18 months. It took him a while to get the hang of it and he started out basically just walking with it (instead of sitting on the seat and pushing with his legs he would not sit on the seat and just walk with it.) It really helped him when we started riding our bikes in the driveway while he was on his Strider. He will be 2 next month and he rides it really well - he has actually started lifting his feet off the ground to balance. Riding his Strider is one of his favorite outdoor activities to do. Plus, it is very light-weight so when he does fall it is very easy for him to pick it up and keep going.

I can understand how some people think it is a waste of money to buy a bike without pedals since I thought the same thing. Some kids at our son's daycare had Strider's and our son really liked them and wanted to ride them so that is when we did some research, talked to some parents and ordered one. I was worried when our son didn't seem interested when we got it but we stuck with it and am very glad we did since he loves it now. The theory behind them is that you will never need training wheels on a bike since kids learn balance on these without having to also learn how to peddle and ride a bike tilted due to training wheels.

We do not regret buying our son his Strider. In my opinion it was well worth the money and a great activity for active kids. When our son outgrows it - which will be several years from now - we'll pass it onto to his cousins.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Can you edit my Book Review for me? It on Cheaper by the dozen.?

Robert

Mr./ Mrs. give birth to 12 children, 6 boys & 6 girls. Their reason for having so many kids is everything is cheaper by the dozen. Anne is the first born, who was born in N.Y.C.. Anne also, is the bad seed in the family, who dress like a --Eskimo?--! And date a biker guy. Their Father , teach the little offspring's about everything ants to working in a fakerey. But, in the Dad get crush by a car whale riding his bicycle.

Answer
very poor try again, and this time read the book not just watch the movie.

Should I upgrade my daughters bicycle?

pecosdave

I got my daughter a (Pacific Cycles) Schwinn Superstar several years ago, it's a really good quality 18" youth BMX bike.

http://www.buzzillions.com/reviews/pacific-cycle-18-girls-schwinn-superstar-bicycle-reviews

She learned to ride on this bike, and is a pro at it now. She's 7 years old now (8 in February) and even though she's still well within the size expectations of this particular bike, we like to ride on the Seawall in Galveston occasionally.

Would upgrading her to a 20" BMX help her out as far as speed/distance at this age, or would the extra torque needed to get the bigger wheels moving combined with the slight weight increase of a larger bike nullify the advantages of moving to a larger wheel size? Quality wise there's absolutely nothing wrong with her old bike - it's ready to handle the next 5 kids it will get passed to eventually, and there's a couple of other little girls I might teach to ride on it. Size wise she should be able to do 18" or 20" just fine.

FYI I ride a 24" Diamondback BMX (about 4 or 5 year models old Lucky 24) and my parents who will join us on occasion are going to be on 26" cruisers. I obviously can't move at my normal pace/distance no matter what when any of them are with me, I'm not looking to turn any of them into super speedsters, just help her along a bit.
I am actually better than most parents about maintaining bikes. At her age my dad had already taught me to patch tubes and I was able to do it - granted with variable success at that age. I've given her the rundown on tube patching, but she's not quite ready yet.

I'm thinking this cruiser:
http://www.schwinnbike.com/usa/eng/Products/Kids/Ages-6-9/Details/1764-S11MNSPR-Mini-Sprite

Or possibly this BMX - which is basically a scale-up/repaint of her old one:
http://www.schwinnbike.com/usa/eng/Products/Kids/Ages-6-9/Details/1779-S11STAF-Stardust

I like buying Pacific Cycles/Schwinn for kids, they're good quality but not insanely priced. High dollar comes once they're old enough to expect a decade or two of use out of one, in other words when they're ready to buy their own.
FYI - a 20" can be forever if that's what you're into. I actually went 20" to 26" at about 10 back to 20" at 15 and I kept my 20" until it was stolen out of my house when I was 28. I only went 24" because I am of a large build and over the age of 30. Had my 20" not been stolen I would probably still be on it.

I figure when she's 12 or so she will be better able to pick her own. As it stands right now she would chose a low quality piece of trash with princesses on it so I'm making the choices until she's able to look beyond that sort of thing.
The pop-pom were one of her favorite things about the bike, and the shortest lived, they don't survive kids for long. It's certainly a good quality bike she has now, not stupid good quality that would be overkill for a kid, but it sure beats a a cheap Wal-Mart Disney princess bike - by far.

If anything I'm hesitant to get the cruiser because it's too much like an old fart bike. (notice what I said my parents are on) In fact it could be said my bike is a scaled up version of hers, sans streamers and zipper-backpack-basket, the one that was stolen when I was 28 was even chrome like hers, (without the purple parts).

I think I'm going to show her pics of both and ask her which she would prefer.

Answer
the big thing is rebuilding the front/rear axel bearings and making sure you run good quality tires that will handle 45-50 psi. runing tires at that pressure greatly reduces drag and is the best way to help her out

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

What is the best folding bicycle for around $200?

jasonivana

i'm looking for a cheap folding bike that is kind of quick. i dont care about weight or size. i'm 5"11" i was looking at the Schwinn loop and the out of stockl Gekko's but its hard to find reviews on them.

Answer
at that price range, there's gonna be a lot of compromises.
I have the Gekko and it's perfect for short rides but then I bought it for the kids. folding snobs look down on my gekko due to it's folding size and weight but I like the way it folds. I don't have to wrench my back to fold it, I just push down on the seat.
The only major Folding brand in that range is Dahon and their boardwalk S1 is $210 where I live.
Below that pricepoint are the stuff like Zport and Kent. they look good but I'm concerned about their frame geometry.
the bottom bracket looks like it's behind the center line of the seatpost. (this is for the Kents)
The Zports are $140 where I live and I would of bought one if I didn't find my gekko. but I would do more research on them, their tire size is 18in not the common 16/20 and their rear brakes are band brakes.
Or, you could be the guinea pig and get the Loop, it looks nice and from one description the weight is about 30lbs.
have fun and good luck, you'll be amazed at how much fun a foldie could be.

Best place to buy a bicycle online?

Rick

I realize that the best place to buy a bike would be from a local bike shop, but the closest shop is more than fifty miles away from me and I have no way of getting there. The only alternative would be to buy a pre-assembled bike from Wal-Mart which I'd never do for obvious reasons. So does anyone know of a good place to buy a bike online? I'd rather pay extra and receive a properly assembled and calibrated bike by post.

Answer
Amazon.com I would say would be the best place. You can look at what others reviewed about the bikes and you can also get a warranty. I have an older model of this bike that's on Amazon and it's amazing!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B008O2FUNS/gepcpr-20

The Diamondback Brand Mountain Bike really will just glide under your feet and absorb the bumbs, it's worth every penny!

You can also check out your local pawnshops, but I would look into the ones near the college campuses. Here in Austin, TX the ones near the campuses have brand new bikes kids pawned off to get beer money and party supplies.. or bills had to be paid.

Happy Hunting! ^_^

Powered by Yahoo! Answers