A little girl on her white bicycle cranked hard up the Powerline Hills. Her mom behind her kept saying, “Shift!” The 5-year-old didn’t listen or understand. She kept pushing that higher gear. Though her bike had lower gears, she didn’t know how to use them.
The transition from a single-speed bicycle to a bike with gears is tricky for children. First, there’s the mechanics of changing gears. Whether it’s a twist or grip shifter mounted at the end of the handlebar or a thumb shifter, it takes hand strength to move to the next gear. Young children have small hands and may not have the strength, coordination and grip to manage that.
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