User Guide

18
CHILD SAFETY AND TRAINING WHEELS
Learning to ride a bicycle is one of the joys of childhood. Our supervi-
sion of young children as they learn about bikes, safety, and cycling
rules of the road is critical to our children’s education. Take the time to
explain the material in this, Chapter 1, to your child as he or she enters
the world of cycling. And instill in your children this cardinal rule for all
cyclists:
Wear a helmet whenever you ride your bike.
Training Wheels
Young children may not be able to ride a bicycle without assistance
of some kind so some models of Fisher bicycles come equipped with
training wheels (Fig. 25). As your child learns to ride a bicycle with
training wheels, make sure the child has the skills necessary to stop
the bike. Until this skill is mastered, the child should never ride the bike
without supervision.
The training wheels can be adjusted to promote the learning of skills
such as balancing and turning. To do this, place the bike on a flat,
smooth surface and then check that the tires are correctly inflated.
Follow the procedures in the Drivetrain section of Chapter 3 to loosen
the rear axle nuts. Stand the bike up very straight and then adjust the
training wheels so that there is approximately 1/4 inch (6 mm) between
the training wheels and the ground (Fig. 26). With the bike completely
upright, the training wheels should be evenly spaced from the ground.
Adjust the chain tension and retighten the axle nuts as shown in the
Drivetrain section of Chapter 3, and inspect the wheel attachment
as shown in the Wheels section of Chapter 3. As the child’s skill level
grows, gradually increase the clearance between the training wheels and
the ground until the training wheels are no longer required.
Fig. 26
Fig. 25