How to Teach a Kid to Mountain Bike

My youngest is finally old enough to ride! If you want to know how to teach a kid to mountain bike look no further. We’ll break it down by age for you.

Psst…This post contains affiliate links to the kids bike brands my family uses and loves. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Also, Grand Targhee Ski Resort and Bike Park hosted us for a few days so we could teach our kids to mountain bike there.

Teach a Kid to Mountain Bike – Age 2 – 5

Can kids mountain bike when they can’t even pedal a bike? Absolutely. Balance bikes are the best way to teach a child to ride any kind of bike period, and once your preschooler masters balance biking on pavement they can easily transition to riding on dirt trails.

We took our four year old to Grand Targhee Resort and Bike Park to try out some of their family friendly trails and features and she LOVED it.

Tips for Balance Bikes

• Children older than five on up to adults can learn to bike using balance techniques too – it’s the best way to learn to bike. Seriously. Just take the pedals off a larger bike when learning to ride.
• When purchasing a balance bike get one with a hand brake. This helps your toddler/preschooler have better control of their speed.
• We recommend Woom and Prevelo bicycles for kids. Check out our biking gear recommendation page for all the info.

When mountain biking with a toddler or preschooler, start out on a short, easy, packed dirt path with minimal rocks and roots. Hiking trails are great for this.

With younger, slower bikers you can walk along with them – you’ll probably end up carrying their balance bike when they get tired. With slightly older, stronger bikers you can ride along with them – just lower your bike seat and treat your own bike like a balance bike.

At Grand Targhee we tried a family ride on Greenhorn trail and I was SO impressed with my four-year-old coasting along, managing bumps and pointing out wildflowers. We had tried the same trail just twelve months before and it took FOUR TIMES longer because a lot of physical development happens between the age of three and four.

Sidenote – Greenhorn is such a beautiful trail, great for beginners and FREE as are all of Grand Targhee’s cross country bike trails.

Teach a Kid to Mountain Bike – Age 5 – 8

Once your child has graduated to pedals, usually around age 5 to 7, it’s time to take it to the next stage. Your child will most likely be riding a single speed bike at this time, graduating to a bike with gears when they once they reach 45 – 51 inches tall.

A single speed bike limits how much your child can pedal uphill since they don’t have the option of downshifting into a lower gear. Because if this it’s so important to really listen to your child when teaching mountain bike skills. Start slow. Choose flat trails or ones with gentle downhill slopes. Remind your child (and yourself) that it’s always okay to get off and walk any part of a trail – uphill or down.

Your goal with all outdoor activities should be to have fun and stay safe. So choose age appropriate trails and then teach your child ready position.

Ready Position on a Mountain Bike

• Hands are on handlebars with one to three fingers covering the brake.
• Knees are bent.
• Feet stay on the pedals.
• Pedals are positioned forward and back. This creates a platform to stand on and helps the pedals avoid obstacles.

Practice ready position standing without bikes first, then on paved paths and finally on dirt trails. I like to start on a gravel or dirt road or parking lot when teaching my kids to mountain bike so that I can ride along side them and see how well they maneuver and stop the bike. Once you both feel comfortable, try out an easy cross country trail with minimal uphill or even better, a bike skills park.

My seven and four-year-old daughters loved the scoot bike trail and Pinball Skills park at Grand Targhee. They’re like playgrounds for bicycles and can be used at any level. Remember – your goal is to have fun and stay safe. What’s more fun for kids than a playground?

Not comfortable riding on wooden planks? Walk it. Can’t quite get the speed to go over those rollers? Walk up and coast down. Freeze anytime a rock is on the path? Lower your bike seat and balance bike across.

Teach a Kid to Mountain Bike – Age 8 – 12

Once your child has conquered all the previous skills – balance, ready position, effective braking, age appropriate obstacles – it’s time they graduate into gears and try some intermediate trails!

At this age I highly recommend your child use a mountain bike with gears and a front shock. When you first teach a new skill – like changing gears on a mountain bike – start slow on paved, flat roads and move on to easy dirt trails only after your child feels comfortable shifting.

A front shock is necessary for those bumps on the trail so if you’re serious about teaching your child to mountain bike it’s important that you get them a bike with a front shock. Typical kids bikes that they ride around the neighborhood are not designed to withstand the bumps of a serious mountain bike trail. A front shock, like the ones on the Prevelo Zulu Three and Four, allows your child to roll over rougher trails without bouncing their brains out. It’s a more comfortable experience for everyone.

NOTE: Mountain Bikes are already expensive. Full suspension mountain bikes with shock mechanisms on both the front fork and the back seat area are overkill for kids this age. Save yourself a few thousand dollars and don’t bother with them unless you’re raising the next pro extreme downhill mountain bike racer.

Once your child is comfortable shifting gears and it’s time to decide what to ride – Downhill or Cross-Country?

Cross Country Mountain Biking

Cross country mountain biking requires gear control, cadence awareness, endurance and stamina. Cross country skills are vital for teaching your child to become a well rounded mountain biker.

While at Grand Targhee I did an eight mile cross country ride through Rick’s Basin and Quakie Ridge and loved the views of the Aspen trees and wildflowers. There was plenty of uphill on that intermediate blue trail that I knew my kids wouldn’t be ready for, so I had them focus on more easy green runs like Greenhorn and Roundabout.

When deciding whether to start your 8 to 12 year old on a cross country or downhill mountain bike trail, gauge their thrill and endurance level. In general I would recommend starting with an easy cross country trail. Riding your bike at a comfortable speed along a beautiful trail is the joy of mountain biking. And while few kids at that age (or any age) enjoy pedaling uphill, well made cross country trails have a good mix of uphill, level, and downhill terrain.

Cross country trails tend to be more scenic than downhill exclusive trails. The majority of mountain biking trails on public lands across the United States are cross country trails. And did I mention that all of Grand Targhee’s cross country trails are FREE to use?

PRO TIP: The free app TrailForks offers great information on mountain biking trails throughout the USA.

Downhill Mountain Biking

Downhill mountain biking is the equivalent of an adult-sized playground slide. You feel the WEEEEEEE! as you speed down groomed trails and around well-made berms. You can ride lift serviced downhill mountain biking at bike parks around the country, but our favorite place to downhill mountain bike is at Grand Targhee Bike Park (and we live full time at a different mountain bike park).

Grand Targhee’s Bike Park has been consistently rated in the top five bike parks in the Northwest by MTBParks.com and for good reason. You can ride fun, easy flow trails like Otter Slide and Bring it on Down or more technical paths with jumps and more difficult obstacles.

I like Grand Targhee as a destination resort for teaching a kid to mountain bike because their Shoshone lift services exclusively easy green and intermediate blue runs. Plus they offer Family Fridays on select weekends throughout the summer. On Family Fridays the Shoshone lift stays open later and tickets to ride between 4 and 7 pm are only $10 lift tickets. Plus they have 50% off kids meals at their restaurant.

If you want to focus on the HAVE FUN part of mountain biking with your 8 to 12 year old, and they can handle a little more speed, you can’t go wrong with downhill mountain biking.

When riding downhill you’ll spend most of your time standing on your pedals in ready position. Consider dropping your child’s (and your) seat post if you plan to ride the lift all day so you don’t bust your butt on the seat when riding over rough parts of the trail.

Teach a Kid to Mountain Bike – Age 12 to Adult

If your teenage child is just learning to mountain bike, by all means get out there on a bike with her! Older kids and adults just learning to mountain bike should already feel comfortable riding on pavement, shifting gears and riding in ready position. When you start on a non paved trail, start slow with an short, easy trail, gradually increasing the difficulty of your ride based on increased skill level.

Don’t feel comfortable teaching your teenage child to mountain bike? Try a lesson. Grand Targhee offers professional mountain bike lessons from $59 to $99.

Family Mountain Biking

I hope this guide helps your family explore outdoors on mountain bikes. It’s Mountain Dad’s favorite way to spend time outdoors and for good reason. Family Mountain Biking is so much fun!

See you in the outdoors!

~Mountain Mom