Promising sign: 5-year-old with a wide grip

Lee,
My son is 5 years old and riding much better than I ever did. However, I worry about his hand position on the bars when he rides. I grew up thinking you should grip the handlebars “in close” on the grips. He grabs them at the end of the bars so there is about an inch between his thumb/index finger and the grip “flange.” Is this “OK” or should I be encouraging him to grab in closer. Does all this make sense? As always, thanks for the time.
Justin

Hey Justin,

It sounds like your little ripper likes a wide grip, and that is a very good sign that he inherited the braaap gene. Maybe from his mom? 🙂

Your boy will naturally adopt the grip that works best for him, and I say let them do it. He has the rest of life to “narrow his grip.”

Just for fun, give him the pushup test. Tell him to get down and do more pushups than you can, and check the distance between his hands. I’ll bet it’s similar to his handlebar position.

Studies^* show that kids who prefer wide grips become great leaders.

Braaap!

— Lee

^* OK, my hopeful opinion.