- Spring and Summer Camps Are LIVE!
Buddy Pegs is a throw back reference to the round, metal pegs kids put on the back of their bike so a ‘buddy’ can stand on them. We love the concept of ‘bringing a friend along for a ride’, which is exactly what we’re trying to accomplish through our efforts to get more families on bikes.
In 2024, we are changing our parent company name to Pedal Kids USA.
Buddy Pegs was founded in 2014 by Scott and Jannine Fitzgerald. Before Buddy Pegs, Scott and Jannine owned and operated a Top 50 US bike shop for 14 years in Jackson Hole, WY and Victor, ID called Fitzgerald’s Bicycles.
In 2019 they moved their family, and company, to Bentonville, AR to contribute to the amazing bike-centric community building happening here!
We first evaluate coach candidates on their experience working with children, current involvement with cycling, and other related work experience.
All coaches are fully background checked before being hired.
All coaches receive the following training:
All Lead Coaches receive the following additional training:
If you want to see the nuts and bolts of how our Summer Camp registration process works, please watch this video.
If you need help with the nuts and bolts of signing your child up for specific Bike Club dates and times, please watch this how to video.
If you want to learn more about our bike programs for kids please use the upper navigator to first select your region. If you get stuck, please email programs@buddypegs.com for assistance. We’d love to help you!
We offer classes for the earliest bicycling ages. While we allow children as young as 18 months into our Balance Bike classes, most children don’t develop the motor skills and strength to manuever a balance bike until 24 months.
Children 5+ are welcome to attend class without a parent or trusted adult.
All of our classes have specific ages listed in their descriptions.
Absolutely! Our MTB Kids and Air Force classes, clinics, camps, and private lessons are designed to help kids safely progress through all stages of mountain bike development.
Classes for children under 5 are designed for each child to have a parent or guardian present.
We offer programming for all ability levels in the following age brackets:
Pre-K 1 (2-3 yrs old)
Pre-K 2 (3-5 yrs old)
Elementary 1 (5-7 yrs old | K-2nd grade)
Elementary 2 (7-9 yrs old | 3rd & 4th grade)
Middle School 1 (10-12 years old | 5th-7th grade)
Sadly, no.
After coaching thousands of children at this age, we have found that even 4 year old children with advanced bike skills are not always equipped with the social and emotional skills to ride in our older groups.
To keep our groups safe and enjoyable for all participants we must have kids wait until they are 5 years old to attend one of our “drop off” classes or camps.
Certainly not! We love introducing children to the bicycle for the very first time.
Buddy Pegs PAW RATINGS:
1 Paw: Gliding on a balance bike (or pedals removed).
2 Paw: Pedaling (without training wheels) on pavement and some
flat, wide dirt trails. Not yet
confident cranking up hills and/or controlling speeds on downhills.
3 Paw: Able to climb and descend paved pathways. Comfortable modulating speeds on downhills. Riding beginner rated single track trails with moderate confidence – even a little bit of climbing / descending. Bikes with handbrakes and gears required for 3& 4 Paw Bike Clubs.
4 Paw: Riding confidently on smooth, intermediate rated singletrack with small berms, rollers, and tabletops (little to no air). Comfortable with climbs, cornering, natural terrain and descending. Confident with both slowing and stopping unexpectedly. Handbrakes and freewheels mandatory. Bikes with handbrakes and gears required for 3& 4 Paw Bike Clubs. Front suspension strongly recommended for 4 Paw Bike Clubs and higher.
Our goal is to make bicycling at least twice as fun as it has ever been for your child! In order to accomplish this, we mindfully blend play-based bicycle skills development with unique “off-the-bike” activities that celebrate cycling culture and link biking with good times.
Yes, as long as you are able to be present and attentive to your toddler and the older sibling is ok with a “slower pace”. Keep in mind that our instrctors will be focused on age appropriate games and activities that may seem boring for an older child.
We love having a mix of age ranges in our Learn to Pedal classes because the older kids have a chance to develop leadership skills while the younger kids become motivated by their older peers. Learning to ride a bike is a great social equalizer!
All outdoor Buddy Pegs classes and camps run rain, snow or shine; therefore, we don’t refund or credit for classes missed by choice due to weather.
All children should come to camp with weather-appropriate clothing and related gear.
If extreme weather jeopardizes the safety of children or employees in any way, the programs may hold off on specific activities until conditions improve. The decision to cancel programs due to potentially hazardous weather are made in consultation with Regional Director and local weather forecasts or advisories.
In the event of any cancellations due to inclement weather, every effort will be made by Buddy Pegs contact all clients affected via email, phone, or informative postings at affected locations and sites.Part of our mission is to help raise resilient future adults. Therefore we run rain or shine! That said, we will be sure to make the call if weather conditions are deemed ‘unsafe’. Be sure to provide CELL phone when registering.
FOR HOT DAYS:
We will provide water breaks every 15-20 minutes. In excessive heat, we will provide shade, or in certain locations, indoor options where we will work on activities, bicycle arts & crafts and games that will engage and teach the kids about bicycle safety and bicycle fun!
FOR RAINY OR COLD DAYS:
If it looks like it’s going to rain or is cold outside please send your child with the appropriate clothing:
-Rain Gear
-Boots
-Gloves
-Thin hat that will fit under bicycle helmet.
No credits, refunds, or makeup for missed days, or times during session unless we cancel a session and cannot reschedule.
This applies to sick days and other reasons for missing a session. We will take consideration of any situations beyond the norm. Please reach out to us.
100% (less 4% for charge back fees) back if registration is cancelled 2 weeks before start;
25% back if registration is cancelled 1 week before start;
NO REFUND if registration is cancelled less than 1 week prior to start of the session
Though we love your kiddos…we love that we can give them back after our class:). We will charge $15 per child for late pick ups. We understand there can be situations out of our hands at times, therefore we allow one ‘get out of jail free’ card per family to use at your discretion:)!
The goal of our programs is to promote a safe and positive environment for all participants while continuing to focus on skill development, emotional development and enjoyment of bicycling. All coaches, students, parents, and volunteers are encouraged to observe these “Codes of Conduct” when participating in the any of our Programs. Working with kids on bicycles can add a complexity to safety and we need to be sure our coaches are fully dedicated to keeping kids safe rather than constantly monitoring disciplinary situations. Please go over these rules with your kiddos:
Any bike without pedals is considered to be a ‘balance bike’. Balance bikes help new riders of any age master the critical skill of balancing on two wheels before introducing pedals. The smallest balance bikes don’t actually have the ability to add pedals later on and are sometimes referred to as kick bikes or strider bikes.
In order to safely enjoy off road mountain biking, it is critical that riders have the ability to rotate their pedals backward in order to control the bicycle while standing on the pedals.
Bikes without gears typically have “coaster brakes” or “foot brakes” which are unsafe for mountain biking.
Geared bikes also typically have two handbrakes which are also necessary for safe off-road riding.
Feel free to bring the bike you have and our coaches will help you quickly determine if it is the right bike for your child. We also understand that sometimes kids feel connected to their existing bike even if it’s not the right one for them.
Riding a bike can be intimidating and a child’s bicycle can act like a security blanket. If this is the case, don’t worry! Bring the bike and if needed, our coaches will gently help introduce your child to an alternative bike from our demo fleet.
Please also take a look at all the resources on our Parent Bike Guide webpage.
Just say no to training wheels! These old school devices teach children to lean onto one side, defeating the goal of teaching side to side balance. Once training wheels are introduced, it becomes a crutch and difficult to convince a child to remove them later on. Children who ride with training wheels usually have a much harder time balancing and pedaling on two wheels.
We strongly recommend you remove the training wheels before arriving so valuable class time is not spent on mechanical tasks. However, our coaches can help you in a pinch. Don’t worry about the pedals, those are easy to remove and we are happy to help.
We love properly sized hand brakes starting at 2 years-old and recommend not using pedal backward (coaster) brakes whatsoever.
A quality children’s balance bike, and pedal bike will have easy to use hand brakes and a ‘freewheel’ that allows the pedals to spin backwards.
Our friends at Woom explain everything in this helpful article – https://us.woombikes.com/blogs/news/freewheel-vs-coaster-brakes-explained
The consumer product safety commission still mandates pedal brakes on bikes considered to be a “sidewalk bike”. Sidewalk bikes are typically 16” wheel size and below.
This is an outdated regulation that needs to be revised. Pedal brakes make it extremely difficult for a child to rotate their pedals into a proper starting position and prevent them from learning how to stand up and pedal – both are critical skills for safe riding. Also, it is very hard for a young child, with developing motor skills, to figure out the concept of reversing their pedal stroke to quickly avoid a hazard.
Our friends at Woom explain everything in this helpful article – https://us.woombikes.com/blogs/news/freewheel-vs-coaster-brakes-explained
We use the 2-V-1 method of helmet fit. Only 2 fingers below the bottom of the helmet and the top of the eyebrows. Symmetrical “V-shape” straps under the ears. And only 1 finger between the chin strap and the chin. If you can see a large part of a child’s front head, time for a new helmet!
