#1
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Quick advice - toddler's first bike
Hey all. I am buying my son his first 12" bike and will be removing the training wheels immediately. He is quite good on his balance bike. Any advice? This is happening in a couple of hours! I am thinking of having him ride on grass to start.
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#2
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I like Cleary bikes. Both my kids have them. They are well made.
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***IG: mttamgrams*** |
#3
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My daughter started on asphalt. The smooth surface seemed helpful. Pants, long sleeves, and mittens on the first day --- just to prevent road rash (although she didn't fall anyway).
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#4
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With my three kids, I started them out on a small grass hill. Ran with them and held onto the back of the saddle as I told them to not stop pedaling. After a few runs I ran along with them without holding the saddle and they pedaled until they ran out of momentum. Sometimes they'd drop the bike in the grass but quickly they got their feet down. Transition to asphalt was very quick and painless. Have fun!
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#5
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You guys are barbaric. It's been a while for me but both of my kids learned to ride on like-a-bikes. No pedals, bars only turn a little and you push with your feet. After a couple months on that when they can really coast you move to a pedal bike. It takes a couple hours to get the pedal motion down and they are off. No spills, no road rash, no tears and no problem.
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#6
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Thanks guys. I really like the hill idea. Momentum is everything.
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#8
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Grass and a Cleary bike were the magic combo for us. After about two weeks, he was ready to do the kiddo race at the Th night crit. They give leftover iron man finisher-medals for participation and now he lords his prizes over me!
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#9
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+1
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#10
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It went really well. Started with a Huffy off Craigslist and a slight downhill. He was able to ride without help for a little bit but then was done riding after 1/4 mile around a park. Can't push him too hard. He's only 27 mo.
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#11
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I did something similar to you, 12 inch little bike with no training wheels, helmet, gloves, long sleeve and long pants. Go to a school parking lot and just tell him pedal and give him a good push, probably by the 3rd push he will be riding.
THe rest of the week testing riding slow, is harder to ride slow than fast in those tiny bikes, if he master walking pace at your side in that tiny bike then your kid really can ride a bike. Good luck man |
#12
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Started both my girls on Islabikes, and it was worth it. They are pricey bikes but do a great job of scaling components down in size and weight to make them more manageable for small kids. Plus they hold their value very well.
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#13
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In my experience (two kids) the move from a balance bike to pedals is pretty easy. We didn't need to do anything other than give our kids a bike with pedals and let them mess around more or less on their own. The balance and steering is there. The main thing is that they have trouble getting started cuz the pedals are where they are used to having their feet and it takes a bit to figure out how to get enough momentum to be able to get their feet on the pedals and start pedaling. Oh, and it takes a bit to learn that if they stop by putting their feet down in front of the pedals things can go wrong.
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#14
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+1 on the gentle grass hill
That worked well for me ages ago. No training wheels. I walked the bike to the top of the hill, got on and coasted down a few times. Then my grandfather had me pedal as I came down, and I found that I could go farther and farther. After that I rode a bit on an unused clay tennis court, and within a short time (don't remember exactly how long) I was good to go. I don't remember any falls or other significant issues. I do remember how quick it was to learn and how thrilling it was to be riding a real bicycle. |
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