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#16
10-23-2021, 02:35 AM
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My son is extremely cautious and started him out on a balance bike with the seat pretty low so he could easily stand if needed. He pretty much mastered the balance aspect of it after a month, so we took him to a giant grass field with maybe a 3ft hump in the middle of it with a shallow grade down to the rest of the field.. Took him to the top, pushed him down and off he went...until he had to pedal (I'm fairly certain he was almost in tears because he was too cautious at first and didn't want to do it). The pedaling part took him a few days to get the hang of but once he realized he could go for 20ft pedaling on his own, he wasn't scared of it anymore.
He was a few months from turning 4 when he took off on the pedal bike, so it's not too early for your daughter! Definitely don't push the issue though. We were just about to trash the idea of pushing him down the hill because he wasn't so happy with the idea at first but we knew he wouldn't have a problem given how awesome he was with the balance bike. 
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#17
10-23-2021, 07:40 AM
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#18
10-23-2021, 07:49 AM
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I know 'some' here will poo-poo training wheels..BUT, they both got a Strider., neither took to it..Got a 'real' bike with training wheels(A Linus then a Cleary)..when they said so, took 'em off and they took to riding w/o them instantly.
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Chisholm's Custom Wheels Qui Si Parla Campagnolo Last edited by oldpotatoe; 10-23-2021 at 07:51 AM.
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#19
10-23-2021, 07:51 AM
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I was your daughter’s age when I got my first bike. Now I had been riding on the back of my father’s bike for a few years in one of those chairs attached to his seatpost, had a scooter, and loved E.T., so I just had to have a bmx bike. My father and I went to my elementary school parking lot on the weekend with our bikes and I learned how to ride. He started by holding the seat and then walked along side while I learned to coast and figured out the coaster brake. After a while, he was riding along side me, and I could start and stop with ease. I figured out long gradual turns at speed real quick, but sharp ones requiring slower speeds and a lot of balance scared me. My dad being the type of person he was setup a course that forced me into a tight turn or else I would ride straight into a chainlink fence…I plowed into that thing head first at least twice that I can recall. But sure enough, my dad being the relentless person he was, I figured out how to turn. It wasn’t but a few months of supervised practice, and I was chasing my friends around the block and making more lifetime memories. I can still remember when the grandparents came up for a visit and they brought me to the parking lot to see my new skills. I was jumping down curbs with ease and thought I would show off by going up a curb. I completely wiped out and was super embarrassed. My dad’s dad picked me up, brushed me off, and put me back on the bike to try again.
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#20
10-23-2021, 07:53 AM
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Balance Bikes are absolutely not a waste but 5 might be too late for them.
They’re great for like a 3 year old or smaller who is still so small that a regular bike with the pedals removed is too big. My son was actually probably still 2 when he got a balance bike. The other tool we got good use out of was a handle you mount to the rear axle that allows you to follow behind them and hold them up and then gradually assist less and less. Between those two things my son was done with training wheels well before 5. He mostly rode training wheels only at day care. But we were not cheap. My son turns 9 next month and has already had 5 bikes including the balance bike. No reason for most people on this site to be cheap with kids bikes. It’s not about buying them expensive stuff but more just making sure they’re on exactly the right thing at the right time. It’s been worth it he’s very enthusiastic and I’m kind of amazed at how much technical skill he has already in the woods. His ability to ride on the road and follow traffic rules and use hand signals is still coming along but in another year or two I suspect he’ll be ready to ride around town on his own. Last edited by benb; 10-23-2021 at 08:04 AM.
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#21
10-23-2021, 08:00 AM
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I'm also in the balance bikes are good crowd. My mow 5 yr old got hers at 2.5 and was riding at 3.5.
Pedals off bike and let her scoot to learn balance and about brakes. For pedaling, my daughter was very fascinated with my trainer, so I'd set her bike up on it and she'd pedal for as long as she wanted. This really helped when she decided she wanted to ride outside.
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#22
10-26-2021, 07:37 AM
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Agree that balance bikes are great at early ages. My son started on a balance bike between 1.5 and 2. Gave him a pedal bike at 3, took him a few months to warm up to it, but when he was ready he was pedaling like a pro in <20 minutes, learning the handbrakes took a few more days.
Definitely let it happen naturally and don't force the issue.
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#23
10-26-2021, 08:02 AM
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He wasn’t too interested the first year he had the balance bike (2 years old) but REALLY took to it this year. I try not to push the issue and only ask if he wants to ride once—if he says no, we do something else.
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#25
10-26-2021, 08:17 AM
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For the OP... I'll be another to say "grassy field" (with a false flat downhill if possible to make it easier to get just enough speed to keep going), run along behind her holding the seat and let her know you aren't going to let her crash. Eventually you won't have to hold on so much and before you know it, they'll be off pedaling without you.
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#26
10-26-2021, 08:28 AM
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What does age have to do with using a balance bike or say removing the pedals as a teaching tool?
I've taught adults using this method.
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#27
10-26-2021, 09:43 AM
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My daughter is timid starting out with most things and was really scared she would fall. I found online a method to teach her that was helpful that basically amounted to me running with her back and forth on a flat path and keeping her upright by holding on to her or the bike. At first it was tricky to even keep her up but after a few days of practice she was flying on her own.
After she could stay on her own she would pedal back and forth between two people and we would help start and stop as that seemed to be the most challenging. She was 6 then.
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#28
10-26-2021, 10:54 AM
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How many kids have you taught with a balance bike and regulaf bike? I originally thought that….Just speaking from experience, the balance bike my son got got tons of use. He probably put few hundred miles on it. Immediately hopped on pedal bike and first try got it when he switched. Dollar for dollar it was probably the best bang for the buck if factoring in fun factor. He went on trail rides, jumped, basically anything…My other two kids learned without balance bike, slow and boring learning curve - if I could do it again would do balance bike first for all. That balance bike was handed down to multiple family members who all shared same experience with it. They all loved it. Also, no chain or training wheels or cheap pedals to replace over time - it’s held up fantastic over the years!
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#29
10-26-2021, 01:29 PM
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I've taught kids all the way to middle school how to ride, just by pulling the pedals and letting them scoot around a basketball court for a while. Most will take to it in a couple hours and then you can throw the pedals back on. Teaching them to stop without running into a wall has been much harder.
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