Balance bike

[roadie7]

Good morning-- Have any of you used the wheel-less balance bikes to teach your children or grandchildren to ride a two-wheeler? My grandson has one and I know they are becoming popular in the US.

Thanks for your help.

[Dekonick]

You mean training wheel less? Far superior to training wheels. They even make adult versions for special needs kids and adults that never learned to bike... https://www.amazon.com/Strider-Adult.../dp/B00NHPDVFQ

[ultraman6970]

My younger kid was the master of the SKOOT... then put him in a bike after a few months.

THey work pretty well.

[Idris Icabod]

I used them for both of my children, now aged 8 and 10. It was slow going at first as they walked them around but after a few weeks they got going fast and had balance nailed. First ride on a pedal bike was a breeze for both of them. They were riding before most of their class mates. We didn't use training wheels so I can't compare but my experience with persisting with balance bikes and the subsequent transition to pedal bikes is very positive.

[vqdriver]

i used them for both my kids. it works.
tho you don't need a 'balance bike' to do it. it's all about find the balance point, so i just bought the right size bike with training wheels and removed the training wheels and pedals. they both found their balance points within one afternoon. i let them scoot around for a month or so then put the pedals back on. no need to buy another bike.

[azrider]

Cannot stress them enough....both of mine started on striders at 18 months and when my 2.5 year old decided he wanted to try the pedal bike he was riding unassisted in half a day

[bikinchris]

When teaching people to ride, I just take the pedals off their bike. A whole lot cheaper than buying a bike that's not a bike.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

When teaching people to ride, I just take the pedals off their bike. A whole lot cheaper than buying a bike that's not a bike.

This.
This is how I taught both my Daughters and my two Granddaughters to ride.

[BRad704]

My daughter got one for her 2nd bday. Like someone else said, she just walked around with it at first, but soon found her balance and likes to go fast.


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[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

When teaching people to ride, I just take the pedals off their bike. A whole lot cheaper than buying a bike that's not a bike.

What a clever idea! I learned to ride a borrowed "2-wheeler" on the school yard. The older boy who loaned me his bike said he'd hold me up while I "pretended" to ride. He did until we got up to 8-10 mph and he let go of the saddle where he'd been holding on. By the time I realized I was on my own I knew I could do it and that was the whole episode. I never needed any more help to ride a bike. :-) The difficult part of learning is getting through the slow speed start-up to where the bike becomes stable and being fooled like this worked great for me and a few other kids I have helped learn to ride since then.

[bironi]

Good advice given here.
I was good to go with pedals at about 5.
That would have been much earlier with the non-pedal balance approach.
I see girls and boys scooting along at speed with confidence in local parks.
I wish I had the same head start.
So cool to see progress.
Byron

[pjm]

With training wheels the tykes tend to lean away from the turn, which will have to be corrected when the training wheels come off.

[flydhest]

Totally love balance bikes. My daughter was riding at 3 because of one.

That said, the post about taking the pedals off is spot on. If the kid is older than 2 or 3 then taking the pedals off a real bike is a good way to get them used to the handling of the bike they will ride. The older the kid, the less time it will take.

Balancing and steering is the trick. Pedaling is trivial.

[David Tollefson]

I built a balance bike for my younger daughter which she was riding at 18 months. Built her a second balance bike with better handling about a year later. When u built her first pedal bike, she had one day riding it without cranks (like a balance bike) then I built it up fully. After all of 5 minutes she was pedaling on her own, and hasn't stopped.

[oldpotatoe]

i used them for both my kids. it works

Yup, as long as the wee lad or lassie wants to try and use them. Both my grand daughters had one on their 2 YO birthday and neither took to them at all..
So, the training wheel route and after a short time, THEY both said, 'take 'em off'..and away they went, like instantly..BUT it was their idea..no grandpa/grandma/dad/mom standing on their backs insisting on anything bike wise..there is not 'schedule' for this...IMHO..

Too often if a child rides earlier rather than later, it's a merit badge for the parent..even tho the kid may feel pushed..The kid will figure it out....