[Closed] From balance bike to pedals - when?

My son was 3 and half.

He rode it straight away - I was shocked - he was good on his balance bike but not amazing (actually he was very competent but not crazy and fearless like some of his friends), and he's not massively confident physically in general. He's also really short I think he was about 90cm when he got it - he could get on the bike but found it a bit hard to get started at he couldn't sit on it comfortably with his feet on the ground.

If he's confident and tall enough I would say it's worth a try as soon as possible. My son's cousin was only a bit over 3 when he started. Just don't push it if he's not bothered.

Oh and my son was not even remotely bothered on keeping the balance bike for himself once he got the pedal bike, the first thing he said on seeing it was "My sister can have my old bike now"

btw - nearly 3 and 2 - you didn't waste time between them did you?

Snap, we've got a two boys pretty much the same ages. 3 yr old got a balance bike for his 2nd birthday and showed no interest in it until about 8 weeks or so ago, now can't get him off it.

2 yr old is not really showing any interest in either bikes or scooter, so my current plan is to try and eke out the balance bike until eldest's 4th birthday next april, then get him a pedal bike and pass the balance bike onto the youngest.

That plan may well be reviewed to Xmas, as the eldest is getting keen on the idea of "playing in the woods" with Dad! 🙂

mine were approaching 4 when they made the shift to pedals. They're girls though, and weren't really big enough for the pedal bike until they were about 4. Bigger kids may make the shift earlier I suspect.

Thanks for the comments. A friends son has a Cnoc 14 so I think I might pop round and see how it looks size wise, then keep a look out on Ebay.

btw - nearly 3 and 2 - you didn't waste time between them did you?

Woody - first time I took the eldest out properly on his balance bike I decided to walk up and down a pathway near us that edges a small copse. On the first return trip he started trying to ride through a gap in the fence and get into the woods, I was so proud!

mine was when they could go all the way down a hill - long ish but not that steep freewhelling and both just pedalled away into the sunset so to speak- both at different ages but it is a skill thing

Hmm, watching him yesterday, he set off down a very slight incline and kept his feet up for a good 150-200 yards, even with a bit of intentional weaving, so he's probably not that far off. I just don't want to rush him.

He has a Rothan with a decent brake and he's quite confident going down steepish hills too, although he's still a bit grabby on it - funny watching him trying to hold skids when the back slides out (he's managed it so far).

Slightly off topic but I've bought a CNOC14 for my nephew for Christmas ; it seems very well put together - do people still recommend disconnecting the front brake for a while or is that frowned upon now? I don't want to be held responsible for any OTB incidents that could be avoided 🙂

We made the mistake of delaying our first child's move to pdeals and it took her until she was about 4. With the second I gave him a few months on the balance bike and then just put him on one with pedals without making a big thing of it and he just cracked on at 1 year and 11 months.
He still used a mixture of balance bike and pedal but I say just plonk them on it as soon as they have a vague notion of balance.
Regards the Cnoc 14, we didn't realise there was a recommendation to disconnect the front brake and we've not had any problems. His main difficulties come from an excess of speed over talent (takes after his Dad) causing speed wobbles and subsequent crashes.

My son got his pedal bike for his 3rd birthday. We weren't expecting him to ride it, but he was nearly ready for it and kept asking for 'pedals' for his birthday!! (he was pretty confident on his balance bike and could cope with hills and his brake, but is a short ass like his Dad and Mum!)

We left in the house for a while until he wanted to ride it and he probably started riding it about 4 weeks later, but still struggles a bit with starting (4 months later).

I'd say go for it, just don't push him in to it and give him the option of what bike to ride (with a little gentle persuasion to the pedal bike! 😉

Take them both out, they'll let you know which one they want to ride. It's about fun isn't it, not another developmental milestone. My daughter was running her balance bike and pedals side by side for the best part of a year; she told us which one to fetch out the garage.

Any recommendations on pads for 4 year olds about 100 cm tall? Can't give the cnoc14 enough praise as a 1 st bike.. great quality, pedals really nicely for little legs and is available in hot pink!

Sounds promising, perhaps I should just look for a Cnoc 14 then. His current balance bike is a Rothan so I get the whole Islabike thing 🙂

seanoc - you're right that it's about fun, and this isn't about me trying to push him onto the next stage, it's about wether or not I need to buy *another* balance bike for his younger brother. I'd rather not!

btw, thanks for all the comments folks - most helpful

My daughter was three and a half years old when she went from Rothan to Cnoc 16 and was flying solo on the Cnoc within 30 minutes of first getting on it. So I guess she could have managed it sooner had she had the chance.
For anybody reading this who is planning a family there is a nineteen month gap between our daughters and that gap proved perfect in terms of the younger one being ready to take over the Rothan as the older one started to pedal.
Not that 'cycle succession planning' should figure in your family planning in any way!

don't disconnect the front brake. teach them to use it properly from the start. I always think it odd that we tell our kids not to use the front brake and then expect them to suddenly accept that the front brake's the one that actually works.