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Yes, yes, I shouldn't have caved in and put them on. But I did. So no going back.
Having made that mistake I want to try and not make another....
He's 5 in may, was awesome on his balance bike, moved him to a 14" bso bike previous Christmas (so 3.5) as he wanted pedals. He can speed around on it, so the weight whilst hefty isn't an issue. Although at the moment he is mostly charging about on his scooter
I want to transition from stablisers...I had tried to book a uk cycling course over half term, but they were fully booked (and probably cancelled due to storms)
Anyone been on one of these course? What do they recommend?
For my kids I found holding their shoulders to be much better than holding the seat when helping.
Holding the seat in the same position as them is very difficult, they end up feeling like you are tipping the bike and they don't move naturally due to the resistance.
Mine took to it a lot quicker when supporting their shoulders and it is a huge amount easier on your hamstrings and back!
Big grassy area if you can find one, even better if it's got a gentle slope they can freewheel down. Not as painful if they fall off compared to tarmac. Also better if it's a nice wide area so it's easy for them to turn where they want rather than somewhere like a quiet street where it can be bit narrow for them to turn round, (they often fall off when trying to do turns if there's not much room)
yep what meeee said.
my son loved his balance bike and never needed stabilisers, daughter on the other hand hated the balance bike and used stabilisers for a bit but only took a few goes to get rid of them. I did tell that I wasn't going to put them back on so if she wanted to ride like her brother she'd better learn to do it without them.
Doing a course seems really ott to me.
They’ll do it when they’re ready. My eldest daughter wouldn’t let go of her stabilisers the until about 5 then one day she asked to go out on her bike as usual then out of the blue asked me to take the stabilisers off then off she won’t down the road on two wheels as if she’s been riding for years. Was never interested before but for some reason that day she just did it.
My youngest was on a balance bike initially unlike her sister and transitioned straight to a pedal bike with no stabilisers. So they can do it, they just need the desire to do it. So maybe a bit of patience and don’t push them is a good approach?
Take the stabilisers off, take the pedals and cranks off and let him get used to balancing again, out the pedals and cranks back on, job done.
Take the pedals off so he can use it like a balance bike and get used to the feel of the bike. A couple of hours like that and then put the pedals back on. Worked a treat for both of my children.
If he's using a scooter and BSO with stabilisers then the only thing needed is for him to WANT.
The only thing going on a course will provide is seeing other kids and wanting to cycle.... that in itself might be all you/he needs.. but the balance and leaning into turns will come from the scooter
Like Wobbliscot's eldest... mine just turned round one day (having asked "can I have a real bike if I can ride without stabilisers")... I spent 20 mins getting the bloody things off as they were rusted on... walked him across the the cul-de-sac opposite .. walked him about 3' before he took off and rode to the bottom, turned and came back... only thing he had to learn was pedal strikes really... he could lean into turns from the scooter and pedal from stabilisers
it may also be a weight thing - if the child isn't a fair bit heavier than the bike then it can be difficult to control. Both of my kids are good riders but didn't start until 5 and both did it in the summer (not easy to do it with cold hands and cold leg muscles), they are ready when they are confident to do it successfully.
My boy is six and struggling. Just doesn’t have a great attention span or much interest in riding. He tends to run about and climb everything. Local bouldering wall has been great.
I love bikes despite being on here and don’t want to push him to ride if he doesn’t want to. Hopefully it will come with time.
Took my Daughter to a local football pitch and from her having a meltdown to her doing a whole lap of the pitch in an hour
Easier with loads of space to manoeuvre in
I can't see what a course will do that you can't other than lighten your wallet. Easier to pretend the stabilizers were never there and go back to stage 1 - balance bike. As others have said, you can do this with the BSO by removing the cranks.
My 6 year old has no interest in removing stabilizers, she says ‘it’s alright dad as I’m not going to ride a bike when I’m a big girl anyway’😩
Had the boy straightened away at 4 no problems