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Or little bike without crank arms for the more class sensitive amongst you 😯
That's meant to read 'before your kids rode a balance bike?'
Damn you Erdinger Dunkel!
I bought a wee woden balance bike for my son for his second birthday. Had to trim it down a bit with a saw to make it smaller! It just sort of sat there for a few months until he decided he wanted to play with it. was probably about 2 and a half then i guess. The magic moment was when he would take a couple of big running steps then pull his feet up and coast. Cool! Got him a bike with pedals not long after and he learned to ride. He had a trike too at the time of the blance bike. My thoughts are he sort of learned balance on one bike and pedalling on the trike. Never had a bike with stabalisers. Think it made it easier to learn.
I think we might have done this before:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/search.php?q=balance+bike
oh yes - here we go:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/balance-bike
My daughter started at 16 months and now aged 2 and a bit can scoot about 400m down a hill with feet up. She doesn't get pedalling though and at the moment we're happy with her just scooting!
No bragging here!
I have 4 kids and my eldest rode a bike aged 5 after a lot of tears and crashing and stabilisers. My second eldest rode at 4 after 15minutes of trying off the back of a balance bike since age 3. Second youngest (well see above!!!) 4th is just walking and will not be on for a while!
I would just leave it lying around and see if they show interest. IME some do, some don't. i gave my neighbours lots of advice re: scoot bikes but their son hates it and won't try, though he does like walking alongside and pushing! I think that's a start and reckon he'll see someone else one day and try.
Don't rush!
2 yo here when he first had a look at it - took to it quickly then, about a fortnight of pushing him round on it (Dad! It's all wibbly wobbly!) then that was it sorted.
Leg length seems to be the big variable - tried him on scoots earlier but even at the low saddle height they were too big. Bairns have such short limbs compared to their big heids and bodies, you need to wait until they can stand up on it.
got my youngest a tiny little 10" wheeled (much smaller than say a Rothan) one from Amazon at 18months and she instantly got to grips with it, she somehow instinctively knew to push it up a hill in the park to roll down on her first outing 😳 now 2months on she's ridden it every day and can now scoot along feet up. she's really into anything with wheels tho and tries to pedal trikes and stuff (but her legs just aren't long enough yet).
But as above, my eldest had little interest in anything with wheels and never even turned the pedals on a trike or ride-on as a toddler, she learned to ride a bike at 4 and is a very skillful/compitent rider but just has no real interest in it. (eg. if we're cycling to school she'd rather take her scooter or roller skates)
My daughter rode a balance bike when I was 28. She was 2.
My son didn't get his balance until he was 3 and a bit.
At 5 and 4 , the were riding cycle tracks to my mum's house 8.4 miles away and back after some ice cream.
At 5 and 6 they were doing 14 miles out, lunch, and back to the car.
These days as teens, they ride the trail network at Afan when they're not riding BMX and making me look bad in the skate park. (I still rule on the BMX track though, but not for long) I'm really proud of them.
Lucy and Sam are taking me out for a trail ride tomorrow for Father's Day.
I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be, or a better present than riding trails with my kids for Father's Day.
That's something to look forward to Skyline-GTR 🙂
Thanks chaps
I'll keep my eye out for a v small bike then.
It is by far the best way to get them riding. You never need stabilisers. Like-a- bike Jumper used here.
Bance bike fir 2nd birthday - riding properly at about 3,and half
Mine got one for his 2nd birthday and loves it. 6 months later and he's not got the hang of the brake yet though! Dragging shoes works for now.
2nd birthday and he started riding around the kitchen after a few months - never tried to teach him how to use it, just let him find it and use it at his own pace.
By 2 1/2 he did 5k on it through cannock chase, he was rather tired after that .....
Transitioned to pedals by the age of 3 very easily as well.
If you buy a Rothan (I did and highly recommend)then when you want to go to a Cnoc they needs to have grown out of it completely as there is a big step between the 2
balance bike at around 2 1/2 onwards
pedal bike from just under 4 onwards
that's for my two girls, who aren't that big, so standover is the main issue
2 ish or whenever they can actually sit on the saddle. My eldest did it relatively sooner than my second daughter just because she is taller.
Our lad got a Rothan at 18 months, he was straight on it and wheeling round the house, and looking at it longlingly, but it took him until just over two for it to click. He's five now and on 7 speed.
just to add I made my balance bike with an angle grinder and a very small bike I found in a skip. I removed the seatstays to enable me to cut the seatube much shorter. Kids bikes are made from scaffold pole so it is still plenty strong enough. I sometimes ride it and it hasn't broken yet!
just a very cheap option if you can find a 10 or 12" wheel bike at a jumble or similar. Happy to post pics if people are interested.
yeah, post pics, ghetto kids bikes rock! *hopes it's painted black with heavy metal stickers*
pics of you riding it might be amusing too 😉
2 for balance bike. 3 for pedal bike no stabilisers. Although he still prefered the balance bike until he got a bigger pedal bike when 5.