Balance Bikes Are A "Craze"

[Karlt]

It's the old "childhood was perfect when I was a child so anything different to then must be bad" mentality. Does your friend take the Daily Mail by any chance?

Child 1 learnt the stabilisers way and it took a long while. Child 2 started that way but couldn't make the transition to no stabilisers. After months of no progress we bought a balance bike for him and he was riding without stabilisers in two months. Child 3 then inherited the balance bike which she called her "scooty bike" and loved it; was riding a proper bike herself within two or three months.

Balance bike wins. It makes sense; the stabilisers give no encouragement to balance. A well co-ordinated child might handle the transformation well; a less co-ordinated one won't. I know I was eight or nine before I could set off on my own. By comparison Child 3 was riding at 4 and sorted out setting off by the time she was 5.

 

[BrumJim]

My lad has had a balance bike for over two years now. Today he learnt to ride a pedal bike aged 4.5. In 20 minutes he was getting the hang of it, and I could let go. By 40 minutes he had it all-but sussed.

Instructor said that he was one of the fastest learners that he has taught. No stabilizers, a lot of time on the balance bike, and a boy desperate to learn. Earned himself an ice-cream.

 

[ianrauk]

My lad has had a balance bike for over two years now. Today he learnt to ride a pedal bike aged 4.5. In 20 minutes he was getting the hang of it, and I could let go. By 40 minutes he had it all-but sussed.

Instructor said that he was one of the fastest learners that he has taught. No stabilizers, a lot of time on the balance bike, and a boy desperate to learn. Earned himself an ice-cream.

Awesome.
Exactly how Ian Jnr took to pedal biking. Balance bikes just work.

 

[fisha]

Another fan of balance bikes here. My young lad had one for a while, and became comfortable with building speed, then running on balance alone going round in circles.

The transisiton to a pedal bike was less than 10 minutes. Basically within half a dozen pushes, he was off pedalling himself under his own balance.

I would 100% recommend it as the way to learn.

I also beleive in investing in decent bikes at that age for the weight aspects.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Me too. I was prepared for a lengthy transition period to the pedalled bike. Nope. Up and off - first time, Mum was actively upset at the speed of transition as she missed it!

 

[hatler]

Posted before, but our youngest went from a balance bike to this after some time (no idea how long, it was too long ago) playing around on a balance bike. Interval from starting on this bike to this vid was about ten minutes of extreme shouty frustration, then she got it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sclUfUgP3IE&feature=youtu.be

Bottom line. Balance bikes work.

 

[keithmac]

My two learned to balance on two wheels on scooters, transfering that to bikes was relatively painless!.

 

[Thomson]

Our eldest son is 4.5 and has had a balence bike over two years. We had to keep putting the seat up. It's a wooden one. A month before he turned four he cycled down the path no balancing wheels at all. He hasn't wanted to go on his bike for a few months but last week he was on his big bike. He now zooms around on it infront of the house. Couldn't be happier. His little brother will be using the same little wooden bike. When he can. He's 7 months.

 

[Venod]

I haven't read all this so don't know if it has been mentioned, we just took the pedals of an ordinary bike to teach the grandkids to balance.

 

[Mrklaw]

Stabilisers with first child - took a while.
Balance bike with second child - she was belting up and down the street at high speed almost instantly.

The balance bike teaches....balance. So that when pedals come along, the child isn’t worried about taking their feet off the ground to pedal - they know how to balance the bike with feet off the ground because they’ve been doing it already. So the pedals are just a natural extension to propel them along.

Normal bikes with stabilisers don’t teach balance so when the stabilisers come off, they’re naturally worried about falling so the feet go straight to the ground and they’re wobbling. Basically stabilised bikes are glorified tricycles.

Definitely a convert