Bicycle for fearful 10-year-old beginner?

[kaltaylor01]

Hi everyone, I hope someone here can give me some advice on purchasing a bicycle for my 10-year-old daughter. We tried balance bikes when she was smaller, but she didn't pick it up. She's very afraid of falling. It turned out that she was having trouble with her depth perception. Now that she's improved and is using both eyes together better, she's showing a little interest in learning to ride.

She has a bicycle from a big box store, but she's probably outgrown it by now, and I would like to get her something lighter, with a low center of gravity. Anything that will make learning EASIER for her, I want to do, because otherwise she will probably give up on it. She's 4'11", with an inseam of 27.5". Thanks in advance!

 

[slowmotion]

Sorry @kaltaylor01, I'm unclear about your query. Is she learning to balance and ride, or are you seeking a bike to make her more confident now that she can?

 

[kaltaylor01]

Sorry @kaltaylor01, I'm unclear about your query. Is she learning to balance and ride, or are you seeking a bike to make her more confident now that she can?

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. She has not learned to ride yet. I'm assuming they don't make balance bikes her size, and pedals can be removed if that's what we need to do. I'm looking for a bicycle that will be easy to learn on, whether that is with pedals on or with them removed. So, I'm assuming that would mean something lightweight, with a low center of gravity, and wide tires.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Get something like a Carrera, they're serviceable and decent quality for the price. My daughter started on the Saruna Jnr, your daughter is taller and you need a 24 inch wheel version. Also consider the Carrera Abyss and the Wiggins Chartres, similar price, similar bikes. Buy a pedal spanner at the same time.

Take the pedals off, and just let her scoot around for as long as she needs to. When she's lifting both feet off the ground she's finding her balance and is ready to pedal.
Watch this video in the meantime and then use the method when she's balancing. Most children have a fear of falling, but supporting them under both arms gives them a lot of confidence in those early wobbly stages. My daughter learned to ride in two short goes of this method, one single weekend.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=imPQ3lysWnU

Edit; here we were on that weekend on an old basketball court....

And she was riding that bike solo, unsupported the day after, then this was 3 months later (on a bigger bike already):

So it happens quickly with that method, and your daughter will pick it up quickly too.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Look at the Wild bike range in Go Outdoors, https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15907233/wild-bikes-wild-24-kids-bike-15907233 they are properly designed for children, I've forgotten who the designer is, but he used his own children as templates. So they have shorter reach brakes, lower crossbars, basically better designed for the smaller person.

 

[jay clock]

Islabikes

 

[carlosfandangus]

Good luck, one thing I did with both my girls is take them to the local school playground at the weekends, nice and flat and no other distractions, the school had some road cones too, I was able to set up braking zones, once they were confident in riding I worked on the stopping too, sadly both have fallen out of love with cycling and both prefer doing their nails/hair or just being on the phone looking at rubbish, 12 and 14 year olds!!!!

 

[Deleted member 26715]

just being on the phone looking at rubbish,

There is such a simple cure

 

[HMS_Dave]

When i was a lad i was fearful of falling off. In the end i learned in a town called Kelso on the Scottish Borders by free rolling down a cow field on my uncles farm as it didn't really hurt to fall on the soft field. So the moral of the story is, book a holiday and get on the rolling hills of the Borders... In all seriousness, once i got over the fear of falling i quickly learned to peddle and i was away. Even after decades away from cycling i still could ride. Wish your young un all the best, she'll get it.

 

[slowmotion]

When i was a lad i was fearful of falling off. In the end i learned in a town called Kelso on the Scottish Borders by free rolling down a cow field on my uncles farm as it didn't really hurt to fall on the soft field. So the moral of the story is, book a holiday and get on the rolling hills of the Borders... In all seriousness, once i got over the fear of falling i quickly learned to peddle and i was away. Even after decades away from cycling i still could ride. Wish your young un all the best, she'll get it.

We taught our daughter on short grass in a London park. Grass is a lot less intimidating than tarmac to a beginner fearful of falling over. I'll confess to some tears in my eyes when I eventually let go of her shoulders and watched her wobble away into the sunshine.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

We taught our daughter on short grass in a London park. Grass is a lot less intimidating than tarmac to a beginner fearful of falling over. I'll confess to some tears in my eyes when I eventually let go of her shoulders and watched her wobble away into the sunshine.

Nice!

I tried the grassy slope the summer before. My daughter just wasn't ready, she found grass hard to ride through even downhill, and she crashed often, and then that was her done for a while. "Why does cycling hurt so much?" still rings in my ears!
I think some take to it quicker than others and grass isn't a problem for them (a positive even), but my daughter needed smoother surfaces and the feeling of a parent shaped safety net to build her confidence, although that was a short process and a need that was very quickly abandoned.

 

[slowmotion]

Nice!

I tried the grassy slope the summer before. My daughter just wasn't ready, she found grass hard to ride through even downhill, and she crashed often, and then that was her done for a while. "Why does cycling hurt so much?" still rings in my ears!
I think some take to it quicker than others and grass isn't a problem, but my daughter needed smoother surfaces and the feeling of a safety net to build her confidence, although that was a short process and a need that was very quickly abandoned.

The main thing is that, somehow, they both got there.

 

[Globalti]

We taught GtiJunior on a flat beach on Orkney. I can remember it so well