Davidc
Guru
- Location
- Somerset UK
I learnt to ride in less than half an hour, so did my brother. No stabilisers. I was aged 7 and brother 6 when we learnt.
I used the same technique with my son and daughter. less than 30 minutes each. Aged 6 and 5 respectively.
I've taught several friend's children the same way, similar times to learn, except if they've ever used stabilisers. Then it goes up to several sessions over a number of days. Having used sabilisers just seems to make learning very difficult.
The method:
Get the child on the bike, support them using the saddle. Get them pedalling gently. Progressively reduce the amount of assistance as you sense them doing the balancing.
When they're doing the work say "slow down or I won't be able to keep up" and sound as if you're getting out of breath. They will take off and laugh when you fall back wheezing and complaining. They will then realise that they've ridden without you and will not need any further help.
In principle some brakes training beforehand would be a good idea, but I always forget. Steering comes later so you need to be somewhere like a field so there's no need for it.
This worked on me, and on my brother. It has worked every time I've tried it.
I've also seen the no pedals training things that Arch has mentioned in use. They seem to be successful as well.
I have never come across a child who has learnt quickly or efficiently with stabilisers though.
I used the same technique with my son and daughter. less than 30 minutes each. Aged 6 and 5 respectively.
I've taught several friend's children the same way, similar times to learn, except if they've ever used stabilisers. Then it goes up to several sessions over a number of days. Having used sabilisers just seems to make learning very difficult.
The method:
Get the child on the bike, support them using the saddle. Get them pedalling gently. Progressively reduce the amount of assistance as you sense them doing the balancing.
When they're doing the work say "slow down or I won't be able to keep up" and sound as if you're getting out of breath. They will take off and laugh when you fall back wheezing and complaining. They will then realise that they've ridden without you and will not need any further help.
In principle some brakes training beforehand would be a good idea, but I always forget. Steering comes later so you need to be somewhere like a field so there's no need for it.
This worked on me, and on my brother. It has worked every time I've tried it.
I've also seen the no pedals training things that Arch has mentioned in use. They seem to be successful as well.
I have never come across a child who has learnt quickly or efficiently with stabilisers though.
