Any tips for teaching bike riding without training wheels

[User198724]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone would have any tips to get kids riding bicycles without training wheels?

My daughter is 8 and has completely outgrown her little bike but can’t get the hang of a bigger bike

Bumping for you because I want to know the same!

I took the pedals off so it becomes a balance bike. Once DS had got his balance on it (and the hang of the breaks!) I put the pedals back on. Took about an hour.

This is not the same but may help. I've just got my almost 3yo going on his balance bike. We went to a car park with a teeny slope to it, and spent ages going up and down. The slight gradient meant he could roll and lift his feet, giving him a nudge to balance. Good luck!

8 is late to start but better late than never!

Take the pedals off and use that.

Also don't get a bike that's too big, better to feel small.

I'm trying to teach my 65 year old mum atm! :)

Find somewhere long and flat and run up and down!

If you don’t want to or can’t take the pedals off, and especially because she’s a bit older, just ask her not to use them. In fact, it may be helpful to have them there if she can start pedalling once she gets her balance.

Good luck. My eldest took forever to crack it and only really got it when she tried someone else’s very light Frog bike. My younger one was cycling within 30 seconds of the stabilisers coming off. They all get there in the end!

Pedals off as others have said she can scoot around and once she's confident at that put pedals back on.

Keep her on the little bike (without stabilisers) - she needs to be able to easily put her foot down flat on the ground while she's getting the hang of balancing. If it's really too small for her, put the seat on the big bike as low as it will go.

We did the same. Take the pedals and stabilisers off. It didn't take long before they got their balance!

Tell them to keep their arms locked out straight.

Get them a bike that's fits them not one too small, you'll find they'll struggle to ride the bigger one they actually need even if they can ride a tiny one without stabilisers.

Hold seat at back until they are confident and can push off on their own. One foot on floor in front of pedal, other foot on top of other pedal and push hard with top foot.

Don't do corners till they are comfortable with going in a straight line.

my eldest learnt aged 5 in about an hour using a Frog bike, they had a balance bike before that.

Take off the pedals (as said), but also drop the saddle far enough they can comfortably put both feet on the ground. Then scoot along, slow as they like, walking pace, until they're happy and choose to go faster.

We ran along holding the back of the seat and one of the handlebars whilst dd steered and gained her confidence and balance.
An hour a day for 3 days and she was away.
We were buggered!
Pedals off sounds a better idea although probably more time consuming.

My DS was about the same age when he learned to ride op.
We had tried lots of ways to teach him including me nearly breaking my back running along behind him holding onto the bike (I would not recommend this!)
In the end I took the pedals off (as other people have suggested).
He used it as a balance bike for about a week and then we put the pedals back on.
It was amazing - he just got on, automatically started pedalling and away he went!
This method definitely works.
Good luck!

Try on grass!

Yep, use as a balance bike.
Start off down a very gentle slope.
Learn to steer the balance bike: the really bad thing about stabilisers is that you use your weight in the opposite way needed for when balancing. So really getting the hang of steering in balance bike mode helps.

My Dc didn’t need to ‘learn’ at all. Having learned to pedal on a trike, and then used the bike as a balance bike, they were up and away the minute we put the pedals back on.

Again a slight slope helps the first time as momentum helps with balance.

DSD learnt on her younger cousins bike. Far too small for her but she got the hang of it quickly and was able to put her feet down. We turned the stabilisers upwards but didn’t remove them completely, so they didn’t touch the floor at all. Basically the same as taking them off as they therefore did nothing but in her mind the stabilisers were still on and this gave her a boost. Started on grass but she was whizzing down the street in an afternoon.

DTs are 8 and for a number of reasons can't ride yet. We took the pedals off yesterday so fingers crossed.

DD learned to ride a bike over 3 or 4 lessons in a sports centre (on the badminton courts) on balance bikes. They started by walking and zig-zagging around cones and progressed by getting faster and faster (so at times both feet would be off the ground and they were just more confident about where to put their weight). Some children found it a lot easier than others.

We were lucky to have a small park with a circular(ish) path, so we could stand in the middle rather than run behind!) and one bit had a slight slope. Maybe hold the back of the seat and push a bit to get her started. Don't worry if progress is slow (maybe pack a sugary snack in case frustration gets the better of her and couple of plasters).

Find a grassy hill (with nothing dangerous at the bottom). Put bike on top of the hill. Our child on bike. And push. I know it just sounds cruel but it does actually work.

Make sure that until she has really good balance and the hang of pedals that she is on a bike that is of a size that she can get her both her full feet on the ground easily (not top toes). This will give her confidence to feel safe that she can stop steadily and easily and therefore she will be more willing to give it a go time after time. Once she gets it she gets it and can move to the right size bike. Both mine were riding without stabilizers young and I believe it was a smaller size bike that was the key to begin with. Good luck

My son learned to ride very quickly from balance bike to two wheeler
With my daughter we ended up using the no pedals, one pedal 2 pedals method

Thanks so much! I think a lot of it is her confidence but will take the pedals off tomorrow and see how it goes!
It makes me laugh that she can ride a horse independently but can’t ride a bike

Have a look at the 'ready, set, ride' videos that British cycling have been doing. They have lots of good tips.

Video st the end of this article.

I’ve taught 10s l, if not hundreds, of children to ride bikes by using the bslsnce bike/pedal off method. (Cycle club coaching)

Make sure her bike actually works properly too!! Everything greased and running smoothly? Tyres pumped up? Wheels secure and not buckled? Saddle the right height and straight? Brakes work? Forks facing the right way (they should slope away from the bike) - very common mistake seems to be that the forks are the wrong way round.

If your dd can ride a horse, then her balance must be OK. Can she pedal properly ie: with stabilisers or on a trike? This is as much an jntellectual skill as a physical one, and sometimes can come quite late.

If she can pedal and balance, then scooting her bike like a balance bike should join this up and see her cycling independently soon enough.