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Original poster

What age did your child learn to ride a bike?

132 replies

2022IamHavingYa · 23/01/2022 20:05

Exactly that. Ride a 2 wheeled bike without any stabilisers? What bike did they have to learn on and what did they progress onto?

Thanks

OP posts:
user1493494961 · 23/01/2022 21:08

Grandchildren had balance bikes and all could ride a 'proper' bike before they were 4.

Forgetaboutme · 23/01/2022 21:09

[quote Bimblybomeyelash]@Forgetaboutme I’m thinking about a cycle holiday this year with my 6 and 9 year olds. The 6 year old is not a fan of hills! Where would you recommend in the UK? Or further afield ?[/quote]
It's various parts of Scandinavian we mainly go to. Sweden being the main one because its nice and flat. We have family there you see. For the UK Aviemore in Scotland is quite good. I havent been anywhere else in the UK to cycle.

BogRollBOGOF · 23/01/2022 21:09

4 & 6 in the same week.
6yo was doing the cycling badge at Cubs so we tried to get some practice in. 4yo's stabilisers were falling off and he got on with it on the cusp of suceeding. 6yo cracked it later that week. 4yo mastered it the same evening.

DS1 has dyspraxia and ASD so has never become confident and regularly has to "relearn" after a break.
I keep telling him he's doing better than me... I was 19 when I cracked it Grin
I'm not great. I wish I had more control for hand signals, but I don't have to decline if someone asks if I want to go for a cycle.

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roseberrycherry · 23/01/2022 21:10

DD 6 DS 4

SuperSleepyBaby · 23/01/2022 21:10

My son only leaned at 11 as he is not very coordinated so he had not interest in trying until then. He is 12 now and going mountain biking next weekend.

WinterOfOurDiscoTent · 23/01/2022 21:12

My 5 yr old can't ride one yet. He had a balance bike but never bothered with it.
He loves his scooter and doesn't see the point of a bike. Hmm

Mummaminnie · 23/01/2022 21:13

DD was 7.5 and learnt in 10 minute sessions over the course of 4 days during one Easter. She was diagnosed with dyspraxia when she was 13 so we think that had an effect on her learning. We'd tried a few times when she was younger but she hated it and declared that she'd never take her stabilisers off. She then asked if I'd teach her (DH had been trying up to this point) and we cracked it together.

Svara · 23/01/2022 21:13

Three and a bit. 10 inch bike from a charity shop. He had a wooden balance bike from Aldi from two and a half.

thaegumathteth · 23/01/2022 21:13

Ds was 7 almost 8.

Dd was just 4.

Mummaminnie · 23/01/2022 21:13

She learnt on a normal 16 inch bike

Kitkat151 · 23/01/2022 21:14

DD was 4, DS1 was 5, DS2 was 6

TheChemicalMother · 23/01/2022 21:16

A Puky bike that we unscrewed the pedals from to use as a balance bike, and once balance bike was mastered, it was instant once the pedals went back on.

sunshineandshowers40 · 23/01/2022 21:17

Mine had a balance bike first although DC2 never used it. DC1 and DC3 were 4 (summer before starting reception) and DC2 was also 4 (but end of reception).

wendz86 · 23/01/2022 21:17

Eldest was 6. Youngest hasn't quite mastered it yet and is 6. I took youngest on a learn to ride your bike course but she refused to do it. She is a lot more cautious than her sister. Both had bikes with stabilisers first but i have seen a lot of kids who had balance bikes learn quickly.

Original poster
2022IamHavingYa · 23/01/2022 21:18

So he’s 3.5. Had a balance bike for a year and we go everywhere on it. He’d happily stride his bike 10k with me running.

Yesterday he asked for his pedals (strider bike) so put them on and off he went, confident as ever! Did our usual 10k route today and he cycled the whole way like he’s been doing it forever and I couldn’t keep up so got a 20k pb 😂

He’s pretty tall for 3 and I noticed he was pedalling faster than the bike would go if that makes sense? Like it needed a bigger crank or gears. So where do I go from here? I’m not sure the strider will last too long tbh as he has long legs and needs another gear I’d say. Any suggestions on either a bike with 3 easy change gears and light or a bike where the pedals don’t go round so fast without getting anywhere?

He’s confident, can use his brakes and bell all at the same time it seems!

OP posts:
Luzina · 23/01/2022 21:21

DS1 was nearly 4
DS2 was 6
DSD was 9

Both DS cycle everywhere now, DS2 had a bit of a mental block so we tried a couple of times then waited until he felt ready. DSD learned by going up and down the drive endlessly using her feet on the ground to propel herself. She needed time to feel confident that she could balance.

IHateCoronavirus · 23/01/2022 21:21

3.5 from puky to a frog bike. Did it in one bike ride. Balance bikes give them a fantastic start.

SkankingMopoke · 23/01/2022 21:22

Both were 4. Each time DC had been trying for a while, but it was campsite peer pressure that gave a final push of perseverance to crack it. A friend's DC also finally got the hang of it when camping with us and seeing our DCs racing up and down. FOMO can be a great motivation!

mardyandmafted · 23/01/2022 21:28

Two of mine were four and two were six/seven. They all picked it really quickly once they were ready. All had pretty standard Halfords bikes. The younger two had balance bikes but hated them, as they had learned to scoot first so had no patience with the 'wobble' bikes.
The two who picked it up more quickly have much more upper body strength than the other two. They could do monkey bars etc from a young age.

User260486 · 23/01/2022 21:28

Almost 4, second hand islabike
On balance bike from 2.

EsmeraldaandTeenytiny · 23/01/2022 21:29

@2022IamHavingYa

So he’s 3.5. Had a balance bike for a year and we go everywhere on it. He’d happily stride his bike 10k with me running.

Yesterday he asked for his pedals (strider bike) so put them on and off he went, confident as ever! Did our usual 10k route today and he cycled the whole way like he’s been doing it forever and I couldn’t keep up so got a 20k pb 😂

He’s pretty tall for 3 and I noticed he was pedalling faster than the bike would go if that makes sense? Like it needed a bigger crank or gears. So where do I go from here? I’m not sure the strider will last too long tbh as he has long legs and needs another gear I’d say. Any suggestions on either a bike with 3 easy change gears and light or a bike where the pedals don’t go round so fast without getting anywhere?

He’s confident, can use his brakes and bell all at the same time it seems!

That’s fantastic! I wonder if he’s tall enough for the Islabike Beinn 20 small. Though 3.5 might be a bit young to learn gears.
beanbaghashtag · 23/01/2022 21:30

New bike for 4th birthday which was 16". So rode it for week after his birthday with stabilisers and then we took them off. Was nearly there on a much smaller bike without stabilisers , but his knees were hitting the pedals.

ImFree2doasiwant · 23/01/2022 21:31

Ds1 was 4 , ds2 was 3. They had a frog balance bike, then Isla bikes with the pedals off. Once they could cruise with their feet up for a bit I put the pedals on and they were away.

I got ds1 a cheaper (although not cheap cheap) bike to move up to and he really struggled with it, despite being pretty competent on the islabike. It's just too heavy.

beanbaghashtag · 23/01/2022 21:31

Balance bike my DS didn't really get until 3.5 so I do think some kids can't get a handle on those age 2 as suggested a lot, but this thread shows everyone is different.

blyn72 · 23/01/2022 21:32

Four without stabilisers.

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