Riding a bike - What age?

[2wheeler2025]

What age did your child learn to ride a bike?

Noticed a trend of kids not being able to ride a bike until 6/7+. Just wondered how old your child was?

AIBU - It's not an important life skill, my DC will do it when they're ready
YANBU - It is an important life skill and I actively tried to help them learn to ride a bike as soon as I could

They were both 4, had been using balance bikes before that.

6&4... the same day. The Beavers cycling badge was a good incentive to learn for DS1. It was 2 years before his dyspraxia diagnosis.
He can still ride a bike but doesn't love it, although being a teenager with a larger bike means more speed and fewer grumbles.

DS2 is more keen. It opened up him cycling with me while I did long runs. I can also cycle with him to keep up with his running pace 😂

He's doing better than me... I was 19. I failed to get the hang of it on hand-me-down bikes, and friends' bikes and my parents didn't exactly facilitate or encourage. I was offered a bike for Christmas at 11 (DM had seen one in a pretty shade of pink) but I declined as I realised then that I wasn't going to learn in the garden, and I wasn't going to be let/ taken out to get any practice so there was no point. First answer = final answer and no offer was made again.
By university it seemed like a sensible idea to learn so I used my first pay from my summer job to buy a cheap bike and spent the weekend wobbling around until I cracked it. It took a bit of mental bravery to learn at that age when everyone else had learned in childhood (and most friends had driving licences) but it was well worth it and opened up going riding with friends. It's not been a great form of transport to me though as my neighbourhood is too disconnected and attached by hilly 40mph/ NSL roads to other areas.

DD was 3
Ds2 was 4
Ds1 was 5 (dyspraxic)
Dss kept forgetting ( dyspraxic) so 4, 5, 7, 10,12! He is a good cyclist now though 😁

Ds2 was really late, 9 or possibly even 10. When we tried earlier, he just didn't like it. But when Bikeability loomed at school, that motivated him. I bought a balance bike for bigger children and he whizzed down hills on that for a bit (not too much scooting like you see the littluns do...) and then swapped to pedals. He passed both Bikeability levels at primary school.... but I'm not sure he's ridden a bike since.

We lived in a really hilly area when DD was young so it wasnt until she was about 6 (after we moved) that she could ride without training wheels. Balance bikes werent really a 'thing' when she was young.

Now that balance bikes and thus being able to ride by 3yo are fairly normal, certainly in areas with more money, I wonder if they’ll need to put some rules out for public places.

Because the kids are still 3yo, and are now physically capable of doing something fast, which goes beyond their danger awareness or social awareness.

they come hurtling towards you right down the middle of a narrow path with no sense of anything, as you’d expect from a 3 yr old, parents can be sometimes quite far behind. Everyone else on the path is expected to press themselves in to the bushes to avoid them.

but it is lovely for the kids, I remember my little one shouting ‘I’m freeeeee’ as she first set off. Maybe incorporate spaces for them in parks but have bans on public pavements.

Around 3.

I haven’t voted because I believe it is an important life skill which most children are able to learn, but it really doesn’t matter when. It’s like potty training - no one cares in the long run.

My ds1 was 4 and ds2 was 5. Ds1 was a natural after being given a hand me down balance bike at 18 months. Ds2 didn’t walk until he was 2 and wasn’t really able to use/had no interest in a balance bike until around 3.

What also matters is having the time and space to practise. I had quite a bit of 1:1 time with ds1 when he was a toddler and he loved whizzing around on his little balance bike.

I am not convinced of the safety / value of a 3 year old whizzing around on a pedal bike. Many 3 year olds still have little concept of danger and not all of them are able to follow instructions and use brakes.

One was 2 (nearly 3) and one was 5. Both on the same day. It’s not hard, it just needs 1) purchase of decent bikes (small & light, Frog type ones) and 2) a day of good weather, smooth surface and patience.

The 2yo had been riding a balance bike for about 6 months. I loved seeing her zoom around and she got so much positive attention on her tiny pedal bike.

But I’d say it depends on your lifestyle. Some people don’t have the space or surroundings to take little ones out on rides. I can see why in a city you might not see it at important before age 8 or so when you can teach road sense at the same time.

They don't need to whizz and you can just trot along side them. Mine accompanied their brother on the school run - a mile there and back. It saved time and they could do it independently when they wouldn't happily walk that distance. To us it definitely had value.

Mine were: 7yo, 8yo, 7yo and 6yo.

My oldest (boy) was around 5, my second had zero desire to learn, he had bikes, never rode them, until my daughter learned aged 4 as she was desperate to ride a bike and my son learned 2 or 3 days later aged 7.

Both were three, having had a balance bike for their second birthdays.

He could ride a couple of miles confidently at 3. And has cycled to school every day since. We use bikes for a lot of journeys though and have done a cycle trip in the Netherlands too. I think being on a bike gives a child a great way to get around independently over longer distances. Good skills and decent infrastructure are vital though.

3 kids all learnt to ride without pedals before 3 years old (just after 2 and half). Used balance bikes from when they could walk and then they were off. Some friends at 7 still can't ride. We are a biking family though and love family bike rides

Or just take the pedals off a normal bike and put them back on when the child has mastered balance and braking. Don’t need a separate balance bike.

Mine did, she was whizzing around on her balance bike for a couple of years but as soon as we put her on a pedal bike she couldn't do it so we had to put stabilisers on.

I'm glad to see someone ones on here 😂 my 7 old can't ride without stabilisers and although they've been taken off, isn't oberly keen to try to learn without them! Hopefully will crack it this summer!

I think as a PP said the weight of a bike makes a huge difference. Balance bikes are usually light as fewer parts but you can get lightweight standard bikes and take the pedals off. Think about it in terms of ratio - if a bike is 10kg and your 4 year old weighs 16kg that’s a lot of weight for them to control. So a lightweight bike makes this easier. And the heavier the bike the more work it is so of you want your kid to go any distance then get a light bike. Depends on if it’s for fun or for transport. We use bikes for getting around so went for practical lightweight bikes with pannier rack to carry stuff after the first bike.

Age 3 but he’d had a balance bike from age 2. The first time he got on a bike with pedals he was off. We lived somewhere where there were lots of journeys he could make safely by bike, so he got lots of opportunities to practise.
I would recommend shopping around for a children’s bike which is well designed, e.g brakes that small hands can actually reach and correctly proportioned pedal cranks. Stabilisers are usually unhelpful. And if your child starts off on a balance bike, they won’t be necessary.

My kids were 3, they had balance bikes first.

I wouldn’t say it’s an important life skill such as things like swimming. And I feel like a lot more parents prioritise a child learning to riding a bike compared to teaching them to swim.

that being said, if it ever comes up in adulthood, admitting to never had learned to ride a bike would be abnormal, I feel like everyone learns at some point in childhood. I wouldn’t say there’s a set age, but I would also say definitely before they learn to lose interest with spending time with parents at around 11. So anytime before secondary school is the perfect time frame.

DD is 25 now, balance bikes were not a thing when she was teeny!

She rode a bike without stabilisers when she was 4, and was also such an expert at the monkey bars in the park that other children used to stare at her open mouthed.

My twins were:
Age 2 - tricycle
Age 3 - Balance Bike (Islabike Rothan)
Age 4.5 - 2 wheel bike with no stabilizers, and with hand brakes (Islabike Cnoc)

Ive already bought the next stage bikes, with gears. I think they’ll start using them at about age 5.5 or 6 (Islabike Benin)

I got a recommendation here for Islabikes, and I can’t recommend them more highly! They’ve stopped producing them, but you can get them second hand. They’re amazing bikes - really light, which helps children cycle earlier.

The first time they tried a normal
bike they cycled away no problem - balance bikes are great for learning.