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Original poster

How long did it take for your kids to learn to ride a bike with no stabilisers?

28 replies

Lilliput · 18/06/2008 21:56

We've just got dd (5) a new bike, well new to her anyway. It hasn't got any stabilsers and I'm not going to faff around getting some.
Any tips for helping her and how long did your kids perservere with learning to ride and were there many tears?

OP posts:
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TeeBee · 18/06/2008 21:59

An afternoon to get moving, then practised a few more times (week maybe) before being comfortable with no toppling.

I think when they see everyone else at school with no stabilizers, this is a good motivation.

quickdrawmcgraw · 18/06/2008 22:02

2 days with ds and 1 day with dd.

just keep the seat nice and low so her feet can easily reach the ground flat footed. That way there's no possibility of falling off so no tears.

Ds took a little longer than dd because he was younger and wasn't able to push the pedals round fast enough to get going. he was 3 and she was 4 when they learned.

desperatehousewifetoo · 18/06/2008 22:03

Find a gentle hill. Get her to top. See if she can coast down, keeping balance. Tell her to keep feet out to side, off pedals so can put them down if falling to one sde. This worked for my son recently after ages running on flat holding his coat!

Or you could just take the pedals off and use it as a balance bike at first.

Have fun

Original poster
Lilliput · 18/06/2008 22:05

Why don't I have the patience for this parental task?

OP posts:
katiekkrruunncchh · 18/06/2008 22:06

DD1 - took about 3 attempts with us running after her she was 5.

DD2 - complete nightmare, never thought she would get it! Infact DD3 rode before her. (she was almost 6)

DD3 - rode instantly we took stabilisers off after she begged and begged me to and she rode her bike at the age of 3. She decided that she could do it and that was that. And blow me down she could!

All I would say is , take her to a nice open space, with lots of grass, and prefably a little hill.

Hulababy · 18/06/2008 22:07

Forever! Or so it feels. DD is 6y and it took us about a week (out for 10 minutes a day as she wouldn't do loner unil last day)recently to get her riding on the flat or downhill without stabilisers. Tried prior to that but no go. But once she hits an incline she just can't keep her legs going round fast enough to keep upright. And she still has't mastered setting off on her own.

TBH though, in DD's friendsip groups it is a real mix. A handful have been riding for quite a while, but still lots age 6 who still can't do it yet.

Hulababy · 18/06/2008 22:07

And it kills your back as a parent!

scotlass · 18/06/2008 22:09

We did this too - new bike - didn't put stabilisers on. I think DD was 5 and there were lots of tears. Basically she is stubborn and the more I insisted she could do it the more she said she couldn't (I was hardly holding her to balance but as soon as I stood away she wobbled and shouted).

Lightbulb moment got her little friend who was a whole year younger to play on her bike and hey presto my DD could suddenly go all by herself

Good luck!!!

scotlass · 18/06/2008 22:11

and that's not just me saying she's stubborn her teacher put that comment on the report card this year!

UniS · 18/06/2008 23:19

with no pedals /cranks in the way and saddle set low she could get it pretty quick. friends 3 yr old who does ride a bike with stabilers was on my boys balance bike ( no stabillers) for a few mins today and he was whizzing along coasting with both feet in air some of the time.
gloves and long trousers and sleves will prevent some of the grazes that will happen however you go about this step.

morocco · 18/06/2008 23:23

couple of minutes for ds1 and ds2

they'd been riding bikes with stabilisers on for ages. I didn't realise how good the stabilisers must be for teaching them how to cycle cos they were off and away no probs at all, we just gave them a few running pushes each and that was enough

canofworms · 18/06/2008 23:33

OMG!

I now feel a complete failure! DD1 is 7 and needs a new bike and is insistent it must have stabilisers!! I cannot bear the hysterics when I've taken them off before and she just CAN'T do it! (Not even tried dd2 who's 5 )

Mercedes · 18/06/2008 23:48

I've just got my dd (6) to ride in a week. I was really dreading it as she gives up v.easily and I was worried about my back.

I took off the pedals and went out every night for 10 mins getting her to whiz along getting her balance. I also got her to go down a grassy slope to get her used to going downhill. I think this really helped with her balance. I also put the bike to its lowest height to help make her feel safe.

On 7th day I put pedals back on and she cycled straight away.

The other top tip I got was to hold on to the shoulders rather than her back or bike. This way you can stop her falling but she controls the wobbles on the bike. This really worked well.

She's till learning how to push herself off but that's coming along.I was really chuffed when she learnt so easily. When she cycled fo the 1 st time she turned and said to me Mummy I'm a cyclist - both of us were nearly crying. Hope this is useful. Good luck.

snorkle · 19/06/2008 09:07

ds just got on his first bike and rode it in the time I went to the garage to find a spanner to put the stabilisers on! Dd had stabilisers and got rather dependent on them. As I recall we tried taking them off several times but she insisted they went back on again - it was probably a couple of days for her to get the hang of it when they finally came off for good.

SheherazadetheGoat · 19/06/2008 09:10

dd (4) took her out a couple of times and she was riding within the week (she is the most stubborn careful child in teh world) again peer pressure was at work her pals all ride to nursery on bikes and i couldn't bear teh thought of her hobbling along at a 45 degree angle so refused stabilisers.

smartiejake · 19/06/2008 09:20

dd1 was 6.5 when she learned to ride a bike. Probably could have been earlier but we didn't make the effort. Took a couple of days. We took her to the local park and she learned on the grass for a softer landing.

DD2 was older (about 7.5) and found it more difficult but she had slight probs with gross motor skills and is still a real clutz(falls over her own feet regularly) It took her quite a long time to find her confidence.

Some kids just get the co-ordination quicker. My sister was just 3 when she learned to ride a bike.

smartiejake · 19/06/2008 09:20

dd1 was 6.5 when she learned to ride a bike. Probably could have been earlier but we didn't make the effort. Took a couple of days. We took her to the local park and she learned on the grass for a softer landing.

DD2 was older (about 7.5) and found it more difficult but she had slight probs with gross motor skills and is still a real clutz(falls over her own feet regularly) It took her quite a long time to find her confidence.

Some kids just get the co-ordination quicker. My sister was just 3 when she learned to ride a bike.

asteamedpoater · 19/06/2008 14:15

My son has low muscle tone and is still working on being able to pedal fast enough to move, let alone balance without stabilisers! Still, he can now pedal up an imperceptible slope...

sheberene · 19/06/2008 22:11

I agree with the posts about using a balance bike/take the pedals off your new bike. It really does make it so much easier for kids to learn to ride bikes (and easier on parents' backs) if they can master the balance side of riding without worrying about pedalling.

After 2 or 3 half hour sessions on a balance bike my dd1 aged 4 1/2 asked us to take her stabilisers off her bike and rode away without us having to hold on to her bike. The same trick has worked for a number of her friends. None of them have fallen off yet! Good luck!

dylsmum1998 · 19/06/2008 22:16

grandad taught my ds to ride his bike when he was 5- he took him ou to buy a big boys bike then to the park. from what i gather told him if you can ride it i'll give you a fiver- he rode it!

mumeeee · 19/06/2008 23:29

I think you may need to buy some sabilisers for your DD.
We brought DD1 a bike without stabilisers when she was 6.5 but she was 9 before she could ride it properly. She just could not get the hang of it.
The sabilisers fell off DD2's bike when she was 7 and she just carried on riding.
I

bluenosesaint · 19/06/2008 23:38

Dd1 was 6 - it took a few goes tbh, and she's still not entirely happy on a bike (she is now 8)

Dd2 told us to take off the stabilisers just after her 4th birthday. It took her about ...oooohh ... 30 seconds!!

Very different

OverMyDeadBody · 19/06/2008 23:39

It took DS about 15 minutes to get it. He was 3.8 at the time.

Before that he had a balance bike and had the bike with stabalisers for about a month beforehand, so I think that helped with him getting his balance.

Troutpout · 19/06/2008 23:56

dd only took a few minutes.
She had a scooter with only one wheel at the back which she had learnt to balance on really well beforehand. I think this was the main thing that helped. She was 4 .
ds was 5. He didn't take long once the stabilizers were off either.

Martha200 · 20/06/2008 12:53

Thank goodness for this thread.. ds1 5yrs and refuses to show interest in his bike but opting for feable attempts with the scooter atm.

He likes the idea of a bike but hasn't ridden it for awhile. At the start of Sept loads of bikes had stabilizers and now there are hardly any with them on in the bike area I noticed. I thought I was failing him somehow by the fact he hadn't got to no stabilizers, but I am waiting for the bike it school day again so I know this will be the motivation to get him on it again.