Balance bike or kids bike with peddles and stabilisers

bobgfish

Balance Bike.

My oldest learnt with training wheels. The youngest had a balance bike form about 2 and a half. By 3 and a half she was riding a proper bike for about six weeks with training wheels. It took longer to convince the 5 year old she really didn't need training wheels anymore and the youngest mastered it sooner. The hardest part when they get onto a real bike for the first time it to try and teach them how to pedal. They find it easier to use feet on the ground.

Gussio

3.5yr old had his first go on a pedal bike at the weekend. For the last 12mths he has been whizzing around on a balance bike. Got on his cousin's Isla bike and was able to ride it with no problem whatsoever. Was great to see

mgnmum

balance bike all the way

ilkleypeter wrote:
My firm opinion is that balance bikes are a waste of time and money as a means of preparing a child for a "real" bike. I am sure that they are great fun in themselves but that is not what they are sold as.

Our two sons learned to ride a Raleigh Buzzer bike, purchased 2nd hand for £8, at the ages of 4 and 3 1/2. The older one would have learned sooner but it was winter!

They both rode with stabilisers for about a year before they were removed, and they had no problems starting, stopping or keeping going.

The limiting factor in getting a small child to ride a bike is strength - they will gain as much of this on a bike with stabilisers as they will on a balance bike.

After all, how many of us old enough to read this forum used a balance bike and how many of us still need stabilisers?

How many of us didnt ride a bike until they were 6 or 7, why make learnign a life skill any harder than it need be. My duaghter really struggled to get off stabilisers but my son just sat on a proper bike aged 4 and rode it off, having been on a balance bike for 18 months. as far as i am concerned there is no contest

Pipster3

ride_whenever wrote:

But not the same way as you do without stabilisers. On a regular bike you turn through countersteer and lean, which you cannot really learn whilst on stabilisers. The children i've seen (after selling their parents balance bikes) are much more competent at turning (and braking if they've had a brake) than those on stabilisers or those who've had stabilisers.

The transition is also much easier for the vast majority of kids.

Plus one for balance bike ...

Ride whenever sums it up the skills learnt on a balance bike give a child a massive head start ...
My son is 3yrs old in a couple of weeks and ready for his first pedal bike ...He has been riding a balance bike since he was 2 yrs old and can free wheel down hills with his feet up in total control

SlowingDown

Not really adding much to the debate but a good chance to air my pride...

BALANCE BIKE

There will always be exceptions but balance bikes have to be the way to go. Kids aren't scared of pedalling, they are scared of falling off. Bought my son a wooden balance bike based on style rather than function when he was 2 and he found it hard to use. Managed to sell this for a tidy sum that paid for a large chunk of a Islabikes CNOC 14 (he was too big for the ROTHAN by then). My own laziness meant I ignored Islabikes' advice and left the stabilisers on so for about a year my son lazily pedalled slowly around. He was five last August and in risk of outgrowing the CNOC 14 so I finally took the pedals and stabilisers off. He fairly quickly got the hang of scooting about but looked a little awkward (which I put down to the fact he'd never really done it). Then the winter chill arrived and the bike didn't come out for a while. 2 weeks ago we took the bikes out to a park, I turned my back for a moment and when I looked again he was scooting down a hill, feet up, balancing perfectly. Next trip out I took the pedals with me, let him have a scoot, put the pedals on and within the hour he was riding perfectly, not stopping for about 2 miles!

It's taken him some time but I really believe it would have come so much quicker had we got him a decent balance bike earlier. He isn't the most confident of little chaps and the look of pride and delight on his face when he pedalled off brings a tear to my eye thinking about it now. His sister (3) has been on a ROTHAN for about 6 months and is ready for the CNOC 14 the moment we can afford to get my son his next bike.

Daz555

ilkleypeter wrote:

The limiting factor in getting a small child to ride a bike is strength - they will gain as much of this on a bike with stabilisers as they will on a balance bike.

Limiting factor in getting a child to ride a bike without stabilisers is balance - something that a balance bike can teach them.

The main advantage of balance bikes however is SIZE. My lad has been on his since he was 2. I have not seen a pedal bike with a standover height suitable for a 2yr old and even if there was he would be outgrowing it now (soon to be 4) and would be needing a new bike anyway, so I don't see buying a balance bike as a waste at all.

He'll be getting a shiny new Cnoc 16 for his 4th birthday - I'll be covering the important bits in heli tape I think to keep it looking pretty because good examples fetch 100 notes on ebay and we can sell it on when he outgrows it.