you folks with kiddos.

[sojudave]

About how old were your kids when you started to teach them how to ride a bike? I have a neice who is five. Is that too young? I think I started in the 1st or 2nd grade. Any tips?

 

[Rat Rod]

My daughter just learned to ride without training wheels and she is six years old.

I tried to teach her about a year ago, but she just wasn't there yet.

About a month ago she started making short test runs in our backyard and now she's rides like crazy.

 

[schwinnmesa]

Walking comes first. Riding comes second. :wink:

 

[CCR]

when i was 8 my grandpa got me a new bike for my birthday (May 6th), my brother (just turned 4 yrs old on May 4th) loved it and he wanted a new bike too, grandpa told him when he could ride his bike without training wheels hed get a him a new one. 2 days later grandpa had to buy him a new bike.

my boys just turning 10 months, were still trying to get the crawling thing under control ... or out of control :mrgreen:

 

[Rat Rod]

If your niece has trouble with it now you might consider taking the cranks off the bike so she can push it around with her feet for a while and learn how to balance.

 

[2manybikes]

I got a push bike similar to the one Steve posted for my son at age 2. It really helped with balance. He started riding a pedal bike at 3 and never used training wheels. IMHO training wheels teach kids some bad habits, and sort of become a crutch.

 

[user 135]

I would suggest get a small bike 12", remove the pedals and slam the seat. Let them "walk" the bike and eventually they can start picking up the feet to figure out the balance.

My youngest learned to ride without training wheels when he was four. But he is kinda an overachiever when it comes to sports.

Riding a chopper when he was 5.

Mountain bike when he was 6.

 

[blacksheep]

My 4-year old daughter just learned to ride a 2-wheeler(20" Schwinn Bantam). Like a couple others said, I took an old 12" bike, cut the seat tube to get the seat as low as possible, and removed the crank. Worked great, in fact she was on the Bantam only 2 days after I altered the 12".

 

[kenny p]

Like everyone is saying, Removing the cranks and slammin' the seat is the only way to go.
My little guy was 4 and picked it up in really fast.
Like 2manybikes said, it teaches them a bad habit.
Good luck!!!

 

[Social Reject]

My oldest is 4 and using training wheels right now. I've not given it much thought. I wonder if I should take the training wheels off and see if I can get her on the fast track to success. hmmm...

 

[Gold Street Customs]

My daughter started with training wheels, and then started to get her balance with one of those aluminum scooters, now she's off the hook, heres a photo from last years Rat Bike Rodeo[img]http://i248.photobucket.com/al.../albums/gg195/holyrollin72/rodeo018.jpg[/img][/url] Not afraid to run with the big dogs

 

[sojudave]

Right now my neice has a 12" bike but I think she is tall enough for a 16". The other day, I caughter her using a wrench to take the training wheels off. Pretty cool little chick. i like the idea of taking the crank off. I think that's how I learned. I remember just pushing with my feet and lifting them up as I got momentum.

 

[Rustinkerer]

Never too young!!! :lol:

 

[HotRodRob]

My daughter was 4 when she started riding without training wheels, and was doing skids shortly after that :mrgreen:

 

[thatismytruck]

Boy learned to ride without training wheels in the bike shop parking lot in the summer of his 5th year. (that puts him nearly 6 as he is a December baby) He rode a 16" with training wheels at the beginning of summer. hated it because the training wheels would catch and knock him over. I took them off and he couldn't get the thing to go right. He was/is a big boy so we went to the bike shop for a real bike. They had Electras. He fell for the Boy's Rat Rod. He got on in the lot and started riding. I did get him an Electra but not the Rat Rod (I kicked myself for that until I found a boy's Straight 8 on CL 8) ). I think it was something about the foot forward tech that made him take to it so quickly.

 

[Bendix]

My daughter started with training wheels, and then started to get her balance with one of those aluminum scooters, now she's off the hook..........

the little razor scooters were just the ticket to 'unlearn' training wheel habits for us as well. long before they can safely ride a 16" bike on 2 wheels they can scramble up on it and ride with their training wheels while getting the feel for the controls

fwiw i think my daughter started riding around the basement @3....

 

[sensor]

i made the mistake of using training wheels with my boy for awhile.
he tried for almost a year to learn w/o them with no success...
then pulled them off trashed them and pulled the pedals off as well and had him just sit and push around....2 days later he was riding by himself :mrgreen:

 

[aka_locojoe]

I can't recall how old my Daughter was or how we taught her.
One Grandson (left) learned when he was 5 I think. I put him on a small grassy hill and let him coast down. Once he got the hang of balancing he would then start pedaling at the bottom. The younger Grandson (right) still hasn't learned and he's 7. Probably didn't help that he was riding a chopper :lol:
I hope to teach him when they come to visit this Spring.

 

[deorman]

My dad pointed me down a slight grade, gave me a push off as I started pedaling. Tried to brake with my legs in a poor leverage position, and target fixated right into a tree. :lol: Pushed me around a little 'til I learned where to brake from, then made me launch myself by standing on the lead pedal. Done.

 

[ohchusan]

i think 5 is a great age to learn to ride on 2 wheels .... here's a vid of my then 5 year old girl learning to ride. i took the crank/pedals off a donor bike and off she went! it took her just two days to learn... entirely on her own i might add...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQTEG48IQ9M