# Balance Bikes Are A "Craze"



## Puddles (23 Feb 2015)

Just seen on my face ache newsfeed...

*



I think we are becoming a society where the children will grow up and be so scared to even walk in case they fall over without the help of something to save them.. You ride a trike go onto 2 wheels with stabilisers and then remove stabilisers..Right? Wrong, the craze now is to get a balance bikes first then a normal bike.*****

*****Definition of a balance bike*****

A Balance Bike is a beautifully simple type of bike designed to teach very young children how to balance and steer. The main differences between balance bikes and regular children's pedal bikes are: Balance bikes have no pedals - children propel themselves along by pushing the ground with their feet.

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what a daft idea!

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Put children on a balance bike they have to learn to balance.Put a child on a normal bike without stabilisers they have to learn to balance..The difference is buy a balance bike then you have to buy a normal bike .child rides Buy a normal bike and you are done..child rides..

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When we were kids we fell off the bike then got up and back on to try again none of this shoot with balance bikes!! Or helmets or knee pads, so what we get a graze, go get it cleaned then get back out there pmsl

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*I am a little  at the comments....


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## Crackle (23 Feb 2015)

I'm constantly surprised how many sensible young adults I see around me who've obviously never been subjected to balance bikes, social media, xbox's, scary headlines, stranger danger, not playing out etc.........oh wait, no I'm not.

Another loser who wants everyone to live by their standards, ignore with an extra slice of contempt for good luck.


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## Puddles (23 Feb 2015)

Personally I think balance bikes are great... had lots of running up and down with the eldest on a normal bike after removing the stabilisers killing my back holding the saddle teaching him to ride - a nightmare... with the youngest we got her a balance bike (she did have a tricycle as well) when she got on a proper wheels it took her an hour on her own, refusing any help up and down the garden and then she was off...

The person on faceache thinks balance bikes are a waste of money and are some "over protective craze" and cannot seem to grasp that it makes it easier for children to learn to cycle not that it is a safer/not safer issue it is an easier/difficult issue (well it is for me anyhoo)


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## Sara_H (23 Feb 2015)

What Faceache page is it Puddles?


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## Puddles (23 Feb 2015)

Sara_H said:


> What Faceache page is it Puddles?




It is an idiot "friend" of mine so not public...


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## Sara_H (23 Feb 2015)

Ah! I see. I once inadvertantly engaged with a friend of a friend on Faceache whoheld some real nasty bigoted views about cyclists. It made for a good evenings entertainment!


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## summerdays (23 Feb 2015)

I wish balance bikes had been around for mine, they just missed it really. I think they are fab and always recommend them to friends/relatives. After all which is the harder part to learn riding a bike, the balancing part (especially when you have stabilizers that don't actually teach you to balance just to rock from one support to the other) or turning the pedals (which if you also have a tricycle you will learn anyway).


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## Puddles (23 Feb 2015)

Sara_H said:


> Ah! I see. I once inadvertantly engaged with a friend of a friend on Faceache whoheld some real nasty bigoted views about cyclists. It made for a good evenings entertainment!




As she doesn't cycle and all her children are grown up, I told her how beneficial it had been for Maggot... but she is one of those that does not read what you write and will not understand that 

a) you can take the pedals off a normal bike if it is the buy two bike thing that makes it "a stupid expensive way to teach children to ride" 
b) It made learning to ride easier for User76 
c) Not all little ones are tall enough for the smallest childs bike to take the pedals off so a balance bike is good for that
and
d) it is a good way to break down the process rather than trying to teach balance, steering, pedaling & braking all in one go


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## summerdays (23 Feb 2015)

Have you tried telling her that she could do the same to an adult bike to learn to ride ... that really might get her pulling out her hair! Why is she worried about them if her's are too old for them?


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## Puddles (23 Feb 2015)

summerdays said:


> Have you tried telling her that she could do the same to an adult bike to learn to ride ... that really might get her pulling out her hair! Why is she worried about them if her's are too old for them?




Yes lol I did, I also told her one of the first incarnations of a bicycle was a balance bike  that blew her mind, and I got told to stop being ridiculous as it is most certainly a "new fangled gimmicky craze to make parents spend more money"


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## ianrauk (23 Feb 2015)

What a strange thing to get all worked up about.


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## Rob H (23 Feb 2015)

Utter maniac

Both my sons were on balance bikes at 21/2 and literally got on bikes and rode at 5. Thats no running after them and no confidence shattering crashes that takes a month to get them back on again ...

Some people seem to need to find the oddest of issues to target retailers its laughable 

I guess the only loser is her kids, which is sad


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## Butty1972 (24 Feb 2015)

Surely if you think balancebikes are a new-fangled gimmicky craze to get people to spend more money...

Simply don't buy one? then you win?

To be fair, I wish the preponderance of balance bikes in the world was my biggest worry......must be a nice life.


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## summerdays (24 Feb 2015)

I would say from what I see out and about the bigger pressure on parents to spend money is on phones and tablets. None of mine had a phone before they went to secondary school, and then it was also so that they could let us know if their school bus was stuck in traffic (the latest they ever arrived back was 2 hours after school finished on a very stormy day).


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## Sara_H (24 Feb 2015)

Your faceache friend seems to not grasp the concept that children grow. Whether you choose a balance bike or not, you're going to be buying them a new bike when they outgrow it!


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## Puddles (24 Feb 2015)

The funniest is someone else asking "Does it look like a scooter?" 

Err no... it looks like a bike but with no pedals


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## Saluki (24 Feb 2015)

I don't know if we had balance bikes in the mid - late 60s when I was very little. My Dad got a regular bike and took the pedals, cranks and chain assembly off and I whizzed about the back garden on it. I have seen photos of me on the bike. After a while he put the pedals etc back on and away I went. I don't have any memories of stabilisers at all.
I did have a brilliant trike with a big 'boot' area at the back for carrying whatever it is that 5 and 6 year olds need to carry about.

Balance bikes are a great idea. Kids fall off, get back on, fall off, get back on. It's how I learned, it's how Hubster learned.


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## snorri (24 Feb 2015)

ianrauk said:


> What a strange thing to get all worked up about.


Faceache _is _strange.


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## ianrauk (24 Feb 2015)

Yeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaa!


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## Arrowfoot (24 Feb 2015)

Lets kids enjoy their childhood. Put a balance bike and a trike and watch the kid choose the ride and have more fun with. Riding a trike or a toddler bike with training wheels will not cause irreparably harm to a kid who eventually removes the training wheels. There is also no prize for the youngest ever kid who can pedal a 2 wheeler. 

Adults looking for fun I am sure can spot that particular parent who has done tons of reseach, written to notable academics and done a mini dissertation on balance bike. Next step is to engage them and ask for advice and it will be a long conversation. That should kill an hour of waiting time at the playground. 

It will be same parent, that you will meet when bronze bracelet and magnetic beds come back in fashion again.


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## ayceejay (24 Feb 2015)

There is something to the annoyance of over protection that some parents impose on there children but using the balance bike as an example doesn't work. I sent my grand kids one each in a box, lesson no 1 was putting it together - 30 minutes - adjust saddle height - 2 minutes - zooming round the garden unassisted - 20 minutes later. Transition to proper bike 6 months later - instant. Sell balance bike locally 3 days.
Incidentally the trick with pushing a youngster on a trike is to use a broom.


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## Puddles (24 Feb 2015)

ayceejay said:


> Incidentally the trick with pushing a youngster on a trike is to use a broom.



I found pulling with a dog lead worked well too oh and also when she objected to that and got better with steering pushing the back wooden rack thingy with a foot when there was a hump in the pavement


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## puffinbilly (24 Feb 2015)

@ianrauk just watched your video - you're a lot smaller than I imagined you to be and very young looking....think it's the mass of blonde curls.....


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## Mugshot (24 Feb 2015)

puffinbilly said:


> @ianrauk just watched your video - you're a lot smaller than I imagined you to be and very young looking....think it's the mass of blonde curls.....


Perhaps even more surprising is the mileage he manages on the thing, 10K target for the year I believe.


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## Sara_H (24 Feb 2015)

Saluki said:


> I don't know if we had balance bikes in the mid - late 60s when I was very little. My Dad got a regular bike and took the pedals, cranks and chain assembly off and I whizzed about the back garden on it. I have seen photos of me on the bike. After a while he put the pedals etc back on and away I went. I don't have any memories of stabilisers at all.
> I did have a brilliant trike with a big 'boot' area at the back for carrying whatever it is that 5 and 6 year olds need to carry about.
> 
> Balance bikes are a great idea. Kids fall off, get back on, fall off, get back on. It's how I learned, it's how Hubster learned.


I remember a trike with a boot too! Loved it. We had a Westie/JR cross who's lead was tied to the seat post and she had to trot along with me whether she liked it or not


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## Saluki (24 Feb 2015)

puffinbilly said:


> @ianrauk just watched your video - you're a lot smaller than I imagined you to be and very young looking....think it's the mass of blonde curls.....


I expected @ianrauk to be taller as well. He's really cute though


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## Sara_H (24 Feb 2015)

Saluki said:


> I expected @ianrauk to be taller as well. He's really cute though


He could fit in my trike boot!


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## Mummy3monkeys (24 Feb 2015)

I can highly recommend balance bikes, our first did the whole stabiliser off routine, took her ages to get her confidence, but she got there in the end, killed our backs, months of holding onto her.
Our second, a boy (whether this has anything to do with it, I'm not sure) had a balance bike at 3. The first day he got his big bike, aged five, he got on and rode, none of this hanging onto the back of him. So impressed, want to do it for our youngest, age 3. Only problem is he is so tall, the balance bike is too small for him. I remember my Uncle taking the pedals off my cousins bike and doing the very same.

Each to their own, who am I to criticise how people do things. There are many different ways to do things, everyone has their own opinion, I certainly wouldn't tell anyone they are doing it wrong. Some people just like to moan I guess.


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## Mummy3monkeys (24 Feb 2015)

summerdays said:


> I would say from what I see out and about the bigger pressure on parents to spend money is on phones and tablets. None of mine had a phone before they went to secondary school, and then it was also so that they could let us know if their school bus was stuck in traffic (the latest they ever arrived back was 2 hours after school finished on a very stormy day).



Personally, I would rather spend the money on a bike that gets kids out and about in the fresh air than a tablet


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## macbikes (24 Feb 2015)

I've seen people complain that balance bikes are dangerous and that there is no way children younger than 3 can control them properly. What nonsense!


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## ianrauk (24 Feb 2015)

macbikes said:


> I've seen people complain that balance bikes are dangerous and that there is no way children younger than 3 can control them properly. What nonsense!



Or even 2 year olds..


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## andyfraser (24 Feb 2015)

We didn't have balance bikes when I was young. My first bike was a small fixie. I've gone full circle!


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## jdtate101 (24 Feb 2015)

Didn't do this lad any harm at all...

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/147106/


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## Rob H (25 Feb 2015)

jdtate101 said:


> Didn't do this lad any harm at all...
> 
> http://www.pinkbike.com/video/147106/


 

Did you see him at 8?...

<iframe width='500' height='281' src='http://www.pinkbike.com/v/embed/296940/?colors=C80000' allowfullscreen frameborder='0'></iframe>


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## atbman (8 Mar 2015)

ianrauk said:


> Or even 2 year olds..



And you've even taught her to take the lane!


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## ianrauk (8 Mar 2015)

atbman said:


> And you've even taught her to take the lane!



him...


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## Usehernamegood (15 Mar 2015)

Puddles said:


> Just seen on my face ache newsfeed...
> 
> *
> 
> ...


My daughter has a balance bike at the age of 3 and it's done her a world of wonders! I'm pro balance bikes!

Not to mention the attention she gets down the pub on it.


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## Andy_R (16 Mar 2015)

andyfraser said:


> We didn't have balance bikes when I was young. My first bike was a small fixie. I've gone full circle!


You did, but probably never knew about it. Take chainset and chain off, lower seat - instant(ish) balance bike. It's what I learnt on almost 50 years ago. My old man told me that I was balancing on it in a couple of days so he put the chainset and chain back on and I've never stopped since.


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## Hicky (17 Mar 2015)

If that is wrote by a friend.....delete them


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## Cyclist33 (27 Mar 2015)

Andy_R said:


> You did, but probably never knew about it. Take chainset and chain off, lower seat - instant(ish) balance bike. It's what I learnt on almost 50 years ago. My old man told me that I was balancing on it in a couple of days so he put the chainset and chain back on and I've never stopped since.



Assumptions.

We just had little bikes, we learned to pedal and steer concurrently, I don't know why there would be a need to learn any other way... some kids learn balance etc and/or are inherently more athletic than others, and some (dare I confine it to?) dad's are more pushy about their children's talent/reputation than others, so there is no controlled way of proving that balance bikes make for a quicker or earlier learning experience.

Emperor's New Clothes, in my humble opinion.


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## summerdays (27 Mar 2015)

Having tried both methods with more than one child I would definitely favour the balance bike. Admittedly I've never tried a balance bike then stabilisers because they've learnt using the balance bike so didn't need the stabilisers.


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## Andy_R (29 Mar 2015)

Stabilizers also teach bad habits if left on for too long. I've seen kids who don't attempt to move their upper bodies to keep their balance becasue they have got into the habit of letting the stabilizers "catch" the bike as it tilts


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## ianrauk (29 Mar 2015)

Andy_R said:


> Stabilizers also teach bad habits if left on for too long. I've seen kids who don't attempt to move their upper bodies to keep their balance becasue they have got into the habit of letting the stabilizers "catch" the bike as it tilts




There's a kid we see in our local park every now and then. Think he must be 6 or 7 years old. Uses quite a big bike with stabilisers. You could see that he had grown into relying on them and had become lazy using a stabiliser rather then trying to at least balance. I spoke to his dad about it. He said that he refuses to ride the bike without them.


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## 400bhp (29 Mar 2015)

ianrauk said:


> There's a kid we see in our local park every now and then. Think he must be 6 or 7 years old. Uses quite a big bike with stabilisers. You could see that he had grown into relying on them and had become lazy using a stabiliser rather then trying to at least balance. I spoke to his dad about it. He said that he refuses to ride the bike without them.



Like a kid refusing to eat vegetables, or somesuch. Excuse really.


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## Jimidh (29 Mar 2015)

Don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this. Kids are different and learn in their own ways and in their own time.

Both my kids learned the old way - my boy was 3 when his stabilisers came off my daughter was almost 6.

Both love their bikes and getting out on the trails and give me another excuse for spending more time on my bikes.


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## hatler (31 Mar 2015)

I couldn't give a monkeys whether someone thinks they're a craze.

I do know they have worked for a whole succession of children to my direct knowledge, whereas the one who tried stabilisers was slower getting going than all the others.

Sample size is 8.


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## hatler (31 Mar 2015)

What I can safely report though, is that getting going later than others has no impact on how well/much they cycle once they've got the hang of it. Anyone care to guess who the one was (who was on the FNRttC to Felpham last April) ?


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## MisterStan (1 Apr 2015)

hatler said:


> What I can safely report though, is that getting going later than others has no impact on how well/much they cycle once they've got the hang of it. Anyone care to guess who the one was (who was on the FNRttC to Felpham last April) ?


You mean the one who rode at the front all night? Good lad!


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## hatler (1 Apr 2015)

MisterStan said:


> You mean the one who rode at the front all night? Good lad!


The very one !


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## atbman (1 Apr 2015)

Balance bikes! Pshaw! I learned to ride (age 6 3/4) on a 28" wheel roadster with rod brakes and 6" wooden blocks screwed to the pedals so I could reach them (crossbar came up to my shoulder). Uncle pushed me along a few times till I got the hang of it and I was away. Learned to stand on one pedal and push until I got enough speed to cock my leg over the rear wheel and get on (and off).

Newfangled nonsense. Fear of falling from a great height was a great incentiviser. That's what I did 68 years ago, so everyone should do it.

We teach about 40 kids to ride every year using balance bikes and I protest every time we do it - mollycoddled the lot of them. Strange thing is is seems to work since we haven't failed yet. Damned impertinent of them.


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## User482 (6 Apr 2015)

My eldest has got the hang of balancing at age 3 1/2, much younger than I learnt with stabilisers. This is on a £25 bike from Lidl, so it's a cheap option too.


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## shouldbeinbed (6 Apr 2015)

They're a buffoon for the sentiment, but... My kids had a near as dammit balance bike each, it was their own first bike with the seat a bit low and the pedals removed. TBH the cheapskate in me would have done it that way anyway, but in all honesty I cannot recall seeing a balance bike or having one mentioned as an option to me when they were small.


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## MickL (7 Apr 2015)

My son started riding his bike this weekend without stabilizers, he was 5 in Jan. With him it was more a confidence thing but the last couple of weeks I have been taking him to local indoor skatepark in Stourbridge because he has always loved his scooters. The confidence it has gained from using the ramps etc on his scooter has transferred to him riding his bike, now from going up and down a path on Saturday to being able to turn around without stopping on Sunday to riding his bike all over the place. If I knew about balance bikes when he was a few years younger I would of brought him one( I discovered how they could help from this forum). My little girl (2.5) has one of the chillifish trikes that convert into a balance bike. I switched it to the balance bike because he complains being too big for the trike, she was pootling about at the skate park but the balance bike was a little too small for her so I have bought her balance bike yesterday and she has been riding around on it all day yesterday chasing after her brother without any issues.
Now my son has started the riding without stabilizers, there is a downside. He his tall for his age so he his at the very limit of his 14" bike and now wants BMX and fits 18" bike nicely which means he will be getting a new bike this week and its not even Christmas or his Birthday!


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## Jayaly (8 Apr 2015)

I think our balance bike is worth it just for the joy in our 2 year old's face at riding his "Own bike!" after 9 months in a seat on the back of mine. Ten minutes to get the hang of walking it around the front room and another fifteen until he was riding it to the park with us walking behind him.


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## ianrauk (29 Apr 2015)




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## macbikes (1 May 2015)

If they are a craze they are a very good craze  My 4 year old still rides his despite having been riding a "proper" bike for more than 2 and a half years!


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## MisterStan (1 May 2015)

macbikes said:


> If they are a craze they are a very good craze  My 4 year old still rides his despite having been riding a "proper" bike for more than 2 and a half years!



Brilliant!


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## CyclePower (19 Sep 2015)

My son used a balance bike and it was a fantastic experience. When he got his proper bike with pedals he learned to ride the bike within 10 minutes and no crash. He started to ride his first balance bike at the age of 3. A year later I bought him a bigger balance bike. Another year later he got the proper bike with pedals. I never needed to run after him or to hold him while hi was trying to ride or to sooth him after crashing. I wish I would have had learned to ride a bike on a balance bike.


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## Andy in Germany (27 Feb 2016)

They're normal in Germany and have been foe a very long time. Our first son didn't have one and took ages to get off his staibilisers and gain confidence. The other two used the same 'balance bike' and were riding confidently much earlier. In fact the youngest was taught by his brother, thus helping both learn and grow...

Stabilisers are almost unheard of here, by the way.


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## JaseO (18 Mar 2016)

Both my kids have had balance bikes. My daughter got on better with stabilizers on a pedal bike, but my son loves the balance bike. The challenge now is getting him to pedal!


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## Karlt (2 May 2016)

It's the old "childhood was perfect when I was a child so anything different to then must be bad" mentality. Does your friend take the Daily Mail by any chance?

Child 1 learnt the stabilisers way and it took a long while. Child 2 started that way but couldn't make the transition to no stabilisers. After months of no progress we bought a balance bike for him and he was riding without stabilisers in two months. Child 3 then inherited the balance bike which she called her "scooty bike" and loved it; was riding a proper bike herself within two or three months.

Balance bike wins. It makes sense; the stabilisers give no encouragement to balance. A well co-ordinated child might handle the transformation well; a less co-ordinated one won't. I know I was eight or nine before I could set off on my own. By comparison Child 3 was riding at 4 and sorted out setting off by the time she was 5.


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## BrumJim (25 Jun 2017)

My lad has had a balance bike for over two years now. Today he learnt to ride a pedal bike aged 4.5. In 20 minutes he was getting the hang of it, and I could let go. By 40 minutes he had it all-but sussed.

Instructor said that he was one of the fastest learners that he has taught. No stabilizers, a lot of time on the balance bike, and a boy desperate to learn. Earned himself an ice-cream.


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## ianrauk (25 Jun 2017)

BrumJim said:


> My lad has had a balance bike for over two years now. Today he learnt to ride a pedal bike aged 4.5. In 20 minutes he was getting the hang of it, and I could let go. By 40 minutes he had it all-but sussed.
> 
> Instructor said that he was one of the fastest learners that he has taught. No stabilizers, a lot of time on the balance bike, and a boy desperate to learn. Earned himself an ice-cream.




Awesome.
Exactly how Ian Jnr took to pedal biking. Balance bikes just work.


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## fisha (31 Mar 2018)

Another fan of balance bikes here. My young lad had one for a while, and became comfortable with building speed, then running on balance alone going round in circles.

The transisiton to a pedal bike was less than 10 minutes. Basically within half a dozen pushes, he was off pedalling himself under his own balance. 

I would 100% recommend it as the way to learn. 

I also beleive in investing in decent bikes at that age for the weight aspects.


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## Bonefish Blues (31 Mar 2018)

Me too. I was prepared for a lengthy transition period to the pedalled bike. Nope. Up and off - first time, Mum was actively upset at the speed of transition as she missed it!


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## hatler (8 Apr 2018)

Posted before, but our youngest went from a balance bike to this after some time (no idea how long, it was too long ago) playing around on a balance bike. Interval from starting on this bike to this vid was about ten minutes of extreme shouty frustration, then she got it.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sclUfUgP3IE&feature=youtu.be

Bottom line. Balance bikes work.


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## keithmac (13 Apr 2018)

My two learned to balance on two wheels on scooters, transfering that to bikes was relatively painless!.


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## Thomson (27 Apr 2018)

Our eldest son is 4.5 and has had a balence bike over two years. We had to keep putting the seat up. It's a wooden one. A month before he turned four he cycled down the path no balancing wheels at all. He hasn't wanted to go on his bike for a few months but last week he was on his big bike. He now zooms around on it infront of the house. Couldn't be happier. His little brother will be using the same little wooden bike. When he can. He's 7 months.


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## Venod (27 Apr 2018)

I haven't read all this so don't know if it has been mentioned, we just took the pedals of an ordinary bike to teach the grandkids to balance.


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## Mrklaw (18 Aug 2018)

Stabilisers with first child - took a while.
Balance bike with second child - she was belting up and down the street at high speed almost instantly.

The balance bike teaches....balance. So that when pedals come along, the child isn’t worried about taking their feet off the ground to pedal - they know how to balance the bike with feet off the ground because they’ve been doing it already. So the pedals are just a natural extension to propel them along.

Normal bikes with stabilisers don’t teach balance so when the stabilisers come off, they’re naturally worried about falling so the feet go straight to the ground and they’re wobbling. Basically stabilised bikes are glorified tricycles. 

Definitely a convert


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