# help get son #2 going.



## Melonfish (6 May 2012)

Ok so i've been watching these amazing video's of 3 year olds cycling away and i'm jelous, not only for myself but for my own children and i realise i haven't given them the cycle support they really need.
to be fair until i joined this board i didn't even know balance bikes existed!

anyhoo, son #1 is pretty much cycling away without stabilisers, he could be more sturdy but he's getting there, same as him i learned when i was about 6/7 to cycle without stabilizers.
now son #2 is 5 and he's had little experience.
he's used to the stabilizers and can pedal along fine but i'm wondering if i should just take them off and show him how to push it along so he gets the balance?
should i leave the pedals on or remove them to begin with? should i get him a proper balance bike?

tbh my first real bike was a standard job with a plastic shell around it that made it look like a police bike, even had a button you could press and get siren sounds. does anyone know if they do adult ones of these?


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## biggs682 (6 May 2012)

its always a tough step , sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind , it mine ages to get there , tried about 3 differant bike , ended up on a bmx style bike , and once confident moved on from there , it was a long hard slog till she was about 7


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## atbman (11 May 2012)

Stabilisers and pedals off (remember that LH pedal has a LH thread and undoes the "wrong" way); lower the saddle to make sure he can reach the ground comfortably; find a place where he can roll down a slope onto a level bit and wait till he can roll along, and steer, for a few yards with his feet up.

Then put the pedals back on and start worrying. Once he's doing that, only push him, not the bike. Reason for that: he may not be quite steering in the direction you're pushing the bike. Just a hand on his back to help him get going until he's got the co-ordination right.

Teaching points:
Start in "pedal up" position, i.e. pedal level with the down tube (about 2 o'clock)
Big push
Don't look down, look where you need to go
Don't allow him to push off with the foot that's on the ground. Bad habit and reduces the efficiency of the start and puts him a little off balance

Works every time and we teach 30-40 kids a year doing the above


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## fossyant (11 May 2012)

Some are a bit quicker than others. My son was a bit of a late starter, but he decided when he wanted them off. Practiced in the cul-de-sac, riding round and round, then I took him on the football pitch - bumpy but he very quickly got used to just two wheels. Haven't looked back.

Lets say he descends down pitch black off road tracks faster than me, and that was with his kids 20" MTB - I've got no chance now he has a proper MTB.

My daughter isn't so keen on bikes, but she got going on two wheels when she was 7. She's still wobbly now at nearly 9, and we do use a tag a long with her if going any distance. With my daughter it was lots of two wheels with a hand on the saddle, but she wasn't confident. My son just decided and went for it.

They are all very different, and they will do it when they are ready.


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## kevin_cambs_uk (12 May 2012)

My brother helped me, back in the 70's
Took my stablizers off, and said he would hold the seat steady, sent me down our hill 1 in 10, his entire intention not to even bother holding the seat !
I picked up this riding malarkey very quickly !!


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## ufkacbln (12 May 2012)

The Ballantine method allows kids to develop quickly, but at their own pace.

1. Remove pedals and lower seat (Balance bike stage)
2. As they start freewheeling put the pedals back on and they will act as footrests
3. Pedalling will follow naturally


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## Butterfly (14 May 2012)

Cunobelin said:


> The Ballantine method allows kids to develop quickly, but at their own pace.
> 
> 1. Remove pedals and lower seat (Balance bike stage)
> 2. As they start freewheeling put the pedals back on and they will act as footrests
> 3. Pedalling will follow naturally


Yes that^. Spend an afternoon running up and down a flat path or quiet road, with the promise of ice cream (or whatever) when they've mastered it - this gives the incentive to push through the trickier bits if they struggle.


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## xpc316e (15 May 2012)

I have taught quite a few children to ride, and it is easier if they are not yours. Your own children will whinge, tell you they cannot do it, etc., but when an adult who is not their parent takes off their stupid stabilisers they just go along with it. I like giving them a push on their back, not the bike, to get them up to speed. I have tried with the pedals off, balance bike method, but is isn't wonderful for me. Now I just leave the pedals on and get them pedalling right away.


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## subaqua (15 May 2012)

xpc316e said:


> I have taught quite a few children to ride, and it is easier if they are not yours. Your own children will whinge, tell you they cannot do it, etc., but when an adult who is not their parent takes off their stupid stabilisers they just go along with it. I like giving them a push on their back, not the bike, to get them up to speed. I have tried with the pedals off, balance bike method, but is isn't wonderful for me. Now I just leave the pedals on and get them pedalling right away.


 

although sometimes you get the odd one ( yes my son is an odd one - Takes after me) who asks for the pedals to go back on and then when his dad says , no they are staying off justs accepts the fact that he isn't going to win this one. 2 hours on sunday and its nearly time for the pedals to go back on. he just needs to sort out the looking where he is going rather than the front wheel or behind him !!!


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## Melonfish (16 May 2012)

ok, this weekends plan is to remove the stabilizers and pedals and see how he goes.
he shouldn't whinge much as he'll see his older bother whizz around on his bike so he'll be well up for having a "big boy" bike
heh


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## Effyb4 (16 May 2012)

We spent ages trying to teach my youngest son to ride without stabilisers, with much whinging, whining and crying that he couldn't do it. We left it for a while, as he had no desire to get back on and try. Then one day his friends taught him to ride in the space of half an hour.


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## Tomba (17 May 2012)

Cunobelin said:


> The Ballantine method allows kids to develop quickly, but at their own pace.
> 
> 1. Remove pedals and lower seat (Balance bike stage)
> 2. As they start freewheeling put the pedals back on and they will act as footrests
> 3. Pedalling will follow naturally


 

Tried all last year to get my daughter pedaling without any joy. She was becoming really frustrated and I was fearful she was about to give up. Then I read about the above method. 

She had the pedals off her bike for maybe two weeks (probably went out 4-5 times). She then asked me to put pedals back on and she immediately started pedaling. I just wish I had done this sooner.

Anyway she's had her first 'crash'. Lost her balance after getting to the top of a small hill and fell off but she was chuffed she managed to make it to the top of the hill


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