# Teaching a child to cycle ...



## KneesUp (26 Apr 2014)

The story so far: we bought our daughter (4) a Ridgeback MX-16 to replace the 'BSO' she had previously, because the BSO weighed 11kg and seemed too much effort for her - to keep the same ratio of bike weight to rider weight I'd have to have a bike weighing over 45kg, so it sort of made sense that the weight was holding her back, literally and metaphorically.

She has a scooter, which she is proficient on. It is one of those ones with two wheels at the front and one at the back, but she scoots it and coasts down hills with both feet on, steers by leaning it and so on. She's only ever fallen off it a few times, and hasn't done for ages.

She rides trikes at school once a week (how cool is that, btw?) and is always happy to try out new bikes in shops. It's a chore to get her out of Halfords because they have the most room locally to ride indoors - so she's fine with pedalling. It was because of this we got her the Ridgeback - she cycles so easily in shops that we assumed that it was the weight of her own bike that stopped her riding it much.

I had spot of bother getting stabilisers to fit the Ridgeback because the chainstays are so thick: her old ones have the little bars that go around them, except they won't because the stays are too thick. I ended up with some 'springy' stabilisers like these, which I thought would be good because she used to get frustrated with the old ones when they led to a spinning back wheel because the ground was too rough.




Unfortunately the spring hasn't gone down well because as soon as she feels the bike start to lean (as it does because the stabilisers have 'give') she slams on the brakes, and no amount of persuasion will stop her from doing so. She's even managed to overbalance it a few times, with stabilisers on. Today has consisted of her riding at walking speed over yard-long sections which is a step back from where she was last week when I got her to follow me across a lawn and then along two (exceptionally quiet) roads on a camp site on her old bike.

I tried the advice I'd been given on my thread about the bike and took the pedals off but although it has a freewheel the cranks turn with the bike if they are totally unloaded, so she didn't go for that either because it made it awkward. I suppose I could take the bottom bracket out too, but frankly I can't be bothered!

What happens now is that she rides literally a few feet, feels the bike start to lean, and then stops. She is trying to over-think it rather than rely on instinct because that is her way - so, any advice would be great. I've tried 'Don't think: feel' buy even with my best Yoda voice she ignored me 

Basically, at the end of this waffle, I have no idea how to teach a child who stops at the first sign of 'lean' and is terrified of falling off how to ride a bike


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## buggi (26 Apr 2014)

do what my dad did. Remove the stabilisers, hold the saddle and run behind her holding her up. Then let go. Hopefully she won't notice


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## cyberknight (26 Apr 2014)

I just bought a balance bike for mini ck 2 with the idea that she will get used to riding , mini ck 1 started with normal stabilizers and got confident on them and then i got him used to riding without by holding the back of his seat (cue major back ache) although he was 5 before he rode on his own due to being small for his age so bike sizing was an issue .


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (26 Apr 2014)

buggi said:


> do what my dad did. Remove the stabilisers, hold the saddle and run behind her holding her up. Then let go. Hopefully she won't notice


this and just remember to introduce her to the concept of brakes - that was the main issue I had teaching my brother to ride a bike.


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## T4tomo (26 Apr 2014)

Keep the pedals off until she has her balance sorted - do as suggested above and tie a crank to the frame if it turning is bothering her.

Once she has her balance do as Buggi suggests.


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## summerdays (26 Apr 2014)

She shouldn't be able to fall because she can put both feet down flat on the ground. She can either walk with alternate feet, or push with both feet at the same time. It is easiest to do it on Tarmac with a very very slight slope downhill, and I do mean slight so that she isn't afraid it's going to run away with her. Talk to her whilst she is doing it to see if you can distract her from thinking about what she is actually doing. There is no stress to learn at any particular age so just make it fun!


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## KneesUp (26 Apr 2014)

Brakes she is fine with - that's the probem; she's so risk averse that at the slightest wobble, which of course there is when you start moving, she slams on and gets off.

Thanks for all your advice, I think we'll go with the 'holding the saddle' route next time and see how that goes.


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## ianrauk (26 Apr 2014)

An important point not to forget is don't force the issue. If she see's you getting frustrated then she will get frustrated. She will get it but in her own time. Gentle encouragement is the key.


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## summerdays (26 Apr 2014)

How is she ok with the scooter movement?


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## Canrider (26 Apr 2014)

Some good advice. I've just switched Miss Canrider (5) to a new bike (Frog 52), and what I said to her was 'This is a new bike, so it's going to feel weird and different the first few times, but you've just got to do exactly the same things you were doing on your old bike and you'll be fine', which is to say 'get one pedal up and ahead of the bottom bracket, push down hard, and then remember to keep pedaling with the other foot and you'll be off'.

If she's already pedaling without stabilisers on her old bike, I would say give her the new one in as close a setup to the old bike as possible, advise her that (obviously) it's a new bike, and she just needs to do the same things as she did with the old one and she'll be off and fine same as before. That might mean no stabilisers and pedals back on if that's what she was doing on the old one. You could give her a surreptitious shove on the saddle the first few times she sets off to propel her and have her realise that a big pedal push, if followed up by another (and another) will get her going after which she'll be fine. In Miss Canrider's case it's reminding her she needs to get her pedals set for a big push when she's stuck in top gear and can't quite get her backside onto the saddle


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## KneesUp (26 Apr 2014)

We were both with her today, and both patient. Unfortunately she thinks it's funny to have one or both of us alongside saying "keep pedalling! that's it! keep pedalling!" and so on - it's like she's playing us - she knows she is better than she is letting on but that's how she is. Previously she's never let on she can do something until she can actually do it - she went from not being able to read at all (as far as we knew) to being able to read as well as seven year old in about a month, for example.

She is a bit of a wuss though!


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## Canrider (26 Apr 2014)

Then don't stay alongside. 

But seriously, give her that shove to propel her and then let her get on with riding off away from you. Miss Canrider had to learn to pedal and steer as she learned to ride around the loop we have at the top of the drive (gosh, doesn't that sound posh?). Master Canrider wants to learn by coasting *down* the drive, apparently expecting SpiderMan to jump out of the hedge and miraculously save him from a crash..


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## KneesUp (26 Apr 2014)

Canrider said:


> Then don't stay alongside. .



If she can't see us, or thinks we're too far away to catch her if she needs us, she just stops and gets off though :/


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## Canrider (26 Apr 2014)

Curses!!! I'm inclined to say make her learn the way I did: coaster brake, 26" wheels and a big, long hill.
- First time hit a parked car
- Second time hit a tree
- Third time in a hedge
- Fourth time down the bottom of the hill and into the history books*

I mean, she's four, it's all very new and she's still very young, you might try something like take her, yourself, and two bikes to a quiet country trail or off-road cyclepath with a 'Let's go for a ride, just you and Daddy' kind of outing, promise ice cream at the end, whatever, and then you just go out front with your bike and let her strive to follow and keep up. It's harsh, but these kids will play you (as you've noted) any way they can.

*Not really.


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## KneesUp (26 Apr 2014)

We did that today, except with three bikes at Monsal Trail. We spent the whole time in the car park trying to get her to ride, and in the cafe. The food was nice though.

She did keep up on her old bike on the caravan site - I think you're right about the new bike feeling different, and the 'springy' stabilisers aren't working for her. If I end up using them it's solid ones next time.

She is 4 3/4 btw. At one point a younger lad cycled past and she said "Look at him! And he's smaller than me so he's probably younger than me" 

Next weekend we try again ...


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## Canrider (26 Apr 2014)

Cruel to be kind, just take off up the trail and let her keep up*, and when the little boy cruises past go 'Yeah, he's smaller and younger than you, so what's the problem?!'

I think ditch the stabilisers, let her see you put them in the metaphorical bin, go full-on psych warfare and just say 'you're big now, Mummy says you don't need them, now let's go ride the Red trail at the MTB centre'.


*Aren't I a horrible daddy?


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## summerdays (27 Apr 2014)

Some bits of this are reminding me of my youngest.

We went to the Forest of Dean intending to hire a tag along for him, and took the older two's bikes. It was a bank holiday and there were no hire bikes left. So we walked, older two cycled. Then he was getting a bit tired so I ended up putting him on the smaller bike for a rest, and I was pushing him. (He was had never tried to ride a bike before). I could feel he hand a good balance and he was pedalling just for fun, but the saddle was too high as it was for a child several years older. 

When we got home I decided to boot the sibling off that bike, lower the saddle and try properly. I held on and I could feel he could do it. I'd let go, and yes he could up till the moment he realised I wasn't holding on, so he would slam the brakes on. Very frustrating, but that's why when he started school shortly afterwards he cycled to school every day, each day same procedure, I'd pretend to hold on, he'd ask for reassurance, I'd lie and he would ride until he would realise, slam the brakes on and I'd hold on again for a short while before letting go again. I think it took about a month for him to realise he could cycle, but as a result he was in the habit of cycling to school so he did throughout primary school. And that was about the time I started cycling too.


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## subaqua (27 Apr 2014)

eldest daughter I used stabilisers , took till she was 6 from about 4. tried the pedals off and zip ty the crankarms for my youngest took about 4 weeks from age 4 . he is nearly 7 now and rides confidently on the road with me.


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## KneesUp (27 Apr 2014)

There is a bike park at school, but (and this might sound like I'm making excuses) the route there isn't exactly 'learning to cycle' friendly. Specifically I don' think holding on to her whilst she tries to race downhill / refuses to go downhill because it's too steep will be much fun for my back!







But there is relatively flat park not far away so that is where we shall go. Is it best if they can get their feet flat on the floor whilst on the saddle for using the bike as a balance bike? I suppose she has to be able to - she can reach the floor with both feet but not with her feet flat at the moment, so I might have to do the old 'seat-bracket upside down' trick.


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## Broadside (27 Apr 2014)

I wouldn't try and rush her, she will take to it when she is ready. Both my daughters were riding their bikes just after their 5th birthdays, they just weren't ready before that, when I felt it was time I then spent about 90 mins running behind them with a hand on the saddle and eventually you just have to let go, that is the real hard bit. My son on the other hand was riding shortly after his 3rd birthday, the difference I think is partly because he is an active boy, but also because he was actively zooming around on a balance bike since he was 2.

I am quite against stabilisers as they just defer the problem of going solo so I agree with others about removing pedals, in fact for my first daughter I did remove the bottom bracket completely. You can also pick up balance bikes pretty cheap especially on ebay and then you just sell it on. I always bought the kids first proper bike and put it in the garage, then told them they could only ride it without stabilisers.

As far as saddle height is concerned for a balance bike, yes they need to be able to get their feet flat on the floor as they need to brake with their feet easily - the balance bike is a big confidence booster so don't ruin that by putting the saddle too high.


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## KneesUp (4 May 2014)

Update - removed the stabilisers entirely and she can now (as of today) ride 10 yards downhill on grass on her own (if I help her start). I call that progress - thanks for all your advice.


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## summerdays (5 May 2014)

Well done! Keep going on the slope or flat, she will find it difficult to go uphill to start with, but it will soon come with a bit more practice.


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## macbikes (5 May 2014)

Well done!


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