Teaching a child to cycle ...

[KneesUp]

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

 

[buggi]

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

 

[cyberknight]

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 .

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

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.

 

[T4tomo]

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.

 

[summerdays]

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!

 

[KneesUp]

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.

 

[ianrauk]

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.

 

[summerdays]

How is she ok with the scooter movement?

 

[Canrider]

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

 

[KneesUp]

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!

 

[Canrider]

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..

 

[KneesUp]

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 :/

 

[Canrider]

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.

 

[KneesUp]

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 ...