If you're on the fence about this or haven't heard of/seen them before a balance bike is just a bike frame without the pedals. It's meant to be a training aid to get kids used to balancing on two wheels without the use of pedals, instead relying on pushing off with their feet.



That out of the way, if you have kids and want to get them riding a bike easily and early, buy one. My (now) 7.5 y/o daughter is very risk averse (like me) and never really took to a bike with training wheels. She'd go so slow that she'd basically stop when trying to make a turn. Fast forward to two weeks ago, we picked up a "big-kid" version of the above to try out for her and her 3 y/o sister. In less than two weeks she went from being scared to get on her real bike to this.


*Sorry for filming vertically, I was trying to contain my excitement.

We went down the street to a vacant park parking lot to give her some room. She took one lap around on the balance bike and stopped to tell me she was ready for her real bike. I never had to hold on to her seat or anything. She just pushed off and was gone.

I hope to skip the training wheels altogether with her sister over the next couple months.

My 7 yr old boy never had training wheels. He used the balance bike, and then converted quickly to a normal bike. We did an Avid for Adventure bike class int here too, which was helpful.

We had our son ride a tiny bike with training wheels when he was 2 1/2 yo. In our back patio and the park. Then right before he turned 5 yo, we got him a used small bike w/ 12" wheels and had the seat adjusted rock bottom so he could place his feet flat on the ground while sitting. He was up and riding within 30 minutes, and a few days later we adjusted his seat a little higher for more comfortable pedaling. I did the same with two of my nieces, but one nephew had a terrible time with strategy.

We used a balance bike for my daughter. She recently turned 4 and now rides a regular bike. She does great. Never had training wheels. We go riding frequently.

By the way, for my daughter we bought a Woom bike. Great for young kids. They are lightweight and very well built. I highly recommend them. They are expensive though, and currently there is a bit of a wait to get one new.

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By the way, for my daughter we bought a Woom bike. Great for young kids. They are lightweight and very well built. I highly recommend them. They are expensive though, and currently there is a bit of a wait to get one new.

Ok now that is cool. We may have to look at one of these once she gets a little more time in the saddle. I think she'd love to try some light off-road riding.

I just never saw the need for one or thought that the high cost worth it for the couple times it might get used. Maybe if you could find a used one at a yard sale or somewhere. I'm sure kids learn at different rates and I guess bike riding comes easy for me and my extended family. Or maybe I'm just a fantastic teacher . Never took more than a few sessions for me to teach a child, grandchild, niece or nephew but the child has to be in the right mindset.

The grandkid in the photo learned in less than 10 minutes one day when he was 3 yrs old. Here he a little later is already impressing the ladies at the state park...

Tomminator was afraid of falling and has resisted learning to ride his bike. I saw one of these balance bikes, and took the petals off of his bike. It took him two days and he learned how to ride I should’ve done this so much earlier.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MikeinNC,

We have 3 boys, oldest is 9, youngest is 3. We got the oldest a balance bike when he was 3, and started all the others on it when they were 3 as well. Each kid has been different, the oldest was on training wheels on a real bike for several months, middle was on training wheels for about a week, youngest is currently zooming around on the balance bike. They are great when you have multiple kids as the little one(s) can zoom around and few like they’re doing the same thing as the older one(s).

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They are great when you have multiple kids as the little one(s) can zoom around and few like they’re doing the same thing as the older one(s).

That's where we're at. With three kids it'll hopefully be able to progress through all of them, though I'd like to get my 1.5 y/o son on a smaller one sooner than we started his sisters.

My daughter tried traing wheels for 2 weeks, not too successful. Another dad passed the hint about taking the pedals off.
2 days later my daughter was confidently riding her bike.

I passed the same advice to my neighbor for his 5 yo daughter. The next weekend the little girl was riding.

2 votes for gliders.

Our daughter went from balance bike to no training wheels when she was 5. Her next bike will have gears.

I know they are spendy but we went with the Woom Bike 3 because of how light it is and no peddle brakes, just normal hand brakes. Learning how to peddle on a heavy bike can be discouraging. Our daughter flies on her bike. I'll probably upgrade her bike soon to the one with gears.

My neighbor's kid has a bike like the one shown in the OP. He's four. They're moving.

I looked out the window last week and saw the moving truck being loaded, and little Mr Fearless pushing his bike up the ramp into the truck. A moment later, he came back out of the truck, down that ramp, absolutely flying on that no-pedals bike!

I'm gonna miss that kid.

I had a difficult time learning to ride a bike, and didn’t manage until I was much older than anyone else I knew who was doing it. One day my family was visiting friends who had a large “scooter” that I got on, started riding, and suddenly I understood what was involved in balancing and staying upright on a two wheel conveyance. When we got home that afternoon I got on the bike I’d been trying to learn to ride, and off I went. The balance concept had never been explained to me, and trying to pedal at the same time didn’t allow me to learn it on my own.

The first time I saw a “balance bike” decades later I thought, “Yeah; that would have done it for me.”

I think they are useful. We just cranked the peddles off a small bike for the grandkids out here. The thing that helped me teach my sons to ride was taking them to a large paved (empty) parking lot to learn instead of on the sidewalk. You remove the steering aspect so they can get the balance thing figured out then the steering comes right in.

I’m just curious why so many kids are having such a hard time learning to ride a bike.

I guess they always have but didn’t have options like this?

Strider Bikes in Rapid City, SD, makes some of the best balance bikes. Regardless of what brand interests you, there's a lot of good info on their site. They also sponsor balance bike events internationally.

https://striderbikes.com/

Great company and products. No affiliation!

Step 1 - take pedals off reguar bike
Step 2 - find small, grassy hill
Step 3 - have child walk/coast down small grassy hill on bike until coasting easily
Step 4- reinstall pedals
Step 5 - have child place feet on pedals while coasting down hill
Step 6 - have child start pedaling while coasting down hill.

Doing the above my oldest son learned to ride in 30 minutes. My daughter was well on here way in 20 minutes, but crashed and refused to try again until she just started riding one day while we were camping. On our next camping trip, my youngest son just started riding as well. Seeing his brother and sister having fun was a great motivator.

Along with no training wheels goes no swim float things in the pool. My older two were swimming at easily by 2. Against my wishes, my mom bought floats before my youngest was swimming and that set him back 2 years from the two oldest.

No. We used a used bike and band-aids. When I was a kid, we didn't even get the band-aids, just secure-chrome.

How times have changed!

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Originally posted by 1s1k:
I’m just curious why so many kids are having such a hard time learning to ride a bike.

I guess they always have but didn’t have options like this?

Yeah. I don't get it at all. I don't even think I know anyone who had trouble riding a bike.

It's like Peanut allergies or Gluten. One day there's four affected people, now it's a movement/etc?

Weird, but whatever.