I am turing to the SD Masses to find advice on how to teach a child to ride a bicycle (without training wheels). Any pointers? - Jinx
Put the seat down way down low ( so she can easily put her feet flat on the ground, remove the pedals, give er a push and let go. I don’t have to remind you that all cyclists need at least a helmet for protection, do I?
I have some experience in teaching the art of two-wheeler riding. Walking the child around the block while they pedal and you stabilize the bike is a pretty quick method because it gives them experience with balance. Knowing what good balance feels like on a bike is half the battle. Other approaches that I have seen work is the whole two training wheels to one training wheel to none. That approach seems to take longer than walking them around the block however. Good luck and always be positive so that the child remains confident.
I’ve read that learning to ride on grass, like a ball field, is helpful. The friction of the grass slows things down to a more manageable speed, and cushions the inevitable falls.
The advice I hear often is to remove the pedals, and let the child use the bike as a kick-bike (hobby horse). That way he/she can learn to balance a bike (which is the hard part) without having to pedal as well. However I have no first-hand experience with this method.
Waaay back when I was learning, one of my uncles figured out that if you attach a long handle to the back (I think he just stuck a stick into a metal loop under the seat), it makes it much easier for the accompanying adult to hold the bike steady while the kid gets up to speed.
What has been already said.
Also, each kid is different and some work faster and better with other kids riding along or Mom riding along.
some are fearful and need a special approach, smaller bike etc.
How old is the kid? Did they have a tricycle? (already knows how to pedal)
How bad are they wanting to learn? Are they being pushed to learn?
*::: No job is too hard for the person who does not have to do it. :: *
Pick a bike of appropriate size for the child. [ul][li][]12" bikes are almost always sold with training wheels, are single speed, often with tubeless tires and coaster brakes[]16" are often sold with training wheels, single speed, tube tires, and coaster brakes[]20" generally have no training wheels on most models, are often labeled “BMX”, with a single speed. Some multi-speed 20" bikes are available which will have hand brakes[]24" No training wheels, multi-speed, with hand brakes26" which are almost all multi-speed with hand brakes[/ul]The sizes all refer to the diameter of the wheel. A four foot child trying to ride a bike with 26" wheels is going to find it more difficult than riding a 20", or 16" bike. The child should be able to stand flat-footed astride the crossbar, between the seat and handlebars, without being high-centered. A bike whose crossbar drops can pass this test and still be too big, so imagine if the bar went pretty much straight between the base of the seat and the base of the handlebars.[/li]
Then, adjust the bike to the child. If you purchased the bike already assembled you should be able to find instructions on adjusting it either in the owners manual or online. I generally set the seat to the height where a child can barely touch the ground with the tips of their toes when seated. This keeps their knees and legs from going into awkward positions when pedaling. A seat too low and the child’s knees will rise high enough to make their thighs parallell with the ground when the pedals are in the fully raised position. This is a difficult position to get a good strong downstroke started from without standing up, which a beginner is probably not ready for. If the seat is too high they will have to extend their legs fully to continue to keep good contact with the pedals when they are at the bottom of the stroke, or even worse, lose contact with the pedals entirely.
The handlebars I like to set to a height where the arm of the child, when viewed in profile, would be about at the 8 o’clock position, perhaps slightly lower. This reduces fatigue associated with holding your arms out straight but keeps them high enough to bring the major muscles in the chest and back(pectorals and deltoids) into play for steering. Too low and you’re relying on biceps and triceps to steer, which are typically not as strong in smaller children. In addition higher handlebar settings keep the child upright and their center of gravity in line with the seat/wheels.
If your bike is equipped with hand brakes or gear shifters, adjust them for your child. I recently adjusted a neighbor girl’s bike because her handbrakes were set too far away from the handgrips. Her fingers were not long enough to wrap around the brakes and squeeze them strongly. There are generally screwdriver adjustments which can be made to bring these levers closer to the handgrips for children with smaller hands. You may need to loosen the tension on the brake cable as part of this process. Gear shifters should be aligned where the child can reach them easily without taking their hands off the grips. They probably have clamp style fasteners and can be loosened to be moved/rotated until they are comfortable for the child to operate. Make sure the tires have the right amount of pressure in them, the pressure rating will be listed on the sidewall of the tire… Partially flat tires will make turning sluggish and pedaling more difficult.
Next, prep the child. No loose clothing anywhere near the pedals/sprocket/chain. This means no flip-flops or open sandals(I still have scars from when I was a kid due to a flip-flop going sideways between the frame and the pedal). No bell-bottom jeans. No long untied shoelaces. Helmet, at the very least. Gloves, knee, and elbow pads are recommended. Skinned palms and knees tend to turn what should be a fun learning experience into a session of negative aversion therapy. Bikes should be fun, not a source of pain, especially in your first experiences with them.
Once those adjustments are made here are my pointers. Keep the child sitting up straight. The back should be perpendicular to the ground and in line with the wheels of the bike. No side-sitting, or slouching. Wear proper equipment, especially at first. Pick a smooth surface, preferably with soft ground(a lawn for example) nearby. The average sidewalk works great. Level ground is the best in my experience. Slopes tend to cause both fatigue or difficulty starting, if going uphill, or unpredictable acceleration leading to crashes, if going downhill. Stand beside the child, one hand on the handgrip, the other gripping the underside of the seat, and walk briskly as they practice posture and the pedaling motion. Do this about six or eight times, probably about a hundred feet at a stretch. Stress how they need to hold themselves upright and keep their arms tense to hold the wheel straight or they’ll wobble. Then do another six to eight passes over the same terrain with only the hand under the seat to stabilize them. If they start to fall, pull back and stop the bike, or try to aim them towards the lawn. Increase your speed as they get better at balancing and holding the wheel straight. Eventually you’ll be trotting along behind them with just one hand under the seat, occasionally correcting balance. Stress how important it is not to over-correct. If there is a bit of a wobble it probably doesn’t require turning the wheel to correct, just focus on sitting up straight and keeping the front wheel in line with the rear wheel.
Pretty soon you should be able to start them with about twenty feet of trotting and seat holding then let them go. At this point they will almost certainly crash, and it won’t be pleasant for them or you. Having antibiotic ointment and bandages handy is a good idea. Having a helmet, good footwear/pants, gloves, knee, and elbow pads is a better idea. Stopping, without crashing, tends to be the hardest part. The gradual stop can be taught by letting them run up in the lawn the first few times to slow down. The best way to stop safely for a beginner is not to use the brakes, or to use them very lightly, just a couple taps here and there. Just stop pedaling and let friction do the rest.
They can use the wheel to learn to steer at first, but as they develop confidence in their balance control it’s better to focus on steering by leaning and maybe slight turning of the wheel. If you’ve started them out with a good focus on safety equipment, keep that up. Helmet, and proper footwear/legwear are the highest priorities in my book. The pecking order after the two biggies are gloves, then knee pads, then elbow pads. A kid with gloves, helmet, and sensible lower-legwear is fine in my book.
Enjoy,
Steven
We startred our kids off in the back yard (a 200 foot grassy slope). Falling did not hurt much and they could get enough speed to help with balance without having to pedal very hard. Once they had the knack of staying on the bike in motion, they took the bikes out to the driveway and taught themselves the rest.
(The first couple of times they made it all the way without falling, they had to quickly teach themselves how to turn to avoid crashing into the goats’ stock fence, but they caught on by the third trip.)
I would think that many parks would have grassy slopes (without even the disadvantage of barns and fences at the end).
Remove the pedals? What the heck is that going to teach the child?
As for helmets, how did we ever survive without them? I think you’re imposing your state laws onto the unwashed masses, but thanks for the disclaimer.
removing the pedals will teach her how balance on the bike. When she’s got the hang of that, you can screw the pedals back on. Small steps with small kids is the safe way to go.
Just go out and do it.
I learned at age seven. My instructor (my sister) musta been all of nine. It was on a 70s “dragster” bike with a sissy bar.
“Get on, and start pedalling. I’ll get behind and hold the bar so you don’t fall.”
“Promise you won’t let go?”
“Promise.”
I start pedalling. I turn around after a few moments to check on her, and true to her word, she’s still there. I turned around a few moments later, and she was a speck in the distance. I spent the rest of the afternoon simply riding my bike like I’d been doing it for years.
It was on grass. That was a good idea. But there were no other concessions. I didn’t fall off until a year or so later (have the scar to prove it), and I haven’t had another bingle after thirty more years.
Meh. As for mine, I just put them on the bike and pushed. Repeat as necessary.
They were wearing helmets though.
They will fall…a lot. Make sure they are protected from the scuffs and scrapes. Use long sleeves, pants and gloves/mittens. When they do fall, there shouldn’t be any blood. If they see blood, it’ll be a deal-breaker.
I learned to ride a bike as a senior in high school. I had a lot of trouble on a flat surface, trying to balance the bike and make it go. We got the advice to learn just the balancing part by starting on a slight decline and just rolling; this gives enough momentum to start feeling how to balance without also having to pedal. The rider can put their feet down whenever they need to. Once I got that part down to less conscious, I could add the feature of lifting my feet to the pedals.
Or your kid may take right off, as my father had not trouble telling me he did, as opposed to my very slow learning curve!