Helping your child to learn to ride a bike is a rite of passage as they grow. But what's the best way to go about it? Advice on best practice has changed since most of us learned, with training wheels or stabilisers out and balance bikes now generally preferred, with the best kids' bikes with pedals coming later. You can read our piece on the pros and cons of each for more.
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We've asked Isla Rowntree, founder of children's bike company Islabikes and former British national championships medal holder for her advice and to take us through the steps from total beginner to cycle expert. There's a Q&A on kids' bikes with Rowntree at the bottom of the page.
In the video below, Isla shows us everything we need to know to get a child started on their first bike.
45 minutes, roughly. This number can vary from child to child - it's dependent on prior coordination development, Rowntree states.
"It&#;s important that you wait until that point [when the child has developed coordination] rather than forcing it because then it can become stressful," she explained.
Four to six years old. Again, the age for every child can differ as they must be ready to learn, but Rowntree says that if you wait any later it may become more difficult for them.
"If you don&#;t get them cycling pre-six then they seem to become more cautious about it," she told us. "There&#;s a window when it&#;s easier to learn and I&#;d say that&#;s typically between four and six years old," she added.
Children learn by copying others so it's a good idea to do some riding in front of them so they can understand what they are about to do.
Without pedals. Getting your child's coordination developed on a bike should begin with them learning about the feeling and balance of a bike. Removing pedals and lowering the saddle slightly will allow the child to push themselves along learning how to balance and turn on a bike.
It's key to keep the saddle at a height that allows your child to just about touch the floor. If it's too low, they will rely too heavily on their feet as stabilisers.
Preferably somewhere that is quiet and has a tarmac surface. Try to avoid anywhere that has hills, no matter how slight. After all you don't want your little one picking up too much speed too soon and getting scared or finding keeping moving too hard if they have to push up hill.
A word of warning from Rowntree though. "It's tempting to choose grass as many feel it would aid a soft landing but that can make learning quite difficult, because they will have to push quite hard on a small bike," she explained.
Hold onto the child's torso or under their armpits as they ride.
"It's important not to hold onto the handlebars. You will see parents trying to support them and make them feel more secure but you end up fighting with them and that makes it more difficult," Rowntree explained.
By holding onto the child and not the handlebar, they will learn how the bike reacts when leaning and you can accelerate that by gently moving their torso from side to side as they ride.
Get them riding, but don't leave their side. After they begin to ride it's tempting to let them go off on their own but it's key to stay by their side until they are confident enough stopping. If they crash or fall because you are not there to help in the early stages it could scare them off a bike for good.
Once they are confident and happy riding their bike on their own it is a good idea to introduce pedals, if you haven't already. Following the same simple steps will get them adjusted to pedalling in no time.
A big thing to remember is starting them off early and without pedals to help build their confidence before they take on pedalling. If you leave it too late the child will become hesitant and more fearful so it pays to begin when they are young.
Cycling Weekly: How did the idea for Islabikes come about?
Isla Rowntree: I&#;ve been in the cycling industry all my life, I started working in a bike shop when I was still at school, and I&#;ve always been a passionate cyclist and involved in design. The trigger for me came when my sister started having children and so did a lot of friends and, as the cycling expert in our circle, they&#;d all come and ask me to recommend a suitable bike for their children. And that drew my attention to what bikes were like for small children.
At the time, and we&#;re going back over nine years now, I was really disappointed with what I found and couldn&#;t recommend anything wholeheartedly to them. The bikes were very heavy, in many cases heavier than my own bike, and these were bikes for four year olds! But they were also really ergonomically poor &#; the brakes on them were out of reach, the springs were so tight even I could pull them on easily.
Teach your child to ride a bike under an hour. Photo: Christopher Catchpole
CW: Did you enjoy the testing process?
IR: When you&#;re passionate about something you&#;re an evangelist for it. I wanted my nearest and dearest, and all children, to grow up having a great experience of cycling in the hope that some of them would want to continue cycling into adulthood and that was the trigger for setting up Islabikes. I felt I could do better than what was out there and children might enjoy cycling more.
The testing process was a lot of fun. I used family friends and little relatives and that was very informative and it&#;s an exciting time when you start a new business, it&#;s a big leap of faith.
CW: How much has the range developed over the years?
IR: The range structure hasn&#;t changed a huge deal over the years, I have reviewed it at various points during the life of the business and actually the range structure that I came up with at the start was pretty good.
But what we have done throughout is have a policy of continuous improvements and so every time I&#;ve seen an opportunity to improve a detail on a model, or introduce something new, or tweak the sizing, we&#;ve done that straight away for the next available production.
So we haven&#;t had big annual product launches like you have with a lot of adult brands but we have had continuous improvement. And in particular I have invested the company profits back into making better product and tooling to open moulds for new parts that I&#;ve designed. If you look at the earliest bikes and the current models, they are quite different but it&#;s been lots of small steps to get to where they are now.
How Do You Know When Your Child is Ready to Start Riding a Bike?
Learning to ride a bike is a huge milestone for kids and their parents alike. When do kids typically learn to ride a bike? Is it ever too early (or too late) for your kid to get started?
The short answer? It depends.
The average age for kids to learn to ride a bike is between 3 and 7 years old - but this is just an average. Some children may be ready to start building their basic cycling skills earlier. Others might want to wait until later when a two-wheeler isn&#;t so big and intimidating.
Regardless of when they begin, every child follows roughly the same path to mastering riding. Here&#;s a basic guide to the developmental skills and safety tips your child needs to get pedaling - plus answers to some frequently asked questions about kids&#; bike safety.
How long does it take for children to learn to ride a
regular bike
?
For adults who have ridden bikes since childhood, it&#;s easy to forget just how many skills are involved. Think about it - biking safely requires a complex combination of skills, including:
Balancing
Steering/handling
Pedaling (with enough strength and endurance to keep moving)
Hand-eye coordination
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Reaction time
Braking
So how quickly will your little one put these skills together and learn to ride? It depends a great deal on the child and the bike. Some kids pick up the basics almost immediately. (within as little as 5 minutes)! For others, it can take a full afternoon of practice. Yet other children might spend a week (or several) trying, getting discouraged, and trying again, before they finally get the hang of it.
There are also different ways to teach children the basics of cycling, and this may impact how long the process takes to build the child&#;s confidence and momentum. In the past, most kids progressed from a tricycle to training wheels to a standard two-wheeler. This method leaves the hardest skill - balancing upright while steering- until the very last step.
Recently, however, people are flipping the learning process. Balance bikes (bikes without pedals) allow children to acquire the essential skill of balancing first, and when it comes time to start pedaling, they&#;ve already mastered the hard part. Many people find that this speeds up the learning process, especially with younger kids. This process makes training wheels unnecessary, and the transition to a standard bicycle much easier.
One thing is for certain: Your younger child&#;s comfort plays a huge role in their progress. They won&#;t learn to ride a bicycle until they&#;re ready, and pushing them beyond their comfort zone can actually slow down the process. Listen to what your little one tells you and above all, make sure biking continues to be fun!
So when is the right time to start learning basic bike riding skills? Let&#;s look at some examples.
Can a 2-year-old ride a bike?
While most kids aren&#;t ready for a regular pedal bike at two, there are several ways you can help them start building their skills with these tips from our kids' bicycle buying guide.
At
18-24 months,
your child may be ready for a balance bike. Be sure to wait until your child is walking steadily on both feet before introducing a balance bike. This is when they&#;ll begin honing the gross motor skills that will support them as bike riders.
Kids who learn on a balance bike this early on can be ready to take a seat on their first pedal bike by their 3rd birthday.
At 2-3 years old
, most kids will be ready to ride a balance bike. This allows them to skip tricycles and training wheels altogether and prepares them for their first pedal bike by four years old.
Developing the fundamental skill of balance makes it easier for your kid to skip other learning methods (e.g. training wheels) and succeed with standard two-wheel pedal bikes sooner.
Can
a 4-year-old ride a
bike? Can a 5-year-old ride a bike?
Between ages four and five, many children are ready to progress to two-wheel pedal bicycles. When looking for the right bike, they need one that safely develops their:
Balancing skills
Pedaling power
Navigation and handling abilities
If they haven&#;t yet mastered the balance bike, they can still learn this way by leaving the pedals off their first pedal bike.
Additionally, it&#;s important to introduce the fundamentals of bicycle safety, and to supervise your child at all times, as they don&#;t have the judgment or response time to react to hazards. It goes without saying that a helmet is a must!
Choosing a bike for your child
Bikes for four-year-olds most frequently have coaster brakes (operated by pedaling backwards). These brakes offer less safety and control, as children can inadvertently brake when simply trying to backpedal. This can result in braking mishaps and serious danger.
Traditional front and rear two-hand brakes, on the other hand, offer better control and stopping distances but require an advanced level of control to use. Squeezing too hard with just one hand can cause an accident. Oftentimes, cheaply-made handlebar brakes are simply too heavy for kids&#; small hands to fully squeeze.
Fortunately, there&#;s a better solution on the market - the patented SureStop brake system, which every bicycle from Guardian Bikes comes equipped with. SureStop provides a single hand brake that any child can use. It perfectly distributes braking pressure between the front and rear tires, which helps kids stop faster while preventing head-over-handlebars accidents.
The smallest riders can start with Guardian Bike&#;s 14-inch bike. These come with all the safety features your child needs to transition from balance bikes to pedal bikes. Plus, they&#;re lightweight, incredibly durable, and the design was chosen by kids themselves! Not sure the 14-inch bike is the right size? Try our bike sizing tool.
Tips for a successful first ride
However old your child is, there are some straightforward guidelines you should follow to make their life easier (and safer). Here are three of our recommendations:
Start in a park, backyard, or open space
without obstacles.This helps reduce stress and increase confidence.
Always require a helmet
to prevent injuries.
Make sure your child
has a correctly sized bike. Although selecting by wheel size is a common practice, it&#;s
not
the best way to choose a bike for your child. Read more about kids&#; bike sizing an
d
try our bike size tool here
.
Why Guardian Bikes are different
At Guardian Bikes, our mission is to create the safest kids&#; bicycles on Earth. We start with our own specialized bike frame designs that make it easy for kids of all ages to learn balance and pedaling, giving them the confidence to learn. We also use high-tech materials like aircraft-grade aluminum, so you know your kid&#;s bike will stay light, strong, and fun to ride for years to come. With our patented SureStop brakes, your child will be riding safely in no time. Learn more about what we do here!
Sources:
&#;Bike Riding Milestones.&#; ABC Pediatric Therapy. https://www.abcpediatrictherapy.com/bike-riding-milestones/ Accessed 11 June, .
&#;Buying a Bike for Your Child.&#; Stanford Children&#;s Health. https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=buying-a-bike-for-your-child-1- Accessed 11 June, .
&#;Teaching Children Bicycle Safety.&#; International Bicycle Fund. https://www.ibike.org/education/safety-kids.htm Accessed 11 June .
Want more information on children's bicycles? Feel free to contact us.