Question

Burning Saturday morning question.  we have almost 4 year old who has no experience riding a bike.Burning Saturday morning question. we have almost 4 year old who has no experience riding a bike. Is it still worth getting a balance bike or just go to a typical two wheel bike? His older sibling did bikes with training wheels and were/ are hesitant about taking training wheels off.  

Answer 1

You can take pedals off a “regular” bike to create a balance bike

Answer 2

I suggest just going for a small two wheeler. He will learn to balance while trying. Put a helmet on him and put him in the grass. You may be surprised.  

Comments

I did this with 3 boys and they all rode by age 3.  

Answer 3

We just got our 4 year old a 2 wheeler with training wheels and shes doing just fine

Answer 4

I have a 3 1/2 year old that has a bike w training wheels that he won’t touch. We got him a balance bike 2 weeks ago and he asks to ride it every day. So in my experience it is worth it.  

Answer 5

We didn't have a balance bike, so with my daughter we just took the pedals and training wheels off of her bike and let her use it like a balance bike. It was perfect!  

Answer 6

We got a 12" bike on FB marketplace for $5 that had a broken pedal. We removed the pedals and gears and it was great. They used it a handful of times before being confident enough to ride their bikes with training wheels. The key is to get a bike smaller bike so they can have their feet comfortably touch the ground.  

Answer 7

My son is 4 and had a balance bike that he maybe used twice. I would go for a bike with training wheels at this point.  

Answer 8

Same with my almost 4 year old. We got her a regular bike with training wheels last week she’s doing great. she does seem to mind that she has training wheels

Answer 9

I wish we would have done a balance bike for my daughter- took her til she was 8 to have the confidence to learn to ride  

Answer 10

Skip the balance bike and have him ride on the grass first. Somewhere with a slight hill.  

Answer 11

This is available for free in my neighborhood FB group. I can grab it if you need it. It takes 5 min to remove the pedals and chain.  

Comments

@end1099 thank you such a great idea! I can’t believe I didn’t think about it. Thank you for the offer. We actually have a small bike from older brother.  

Answer 12

The strider/balance bike is amazing! Our 2 older boys each used it for a summer (in addition to occasionally riding a bike with training wheels. ) Our oldest started riding a 2 wheeler without needing any help at age 4 and our middle son just transitioned to riding a 2 wheeler at 3. 5! As a pediatric physical therapist, I absolutely recommend strider bikes for teaching bike riding! It does take a little time for kids to learn to glide rather than step with it, so just encourage your kid to keep trying!  

Comments

@kant98 thank you.  

Answer 13

At this age go for a regular bike with wheels, balance is better for a 2yr. old age

Answer 14

My almost 5 yo is using training wheels while my 3 yo is on the balance bike and while the 3 yo is by nature more fearless, I can tell that he will definitely be riding a regular 2 wheeler before his big sis. I would avoid the training wheels if you can.  

Answer 15

Our 4 year old has been riding a bike with training wheels for about a year. He will be 5 in July, to give you an idea his age.  

Answer 16

We have never used training wheels at our house. I was teaching my oldest and her cousin to ride 2 wheelers a few summers ago and my niece had switched to training wheels for a few months. She felt leaning to the side felt natural because of the training wheels and it took a lot more work to get her to figure out the 2 wheeler.  

Comments

@sagerman we are finding that with our twins. So trying to get it “right” for the youngest.  

---

@gastronome I will say though too, Amelia has yet to attempt the 2 wheeler, but she is just such a more cautious child and never wants to try new things. I fully anticipate that my almost 4 yo will learn this summer and push her into learning too.  

---

@sagerman I think 2 out of my three are like Amelia.  

Answer 17

My boys learned to ride a 2 wheeler at 3/4 yrs old. Go for it! Just do it in a street or parking lot because it's too hard for them to stay on a narrow sidewalk.  

Answer 18

Get a regular bike, and takeoff the petals. Instant balance bike!  

Answer 19

I’m all for the balance bike! My 2 older girls both learned a two wheeler last year at 5 and a half and 4 years old. They never had a balance bike. My youngest got a balance bike for her 2nd birthday in September and yesterday she took off on a 2 wheeler pedaling like a pro at 2 and a half years old! Balance bike made all the difference!  

Answer 20

We just bought our almost 4 year old the strider bike with removable pedals. He has ridden a balance bike since he was 2 and learned to ride with pedals his first try. Training wheels hinder learning to ride a regular bike.  

Answer 21

Balance bike

Answer 22

My little one started on the balance bike just before he turned 4, and about 6 months later he took off on a regular bike with no assistance! They are absolutely worth the investment!  

Answer 23

Do a regular bike and don’t put training wheels or pedals. I have a 9 yr old who still has training wheels. don’t be like us  

Answer 24

My now 5 year old has been riding with training wheels since he was 3 and refused to give up the training wheels. We bought a balance bike 5 weeks ago. Took 2 weeks and now he’s riding without training wheels.  

Comments

@cruciferous interesting. Thank you for sharing

Answer 25

Check out "Biking without tears" on YouTube. It's a balance bike training method only using a regular bike (you simply remove the pedals when they're getting started and then add them back later on). It was such a ridiculously popular method in our neighborhood last summer, that the slight hill at the school across the street was full every day with young kids learning to ride.  

Comments

I had a reluctant rider that seemed to just barely learn every summer and then would forget by the next year. This method had him up and running within a week and he never looked back.  

---

@phlebotomize6849 thanks so much!  

---

I second this! A friend taught both my kids in a day using regular bikes with the pedals off.  

---

We did the same a couple summers ago! Worked like a charm! They were older, and within a couple months they were biking several miles with me.  

Answer 26

My son was too tall for balance bike when he was 3/4. He fits 16 inch bike with training wheel. But did brought a cheap used 16 inch bike and took pedals and chains off and use as balance. But right now he’s 8 and still having difficulties times riding without training wheels. Just we don’t have a great area at home for him to practice no sidewalks. Hopefully this summer take him to park on empty parking lot and try again.  

Answer 27

I feel like a balance bike adds another step? I was running and a family was on the same path as me and this poor little girl was on a balance bike. She was crying because she didn’t have pedals and had to just push herself (far) and way behind her whole family. Ever since that, I never understood it. I’m sure every kid is different but this moment really stuck and how miserable this child was.  

Comments

@rhizopod ohh that stinks. Poor girl

Answer 28

Definitely a balance bike first! The transition is so easy. You can use it all summer and then next summer move on to a regular 2 wheel pedal bike. The Velo balance bike is very nice and inexpensive.  

Answer 29

My son started using a balance bike right around three. He turned 4 on Christmas Eve and just got on a two wheeler for the first time today and took off with no problems never having used training wheels.  

Answer 30

I would say dont go to training wheels. If it's either training wheels or balance bike, go balance bike. My 9 year old niece still pops on there just because!  

Answer 31

Our 8 year old figured out how to ride a bike last weekend. We took the training wheels of and the pedals and turned it into a balance bike. She did that for a few hours over a couple of days and started getting good at balancing. Then when we put the pedals back on she rode it within an hour! Wish we'd done that years ago. In summary, take the pedals off and you have a balance bike. and never too old!  

Comments

@macdougall thank you

---

@macdougall Exactly what I did with my 7 yr old last week! Now she’s a pro already!