Someone Explain To Me Why I Need A Balance Bike Vs a Bike With Training Wheels

[Kindra178]

I think my post says it all. Thanks.

[brittone2]

Well, you don't.

However, some kids have a tough time losing the training wheels once they've learned to rely upon them. Not all kids do, but some do. With a balance bike, kids learn to rely on their own balance from the get-go. My DS is pretty conservative when it comes to trying new gross motor stuff, etc. (he errs on the side of caution, unlike my crazy 2 year old ;) ). He got his balance bike for his 3rd bday and within 2 months could balance and glide (not putting feet down for balance at all) for 20 seconds at a time on a gentle downhill/flat area. Our road is a single street ending in a cul de sac, and it is the perfect place for him to ride, so the balance bike has been used *heavily* for 2 years and is in perfect shape for my DD to start using soon.

THere are quite a few kids here who used balance bikes and easily transitioned (without training wheels) to riding a regular 2 wheeler before age 5. Some even earlier. My DS is on the shorter side, so he's only now able to touch *better* on a 16 inch bike. If he'd grow another inch, it would work really well. So what has been holding him back is his height on a 16 inch bike (and I didn't want to buy a 14 inch)....but I have no doubt he has the skills and ability to ride without training wheels.

It isn't a necessity, just a different approach that works well for many families. Have you ever seen a kid ride a balance bike? You could look for some YouTube videos. We bought our Puky bike from Glider Rider.com (there were some customer service issues, and the last I knew they were selling their own line now vs. the Puky), and at the time they had some videos of kids riding on their website. If not, I'm sure there are now YouTube videos up. If you haven't seen it, it is hard to explain, but once you see it, I think you might have a better idea. They get to work on balancing, steering, etc. without the use of training wheels from a much earlier age.

My DS has greatly enjoyed his Puky and it has held up well...it will definitely be used by my DD as well.

[kcimato]

Check out this site to see some kids riding a balance bike

www.stridersports.com

There is one video on the main page and you can see more in their video gallery

[DrSally]

Another nice thing is that DS totally skipped the trike and went to a balance bike at 2.5. Most 2 yo's can't peddal anyway.

[kochh2]

ITA,
MY son had a wooden one, like the likeabike, but the target version from a few summers ago- got it at 3, and by 3.5, was also gliding, balancing, etc... loving it. gave up the trike early as he had so much fun riding the balance bike.. just like Beth said.. and now,at 4.5, he can officially ride a two wheeled 14-inch bike without much trouble... Which is quite a feat, IMO! now, if only he cold learn to tie his shoes so effortlessly!! we took the training wheels right offa that bike when he got it, so he didn't have a chance to rely on them :)

[Piglet]

DS1 was a training wheels addict and then last month (at age 7.75) we bought a balance bike and the training wheels disappeared within a week! It was all mental in his case - the balance bike allowed him to realize that he could keep himself from falling by moving his handlebars a bit here and there and he didn't need to think about his feet at the same time. Once he got the idea of balancing, we moved him onto his bike and he was great!

[niccig]

I was one of those kids that wouldn't give up the training wheels, I was 6 or 7. DS's cousin at 7 years old is the same.

DS got the balance bike at 3 years old. At 3 years 9 months, he was on a regular bike without training wheels. We had the bike store take the training wheels off the bike. We got a 12" bike, which is the same size as DS"s balance bike. DS is short for his age and is still too short to ride a 16" bike, and probably won't be tall enough until his 5.5 or 6 yo.

The balance bike teaches them how to balance on their own. DS had a tricycle for pedaling. He then put the two skills together and learned to ride his pedal bike very quickly, I think it was over 5 rides and he got it. For us, it was a more efficient way to learn to ride than to have training wheels for a couple of years and then the falls when learning to ride without training wheels. DS is 4.5 yo and we go riding every weekend for 3-4 miles.

If you do get a balance bike, you'll need to take DC riding. A friends DD got her balance bike at the same time as DS, but the mother said they don't ride very often, and her DD still isn't balancing very well. My DS didn't want to use the balance bike at first and it took a little encouraging, but once he started to get the hang of it, we had to go riding every day.

[KrisM]

DD got a balance bike last year and doesn't like it. Never used it yet. DS1 however, jumped right on and 3 weeks or so later, off came his training wheels on his 12" bike. He was 4 years and 3 days old. I am sure he'd have had the training wheels on longer than he did.

[egoldber]

My older DD is having a hard time giving up the training wheels also. I bought a Target one for Amy on clearance a couple years ago. I'm wondering if Sarah would fit on it. Hmmmm.....

[Piglet]

I just got on the Weeride deal on Amazon and figured DS1 would be too big, but it worked out great. We went to a public tennis court/basketball court and gave him a challenge - see how long you can go without putting your feet down. The other suggestions I have are:

1) switch out parents - I took DS one day, DH the next and our sanity stayed intact and he picked up diffferent pointers from different people.
2) make sure you have a big flat area to run around in. The sidewalks here are awful and the streets aren't a lot better so the tennis courts were ideal.
3) my dad reminded me that the most important thing he found when learning to ride a bike was to look towards the horizon not at your feet. That was a big a-ha moment for him and it did wonders for DS too.

Beyond that, my best friend taught her twins using Pedal Magic http://www.pedalmagic.com/ and she says it was great (no balance bikes needed).

[o_mom]

Well, you don't.

However, some kids have a tough time losing the training wheels once they've learned to rely upon them. Not all kids do, but some do. With a balance bike, kids learn to rely on their own balance from the get-go. My DS is pretty conservative when it comes to trying new gross motor stuff, etc. (he errs on the side of caution, unlike my crazy 2 year old ;) ). He got his balance bike for his 3rd bday and within 2 months could balance and glide (not putting feet down for balance at all) for 20 seconds at a time on a gentle downhill/flat area. Our road is a single street ending in a cul de sac, and it is the perfect place for him to ride, so the balance bike has been used *heavily* for 2 years and is in perfect shape for my DD to start using soon.

THere are quite a few kids here who used balance bikes and easily transitioned (without training wheels) to riding a regular 2 wheeler before age 5. Some even earlier. My DS is on the shorter side, so he's only now able to touch *better* on a 16 inch bike. If he'd grow another inch, it would work really well. So what has been holding him back is his height on a 16 inch bike (and I didn't want to buy a 14 inch)....but I have no doubt he has the skills and ability to ride without training wheels.

It isn't a necessity, just a different approach that works well for many families. Have you ever seen a kid ride a balance bike? You could look for some YouTube videos. We bought our Puky bike from Glider Rider.com (there were some customer service issues, and the last I knew they were selling their own line now vs. the Puky), and at the time they had some videos of kids riding on their website. If not, I'm sure there are now YouTube videos up. If you haven't seen it, it is hard to explain, but once you see it, I think you might have a better idea. They get to work on balancing, steering, etc. without the use of training wheels from a much earlier age.

My DS has greatly enjoyed his Puky and it has held up well...it will definitely be used by my DD as well.

:yeahthat:

DS1 went from the balance bike to a 14" pedal bike just after he turned 5 with less than 30 min total instruction, which was all about how to start and stop with pedals. DS2 got a 12" pedal bike for his 4th b-day and got on and rode down the sidewalk with no instruction - we had to teach him to stop with the brakes, but that was it.

It is not necessary, many kids can learn just fine with training wheels, but for some it helps. We are also a big biking family and want them to learn to ride sooner rather than later. Other people really don't care if their kids ever learn, in which case a balance bike makes no sense to them.