learning to ride a bike

[susyp]

my 5 year old has always been a bit wobbly on her stabilisers - today she fell off 3 times - i did notice when we got home that her tyres were quite flat so that may have contributed!

however, given that she has never really been very confident on her stabilisers i've just taken them off her bike and lowered the seat so she can touch the ground more essily - and taken off the accompanying basket/bag etc to make the bike lighter. My thinking is that given she is quite wobbly with stabilisers we may as well go the full hog and learn to ride without them - in a big field soemwhere. I couldn't get her out again today after her falls but she has promised to try next week. I've said I'll just hold on to her and one day let go and she won't realise. Is this how you do it? Not remotely bothered about her learning to ride just yet but had enough of the stabilisers - she seems to try and fall towards the way she s falling so ends up in a heap on the floo.r

I don't remember falling of with stabilisers I have to say!

susypx

[etta166]

Have you ever tried a balance bike? It's a lot to learn at once if you're trying to get the hang of pedals, steering and balance all together.

Lowering the seat and taking everything off the bike is a great start. You can also remove the pedals for a while until she gets the hang of balance and steering if you want to. It would turn her bike into a balance bike for a while.

Other than than, a good starting point is to go somewhere level and smooth, so a path is better than grass which is actually really hard to ride on. Attach a short belt or tie or thick rope to the underside of the saddle, so that you can run along beside her holding up under the saddle to help with balance. You can just bend down and hold on with your hand but it is back-breaking! Until she feels confident, keep hold of the bike while she rides along next to you, and then gradually reduce the amount of support that you're giving.

Reassure her that going faster makes it easier. Wear long sleeves/trousers and cycle gloves if you can, to minimise scrapes. Then just go for it. Everyone falls off when learning to ride.

Do you have a bike too, so you can go for a ride together?

[Kaska]

My son learnt to ride his bike in Crystal Palace park.The grassy bit near the playground is perfect for learners,it's a very gentle slope.He was affraid of riding without his stabilisers on the pavement as he was convinced he can hurt himself badly when he falls.He felt very confident there because he knew it won't hurt much if he falls on the grass and for him it was a breaking point...It took him less than half an hour to learn and since then he wants to cycle too school every day :).

[EDmummy]

Both ours learnt by riding on the grass, no stabilisers. Oldest took forever to learn, youngest 2 goes. Persistence is the key and its much softer falling off on grass than tarmac. Keep at it.

[Pickle]

My 5 year old (girl) asked for her stabilisers to be taken off over the summer holidays, then sheer determination on her part meant she mastered riding within a few days. We went to Peckham Rye park, and found she got on better on the paths rather than grass.

My 6.5 year old is still miles off being able to do it, as he's not so keen on practising, and tends to be of the "I can't do it straight away, so I don't want to do it" mindset.

[crystal7]

My 4 year old used to fall off all the time with stabilisers! We took them off and got the balance bike out of the shed where it had been gathering dust. After a about a month on that she wanted to have a go on her bike without the stabilisers, I was surprised how quickly she picked it up. She preferred to ride on the grass and OH ran after her.

[susyp]

Oh brilliant very encouraging. Her two friends learnt

Over te summer so part of her hysteria with stabilisers I think is frustration . I don't have a bike but would get one I think if she learnt . She'll be hysterical at first like she is with everything but she is learning resilience!

Susypx

[sanity girl]

If you can afford it get her an Islabike - they are brilliant - lightweight and designed with kids concerns in mind - e.g. brake easy for small hands to squeeze etc. My daughter was never much cop with a balance bike but started riding the islabike straight off with no stabilisers. Same for all her friends who tried one. I think a lot of the traditional kids bikes are really heavy and unwieldy and difficult to learn on, even with stabilisers. Do you know anyone with an islabike she could try?

[Carbonara]

Take the pedals off and let her try it as a balance bike for a few days. When she can scoot along with her feet up and maybe use her weight to turn put the pedals back on. A slight (SLIGHT!) downhill slope on grass is good, as the momentum of the slope helps them keep their balance.

You are right to ditch the stabilisers, they encourage a use of body weight that is counter-productive for actual balancing.