[MTBkitty]

Today my girl went out on her bike without the training wheels for the first time! I held on to her handlebar the whole time (like she asked me to). We started off by doing a few laps in the partly empty garage and I told her that whenever she was ready we could try outside. We live on a bit of a hill so that's always been intimidating for her.

After a few laps in the garage she was ready to go out, so we went up the hill three houses with her pedaling and me still holding on then came back. She was ready to go to the park near our house so I helped her coast down the hill and guided her to the playground.

On the way back from the playground she got to pedaling so fast I could barely hold on! :thumbsup: I warned her that if she kept going fast like that I'd have to let go. So she did slow down some. But she loved going fast! :eekster:

One thing I noticed when she was riding is that when we were making tight turns her knees would bump into the handle bars. That means she's too big for the bike, right? If we don't make tight turns, is the bike still safe for her to ride? (Man, I feel dumb right now )

Next week my parents are supposed to be coming to visit and I am hoping that as a team we can get this girl to ride solo!

 

[indianadave]

How old is she and how tall is she? Sounds like the bike is too small, or the geometry is wrong. What kind of bike is it?
My oldest learned to ride without training wheels at 7. My youngest was actually ready before my oldest, but I stalled her until my oldest was on 2 wheels. It's a pretty good feeling, and once they're comfortable, they don't look back. Just don't rush her though. I'm chomping at the bit to get my oldest on some singletrack, but am being patient. We've hit some doubletrack and some fire roads, and she's fine. I also took some old picket fence and made some bridges, and obstacles and she plays and rides over them in the yard. I did this just to build her confidence that her 24" GF mountain bike can go over those things easily.
Find a long gradual downhill path and jog next to her while she coasts down it draggin her feet. do this a couple times, then tell her to put her feet on the pedals anc coast wihtout pedalling. Once she has that tell her to pedal a bit if she wants.
This was the final thing I tried to get my odlest on 2 wheels. She was extatic, and has been riding like crazy since.

 

[MTBkitty]

She will be 7 in July, is 47 inches tall, and her bike has 15 inch wheels. It's a Disney Princess bike, with no maker specified on it. There's a couple pics of it in my profile gallery.

I've been holding on to her handlebar and going on foot next to her. Seems like she has trouble with her pedaling. She often spins the pedals back instead of forward, so she ends up stopping even if she didn't intend to.

She also seems to be having trouble with staying balanced but maybe that is due in part to me holding the handle bar? I've never taught someone how to ride a bike before and I'm sure I'm making all sorts of mistakes At least I've been able to give her a couple of good pep talks though.

 

[indianadave]

Follow my instructions above... After much frustration and heartache, I came across that process, and tried it. I had her riding in one hour, and she's been getting better ever since.

 

[jlc30]

My daughter made a fuss about riding w/o training wheels. She was convinced she couldn't even though once she got going the wheels wouldn't touch the ground. I left them on but raised them as high as they would go. I may have even bent them up just a little. There was a good 3-4 inches between the training wheels and the ground then the bike was standing straight up. She rode that way for a few weeks and then we just took them off without any futher issues. You may want to start working on her learning how to start peddling as soon as she starts to mount the bike. That seemed to be a sticking point with us. The kids learned to climb on the bike and just sit there before they started peddling. It became a habit and caused a few near misses once the training wheels came off.

 

[indianadave]

I did forget about lifting her training wheels all the way up. We rode about 1 mile, and when we got back, I told her her training wheels didn't touch the ground once... She asked me to take them off right then and there. Then we went to the little hill on the hiking/biking path for the lessons, and after an hour or so went on our first official bike ride without the training wheels.
My 4 year old isn't nearly as timid or cautious or scared.. .whatever you want to call it. I call her fearless... although she won't try the one "humpy" obstical I built... LOL

 

[khaotom]

My son start riding two wheel when he turns 3. I started him on a 12" walmart bike a 2weeks prior. Took off the training wheel and pedals on a basketball court. Was reluctant initially but having 2 older brothers zipping around helps motivate him. One month later, we got him a 16" magna for $15. He's now 4 and done some 10-12 miles on paved road and 4-5 miles off-road. He's still having difficulty with some of the easy rough hill off road but getting there.

 

[bme107]

The method I found that works best to assist in balancing them is to tie an old tube around the seat post/top tube junction and use it like a leash. Hold closer to the bike it make your control more firm and let it out a bit once she gets the hang of it. This way you help to catch them if they lean too far but are not actively doing the balancing for them by firmly touching the seat or handlebars. Plus you don't have to bend over as much.

 

[MTBkitty]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I hope to try some of these out soon! I think we'll start off with the foot dragging downhill, and look for a bike leash. We may have a bungee cord or something that might work. Haven't busted any tubes yet If we absolutely must put the trainers back on, then I'm going to do the raised as high as possible thing.

 

[indianadave]

Walmart also has some training wheels that are really springy. They're solid enough to slow them down when falling, but not solid enough to let them cheat and just ride on them.
They got my oldest started. my youngest never used them though.