Teach a kid to ride a bike!
A guest post from Bike Dad TJ…….
Bike Dad TJ here. I have a 3 year old boy who could not wait to get out of the tow-behind bike trailer and onto a pedal bike. First is the Balance Bike as seen below. I have read that going right from a Balance Bike to a pedal bike avoiding the training wheels is the way to do it for a lot of kids.
He mastered the Balance Bike in a nearby vacant parking lot. The pedal bike became the new challenge. We got a “bike trainer handle” so we as parents did not halve to bend over so much and when he got wobbly did not crash hard. The bike trainer handle is seen below.
*Note: kids should always wear a helmet when learning to ride.
Fridley Heights Cyclery (FHC) sells these handy bike trainer handles for ~$25.00. They attach easily to most kids bikes as seen below.
The bike trainer handle is a great investment for adults teaching kids how to bike. It builds confidence for the kid if he/she hasn’t completely mastered balance on a bike yet. It helps the kid learn how to brake. It saves your back as an adult. Our kid liked to have a handle on the handlebars initially, but that soon left once he learned about braking. Starting out was interesting, see below.
It was less than a day before our kid could pedal on his bike.
*Note: kids should always wear a helmet when learning to ride.
Overall, the bike trainer handle was a great investment for helping our kid learn to ride a bike.
-Bike Dad TJ
Chris Rodengen
Chris is an avid cyclist, father, and market prognosticator. Chris and his brothers makeup the fourth generation of Rodengen's to manage Fridley Heights Cyclery since its inception in 1945. When he's not in the shop you'll find him at the mountain bike trailhead dispelling the myths of the "triple triangle design."