First bike with pedals

[mstone]

@eminva 64894 wrote:

All right, excuse the dumb question, but so much has changed since my now 12-year-old was going through this rite of passage:

How do you know when a kid is ready to graduate from the balance bike to the pedal bike? Just gave my friend’s kid a balance bike for his third birthday. I went over yesterday to check out how he is doing and he looks to be a master after only one week. He seems to be able to coast indefinitely with his feet off the ground, balanced perfectly. He understood and carried out instructions about how to stop, pick up speed, slow down, turn, etc. Plus he was having a blast. When does one up the ante with the pedal bike? I don’t want to rush it. His parents aren’t super bike geeks. But I don’t know how long they keep having fun with the balance bike. Thanks.

Liz

when the kid asks for pedals, or the parents need him to go faster/further.

[hozn]

@eminva 64894 wrote:

How do you know when a kid is ready to graduate from the balance bike to the pedal bike? Just gave my friend’s kid a balance bike for his third birthday. I went over yesterday to check out how he is doing and he looks to be a master after only one week. He seems to be able to coast indefinitely with his feet off the ground, balanced perfectly. He understood and carried out instructions about how to stop, pick up speed, slow down, turn, etc. Plus he was having a blast. When does one up the ante with the pedal bike? I don’t want to rush it. His parents aren’t super bike geeks. But I don’t know how long they keep having fun with the balance bike.

Yeah, he probably could use the pedal bike, but until he has outgrown the balance bike he may not prefer pedals. I gave my son a pedal bike (CNOC 14) for his 3rd birthday, as his balance bike seatpost is at minimum insertion. (I could order an extension post, but figured that was probably a good indication that he was ready to size up.) Initially he wasn’t interested, but slowly he decided he wanted to ride his new bike instead. He is pretty good at pedaling now, a couple months later, but he still prefers his balance bike when going for longer rides. The balance bike (Strider) is less than half the weight (6lbs vs 13) so he is a lot more confident on it. When we ride offroad, I suspect he will continue to use the Strider.

He loves the CNOC, though because daddy’s hex wrenches work on it Unfortunately he also knows how to fully unscrew things now, so I have to make sure everything is torqued so he can’t loosen it and generally pay close attention to his bike repair sessions. My wife would prefer I just not let him play with any tools, but then how would he know what to get when I ask him to fetch me the chain whip?

[ShawnoftheDread]

My 4.5 year old isn’t interested in giving up her balance bike. It was falling apart, so I put new wheels and grips on it over the weekend. She has a cheap pedal bike with 12″ wheels that I plan to keep next to her pushbike, so maybe she’ll try it when she’s ready.

[GuyContinental]

@hozn 64898 wrote:

Yeah, he probably could use the pedal bike, but until he has outgrown the balance bike he may not prefer pedals.

Same story with my 4.5 y/o- he maxed out the Skuut a while ago and now his legs are long enough that they are getting in his way. I put him on his 12″ pedal bike a few times with training wheels and he hated it- couldn’t carve they way he could on the balance bike (which is the point…). This Sunday I just pulled off the training wheels and walked along the sidewalk with my hand on his back for about 5 minutes… then he took off. I was amazed at how easy the transition was and totally convinced that the balance bike was the trick. He lovvvves his Skuut but now that he has a “big boy bike” the Skuut went right to his 2.5 y/o brother who is maybe an inch too short for it. Unfortunately, he’s definitely too big for the 12″ as well so there will be a 16″ at x-mas.

On child two I’ll leave him on the Skuut until he’s either too big or demands to try the 12″. Next summer I’ll get him accustomed to pedals on the Wee-hoo and then totally skip the training wheels. If I had to do it over I would probably just buy a 16″ and let the balance bike fill the gap.

[dasgeh]

On sizing, our almost 3 year old is getting a pedal bike for her birthday. The question is sizing — hozn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your son standing next to my daughter… But does the 14″ fit him well? Could he do a 16″?

FWIW, I see a lot more 16″ out there, but I do think they’re too big for her. I’d like to get her the biggest bike that fits so she’ll be on it as long as possible. Of course, she’s already informed us that she’d like a pedal bike for her birthday, and a fast pedal bike for Xmas. Her parents might not be setting good examples for moderation in bike-buying…

[hozn]

Yeah, we can line them up next time to check. We may make it to the Diamond Derby. My son was too little for a 16″, at least from Islabike, though. He was just at the cutoff for the minimum inseam that they list for the 14″. Luckily the sizing overlaps such that his next bike can be the small 20″ (assuming we stick with Isla, anyway; I expect to).

[DismalScientist]

Buy big. Buy craigslist. If you still want a balance bike, take out the crank and bottom bracket. The kid might as well learn bike maintenance early.

[cyclingfool]

@DismalScientist 65003 wrote:

The kid might as well learn bike maintenance early.

Like this?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3728[/ATTACH]

Yep, that’s my 16 month old!!! (w/ grandpa’s legs behind) I was working on a flat at the park we had gone to over the weekend. I need to nurture this natural curiosity!

[eminva]

Thanks for the great replies, everyone. I think I’ll let the little guy have more fun with his balance bike, as it sounds like that is what he will prefer for a while anyway. To say nothing of his parents. No need to rush it. I just looked at a 45 second video clip of my son riding his pedal bike for the first time (age almost 4) and he was having trouble, even with training wheels, negotiating changes in terrain (there was a rubber mat at the playground where he was practicing, and he was riding on and off it).

Although it was tempting, my brother is coming from Europe for Thanksgiving and he could have brought over one of those non-CSPC approved models.

And good for those of you getting your kids wrenching early!

Liz

[mstone]

Just pulled the trigger on a 26″ Beinn, but delayed the shipping until Dec. Will be hard to wait until Christmas. Will report on how it works out, but I have high hopes.

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