Traditionally, kids have learned to ride a bike through an arduous process of tricycles, training wheels, and falling down to get back up. While persistence is an important lesson to be learned, many parents would rather their toddlers not become injured while trying to learn to ride a bike, and now there’s a better, safer way.
Balance bikes are pedal-less bicycles that are lightweight and small, perfect for toddlers and young children to manoeuver over heavier tricycles and bikes with training wheels. Kids use their firmly planted feet to learn how to move the bike around, then slowly learn to glide, balance, and lean into turns by picking up their feet.
These bikes are a significantly safer way to learn than previous methods, because the balance bike allows kids to use their own feet to stop and keep from tipping over. The bike is also much lighter, meaning that there isn’t as much bulk for the child to try to hold up, therefore the risk of them losing control of it is much lower and the child won’t be tired out by pushing, walking, or carrying the bike up hills.
Balance bikes are also highly effective in teaching essential riding skills, like balancing, leaning into turns, and gliding. With training wheels, these skills aren’t taught, focusing instead on the easier aspect of pedalling and leaving these more difficult skills for last. With a balance bike, kids can quickly and safely master the more difficult aspects of bike riding, leading to a smooth and easy transition to a pedal bike without any need for training wheels to convert their walking motion into a pedalling one.