Video: Graduating From Balance Bike To Pedal Bike - How To Bike with Ben Cathro

Mar 19, 2024 at 8:43
by Pinkbike Originals  

HOW TO BIKE
SEASON 3 EPISODE 8


Taking the big step from a balance bike to a pedal bike can be a tough thing for young riders. Yes, they might have the balance figured out but pedaling is a whole new motion for them to learn. In this episode, Ben Cathro covers how to get the little ones off balance bikes and onto pedal bikes.

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57 Comments
  • 26 0
 My kids went from balance bikes to pedal bikes with the pedals removed. When they were comfortable scooting around in that configuration, I put the pedals back on. The pedals get in the way of pushing, so kids push for a while, rest their feet on the pedals then naturally start pedaling- completely seamless. Both kids went from balance bike to pedaling in a short afternoon. Super easy and zero instruction required.
  • 5 0
 This is a great move. Both of my kids had the 12" balance bike dialed around 2.5-3 years old. I moved them up to a 14" bike with pedals and hand brakes. Getting used to the concept of braking and the larger bike seemed like plenty for them to worry about, so I took the pedals off while they got that dialed. Once they were ready, I just put the pedals back on the crank arm and away they went.
  • 9 0
 @caniscream: My son spent six months on a balance bike then pedaled at 3-1/2 yrs old. Now at six he’s unstoppable. It amazes me when I see kids at 6 riding with training wheels. In my opinion, if a kid can climb on playground equipment they can ride a bike. I’m 100% believer in balance bikes.
  • 1 0
 @caniscream: This video and these comments came at the perfect time. My 4 year old is in this exact stage right now. He's moved up to the 14", with hand brakes, pedals removed.

He is pretty nervous to give the pedals a shot. I think I'll spend a bit more time with the new bike in, "strider bike," mode, so far it seems like a great way to transition.
  • 2 0
 Did you remove the crank and pedals or just the pedals? Looking to make this transition for my son in the coming months.
  • 3 0
 The problem with this is that it only works for bigger kids, as most kids pedal bikes have taller saddle/BB height. If you want to start at 2 years old, then you need a proper balance bike.
  • 2 0
 @Stuartkbmx: I removed just the pedals for both my kids. I thought of removing the cranks, but it didn't seem to matter to them & made it easier for them to try pedals once in a while during the transition
  • 2 0
 @Stuartkbmx: Just the pedals. Crank was still there and got the occasional backwards spin when his leg bumps it but was completely unnoticed by him.

@aks2017 I really talked up the benefits to pedaling and how cool it would be to ride our bikes to the park, trail rides, etc. My daughter was nervous at first about pedals, but after a few weeks in strider mode on the 14", she asked me to put them on. Then it was a little longer before she could get started on her own without a gentle push, but that didn't take long at all.

Just keep it fun above all else for them and they'll get there and love it.
  • 10 0
 I painted my kids paddle shifters green for downshift and red for upshift, and could shout "Click green/red now!" and it worked pretty good.
  • 2 0
 Great idea. We had a Sure Shift before but the manufacturer went bust a whole ago - it's been sorely missed after somehow falling off. "YELLOW BUTTON" was often heard in Scottish forests
  • 1 0
 This is the way. Pedals removed balancing biking for a few days, then add the pedals. When I put the pedals back on my daughter needed a push to get started, 10 min later she was starting by herself, and 20 later she could do the whole thing by herself. Skip the pads and full face if your kid can ride a balance bike. All that gear complicates the learning experience and makes them more likely to crash.
  • 2 0
 I painted left pedal L2 and right pedal R2, front brake is circled left square upshift is triangle and downshift is X. The bi hand them the cheat code manual from gex3D and they have infinite health and infinite money whilst learning to ride.
  • 1 0
 @browner: this won’t get the love it deserves lol
  • 6 0
 Pro tip...save yourself a back injury and buy this $25.00 bar so you don't have to grab below their seat.
www.amazon.com/MOLI-DEE-Children-Cycling-Trainer/dp/B07S9SDQVR?th=1
Best $25 I've ever spent, used it for both of my kids and passed it along to 3 other neighbors
  • 1 0
 Agreed! That thing was a game changer teaching my son to get used to pedaling
  • 2 1
 Save yourself even more and use a tube. Loop it under their armpits like a gates belt and hold em up while they pedal. It took me about half an hour combined to transition my kids from a balance bike to pedaling like this.
  • 8 0
 Back in the early 80's my brothers took me to the top of our driveway and said "Aim for the lawn" as they just pushed me off and hoped for the best.
  • 4 0
 Love these videos from Ben, so good. You can get a convertible bike from www.littlebigbikes.com so you don't need both a balance bike and a pedal bike. Learning to pedal on the same bike they can balance - and learn to brake on - makes it a really easy transition.
  • 2 0
 Second that, my kids all learned to ride on a LittleBig balance bike, they are fantastic and really do work
  • 4 0
 We borrowed a modified turbo trainer from a guy I work with, he’d shortened it to fit 14’ wheels so that the kids can get used to the feeling of continuous pedalling. My 2yo went from a run bike, to 14’ on turbo trainer for an hour, to pedalling on the road. Took one afternoon. Never been on the pedal bike before that. So good we borrowed it from him again for both kids haha
  • 3 0
 Yup, the continuously pedaling forward was the only hiccup coming off of the balance bikes. We stole a neighbors janky old tricycle thing for an hour to connect those mental dots then never looked back.
  • 6 0
 We put the little pedal bike on a trainer in front of Rampage and voila! Our guy figured out the pedaling and braking idea in 20 mins, and also learned who Semenuk was Smile
  • 4 0
 40mins later, kiddo figured out 110ft backflips, right?
  • 7 4
 my 3 yo just jumped to the pedal bike, a couple of weeks ago we tried and I felt lost, she had no direction, no sense of pedaling, balance or anything, i thought everything was lost, that we were one year away from her pedaling a bike, but this last weekend we gave it another try and she pedaled it like if she already knew how to, lesson is that, just dont give up, those little kids are fully capable human beings also due to what i've seen my friends do, i never push them to do it, if they dont want to i tell them that it is fine and then they move on to what they wanna play. I have 2 daughthers btw, thats why i use they, no woke language or anything.
  • 10 0
 Ha ha that last sentence, odd but a little funny, I see no reason why an explanation is needed for not using "woke language"
  • 1 0
 What worked for me was to start with them coasting down a slight grass hill. That way they can just put their feet on the pedals and not pedal ( or soft pedal)
  • 1 0
 yeah, I agree. I wanted my older son to be excited about riding way too much, until I realized that I have to let him get the hang of it on his own terms. At age 5, he is still not crazy about bikes but at least we get to do little tours every now and then. Instead of pushing him, I try to convey to him that I love riding and working on bikes, that seems to have a much bigger effect
  • 2 0
 @watchtower: us American's have gone silly
  • 1 0
 @rpl3000: i did that once, the hill was kind of steep so she started to go really fast, she wiped out and tossed the bike and landing right on top of hidden anthill. She got a couple hundred ants on her in spam of a couple seconds I got a few dozen too. Luckily for her none of them bit, but it was quite a traumatic experience.
  • 1 0
 @Narro2: yikes. Hopefully it wasn't too traumatic and they got over it.
  • 1 0
 I meant hopefully still riding
  • 1 0
 @vtracer: Australia is getting there mate.
  • 1 0
 @rpl3000: yeah, she is doing pretty good, she is the type that understands and takes advantage of the cathartical properties of crying, she was killing it at the pump track a few minutes after that.
  • 2 0
 my first kid ... was ripping around on balance bikes from 2 1/2 and loved it but one thing I didn't realize is that he never rode anything that had pedals (go-cart, trike) so when he went on a bike with pedals he had the balance but no clue how to pedal :-) so that took some time ... my second was ripping on a pedal bike at 3 cause he rode some pedal stuff before. keep that in mind.
  • 2 0
 I was suprised by this too - my first would try and ratchet the pedals back and forth - future trials rider?
None of my three ever experienced a huge issue with pedaling. While the balance took weeks to master, pedaling was more like a few hours or a day or two.

TMMV but go to a neighbourhood pump track; kids pedal too much IMO (but that's a different converastion/rant)
  • 2 0
 I found it most effective when transitioning to start them on a slight downhill. That way they could get the motion down without the built up muscle strength and eliminate the chances of a stall fall. Did that a few times then moved on to a flat area. It worked like a dream for my three girls!
  • 1 0
 Seems like overkill. Both my kids did about a week on a 12" bike with the pedals and crank removed. Once they had their balance, the pedals went back on. After about an hour of getting used to the rocking motion of pedaling, they were cruising down the sidewalks faster than I could run to keep up with them.
  • 1 0
 My son was on a Strider as soon as he could fit on one. About 16 months I think. I bought him a tricycle so he could learn how to pedal. When we went to get his first pedal bike we went to my friend’s Jeff’s shop in Eagle Vail. My son asked Jeff if he had a bike that would fit him. Jeff pulled down a 12” Specialized Hot Rock. He slammed the seat down as far as it would go and asked about training wheels. My son said, I don’t need training wheels! Hoped on the bike and pedaled through the shop and out the door. He was riding single track in Eagle a couple hours later. Now I have a hard time keeping up to him.
  • 1 0
 Taught both my boys in 15 minutes, coming from balance bikes. Find a smooth path with a gentle slope, grab them by the scruff of the neck, tell them to start pedalling and turn left if they are falling left, and turn right if they are falling right. Once they get the hang of falling/turning left and right quickly, they've mastered balance, and let go of the neck.
  • 1 0
 that would be a short video
  • 1 0
 Put them on any daycare wheeled toy with pedals that's not a stabilized bike.. could be a big wheel, trike etc. they just need to understand the action of pedalling and the further disassociated from a bicycle the better. If your balance bike rider can coast and balance correct without putting feet down then you're off to the pedal races.
  • 1 0
 Great video Ben! we all grew up on the SDA scene and nice to see so many of us bringing the kids in too! Two things I learnt with my first born:

- Change one thing at a time - new bike, pedals off and crank zip tied to chainstay. Even for the first hour so they get used to the new bike sizing then they'll ask for pedals, so on they go and away.

- A cunning trick for holding them up / teaching balance and steering - spread your hand/fingers across their back with your thumb under one shoulder blade and pinkie under the other shoulder blade. Now by changing pressure applied between thumb and pinkie you can steer them whilst also pushing them without holding shoulders or bars. Works really really well and not something many folk know about.
  • 1 0
 Mini-me had the balance figured out, comfortable riding around a VeloSolutions pump track but once the pedals on, it was tears. I tried different methods for months with no luck.

Got a tip from @TheBikeDads & borrowed a trainer from my roadie neighbor. Set his bike up on there, he "trained" on it for couple days and had pedaling down in 5 feet.
  • 1 0
 Get some friends with slightly older kids who can pedal and go camping. Your little one will have the desire to be a big kid, you’ll have the time to teach, and campgrounds are the perfect training area.
  • 1 0
 My son(turns 3 in April) literally yesterday figured out his balance bike! He's jamming along and then sticking his legs out having the time of his life! These videos are hitting so good Smile
  • 2 0
 From balance bike to E-bike in turbo mode! You don't even have to learn how to pedal or change gears any more!
  • 1 0
 Our babies got a balance bike and a tricycle at age 2. On their 3rd birthday, they got their bike. We just put them on the bike, gave them a push and went for a ride.
  • 1 0
 I'm happy for you - both of mine hated the tricycle for no apparent reason Smile
  • 1 0
 @hardtailpunter: whahaha. Were they allowed to use it in house?
Did it have a teddybear and brother holding dumper truck pivoting rear loading compartment? That helped quite a lot.
  • 1 0
 @hardtailpunter: I had my youngest standing over a run bike before she could really walk too well - excited parent? you bet Smile but glad we skipped anything with more than 2 wheels. If we have another I just start with a unicycle.
  • 2 0
 Ben, my favorite part of this is how you protected your kids from the internet via helmets/blur ! Big big ups on that!
  • 1 0
 Now I know why I suck at cornering...I learned to ride a bike using stabilizers!
  • 1 1
 full long sleeve kit, knee/elbow guards, full face helmet + goggles.
oh, I forgot long gloves...
the bes way to hamper any freedom to move.
  • 1 0
 Next in the series: Your child’s first e-bike.
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