As you may have heard in my recent Spring Bucket List post or from our instagram and facebook updates, WE HAVE A NEW BIKE RIDER in the family! Yes, in just a matter of a couple of weeks Bergen (our 4-year old) has mastered pedal bike riding, and is now riding his bike to school, riding on our daily afternoon walks (up to 3.5 miles), and just generally having fun tooling around the neighborhood!
Now that we are on the other side of it, I will say that the transition from balance bike to pedal bike is fairly quick and easy. But at the same time, I want everyone to understand that the transition for our child did not happen overnight, and it didn’t happen without a lot of hard work and practice, and unfortunately a few tears.
Based on our experience, here’s what seemed to work well with the transition from balance bike to pedal bike. Be sure to continue reading until the end to watch the whole process in action with our quick video!
-
Readiness
First of all, Bergen was ready, and motivated make the big move from balance biker to pedal biker. In addition to mastering the balance bike, the fact that he had actually outgrown the KaZam after two and a half years of riding let us know that it was time to graduate and move on!
-
Consistent practice
Unlike so many other kids that seem to make the transition in 15 minutes or so, despite being excited to ride, Bergen hadn’t quite picked up the skills after the first try. We didn’t push it though, and just asked that he work on it for a few minutes at a time. And okay, I admit it, sometimes I offered him a special treat (maybe a cookie or two?) for putting in those practice minutes. It was worth it!
- First he just walked the bike around as though it was still a balance bike.
- Then once he got comfortable handling that, I asked him to try picking up his feet.
- After maintaining balance for a while, then I asked him to start trying to pedal. After getting those first hints of what pedaling a bike felt like, I made sure that he practiced A TON after that. Having him push off the ground with one foot also helped in gaining momentum to start. Just like with learning to balance bike, the slightest incline (down) can help in gaining just a little bit of speed to get the bike going.
In about a week’s time, he was a confident, independent (as much as you can be at 4.5 years) bike rider!
-
Challenge
Although it was risky and difficult at times, I found that just going for it, and having Bergen take a 2-mile round trip ride to the park and back made a huge difference in his confidence and motivation. On the way to the park since there is a hilly section, I ended up having to carry his bike for a few blocks, but the whole ordeal not only gave him a ton of practice in stopping and starting (since he had to pause at every block to check for cars), it allowed him to realize the the freedom and exhilaration of riding!
-
Excellent Bike
We were very intentional with our choice of bikes for Bergen’s transition from balance bike to pedal bike. We did our research, and found what we felt was the best bike available for young riders. The Woom 3 bike (16-inch model for children 4 to 6 years old) is specifically designed for kids. The following features were important to us, and definitely aided in his quick progress:
- Weight: The Woom 3 weighs just 13 pounds!
- Hand Brakes: Hand brakes give kids better control, and prevent the sudden stop that happens when kids pedal backwards (something they tend to do as they learn to pedal).
- Steering delimiter: Prevents the hand bars from completely spinning around, and limits the amount of steering space thus stabilizing the bike and encouraging proper positioning/riding in a straight line!
Stayed tuned for a full review (update: here’s the review!) of the Woom 3! Coming very soon. In the meantime, you can see Bergen’s progress here in this quick video.
And another update! Our daughter Georgia just learned to ride a pedal bike with the Woom 2. Read about what worked best in her transition from balance bike to pedal bike here!
What was learning to ride a bike like for you or your kids? Anything in particular that helped make the transition to pedal bike? Please share your tips for other readers to gain from your insights!
Bike Riding Gear for Families: Kulie Bike Bags
Balance Bike to Pedal Bike: Round 2 with Woom 2
Biking with Kids: 6 Tips for Helping Kids Learn to Change Gears
Woom 3 Bike Review: Helping the Transition from Balance Bike to Pedal Bike
I just watched your woom 3 video. How tall is your son? Can he easily touch the ground on the 16″? Im looking to replace my 4.5 year old’s 16″ because he can’t touch he ground without slamming the seat all the way down, which makes his riding angle awkward.
Thanks for your time.
Hi there! I’m not sure off the top of my head how tall Bergen is–I think about 45 inches? But yes, his feet touch the ground on the 16″ (Woom 3)–we have it set so that his toes touch, but not the entire foot. Bergen is on the taller side for 4.5 years, so that’s why we went with the 16″, but if your child is a bit shorter, it might be better to trade for the Woom 2. I hope that helps! Feel free to keep asking questions or email me if I can clarify more. (wildtalesof@gmail.com)
My two boys (age 13 and 11) learned how to ride bikes when they were 4 years old. My six-year-old girl isn’t motivated to ride her own, because she rides on the ride-behind with me.
We do long bike tours as a family, so it’s convenient that my little one loves the ride-behind so much… which is why I’m not pushing her to ride her own bike, because she never could keep up with the rest of us! I guess she’ll learn eventually!
Ha! I have a feeling that might happen to our youngest as well! At 17 months, she is still not walking, so I think the physical stuff will come a lot slower for her as we move a long (so unlike our son), but who knows…maybe she’ll surprise us! Yup, your daughter will learn when she’s ready 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by the blog & commenting!
it’s really nice to read your post. it’s really very helpful and informative.i learn here so many things.I can teach my baby how to ride a balance bike. I can support my child when they were 4 years old.
My twin grandsons just turned 4 and we bought them pedal bikes. They’ve become quite good on their balance bikes, but the problem is, they have never learned about pedaling, so things are proceeding slowly. Also, these bikes came with training wheels. The trainers would help learning about pedaling but I think they’d hurt all the benefit we’ve achieved with the balance bikes. Did you use training wheels on the transition to a pedal bike?
Hi Mark! Thanks for stopping by the blog–great question. No, we did not use training wheels when we transitioned our son from balance bike to pedal bike. I too think that it may have hurt his progress with balance, but of course, every child is different! For Bergen, it was just consistent practice that really helped. Like some kids that I’ve observed, he didn’t pick up the pedaling right away, so we just practice several days in a row, sometimes multiple times a day. Seemed to do the trick! I hope this helps, and please feel free to ask more questions.
First day on a bike, my dad took me to the top of a grassy hill behind my grandparents’ house, held on for 10′ or so and pushed. I went flailing down the hill until I lost momentum, or hit a big bump, and fell. Then I had to walk it back up the hill. Over and over all day long until I got it. I think I was 4, maybe 5.
Hi there, how long did you give your son on the balance bike? My son has had his for 4 months and is really good, but i don’t know how much longer to wait before we buy another bike with pedals?
thanks
Hi Jen,
Thanks for visiting the blog—Bergen actually used his balance bike for about 2 years, but he got it when he was 2 years old. How old is your son? If he’s older, it might just be a matter of months!
Hi,
How much does weight impact the ability to ride the bike? Woom3 weight is great, but not available where I live. The one that is available is 19 lbs.
So sorry for the delay! When kids are first learning to ride a bike, weight does seem to make a significant difference in kid’s success. The most important thing though, is for kids to get outside and ride, so I think you just work with the options you have!