Strider Bikes UK
Teaching my daughter how to ride a bike was not a great experience for either of us! At age seven she still could not ride a bike without stabilisers! When I took her stabilisers off at age five, she was still quite short and even on the lowest saddle setting, her toes only just touched the ground. The pedals scraped the sides of her legs as she would naturally try and put her feet down if she went off balance or wanted to stop. As the bike was so heavy, both it and her would topple over and she would often end up in a heap on the grass frustrated, in tears and not keen to try again. It took us two summers before she could ride that bike! How I wish I had used a different approach!
The fundamentals required to ride a bike are balance and then steering. Learning to pedal comes later and can be learnt in under a minute. Bikes designed to teach balance have no pedals for exactly this reason.
Some balance bikes are extremely lightweight – some as light as 7lbs – about the same weight as a folding scooter. They are so light that the child feels in control of the bike rather than the bike controlling them!
Balance bikes for toddlers need to have an adjustable saddle that goes down as low as possible so that even the tiniest of legs can straddle the bike and feet still be placed flat on the ground. This way the toddler will feel secure at all times as one foot will always remain on the ground as they stride on the bike.
At first the toddler will just want to hold the handle bars (which should also be adjustable) and walk with the bike, but as confidence grows, they will sit on the saddle, stride, run and then glide with their feet up on the integrated foot rests.
The great thing about balance bikes is your under-five becomes so much more mobile - trips to the park, walks and the school run then become enjoyable and fun rather than dreaded and at snail’s pace! Once a toddler gets the hang of their balance bike, the freedom and confidence it gives them means it’s hard to get them off it! They just love them!
Definitely by-pass tricycles! They are unsafe, unstable and do not help boost your toddler’s confidence. They topple over easily, especially around corners, are frustrating as the child struggles to use the pedals and they do not teach the toddler how to balance. The same goes for bikes with stabilisers.
Using a balance bike from an early age means that children learn those fundamental skills, balance and steering, grow in confidence and can move straight to a pedal bike without stabilisers at a much earlier age and with none of the dramas that I experienced with my daughter!
Balance bikes with adjustable saddles are designed for toddlers as young as eighteen months or even earlier - if they can walk confidently, they can ride one!
The great thing is that it will last them until the age of five with a saddle extension and although they may have learnt to ride a pedal bike by then, there is generally an overlapping period where both bikes are used and the balance bike is favoured for off-road use and jumps!
What a great Christmas or birthday present for a two year old!
For more information, videos and photos please visit www.striderbikesuk.com
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