Sunday, December 6, 2009

Teaching your Kid to ride without Training Wheels

You don't need Pedals to ride a Bike
In fact when you're learning they get in the way, so take them off - the Left Hand Pedal is a left Hand thread- so to remove it turn it Clockwise, the right-hand Drive (Chain) side is regular anti-Clockwise to loosen. Incidentally, the Drive-side is always on the right-hand side of any Bike.....
I would highly recommend a Pedal Wrench to remove Pedals to save skinned Knuckles, or take it into the LBS you bought it from, they will remove them in 30 seconds, another good reason for supporting your LBS.
Then, because you selected the right size Bike...right? Lower the Saddle so your Child can sit on it with both Feet flat on the ground, they will immediately begin to walk the Bike along with confidence - confidence is the Key here - you won't even have to support them. Start them off at a Park on a flat surface then as they quickly gain confidence they will want to go faster, so set them off on progressively steeper slopes and they will lift their Feet off the ground and balance, they will learn how to use the Brakes - which should be properly adjusted.
Pretty soon they will yell "Put the Pedals on Dad"! And voila!! There you go!!
Leave a comment in the "Comments section" and let me know how it goes.
Posted by at 8:17 PM
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3 comments:

  1. Ok, Peter. Our son has really no interest in riding a bike. I think he is just scared. He has actually been exceptional at every sport he has tried, Tee-Ball, Water Polo, Gymnastics, Soccer etc.., but he just doesn't want to ride the damn bike. I'm starting to think that he needs a teacher that isn't mom or dad. He's 5. We'll try your suggestions, but we're just a bit frustrated and done right now. Thanks for the blog.
    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, maybe His destiny is to play for Manchester United and not win the Tour-de-France...
    But seriously,try the method I posted, if He doesn't want to ride at all just wait until He sees His Buddies whizzing around on their Bikes and He realizes He has to learn so He's not left out...that Day will come!!
    Good Luck! Let me know what happens...
    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, Peter. We'll give it a try but I'm also thinking of trying to find someone else to teach him because he gets so frustrated with good old mom and dad, but never with coaches or teachers. I'll let you know.
    ReplyDelete

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