Riding away for the first time

Proud moments indeed. Mine was watching my boy tear around the pump track at Hadleigh Farm (2012 Olympic MTB venue) laughing so hard all the club riders turned and watched.

Congratulations - it is quite a feeling when your child rides a bike properly for the first time.

Reading the piece plus the comments did raise a few points however. First off, if you're holding the saddle while the child is on the bike, you are holding them back from learning how to balance. Don't do it, as it doesn't help, quite the reverse in fact. Instead, hold them under the armpit or better still, have the child wear a backpack so you can hold onto it at the top. This allows the bike to move under the child so the rider can experience how the bike will lean, while you are also preventing the child from falling.

My kids learned at four and three. They both had about a year with the balance bike before making the switch to a bike with pedals and then took just a few hundred metres. I've taught several of their friends to ride too (with parental approval of course). The tip about using one pedal is a good one.

As for stabilisers, leave them in the shop.

Regarding autistic kids, we have several children on the spectrum riding at our BMX club and I know of several at other clubs too. It can take kids on the spectrum a little longer to learn to ride initially, but once they're on a bike they can lean fast and some I know of have become highly ranked UK riders. BMX (and cycling in general) can be a really good way to give them useful social skills as the person's own riding is the prime focus, while they are also part of a wider club. Cycling becomes almost a social icebreaker for a lot of kids on the spectrum.

Alan, my youngest is autistic and initially his sensory issues prevented him from balancing without stabilisers until around the age of 8 when he just wanted them off. We had quite a few crashes initially like the ones you describe and then it just clicked that he had to focus to ride the bike and he never looked back. I'd go as far to say that it really helps on the sensory front and his concentration has improved massively. 2 years later we mountain bike pretty much every weekend and he maintains his enthusiasm whatever the weather. I hope your boy sticks with it as it gives me great pleasure to see him thrive and share a hobby just as any other parent would with their child. I have the opposite of your situation as my boy likes to tear off at great speed down trails to terrify his older sister who struggles to keep up !

My eldest delight has autism and a heightened fear of failure, getting him riding was one hell of a challenge. At the age of 9 we had the difficulty of grass (harder going but softer landing) versus tarmac (vice versa) and he was struggling with fully committing to a turn of the pedals.

His little brother aged 6 wanted to show him how it was done on a bike considerable too large for him (pretty standard bmx). He made me lift him onto the seat, lean him towards the handlebars, push the bike and let go. His balance was incredible, off he flew; 10m, 15m, 20m - basically as far as momentum would carry him. Crash, down he went, full roll, wearing the bike. He crawled out from underneath, big grin on his face, turned to his brother and I, took a bow ad simply said "See"...

With brothers like that...

How does riding with one pedal work? My 3 year old will soon be tall enough to move from balance bike to pedals, so I'm keen to understand this idea.

Thanks.

Loving the Cervelo balance bike - good dadding! My two both learnt the balance bit by being shoved down a (not very steep) grassy hill without pedals. Then they graduated to pedaling down the same hill fairly easily, at which point there was no looking back - or signalling, or anything else remotely sensible. Now my son's 14 and he's (whisper it...) completely uninterested in cycling! Where did I go wrong?! Luckily my 12 year-old daughter is just beginning to discover the delights of mountain biking. Well, it's a start.

Mine both did it with stabilisers, by chance they were cheaper which bent out of shape as they got more confident in corners, the higher they got then the less they used them. More rigid stabalisers tend to keep the bike too upright.

My eldest wanted to learn how to ride a bike when he was about 4. He gave it about 15 minutes, got in to a massive strop and left the bike on the floor. I pushed it back home and it remained where I left it for a couple of years. He then decided he was going to try again but didn't want any help or anyone watching. 30 minutes later he had it sussed, but I missed 'the moment'

He has now developed a taste for mountain biking. But only the downhill bits!

It's a slippery slope. I remember the boy riding away for the first time. And now a few years later, he's kicking my arse on alpine climbs. On his Tarmac.

The Isla Bikes are great for the kids though. Thoughtfully put together, no excess weight on stuff they don't need.

I had one learn with stabilisers, the other on a bike with the pedals removed, in both case, as soon as they could go on their own we went up a size, the little bikes are just too ungainly.

Scooters are good for balance too.

My eldest struggled to learn, her early bikes were too heavy (she's built like a sparrow) and we made the mistake of using stabilisers, we finally got an islabike and she still struggled so I took the pedals off and she practised "gliding" around on it for a few evenings, watching her I spotted that moment when she began to balance and I said that at the weekend we would try pedals again. She balanced the bike to the park and I put the pedals on, she turned to me and said "I wish it was like the movies, you know, you give me a push and I cycle off" So I said "Like this" gave her a gentle push and away she went, I had to run to catch up and I think I got something in my eye.

Lovely post. Your cervelo balance bike is fab! It's a great moment when they head off on their own.

Which mini-BMX did you (or your friend) look at? A friend got a Spawn Cycles Furi 14" for her son, and he's found it a lot harder to learn on than our Cnoc 14, and he now requires a longer seatpost for it. I think the 72 degree steeper head angle on it is a big factor. It would probably be ok to learn on if Mum or Dad are still committed BMXers and will get the kid riding OOTS but as a general purpose child's bike I also find it hard to recommend.

Proud indeed. I suspect I'll have something in my eye when the time comes. For now, they're both discovering the toddle in toddler.

Oh, and that balance bike looks ace!