Author Topic: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike  (Read 4302 times)

imustachemystash

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Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« on: August 20, 2015, 08:34:47 PM »
He turned 6 a few months ago so I thought it was about time to take off his training wheels.  There is something so satisfying about teaching a new skill to a child and seeing them succeed.  Just thought I'd share!

gooki

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2015, 02:25:57 AM »
Awesome. I'm planning to do the same for my daughter as soon as we get a nice warm weekend.

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2015, 03:34:09 AM »
Fantastic!  Always great to see kids doing new things outside.

For those with younger kids, consider starting with a balance bike.  We've had great success using it as a precursor to a pedal bike for our kids.

FLBiker

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2015, 08:32:02 AM »
For those with younger kids, consider starting with a balance bike.  We've had great success using it as a precursor to a pedal bike for our kids.

Glad to hear this!  I was planning to try this.  Can I ask a dumb question -- do I need a special bike, or could I just take the pedals off a kids bike?

TrMama

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2015, 10:25:04 AM »
You need to take off both the pedals/cranks and the chain. So you'll need a chain breaker tool. If you just take off the pedals the child will still catch their feet/legs on the cranks and hurt themselves. You also need to lower the seat so they can put both feet flat on the ground. You may also want to cover the back gear with foam or a rag to they don't catch their calf on the gear teeth. Check YouTube for tutorials and take pics as you dismantle so you can get it back together again.

I did this with both of my kids standard bikes. However, they both hated the balance bike setup and I ended up converting them back to training wheel bikes.

Congrats imustachemystash! There's nothing like the feeling of your kid pulling away from you when they finally "get it".

FLBiker

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2015, 08:08:25 AM »
You need to take off both the pedals/cranks and the chain. So you'll need a chain breaker tool. If you just take off the pedals the child will still catch their feet/legs on the cranks and hurt themselves. You also need to lower the seat so they can put both feet flat on the ground. You may also want to cover the back gear with foam or a rag to they don't catch their calf on the gear teeth. Check YouTube for tutorials and take pics as you dismantle so you can get it back together again.

Thanks!  I've got tools to remove the cranks and chain, and putting a rag over the gears is a good tip.

StockBeard

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2015, 10:09:35 AM »
Congrats imustachemystash!
Looking forward to doing the same in a few months with our kid.

tonysemail

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2015, 11:23:35 AM »
congrats! 
I just went through this with my daughter too.
In her case, a little bit of peer pressure motivated her to figure it out.
She was watching her friend coast around without training wheels and it looked so fun.
So after two afternoons of practice, she can now ride around on the black top at school.

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2015, 02:00:13 PM »
For those with younger kids, consider starting with a balance bike.  We've had great success using it as a precursor to a pedal bike for our kids.

Glad to hear this!  I was planning to try this.  Can I ask a dumb question -- do I need a special bike, or could I just take the pedals off a kids bike?

For older/bigger kids, you can do as TrMama suggests and take the pedals off the bike.  For younger/smaller kids, specialized balance bikes are useful due to the smaller size---the seat is usually lower for the same size of wheel.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2015, 07:00:49 PM »
Congrats!

We actually did not use training wheels for Big Brother. He had a balance bike and a tricycle and went right to a two-wheeler. He did, however, require help mounting and starting for the first couple of weeks until he got the hang of it. (He was 3 1/2--this is one of his areas of strength.)

meg_shannon

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Re: Took the training wheels off my little boy's bike
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2015, 12:04:01 AM »
We took off our daughter's training wheels this past weekend. She's not independent on the bike yet, but she'll get there quickly. She needs too, we bike everywhere and right now she's been reduced to walking. After we get back from an excursion (usually a park), she asks to practice her bike because it's faster than walking.