When your child is ready to start cycling, you will be faced with an important choice: balance bike or training wheels . This decision will have a major impact on how easy or difficult it is for your child to learn to ride a bike. It is therefore a choice that can raise quite a few questions. But what would an expert in the field of children's bikes recommend? In this blog, Casparis, co-founder of BikeFlip, shares his opinion and advice on what works best for your child.
Balance bike or training wheels?
If you ask Casparis what he would choose, his answer is clear. He will always recommend a balance bike. According to him, a balance bike teaches you exactly what cycling is all about: keeping your balance. And for most children, that is the most difficult part of learning to ride a bike.
A balance bike is also very easy for children to use. They can easily put their feet on the ground and catch themselves if necessary. This makes children feel secure and they dare to practice more quickly. Casparis often sees that children who start on a balance bike can cycle independently almost immediately as soon as they switch to a regular bike with pedals. That is why he thinks the balance bike is the ideal way to start.
Why no training wheels?
“If you teach your child to ride a bike with training wheels, they have to learn to ride a bike all over again once the training wheels come off,” Casparis says. Children who ride a bike with training wheels mainly learn to steer, but they don’t develop a sense of balance. They rely entirely on the extra wheels for balance.
If you then remove the training wheels, the transition is big and children often fall over. That can be frustrating and take away the fun of cycling. Yet many parents still opt for training wheels. According to Casparis, that is because that is how they learned it themselves. It is something that used to be common, but that does not mean that it is still the best approach.
Too big for a balance bike?
Sometimes children only learn to ride a bike at a later age. In that case, they may be too big for a standard balance bike. Even then, Casparis does not recommend using training wheels. His advice is simple: remove the pedals from a regular bike. That way, you turn it into a balance bike, but in the right size. That way, every child can learn to balance in a way that suits his or her height.
Conclusion
Do you want your child to learn to ride a bike in a fun, confident and safe way? Then start with a balance bike and leave the training wheels behind. They may seem handy, but often make learning to ride a bike take longer and go less smoothly. By letting your child start with balancing, confidence is built and learning to ride a bike becomes something to be happy about.
💡 BikeFlip tip: Check out our collection for the perfect balance bike for your child to learn to ride a bike!
