how long did your child use a balance bike?

[titania8]

i mean, to what age. my boys are almost 4 and have had their bikes for a few years now, and are great on them. but the bikes are falling apart (seriously, jonas' handlebars are off right now) and we have been talking about getting them pedal bikes next year (the bike season is pretty much over now here in mi).

i am mostly just curious how old other kids are when they move on to pedal bikes, and how it went.

[emmaegbert]

my son got a $6 sally army bike at 3 1/2 and rode it right then (in the store). no training wheels. He's gotten another hand-me-down crummy bike since then and still loves riding.

He had a balance bike for about a year before that and was never all that interested in it, to be honest. I decided to get him a pedal bike when I saw him riding down a big long hill, with his feet resting up on the handlebars of the balance bike.

sounds like your guys would do fine on pedal bikes to me.

[LuckyMommaToo]

I agree -- your kids will do fine on pedal bikes. DS used his balance bike for two years. Then we gave him a pedal bike and he took off, yelling at me "WHY are you holding on to me???" Just don't put training wheels on; it'll only confuse them!

Oh, we waited until DS's fifth bday to give him his pedal bike, but he def would've been fine even six months earlier.
-e

[Dandelionkid]

My ds used it for 1 year and then took off this year- just turned three- on a pedal bike with no training wheels!

[mrskingred]

Got my toddler a balance bike in April 2008. He's now 3 and really fast on it now - I have to jog, plus he's following Dad down mtn bike trails. He's been asking for pedals for the past couple of months but will have to wait for Christmas

[Ellie'sMom]

DD was 5 when we got ours. She had been on a training wheel bike for a couple of years and used the balance bike for 1 week before asking for her training wheels off. She took right off.

DS used his from 2.5 to just after 3...maybe 8 months? There was a winter in there though. He took off with a pedal bike easily, but it took a couple of months to master the brakes.

Other DS (twins) has been on the balance bike for a couple of months. He just turned 4. He is slightly gross motor delayed, but has done great with the balance bike recently. We will likely try him on a pedal bike in a few months.

We have electrical tape holding the handlebars together and DH has already had to bolt the body of the bike together. It was a $50 target balance bike, but it still works perfectly!

[daytripper75]

We took the pedals off of dd's Huffy for two months before she was ready for the pedals to be put back on. She's been riding regular for a month now.
So, two months for the balance bike for us.

[pigpokey]

DS was independent on a two wheeler at 2.5 (could start / stop / brake). DD was more cautious but was fine before her 4th birthday.

[babymommy2]

AT 5.5 we took off the training wheels and pedals off of the pedal bike, after 1 month we put the pedals back on and he was riding on his own.

[hottmama]

We haven't used balance bikes, but my kids were able to ride pedal bikes without training wheels at 4 and 2.5. Next summer would be a great time for your kids to learn to ride real bikes!

[Peony]

DD1 used one for 2 weeks before moving on. She was 4.

[Peacemamalove]

Both my kids were 4 when they started on pedal bikes. After riding there push bike for about 2 years!

[Yooper]

We did not have a pedal bike but had a used, very small regular (Giant) bike with pedals that we showed dd how to push without using the pedals. We were too lazy to take the the pedals off..... Dd was 4 yo. She pushed it around with her feet for about 48 hours then started using the pedals and that was it. The bike was TINY and too small once she got used to the pedals so we upgraded to the junker used bike we had rescued from the dumpster. Then we sold the Giant for the same price we bought it for. We "owned" it for all of a week

[rzberrymom]

My DD got her balance bike at 2, but pretty much only walked with it for the first year. She got the hang of the balance bike at around 3 and went to a bike with pedals and no training wheels at 3 1/2.

My neighbors just took the pedals off a regular bike, as a gradual transition to a pedal bike.

[noobmom]

What size pedal bikes do you get for your really young children? DS is 3 yo and only in the 10th percentile (3 feet tall). It seems like all the bikes in the stores would be too big really. He loves his balance bike--we go a Strider specifically because it's so small.

[mrskingred]

Well, this is the bike we are planning on getting DS for Christmas (with help from the grands). http://www.islabikes.com/bike_pages/cnoc14.html

He already has the rothan, and they offer a trade-in service so that will help.

DS has an inside leg of 39cm, so based on the size chart, this bike should fit him.

[bobandjess99]

My dd used her balance bike for about 2 weeks before she learned to ride with pedals, she was 4.5 at the time. We had made the "training wheels mistake" the prior year. I'm sure they'll do fine on pedal bikes.

[bobandjess99]

Originally Posted by noobmom

What size pedal bikes do you get for your really young children? DS is 3 yo and only in the 10th percentile (3 feet tall). It seems like all the bikes in the stores would be too big really. He loves his balance bike--we go a Strider specifically because it's so small.

A regular 12 inch bike should fit him fine. Remember, once they are pedaling, they don't need to be able to set both feet on the floor, etc. Their feet just need to be able to reach the pedals. This was the hardest transition for dd, actually.
We went from balance bike to 12 inch pedal bike..well, she was really big on it, and needed to go up to a 16 inch poedal bike, but was REALLY scared about not being able to touch both feet, and instead has to do the "lean to one side" thing you do with bikes? Tookher a few weeks to be okay with that.