No Training Wheels on Bike?

MommyToAshley wrote: Have you taken the training wheels off your kid's bikes yet? Ashley loves to ride her bike but shows no interest in taking the training wheels off. What age did you take them off? How did you do it? Did you run beside them or just give a push and let them go? When she's ready, I won't be able to do it... DH will have to teach her. I'll need a blindfold...LOL.

TrulyBlessed replied: We took the training wheels off of Megan's bike when she was around 6-7 yrs old. We were kind of late. Alyssa is almost 5 so we are going to try her with no training wheels an see what happens.

ediep replied: jason rides without training wheels. Dh taught him by running next to the bike. It took about 2 days and then lost of practice

kimberley replied:
i am the same way. when we took off the trainers for the boys we just let them bike slowly as we held on. as they got more balance, we'd let go. they didn't get far the first few times... bike near grass

moped replied: Yikes, Jack thinks he wants his off already - NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mom21kid2dogs replied: My daughter~the fearless one who rides the Magnum at Cedar Point~just would not go there. :rolleyes: It didn't matter how many friends she had that were doing it, no matter what we coaxed with, it didn't happen. We bought an add on for our adult bike last summer because we ride ALOT at Lake Erie and couldn't figure out what to do with her. This seemed to be the ticket. She got her balance from this and by the end of the summer was riding on her own. Here's what did the trick for us. Notice Daddy got all the fun of having her attached at our house. He said it wasn't bad. I would think Ashley would be way easier since she's so much lighter than O!

mom21kid2dogs replied:
Seriously~do it!!! There is a window of opportunity around 4. After that they become big fraidy cats!!!

Jamison'smama replied: The two girls across the street took theirs off last summer (they were 3 1/2 and 5). They do fine. They learned by getting a TINY bike without training wheels that they could easily put they legs down to catch them if they fall. They passed the bike over to us but Jamison has no interest in learing. She's like Ashley, perfectly content to have the extra wheels.

Can't you move the training wheels up and uneven so that she learns to balance with the wheels on?

gr33n3y3z replied: My kids were around 4

MommyToAshley replied:
We like to go riding on the bike trail. Last year, we still pulled Ashley in a trailer for the longer rides... but this would be perfect. She could help when she wants to but could let Daddy do the work when she needs a rest. Plus, like you said, it might help her learn to balance. Where did you find it at?

coasterqueen replied: We were thinking about this just the other day. Kylie has been riding her bike really well with the training wheels on and going fairly fast. Dh wants to take them off sometime this summer, but Kylie isn't as sure about it. He wants her to learn how to ride a bike before getting her a scooter (which she wants for her birthday).

I grew up in town with sidewalks to learn how to ride and remember banging myself on everything. We live out in the country now w/no sidewalks so I have no clue on how to teach her. I'm going to leave that up to DH and I will just sit there with the camera biting my fingernails.

lisar replied: Yes we took them off of Lexi's bike last year when she was 6. She wanted to so we did. And she learnt how to ride it. Good luck!!

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
That's the way we have ours for Zach and Emilie... Emilie's are still fairly even, but not touching the ground all 3 of them, only the back wheel and one of the training wheels...

For Zach... we raised one about 3/4 inch higher than the other... and then we raised the other one... so, when he's actually riding his bike, the training wheels aren't touching the ground, but HE doesn't know that.

A&A'smommy replied: WOW its time to remove training wheels already??? My neice and nephew just got their training wheels removed and they are 6 & 7

mom21kid2dogs replied: I got mine at Amazon.com for about $50 and free shipping last March. I see them frequently on Craigslist, though. Ours is a Schwinn~decent but not top of the line. We found it to be pretty easy to install and Stephen says it's not that hard to pull around at all. we'll likely still use it this year on the trails because I'm still afraid she'll get creamed. Some people fly on those!!!

MommyToAshley replied:
If O stops pedaling, do the pedals still go around or is it like a 10-speed where she'd jsut coast?

coasterqueen replied: Dee Dee, my SIL/BIL have the same thing as Cheryl and it was how they got my niece to get more comfortable at riding a bike. My niece is 8 now (almost 9) and she still loves to ride on it.

BTW, if you don't mind me asking, is it hard to pull Ashley in one of those trailers now that she's bigger? We are looking at getting new bikes and thought about the attachment for Kylie like Cheryl has, but I feel weird putting Megan in the trailer alone so we thought about for those times we do go riding as a family we'd just pull them around in the trailer together. We mainly go riding in the evenings after work/dinner as a "calming" thing for the girls before bed.

MommyToAshley replied:
I did buy Ashley a smaller 16" bicycle... the 12" and 14" are way too small for her, her knees are up to her chin on those. She has been riding the new 16" and does better than she did on the 18", but I don't think she's still ready to take the training wheels off just yet. I did try raising the training wheels a little, but she didn't like it because it felt so unstable to her -- but that was on the bigger 18" bike. Maybe I will try that on this new smaller bicycle and see what she thinks. Maybe she just isn't ready yet -- and that's ok too.

coasterqueen replied:
I agree. I was probably 6 or so when I learned. If she's not ready I'd wait if you want. If she gets too scared about it then she might fear getting on it at all. Let us know how it goes. Like I said we are going to try it this summer too.

MommyToAshley replied:
The trailer only fit on my bike, so I was the one to pull her. It was no problem at first (when she was younger), but last year it got a bit rough going up hill as I was pulling an extra 50 pounds. When she was younger, it was no problem... I didn't even really notice that she was back there. She loved it. We'd pack toys in there for her but she mostly watched out the windows and sang songs and talked to us. She was a good motivator too, with her "go faster Mommy!" -- LOL!

coasterqueen replied:
Oooh, I didn't think of the hills. We have LOTS of steep hills around us. Although we've talked that if we do get the trailer we'd go to the bike paths in town as it would be safer than our country roads. Good to know, though, 80 pounds Dh might have to pull that weight.

MommyToAshley replied:
You could either get the attachment that Cheryl has or one of the seats that fit on the back of the bike ... and then you'd only have one in the trailer. We have a friend that has two girls about the age of your girls and that's what they do... one is in the trailer and the other is in a seat that attaches to the back of her bike. Then, you could pack a lunch and stick it in the trailer too.

Boo&BugsMom replied: I am really glad to hear there are others who still ride with their training wheels. Tanner wants nothing to do with his bike without them. We have tried, numerous times, and his balance is just completely off and it just doesn't seem to register. He just can't get it. Of course, it took him a long time just to figure out how to pedal correctly. He will be 6 in July. It's frustrating when all the other kids in the neigborhood, and are even younger, have no training wheels. *sigh*

5littleladies replied: My girls were both 6+ when they went without training wheels. Maddie took a looooong time to get it-2 summers. Meg on the other hand, Jas took hers off, took her out to an empty concrete slab and about 20 minutes later she came back riding all by herself.
I've suggested to Brianna that she could try this summer without training wheels but she wants nothing to do with that! She will be 6 in September. I'll probably suggest it on and off throughout the summer but we will see what happens.

Oh I forgot to add-We just hold on to the back of their seats until they feel comfortable enough to try it alone. It's exhausting!!!

mom21kid2dogs replied:
If she stops pedaling, she just coasts (which Stephen says she prefers to do now that she's figured out she can ) without pedal motion. He says it's no more drag on the bike but he can tell if she's pedaling or not~especially on the hills! I asked Stephen if he thought we could pass it on to you guys but he and O both say they are still going to use it this year~sorry~I tried!!!

MommyToAshley replied:
Oh gosh, don't be sorry! I'm glad your DH and O are getting such enjoyment out of it. I am really going to look for one this weekend. There is a bike shop not too far, I am going to stop in there on the way home from picking Ashley up.

5littleladies replied: Just an FYI-They do have the ride behinds at Target! We've been meaning to get one for years, it just never happens. http://www.target.com/WeeRide-Co-Pilot-Bik...%3Abikes&page=1

My2Beauties replied: I think I was around 6 or so when mine came off. Hanna still wants to ride her little tricycle around everywhere

jcc64 replied: We took Corey's off last year, so she would have been 4. Keep in mind that she has always had incredible balance- dh used to be able to fit both of her feet in the palm of his hand and she could stand upright like that in mid-air forever! Also, she is quite tiny, and only able to reach the pedals of a 14" bike, so if she were to fall, she wouldn't have very far to go. When she was learning, dh just jogged beside her so she wouldn't hit the ground, but she quickly learned to put her feet down when she felt herself getting out of control.
They learn usually when some other kid their age shows off or brags to them. In Corey's case- her "boyfriend" at the time was riding, and she felt like a "baby". A scooter's a good idea, too, if she doesn't already have one, Dee Dee. Corey was riding a scooter way before she took the training wheels off- helped her learn how to keep her wt centered. Have fun!!!!