Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike, Complete How To

Like most cyclists, you probably remember the exhilaration and freedom of hopping on a two-wheeler and speeding off down the block as one of the most powerful and enduring memories of your childhood. Pass that glorious feeling on to your children is sometimes not as easy as it looks.

Children between the ages of two and three, kids typically start to explore riding on a tricycle. By the time they hit the halfway point of their third year, many young ones will be eager to hop on a small two-wheeler outfitted with training wheels.

Most children this age have an intuitive understanding of how to pedal, but they still need to develop their balance and body position, and the ability to steer and stop the bike. Driveway games make great skill sessions. Challenge your child to steer around small rocks, or to stop before hitting a chalk line. It's great idea to get together with neighborhood parents and kids for a morning of fun riding at a local playground. Kids tend to learn when simply following the example of others their size.

By the age four to six, most kids have a good sense of balance, a smooth pedaling motion and can steer with some precision. The most difficult challenges from ages four to six are mastering hand brakes and transitioning from trainers to two-wheels.

Make sure your child knows how to use both coaster and hand brake. For hand-braking, show him or her how to squeeze the lever while keeping his eyes on the road. At first, it will take all his strength to get the brake pads to move toward the rim. As he graduates to a bike with two hand-brakes, explain that the front brake provides about 75 percent of the bike's total stopping power, and should be used with greater finesse than the rear.

To wean your kid from training wheels, use this method, that in our experience helps children learn to ride on their own in less time and with fewer spills than the run-beside-the-bike method most of use learned with.

Unbolt the training wheels from your child's bike and lower the saddle so that it is easy for him or her to sit on the saddle with both feet flat on the ground. Head to a smooth, grassy field that has a gentle downslope 30 to 40 meters in length. Be sure that it's not too steep, is wide enough to allow the bike to role freely. If you wonder where you can find something like this in Bangkok, check your local public park. Before setting your young one off, walk the hill looking for holes, debris or other unexpected hazards.

Stand halfway up the hill and have your child saddle the bike with her feet on the ground while you place one hand on the handlebar and one on the saddle. After a final pep talk to remind him or her what the brakes are for, where he or she should try to steer, and how to fall, have him or her lift feet a few centimeters of the ground but keep them off the bike's pedals. Once he's or she's ready, give him or her a slight push and let the bike coast down the hill. Because he's or she's on grass, the bike isn't likely to pick up too much speed or feel out of control. If you can't resist running along, stay behind, not beside, so he or she can accomplish this feat on his or her own without distraction.

Have your child roll down the hill until he or she doesn't waver or fall, then have him or her roll down the hill with her feet on the pedals, making sure to keep them parallel to the ground. When he or she can coast with the feet on the pedals, have him or her begin to pedal slowly as she rolls down the hill, so he or she feels the sensation of balancing while pedaling. You'll also be able to raise the saddle to a height at which the leg is extended to roughly 80 percent of its overall length. Last step: Have a cold drink and maybe a celebratory visit to Swenson Ice-cream shop – it's been a big day for both of you!!