DS: 3, started with a balance bike at 2.5 and by his 3rd birthday he was on a regular bike.

DD: 5, liked the scooter more than the balance bike. It took a few months in the summer and she got it.

I'm also team no training wheels.

Child 1 - Age 3
Child 2 - Age 2

Both started with balance bikes around ages 1.5 and then transitioned to pedal bikes, no training wheels. 2 seemed very early, and we were constantly stopped by curious people wanting to know our child's age. To be clear, we didn't push this at all. Our child just really wanted to do it and was super determined. It seems like 5 yo is fairly typical.

My son learned with a woom bike recently at 4.75. He does have some self regulation difficulties so we were really pleasantly surprised.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. She also hated the balance bike.

Wut

Her last bike was one with training wheels on it. She’s never asked for a new one. She doesn’t care and frankly neither do I.

She will eventually. No biking around college campus, no going on bike trips with friends when she's an adult. It's a life skill like swimming.

I know how to ride a bike, and I have never biked around a college campus or gone on a bike trip with friends. I think it’s fine if kids aren’t interested.
It’s super different from swimming, which is a safety issue.

Older DD the summer after kinder. She’d been comfortable on a scooter and a bike with training wheels for a few years. She actually kind of taught herself, watching friends. (She’s picked up rollerblading and some skateboarding watching videos too - I don’t know how to do those activities.)

My younger DD never really learned to ride a scooter and had trouble figuring out tricycles / big wheels. She just finished kinder and until recently had to watch her feet to understand peddling so couldn’t really steer at the same time. She’s been in OT for low grip strength for about a year and I don’t know if that’s part of it. Anyway, she just finished kinder and all of a sudden is very interested in practicing biking with training wheels. I tried balance bikes with my older daughter but it didn’t seem to be “sticking” and then she picked it up so quickly in a regular bike we didn’t spend too much time with the balance bike.

DD is 7 and now finally showing interest. I bought the bike in 2020 and she just hasn't been into it til now. Finally!

Right after turning 4. We started on a balance bike, moved to a regular bike sans pedals for a few weeks to adjust for the larger frame and feeling comfortable with balancing, then our child asked for the pedals back and off they went.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS has a "learn to ride a bike" unit in 2nd grade, and I've had 2 kids go through it. About half of the students already know how to ride a bike by the time the unit starts.

This is great! We are not in DCPS, but what a good idea.

APS has this as well (& a learn to swim unit).

Both at age 5. But kid 1 has used training wheels/no balance bike, and learning took a while. Kid 2 used a balance bike and learned in one day.

Kindergarten

Don’t use training wheels. It takes kids much longer to learn that way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. She also hated the balance bike.

Wut

Her last bike was one with training wheels on it. She’s never asked for a new one. She doesn’t care and frankly neither do I.

She will eventually. No biking around college campus, no going on bike trips with friends when she's an adult. It's a life skill like swimming.

You think bike trips with adults is so common that anyone not doing it will feel like they are left out and missing life? I get that some people enjoy that activity, but you are way overstating the peril PP's kid faces in life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. She also hated the balance bike.

Wut

Her last bike was one with training wheels on it. She’s never asked for a new one. She doesn’t care and frankly neither do I.

She will eventually. No biking around college campus, no going on bike trips with friends when she's an adult. It's a life skill like swimming.

Your experience is not universal. My kid learned as a toddler and has a bike that he hasn't touched in 10 years. I offered to take to campus, and he said "what for?" Not everyone enjoys bike riding.

Anonymous wrote:It's easy to learn to ride a bike if they start on a balance bike at a young age and ride it a lot and then learn to ride a pedal bike at a young age (3-4 best) while they have a low center of gravity. Training wheels are like arm floaties - generally no longer accepted, but a few people still hang on to them.

For lots of kids this is true, but be sensitive to the reality that some kids truly struggle with this and it isn't ever easy for them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. She also hated the balance bike.

Wut

Her last bike was one with training wheels on it. She’s never asked for a new one. She doesn’t care and frankly neither do I.

She will eventually. No biking around college campus, no going on bike trips with friends when she's an adult. It's a life skill like swimming.