Why Your Child Should Should Learn to Ride a Balance Bike

Skip the tricycle and training wheels and choose a balance bike to help your child learn how to ride a bike. Here, Joseph Rumley, chief marketing officer of FirstBike, explains all you need to know about balance bikes, including how they work, tips for getting started, and answers to safety questions.

Balance Bike Benefits

What are the benefits of my child learning how to ride a bike using a balance bike, like FirstBike, compared to starting with a tricycle or a bike with training wheels? 

Over the past 10 years, especially in Europe, the worldwide trend has been to replace heavy pedal bikes with training wheels, which barely develop the skill of riding a bike and are quite stressful for children and parents, with learning bikes called “balance bikes.” Although the trend is slowly catching on, it is still quite a new concept in the U.S.

Balance bikes involve not only physical activity and entertainment, but also education of even the youngest children. The bikes are great helpers when it comes to introducing basic traffic rules, using caution, and developing situational awareness.

One of the biggest advantages of the balance bike method is that children as young as 2 learn to balance on their own without explanation, coaching, or unnecessary stress. They are very proud of themselves and immediately become fond of cycling.

Unlike kids on traditional pedal bikes with training wheels, toddlers and preschoolers on balance bikes can ride for several miles at a time and run up hills—all while having fun and boosting their self-confidence. Family walks and bike trips are much longer.

In Europe, for example, when you take a walk in the park, you are surrounded by children on bikes without pedals who brilliantly balance, steer, and brake and do not torture themselves on traditional pedal bikes with training wheels. That is why these bikes are often used in preschools, gyms, amusement parks, zoos, and bike rental facilities.  

After your child grows and gets stronger—around the age of 4 or 5 depending on her height and skill—she will smoothly transfer to pedal bikes without needing training wheels.

Notes on Safety

What are the safety precautions I should consider when buying a balance bike and what safety measures should be taken when my child is learning to ride a balance bike?

On balance bikes, children immediately benefit from the added security of having their feet on the ground, so it is important that the seat is easily adjustable to their height. When he sits on the bike, both feet should be firmly planted on the ground—not just his toes—with his knees slightly bent. This way, he is able to properly push off, slow down, and stabilize himself.

As your child gains more confidence and speed, a quality brake is very important. Unfortunately, many balance bikes do not possess brakes. Those that have a brake either have a brake fixed on the front wheel, which poses a risk of her flipping over when braking, or a rear “V-brake,” which poses the risk of getting her fingers, or other materials such as clothing, caught in the brake. Therefore, it is important to choose a balance bike with an enclosed rear braking system that is easily adjustable and easy to operate even by a 2- or 3-year-old.

Additionally, balance bikes with fully rotatable handlebars should be avoided. Bikes with handlebars that limit the steering angle, a “steering limiter,” help the little ones keep direction and prevent rough falls. Models with sharp edges or extruding screws should also be avoided.