[jugg1es]

This technique didnt work at all for my kids. Having any sort of "safety net" at all seemed to prevent any teachable moments. The most important factor in teaching my kids to ride a bike was how long they spent on the bike trying to ride it. I have three kids, and my youngest is too young to learn, so I have one more chance to test my theories.

[inanutshellus]

i got my youngest a balance bike and by age 3 he was zipping around with ease and blowing everyone's mind.

I've been a balance bike evangelist ever since.

get a used balance bike off craigslist, use it for a while, send it back to craigslist. Super duper. Do recommend.

[wiredfool]

Worked for me, for three kids. The essential bit is getting them to not fear the lean, and not steer like they're driving a little car.

[dahart]

How long though? I learned the hard way too. It’s worked for lots of people the hard way. But I think there’s lots of evidence now that balance bikes are faster to learn on average. Taking the pedals off is what removes the fear. Steering just happens naturally. Lots of adults who know how to ride bikes don’t even know or believe they’re steering differently than a car, I’ve even had debates with some of them.

I have two kids, taught one with pedals and one without. The pedal-less was immediate in a single day, and the training-wheels pedal bike kid struggled for days until we took the pedals off. Pretty sure my training wheels experience took multiple days, though I can’t remember it clearly.

[wiredfool]

We _had_ a balance bike, didn't get used much.

It only took about half an hour or so of effort to get over the "I'm going to fall" fear and get the feel for how a bike actually works.