[Yizahi]

Aren't so called "balance bikes" very dumb and also mildly harmful for kids? Why not just buy a proper bike with sidewheels, and after a few weeks just drop them and kid will learn to ride bicycles properly now? Instead of both not learning anything and endangering pedestrians and himself on the "balance bike"?

[beAbU]

You can start a kid on a balance bike at like 9 months. There are no pedal bikes with training wheels that's small enough for a 9 month old.

No responsible parent will allow a child on a balance bike (or one with training wheels) in any scenario where they'll 'endanger' anything.

Balance bikes teach you to ride a bike (maintain balance while steering). Training wheels teach you to pedal a bike.

Learning balancing and steering first, and then learning to actually cycle the pedals is the right order of events I think.

[Yizahi]

1. Assuming there is a real proven age gap and balance bike allows a noticeably earlier start than a real bike with side wheels - what is the purpose of doing that in the first place? What will kid learn in the gap period specifically? Just balancing? Well, maybe that's beneficial.

I have googled and the quick search tells me that the gap is between 6 to 12 month.

2. I have never ever in my life seen even one balance bike with brakes. So as soon as a kid can "glide" on it, he is a danger to himself and to the people around.

Does learning balance a bit earlier outweigh the danger? I don't know.

As an adult I try to walk as far as possible from kids on these balance bikes, unless parent is holding their hand or handlebar. Getting hit at a significant speed in the leg is not fun.

[beAbU]

1. I think the point is they learn the more difficult skill first, which is balancing. It's low enough to the ground that the kid can balance with their feet, but they will naturally start picking up their feet when they get some momentum and speed going. I think it's a much less stressful way to learn riding a bike compared to knowing mommy-or-daddy-might-let-go-and-I-will-fall school of training.

2. A very quick google search got me this¹. More than half the balance bikes on there have brakes. I've seen similar on other bike websites. I agree it's irresponsible to not have brakes, especially for the bigger kid models.

I have a 7 month old now. I want to get her on a balance bike before the end of the year, or maybe start with a trike. Exclusively indoors, or under very strict supervision from me if we are anywhere outside. As soon as she's big enough, she'll get the smallest "big" bike where I have removed the pedals, but we have the front and back brakes present. Then she'll continue balance-biking on there till she's ready for the pedals.

1: https://www.decathlon.ie/8104-balance-bikes-tricycles

[jjav]

> So as soon as a kid can "glide" on it, he is a danger to himself and to the people around.

Oh please. We're talking about a 1 year old on a 6lb bike going jogging speed.

The benefit in learning curve is huge. I didn't have the benefit of balance bikes, so had to learn to bike at ~6 years old on a big pedal bike and struggled for a long while to balance it.

In contrast my kid learned to balance on a balance bike at age one, and had a seamless transition to a pedal bike at three.

[jjav]

> Why not just buy a proper bike with sidewheels

Training wheels are the worst for multiple reasons. The kid doesn't learn any balancing since the bike stays upright on the training wheels no matter what they do. And a pedal bike with training wheels is quite heavy (for a 1 year old) so it's more frustrating.

The best way to learn to cycle is to start on a balance bike when very young (under two) which gets the balancing part hardwired in the young brain. Then it is an easy step up to a pedal bike when they are a bit older and can handle the extra weight.

[foco_tubi]

No. They are widely considered to be one of the best ways to learn balance and steering as well as developing coordination and core strength. The bike is not physically capable of reaching a high speed on flat ground due to the lack of a geared propulsion system. Generally they result in a faster transition to pedaling two wheels than by using training wheels on a “normal” bike.

[senordevnyc]

Eh, my daughter had one when she was 2-3, before she would have been able to ride a pedal bike, and it was definitely helpful for her learning. She had training wheels on her next bike for a day or two and then we took them off and she rode without issue.

We also lived in an apartment and a tiny balance bike was a lot less disruptive than a pedal bike with training wheels.

[Mawr]

5 year olds on balance bikes are endangering pedestrians?

[jjav]

Kids on balance bikes are more like 1-2 year olds.