We discussed it in our book, Fit Family, where Andrew Brewer, a former Category 1 bike racer who now owns Onion River Sports, one of the leading sports shops in New England, said “...When my daughter learned to ride, I took the pedals off. I just lowered the seat so that she could touch the ground. She would just go down the gentle grade of the driveway and push it back up again. And then we put the pedals back on and she was riding. It didn’t require a lot of dad running beside her and breaking my back. Taking the pedals off is a great option. It’s not that big a deal. You need a 15mm wrench or the bike shop can do it for you. A lot of times Dad will have an open wrench socket and you just take the 15mm and you’ve got yourself a no-pedal bike.”
Others are pretty adamant about not using training wheels on bikes for kids. Here’s what one writer on the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition site says: “Training wheels prevent children from learning to balance on two wheels by preventing them from leaning through turns. They also tip over when one training wheel hits an obstacle. They are generally counterproductive. Don't use them.”
There’s a wide range of opinion of the effectiveness of training wheels. Some parents believe that the wheels are a nuisance and prevent the child from learning to balance. Still other parents believe that training wheels are invaluable in teaching the child to handle the bicycle well. On the “no” side there’s are several videos and a simple internet search will give you dozen of pro and con articles.
Author Heidi Hill recently wrote about an outing with her daughter sans training wheels and in the accompanying short clip, you’ll see that you’ll get exercise while your child gets confidence.
Training wheels or not? What has worked for you?
top photo by Dick Mansfield bottom photo by cck_mom
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