This section of our website sets out to explain some of the fundamentals associated with teaching children to ride a cycle. We focus on only the most basic skills: pedaling, steering and balancing, that make it possible for a child to operate a cycle.

There is obviously much more to teach and to learn about cycling than this but you will probably find all that in other sections of the site.

Trikes
For most children, a trike is often the first step in learning to ride because a trike has only two things to teach a child, steering and pedaling. The steering usually comes first, because the child can stand on the back with one foot and push along with the other. Some children will be able to master this even before learning to walk. Once the basic concept of steering has been learned, the child can then start to use the pedals.

As soon as the child has become proficient in pedaling and steering a trike, it is usually best to move them onto a small bike with training wheels.

Teaching Balance
There are three basic ways to teach a child to balance

• training wheels
• running with the child
• using an undersized cycle

Each has its advantages and disadvantages the best results will often be obtained by a mixed approach suitably adjusted to the child's learning style, level of natural confidence and the teaching area available.

Training wheels
Most cycles intended for smaller children come with training wheels. That doesn't mean that training wheels are the only way or even the best way to teach a child to ride.
Training wheels are potentially the least painful way, but also the slowest. They make the most sense for families who live on very quiet, safe streets without hills. To make good use of training wheels, you need a safe, flat surface where a child can ride with a minimum of supervision.

How to use training wheels
Most training wheels are adjusted incorrectly. The cycle should always have a little bit of lean. If both training wheels can touch the ground at once, there is very little weight on the rear wheel which can therefore reduce traction to zero. On uneven ground, the child may get stuck because the rear wheel spins. Even worse, the brake may become useless. However when the cycle is new, there should be only a small amount of tilt from one side to the other.

Once the child has become accustomed to pedaling, steering and braking, the training wheels should be raised slightly, a bit at a time. It is probably better to do this without telling the child. The cycle will become more wobbly and the child will learn to balance automatically with practice. As the child becomes more adept the cycle will spend more and more time with both training wheels off the ground. The day will come when it is obvious that the training wheels are no longer doing anything, and they can then be safely removed.

The training-wheel approach works best for families who live on very quiet streets, have large driveways, live near parks or other areas where the child may be left pretty much unattended. For most families, this will not be the case, and a parent will need to accompany the child. In this case, the "running-with-the-child" approach makes more sense, since children learn faster this way.

Running with the child
The traditional way to teach cycling, by running along holding the child up, is still the fastest and best if an undersized cycle is not available.

The parent should hold the child by the shoulders and run along behind. It is important that the parent doesn’t hold the handlebars, saddle or any other part of the cycles; the child cannot learn the feel of balancing if the parent is taking control of the cycle.

This approach is not much fun for the parent who is tall and has to lean over to reach the child's shoulders. The parent also has o be very careful not to bang into the cycle or trip over it when the little darling swerves or puts on the brakes unexpectedly just to see what daddy does. The approach is also potentially strenuous as the parent really does have to run or at least trot, because balancing a cycle at a walking pace is quite an advanced skill. Despite these potential negatives this approach is the fastest and most parent-involved way to teach basic balancing.

Using an undersized cycle
The ideal cycle for learning to ride is one that is "too small" for efficient riding. The rider should be able to sit on the saddle with both feet flat on the ground and the knees slightly bent. The cycle can then be used as a hobby horse or scooter with the feet always ready to stop a fall. It may even be useful to remove the pedals at first, so that the feet can swing freely. Ideally, a cycle for this approach should have at least one hand brake, so that the child can stop while using both feet for balance.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult for parents to justify the expense of a smaller cycle that will be outgrown very quickly, so there is a constant temptation to buy a cycle that is a bit too large on the theory that the child will "grow into" it.

Safety Equipment
Encourage children to start out with proper safety equipment from the start. If a child gets used to wearing a helmet on a trike, the habit will become well established, and there will not be a later struggle about introducing one. Especially when children are first learning to ride, gloves and even knee pads can be very worthwhile. A child who falls and gets hurt may get turned off cycling at an early age and at best will take longer to learn, because of fear.  Young children love to have their own cycle gloves, it makes them feel really special.

Patience
There is a very wide range of ages at which children master basic balancing, with the average being about 6 years, but normal variation running from 4 to 9. It is important not to push them too hard. This can be a real problem for children of active cyclists; excessive pressure can take all the fun out of the experience. Allow your child to learn at his or her natural pace, and it is more likely that cycling will become a fun family activity for all of you.