The Secret to Teaching Your Kid to Ride a Bike? Remove the Pedals.

The first bicycle, invented in Germany in 1817, was technically a balance bike. Wooden balance bikes for young kids have existed in the European market since the 1990s, and in 2007 cycle-loving dad Ryan McFarland founded Strider and brought balance bikes to the US.

Frustrated by the heavy and ergonomically challenging kids bikes and trikes available at the time, McFarland stripped down his young son’s bike to decrease weight and optimize fit and function. The Strider bike was born, and other lightweight balance bikes soon followed.

Simply put, a balance bike is a bike with no pedals. Riders instead push themselves along with their feet. They learn to balance and steer, and pedaling comes later. We recommend several great balance bikes for young children, but any bike can become a balance bike if you remove the pedals.

“Balance bikes allow kids to progress at a pace that’s way more comfortable,” said Dan Bassett, deputy director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. It’s helpful to think of the balance bike method in stages, he said: “First there’s the waddle phase, then the seated phase, then the push phase, then comes gliding.”

Programs like All Kids Bike and Ready to Ride have helped thousands of elementary school kids around the country learn how to ride bikes. Both exclusively teach the balance bike method.

Not one of the cycling educators, bike manufacturers, or teachers I spoke with defended training wheels. They don’t teach the critical skill of balancing, they add weight to bikes that are already heavy for little kids, and they interfere with proper steering and turning.

On a two-wheel bike, riders naturally lean into turns as they steer rather than relying only on handlebars to turn. But McFarland told me that it’s mechanically impossible to lean into a turn while using training wheels. Instead, training wheels teach kids to lean in the opposite direction at the start of the turn and then oversteer with the handlebars to complete it. This can result in crashes after the training wheels come off. “Then it’s like a death spiral — they’re scared and want training wheels again,” he said.

But Betsy Cyr, who teaches kids with disabilities how to ride bikes at iCan Bike Camp in Portland, Maine, said that they do serve a purpose for a specific population of cyclists.“Training wheels are sometimes appropriate for a kid who will forever need that support,” she said. “But we do not use them as a tool to get to independence if the child’s capable.”

While some kids learn to bike in a day, others take much longer. Likewise, some kids are ready to ride by age 2, and others don’t develop the coordination or confidence until they’re 5 or older. McFarland advises that parents stay the course but honor their child’s pace. “Different kids may progress through the process at different speeds, but there is not a better way to learn,” he said.

Even some adults who are learning to ride for the first time use the balance bike method. Whether it takes your kid a day or a year to learn, these pointers will set them up for success.

Get the right-size bike. If your kid is under the age of 4 or 5, they can start with a dedicated balance bike. Older, taller children may need to begin with a pedal bike, but any bike can be converted to a balance bike: Just remove the pedals with a 15 mm wrench (most bikes ordered online come with one) and lower the seat so they can sit on the saddle with their feet flat on the ground, knees slightly bent.

The most important factor to consider when selecting a bike for your kid is size. “Oftentimes parents buy big bikes that kids can grow into, which causes a lot of frustration for their kid,” Alison Dewey, education director of The League of American Bicyclists, told me. A low seat height offers a feeling of security and allows riders to push their feet against the ground with power and control.

Build confidence with an anatomy lesson. “A bike is basically a really large, cumbersome toy that has a mind of its own,” Dewey said. Explain the different parts of the bike to your kid, and have them hold the handlebars and walk beside it — this will give them a sense of how heavy it is and how it tends to lean and fall.

Next, encourage your kid to sit on the bike and practice “walking” while seated. Then they can start pushing their feet and gliding. A properly fitting helmet will also increase confidence (and keep them safe).

Find the right environment. Large, open spaces like empty parking lots are more conducive to learning than sidewalks or driveways. “A flat area free of obstacles with at least 100 feet or more open space will allow for unencumbered pushing and gliding,” said Doug Ballew, a cycling educator with Woom. “That straightaway is where they’re gonna develop their skills.”

Both Ballew and Bassett recommend finding a location with a slight grade, if possible; a gentle downhill gives your kid extra momentum as they learn to glide.

If your child is nervous about wiping out, you could take them to a local track. Many modern running tracks are made with synthetic materials that are gentler and springier than asphalt.

Add pedals when they’ve mastered balancing. “Don’t force pedals on them before they have achieved 100% of the balance aspect of it,” Ballew said. “They should be gliding for 25 feet or more.” (That wide open parking lot can help them reach this milestone.)

When you add pedals, raise the seat a little so their feet are flat on the ground with their legs straight. As they gain confidence pedaling, raise the seat by small increments until they can sit on the saddle and touch the ground with the balls of their feet.

Perfect the pedaling. Many kids find pedaling intuitive, but some need extra guidance. Dewey suggests teaching the power pedal position, where one foot is on a pedal positioned just past the highest part of its stroke, and the other foot is on the ground. The kid pushes off with the foot on the ground, and then down on the pedal. Then they find the other pedal with their other foot.

Support your kid, not their bike. If your kid wants the comforting hand of a parent steadying them as they take their first strides and glides, feel free to offer it — but make sure you’re touching your kid, not their bike. “If you want to stabilize your child in some way, grab their shirt but don’t touch the bike,” McFarland says. Holding onto handlebars or a bike seat interferes with their ability to balance on their own.

You can also wrap a towel around your kid’s chest and hold onto it for extra support.

Consider the braking system. Some balance bikes come with hand brakes, but many don’t. Many mid- and high-priced kids pedal bikes, like our top pick and upgrade pick, use hand brakes. Most inexpensive kids pedal bikes have coaster brakes, but they’re rendered useless when the bike is in balance mode — these brakes are only activated when the pedals are in use and pushed backwards.

“Feet are adequate for braking while you’re still [in balance mode and] developing those skills,” McFarland said. Even so, some kids are more comfortable with an added hand brake.

Most experts I spoke with agreed that when kids transition to pedaling, it’s easier to learn on a bike with a freewheel and hand brakes than on one with a coaster brake. It can be hard to get into the “power pedal position” when your pedals can’t move backwards without locking up (which is the case on a bike with coaster brakes).

Although no technique totally eliminates the possibility of scraped knees, the balance bike method can make learning to ride a two-wheeler — once a scary rite of passage — more enjoyable.

Parents and caregivers should respect their child’s pace and remain patient, trusting in the process. “It’s going to take as long as it takes,” Bassett said. “You don’t want to add a negative experience to something that will be a lifelong joy.” That parental patience, along with a bike that fits and an empowering way to learn, will ensure that everyone enjoys the ride.

This article was edited by Catherine Kast and Kalee Thompson.