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Post by spyghost on Jul 4, 2016 7:20:12 GMT 8
I've asked this question in PinoyMTBiker before, so just creating a new one here... Before I was desperate to know and teach, but it turns out what my colleagues told me is true... just let them ride and the balance eventually come. - To speed up the process, i removed both pedals and slammed down the seats so my boys can ride as if it were a push bike. By the time I saw that they can balance consistently while they can turn with their feet up (ie literally playing with it), i returned the pedals. here comes the hard part - initiating the momentum. - it was a bit of struggle at first since i had to bow down and hold the saddle to prevent them from tipping over. the kids had to learn how to drop a foot so they won't fall on their shoulders. while i'm pushing the saddle, they do the pedaling, while my other hand guides one end of the bar until i reach the point that they know how to hold them and just me guiding the saddle. - still, the problem is initiating the momentum. fortunately, the local grassy playground where we live has a very subtle slope so i thought why not let them slide down and lift their feet once moving and pedal. guess what, it worked! overall, i'd say summer of 2016 was a breakthrough in that my kids learned how to pedal on 2 wheels. i intentionally lingered on the push bike period so their bodies can adapt to the balance. if my recollection is correct, the push bike period took me 3 weekends. push on the saddle 1 weeekend. downslope momentum, 1 weekend. the rest of the weekends just guidance until my kids got pissed off with me following them along side
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Post by esulit on Jul 5, 2016 9:49:56 GMT 8
That's how I taught my wife to bike. Hahaha.
Back on topic. I think I took the long way for my boy. I started with a trike when he was 2.5 yrs. Then a bike with balancers by the time he was 3. I was thinking I could save money by not buying a strider and get him immediately to a real bike with balance wheels. By 3.5 yrs I convinced him to pedal faster on his bike and by the time he reached 4 I took out the balance wheels. He is a little big for his age so he had lots of leg power by that time.
Looking back at my friends taught their kids on striders, I observed two things, 1) the kids that learned to bike the fastest had the leg power to pedal their pedal bikes. 2) learning to balance came with getting to move the bike fast enough. The speed they build is also a sign of confidence and I also observed that confidence = balance = biking fun with your kids.
Each Kid will learn at a different pace. So I didn't really fuss about my son learning to bike. Like you said it will eventually come.
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Post by emon1025 on Sept 13, 2016 16:56:04 GMT 8
This is a good one, I was trying teach my son to learn how to bike without the balancers, he is pretty much affraid to remove both balancer and its a problem. I like the idea of removing the pedals then let him push the bike just to learn to balance and eventually put back the pedals again when he is used to it. Do hope this will work and eventually the balance will come naturally..
Thanks!
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Post by esulit on Sept 14, 2016 11:33:22 GMT 8
Don't worry too much about it. It's okay to fall. Then learn to get up again--this I found is what builds confidence. Kids need to learn that by themselves. I just made sure my son had the right protective gear. So I got him a set from Strider--elbow and knee pads. And of course a helmet. Just like real mountain biking it's important for him to build momentum. Try on a slight downhill or try to give him a good push.
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Post by jhayzxenon on Nov 24, 2016 11:28:57 GMT 8
I was able to teach my partner how to bike in 3 days, an hour per day. Our 5 year old kid's stories different, kid's having hard time balancing and pedaling at the same time, but sometimes she can ride for short time when in a good mood
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Post by esulit on Nov 24, 2016 14:52:01 GMT 8
Try a slight downhill so she gets momentum. Be sure to run to the other end after launching her from the top. 😀
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Post by jhayzxenon on Nov 25, 2016 6:28:34 GMT 8
thanks for the tip gotta find someplace like that near our place, the only downhill we have in the area gives too much momentum and one wrong steer will prove humans can fly.
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Post by esulit on Nov 25, 2016 7:22:52 GMT 8
Hahaha. We are not at the flying part yet.
Well you can also give her a guiding push. I also had a nephew that I helped learn by guiding his balance and giving him small pushes to get momentum. Does your daughter pedal slow with the balancers on? You can also try to get her to move faster by encouraging her to race you with the balancers on. Then when you are confident with her speed you can take out the balancers. Push bikes are also good, but the way you describe it, your daughter is almost there so just use what you have.
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Post by spyghost on Nov 25, 2016 8:03:56 GMT 8
yep, the slight downhill will give the necessary momentum to allow easier pedaling. it's a big leap once a kid is able to pedal given ample momentum.
for a newbie (the way i recall from my childhood), the toughest thing about beginning riding a bike is to start and to stop.
let's face it, even for us adults if we stall specially in an uphill section, it's hard to get things moving (unless you execute a few techniques). also, which is more taxing - to ride a bike that has started or to drop frequently and restart?
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Post by jhayzxenon on Nov 25, 2016 8:08:06 GMT 8
Well that's the thing, she can ride good with the balancers on and she can ride just fine if I'm guiding her behind. Maybe it's the confidence thing since when she knows she's going to ride on her own she's having hard time. Sometimes I even trick her that I'm guiding her where in fact I'm not even touching her bike haha. Right now, I'm letting her just ride the bike when she wanted to not to give any pressure.
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Post by spyghost on Nov 25, 2016 8:54:48 GMT 8
it's not easy to assess as each individual is different. try to remove the pedals and the balancers. have your kid kick the ground and "raise legs and perform turns." i think that's the key - to be able to confidently turn with legs raised. this will definitely boost confidence. it isn't as awesome as with pedals, but more secure in a way as there's less to think about. linger on this setup and pedalling will come naturally (with a little forward boost).
once you see that your kid is playing with this setup, then that's the time to put back the pedals.
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Post by esulit on Nov 25, 2016 8:56:37 GMT 8
Well you're almost there. Confidence na lang. When I was learning to bike, there was this one day I kept falling down. I really couldn't get it. And then that night I dreamt I could bike. Guess what? I could bike the next day. It's just confidence. So right now I'm trying to dream of how to bunny hop. 😀. Kidding aside. You can also try to ask her to look far forward. Usually a learner will look at the front wheel. And you know what happens when we focus on the front wheel.
Malapit na yan.
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Post by jhayzxenon on Nov 25, 2016 9:39:09 GMT 8
hephep, will keep those advises in mind once we have available time to practice, thanks folks
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Post by xmayor on Nov 26, 2016 0:09:45 GMT 8
it's very important not to pressure your kids.
i bought my eldest daughter a bike after her 7th birthday. but i never pushed her to ride it. if she wants then i let her ride, if not then let it be. the bike was just around, occupying space and collecting dust. i just think it's not her interest.
then we moved south of manila, with huge space to play and of course to bike. summer came and then there are lot of kids riding bike within the village. so i asked my daughter if she want to use her bike... and the interest started there. but still, she's riding with the balancers on. didn't bother asking her to try riding without the balancers. i just let her ride whenever she feels to.
after more than a year riding, the balancer wheels started to wear off and the wheel bracket was already bended upward. it was then i noticed that the balancer wheels were actually not touching the ground whenever she rides. still, i let it that way. until one day, finally the left balancer wheel was totally worn out: without the rubber and the plastic rim broken. so i told my daughter we take out the bracket for it has no use anymore, and she agreed. and she's riding only with the right balancer wheel, until it also broke.
after taking off the right balancer, she discovered that she can actually balance the bike and ride.
so technically, i didn't teach her how to ride, hehe! now at the age of 10, she can ride my newly built bike, but of course with the saddle slammed. and her mom is envy... my wifey doesn't know how to ride a bike. hmmmm... will try your advises if it will work for my wifey, hahaha!
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Post by esulit on Nov 26, 2016 0:35:28 GMT 8
xmayor that's a funny story. The balancers of some bikes are really flimsy. Good luck with the wife. In my experience it was harder to teach my wife. For my wife I had to take out the pedals kasi walang strider for adult. Ahihihihi.
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Post by spyghost on Nov 26, 2016 4:56:06 GMT 8
come to think of it, perhaps that's the reason why balancers are flimsy? lol. nah, balancers when i was a kid were tough. i agree with the concept of not pressuring. if the kids want to, let them, if they don't so be it. my aim before was that my boys just learn how to ride on 2 wheels. up to them if they want to do what i do right now. i'm imagining a dreadful day when 3 of us have full blown bikes and how much capex/opex that will generate in the household . though i also look fw to a possibility that we can ride together and race perhaps... something to test their old man about the wife, 2 words... "good luck" (imagine the grin on my face). i bought my wife a used jap bike... a legit dahon metro. she opted for a used one instead of brand new since she knows that she really won't persist. that model is a less known model of dahon but it's still dahon. she can only move by a few meters... that's it.... at least she's done it lol. (at least i have a 'harabas' commuter/leisure bike for myself hihi)
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Post by xmayor on Nov 26, 2016 6:49:11 GMT 8
should we change the topic to "how do you teach your wife to ride on 2 wheels?" hahaha! spyghost - that will be awesome seeing you and your boys riding, or racing the most, together. exposure to the sport is a big factor. hope you still have time to save funds. 😊
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Post by jhayzxenon on Nov 26, 2016 9:01:10 GMT 8
good thing my partner was able to grasp the how to's after she got her own bike, so I'm saved from the how to's for the wife hehe. on my kid's ride, I decided to go with xmayor 's method, I'd let her ride again with the balancers on instead of push type no pedals then hope for the best, bad thing is she'd like to ride last night but it rained haha
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Post by kent671 on Nov 26, 2016 11:48:54 GMT 8
Tama kanya kanya bawat bata or tao on learning ... Here's my experience with my daughter 6yrs old bought her a bike with trainer wheels summer time hndi natuto medyo mabigat kase anak ko hehe chubby chubby lage napuputol un training wheels hndi kaya weight nya so pahinga pinabayaan ko lng after 3 yrs 9yrs old na sya chubby chubby padin haha kaso lahat ng pinsan nya ( 4 boys 1 girl ) marunong na magbike nag reunion kme sa inlaws ko abroad na left out sya hndi ko padin pinuwersa sa kanya nanggaling " dad teach me to ride my bike again when we go home to manila " Paguwi nmen with her same old bike baklas na training wheels kala kalawang ndin ung bike nya took us 3 afternoon session on the 3rd day natuto na bumalanse mag isa sbe ko lng keep going forward pag mag stop ka anak ma off balance ka ayun nung nakuha balanse tuloy tuloy na hehehe Hndi naman every Sunday pero kapag free UP kme bonding mag ama folding bike muna sya sbe ko pag 13 na sya mag mtb sarili nya hehe
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Post by xmayor on Nov 26, 2016 16:25:28 GMT 8
kent671, nice one! whenever i ask my daughter for a bike ride, its a frown that i got. hahaha! but i'm not loosing hope. maybe on my toddler.
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Post by kent671 on Nov 26, 2016 17:09:21 GMT 8
kent671, nice one! whenever i ask my daughter for a bike ride, its a frown that i got. hahaha! but i'm not loosing hope. maybe on my toddler. Thanks xmayor 👍🏻 Hahaha may suhol yan UP ride namin sir xmayor kung dehins spicy tapsilog sa tapa centrale , ham and egg sandwich duon sa gitna sa UP 😄 bastat maka 15kms and up kme kahet san nya gsto eat go lng hihi
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Post by albatross99 on Dec 5, 2016 23:03:28 GMT 8
ill apply this to my wife and my baby...😆
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Post by anthrax76 on Dec 5, 2016 23:57:24 GMT 8
kent671, nice one! whenever i ask my daughter for a bike ride, its a frown that i got. hahaha! but i'm not loosing hope. maybe on my toddler. Thanks xmayor 👍🏻 Hahaha may suhol yan UP ride namin sir xmayor kung dehins spicy tapsilog sa tapa centrale , ham and egg sandwich duon sa gitna sa UP 😄 bastat maka 15kms and up kme kahet san nya gsto eat go lng hihi OT: after a hard ride, sa shake hill mo dalhin
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Post by konablack on Dec 6, 2016 7:21:18 GMT 8
it's probably a good idea to start with a low saddle so that he/she can easily bail out or step a foot. remembering how i started, nobody really formally taught me how to ride a bike (hugot-feels) i just learned how to pedal continuously and look forward
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Post by spyghost on Dec 6, 2016 9:33:37 GMT 8
it's probably a good idea to start with a low saddle so that he/she can easily bail out or step a foot. remembering how i started, nobody really formally taught me how to ride a bike (hugot-feels) i just learned how to pedal continuously and look forward now this is what i'm thinking about... when to elevate a kid's saddle. well, the usual kids bike have really low saddles to begin with, but folding bikes can have saddle for as high as the post will allow... am thinking, if the kid can stand up coasting, then i think that's the time that he/she can do with a higher seat? what do you think?
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Post by esulit on Dec 6, 2016 12:15:00 GMT 8
it's probably a good idea to start with a low saddle so that he/she can easily bail out or step a foot. remembering how i started, nobody really formally taught me how to ride a bike (hugot-feels) i just learned how to pedal continuously and look forward now this is what i'm thinking about... when to elevate a kid's saddle. well, the usual kids bike have really low saddles to begin with, but folding bikes can have saddle for as high as the post will allow... am thinking, if the kid can stand up coasting, then i think that's the time that he/she can do with a higher seat? what do you think? Kids react differently and the bikes have such varied geometries that it's hard to say. I suggest you try raising the seat and see how far you can raise it without them complaining. My son and my nephew eventually found it better to pedal and climb with the seatpost up. And it's also better to get them used to a higher seat post earlier if possible. This is tricky as we don't want them to fear the high seatpost as well. That being said, be prepared to adjust the seatpost to the terrain.
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