When to teach your child to ride a bike?

Cycling is a complex activity. Pedaling, finding your balance, changing direction: so many actions that require effort and concentration. So pay attention to your child’s progress and interests.t, in order to choose the right time. No need to skip the steps while waiting a bit, he will be receptive and assimilate the different movements more quickly.

Start with the tricycle

Around 18 months, children coordinate their movements better and better. With your help, they can start to ride a tricycle. Choose first the pedaling system. There are two types: in the center of the bike and in the front, perpendicular to the wheel. For the little ones, pedaling at the front is recommended because it is easier (moreover, the very first tricycles offer this system). On the other hand, it is not all-terrain since it is based on a single drive wheel.

So that the child feels confident on his first bike, think about the essential accessories : a basket at the back to take a blanket for a ride, a satchel in the front and stickers. The seat and the frame must be adjustable.

 For its safety, the tricycle always hasa removable cane with which you can guide your child in his movements and a seat belt. It’s also never too early to get them used to wearing a helmet. Also check the chain protection so that it is inaccessible to little fingers. He therefore has time to learn to pedal. This is a first level, before tackling the bike.

When to buy a bike for your child?

Your child can ride a bicycle from the age of 3. Be careful, if he switches from a tricycle to a bicycle, he will need a little time to adapt to the difference in height. It is important that he can try out his bike before you buy it for him, and of course choose it to make it his own. He will surely not rush on his two-wheeler, but will need stabilizers to acquire the necessary insurance. You can also try the bike without pedals to teach him to control the balance of his body and to hold well in the saddle, it allows most of the time to avoid the stage of the small wheels.

When to remove the small wheels?

Do you notice that it rolls faster and faster? This is a clue: he has more strength and the balance will come soon. If he has been training for a long time, he will spontaneously ask to remove the stabilizers. But his temperament also comes into play. He may know how to ride without any problem but be afraid to launch as soon as he no longer feels you are near him.

Baby on a bike: how to help him overcome his fears?

Balance and confidence also go through the eyes. While his bike is still equipped with stabilizers, stand at his height, facing him, and invite him to join you. He will lose the habit of looking down. With a wider field of vision, he will already be more reassured. When next he has to start on two wheels only, push him lightly while holding his saddle or keeping one hand behind his back.. He refuses to remove the two small wheels at the same time? Okay, if that can reassure him. Adapt to its pace. Are you stressed yourself? Pass on the baton, so you don’t pass your anxiety on to him.

Adopt “security” reflexes

Helmet is now mandatory : give your child the habit of putting it on systematically. At the slightest shock, it must also be changed. If you have opted for a used bike, don’t forget to have it revised. Same precautions for a new bike: don’t forget to adjust saddle and handlebars over time and change models every three years.

Forget the bike path for the little ones

Just like the sidewalks, for its beginnings. Rather find a quiet space in a park, where he can fix all his attention on his bike, without having to manage other parameters. Avoid surfaces covered with gravel. The ideal: the soft ground of the playgrounds. Or a groomed path, a ground like that of schoolyards.

A bike to surpass yourself

Your little cyclist will need to show determination and will need all your encouragement before they can ride like a grown-up. Corn if Baby is not interested, do not insist; you would run the risk of stealing it definitively. You can, however, try to show him the usefulness of the bike: it’s fun, for example, to go to the bakery with dad and bring the bread back in the basket attached to the handlebars or on the rear wheel. .

Choosing the right “big bike”

Above all, the bike must carry CE mark, which indicates its compliance with the European safety standards in force.

He must be adapted to the size of the child. When the child who, sitting in the saddle, must not only reach the pedals without difficulty but also be able to put his feet flat on the ground.

For two to three year olds, a 10 ” or 12 ” model (diameter of the wheels in inches, ie 25,40 cm or 30,48 cm) is generally perfect… These bikes for beginners generally have a low frame ( to make it easier to step over) and a half-raised handlebar, which is easier to hold. To be sure of your choice, it is best to have the interested party try the bike.

• He must be stable. Sufficiently heavy, the machine must be fitted with “small wheels” (preferably reinforced steel) at the rear.
• Le braking system must be adapted.
• For the little ones, who do not yet know how to operate the manual brakes, the bike must have a fixed gear system or a backpedal system.
• Then choose a model with flexible brakes and the size of his little hands and a “freewheel” system (so that the pedals do not hit against his feet when going downhill).

Otherwise, it is preferable that the transmission chain is inaccessible to small hands (thanks to a protective cover). This will also prevent sludge stains on the pants!

Finally, when the child’s knees hit the handlebars with each pedal stroke and the saddle and handlebars have already been raised to the maximum, it is time to change the bike (usually every three years).

The essential equipment for cycling!

Helmet is compulsory. In children, bicycle accidents result in a head injury in 55% of cases. However, wearing a helmet reduces the risk of head trauma and brain damage by 80 to 85% in the event of a fall or collision.

To be effective, the helmet must:

• be CE approved;
• be perfectly adapted to the user’s head: once in place and adjusted with the various settings, it should not move;
• stand alone (without attaching the chin strap when trying on);
• descend low towards the back of the skull.

After an impact, it is absolutely necessary to change your helmet (even if it does not show any visible damage).