Anyone out there with a child having a hard time learning to ride a bike?

     Our son spent almost a year and a half bouncing from one training wheel to the next.  He just never could keep the bike up.  We tried all kinds of things, but nothing seemed to work.  Then we found out about balance bikes.  Some research later and I had narrowed it down to either the Trek Float or the GlideBikes GoGlider.  The main reason I settled on the GoGlider was price.  We do mainly mountain biking and the Trek Float just did not seem like it would be a good mountain bike for a kid.  So, I would have had to buy the Trek Float and then a good Mountain Bike for the kid.  With the GoGlider I would still need to buy a Mountain Bike for Joshua, but atleast the GoGlider was considerably less then the Trek Float – and it comes in a small and large size.

     I started looking for dealers in the DFW area and came across only two.  The Owl’s Nest Toy Store in the Southlake Town Square had one of the large GoGliders left in stock, and it was red (Joshua’s favorite color.)  The other store, well, they didn’t answer their phone – their loss.

     What we thought would be one quick trip, turned into over an hour spent inside the store.  If you have children you would love this store.  They have all kinds of great educational toys for children, and tons of European toys that are hard to find here in the States.  Eventually we pried ourselves away from the store and made it home with our new GoGlider.  Then we headed for the school’s parking lot:

     We ended up giving up due to the wind and cold.  It was in the 30′s with 20mph wind.  Joshua just could not handle it and we headed home.

     Monday after school was different, the weather was in the 70′s and the wind was manageable.  Joshua started off pushing himself along up and down my parent’s street.  After about 10 minutes of this he decided to try a little downhill.  One of the driveways on the street has a decent slope on it.  The house is currently vacant, so he would walk the glider up the driveway and then glide down.  After a few minutes he was resting one foot on the foot pegs and pushing along with one foot.  We stopped after about 15 minutes of this.  (About 30 minutes total on Monday.)

     Tuesday started off where we left on Monday.  Joshua would use both feet to push the glider bike up the driveway, and then coast down it with one foot on the pegs.  After about 10 minutes he was coasting down the driveway with both feet on the pegs.  10 minutes later and he was turning at the end of the driveway and continueing down the street.  Soon he was even turning around in the street and heading back to the driveway.  Another few minutes or so and he was turning up the street, coasting some, and then turning circles.  (About 25 minutes total on Tuesday.)

     At this point we drove home to break out the bike (minus the training wheels.)  He could now hold his balance while I held on to him.  A couple of tries of pedalling up the street with me holding on and he was ready to quit for the day.

     Wednesday through Friday continued with just a few minutes a day of me holding on while he pedalled up and down the street.  Saturday he was able to go a short distance with me jogging beside him, about the length of our yard.  He was still unsure of himself and scared to let me let go.  Everytime he felt me let go he would slam on the brakes and stop.

     We did not get any time to practice on Sunday, Monday we worked for about 10 minutes, and then nothing on Tuesday through Thursday.  Friday we were out at Cedar Hill State Park, our family’s Easter Camp Out.  He was now willing to try without me holding on, the first time I let go he just took off.  He could all ready do it, he just was not quite ready to, he was now ready.  That day he rode as much as he could.  He still needs someone to hold the seat while he gets his feet on the pedals and then push a little as he starts to pedal off.  The next step is learning to start on his own, and then how to work the shifter… 

     So, these things work wonders.  The only problem I have with them is no one just rents them.  We used it for a few hours and now the thing will sit in the garage waiting for our newborn to be old enough to use it.  You really should be able to just rent it for a week and then return it.  Or maybe a local bike shop needs to have a Glider day class or something. $20 per child, two or three days at 30 minutes a day.  Afterwards the $20 goes towards purchase of child’s bike and helmet.

     I could not recomend this thing any higher.  From what I found this glider\balance bike had the best of what I was looking for, but there are several options out there, and they will all probably work very similarly.  What I liked about this one vs the others were:

PRO’s:

1.) American company with Lifetime Warranty

2.) The Foot pegs.  This gets the kid used to being in a position similar to how they would sit while pedalling.  On other balance bikes the kids just lift their feet off the ground and hold them up.

CON’s:

NONE!

So, if you have a child that is struggling with learning to ride, contact me, I will rent you a GoGlider.