| If he's coordinated enough to be ready for a bike, there shouldn't
be any problem with graduating to a larger bike later.
A child should always have a bike that's the right size for them,
if there's any way the parents can afford it. A bike that's too
large increases the chance they'll get hurt or that they'll become
discouraged by the experience and give it up. A bike that's too
small also increases the chance of accidents.
As for "when is the usual age" -- that varies incredibly. Kat and
Steven graduated to bike-with-training-wheels at around 5, but two
of the neighbor girls are biking all over the neighborhood without
training wheels, and they both just turned 5 a couple of months
ago. Brittany's father says Brittany was 3 when she started
riding the bike. Apparently she never needed training wheels.
--bonnie
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| Riding a small sized bike with low training wheels is almost
exactly like riding a trike with respect to balancing and steering.
But it has little in common with riding a bike without training wheels,
and the coordinated balancing and steering required for the latter is
much more difficult, and may be impossible until a later age.
The easiest approach is to raise the training wheels very gradually, in
increments too small to notice. Aaron got a 16" bike for his 4th
birthday (or was it his 5th???), and took a little over a year to get
rid of the wheels, though he didn't ride very often.
Experience with Eric was quite different. He inherited Aaron's 16"
bike at his 4th birthday, and started with the training wheels all the
way down. He also latched onto a training-wheel-less 12" bike at
pre-school, one where he could keep both feet flat on the ground while
sitting on the bike. Before I even knew about it, he had taught
himself to ride. He wanted to get rid of the training wheels at home,
even though the bike is bigger. He pretty much mastered it by the
second weekend, though he still had a bit of trouble getting
"launched." So, he learned to ride a "big" bike without wheels
slightly past age 4. Now the boys and I go off as a three-some; great
fun.
DO make sure any biker wears a helmet, both for current safety and
to develop a valuable long-term habit. There is a very attractive deal
being offered now by Troxel through pediatricians to get helmets
mail-order at a very reasonable price. I found it easy to get the
right sizes for the boys, and prices were half those in a local bike
store for the same helmet. Ask for a pamphlet at pediatrician offices.
- Bruce
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