How To Ride A Balance Bike

How Do You Ride A Balance Bike?

Balance bikes are very easy for kids to ride and oftentimes they won’t need any instruction to learn. When starting out your child simply “walks” their bike around, getting a feel for how to turn the handle bars and position their body over the frame and saddle.

As time goes on your child will start to scoot around and really begin to refine their steering skills and start to pick up on balancing by allowing their feet to hover over the ground. It is not until this point that they introduce another skill, which is braking, and that is done with their feet. Using their feet to stop by dragging them on the ground is another natural skill that will quickly develop. And now comes the speed! When your child is confident enough they will start to move quicker, kicking faster, almost running. Their balance is getting better and it might be at this point they put their feet up on the frame and coast along for a long distance, really testing their balance and steering skills.

How To Teach Your Child To Ride A Balance Bike

• First thing first, SAFETY - Always properly fit a helmet on your child and make sure that it is correctly sized for your child’s head. If you don’t know how to do that, check out our instructions for proper helmet fit. Please always wear a helmet when you and/or your child is riding a bike. If you’d like to explore additional protective wear you can check out our gloves and knee pad products.
• Bike setup - Make sure to correctly position the saddle height and any other adjustable components before riding. If you need help with that, please check out our bike sizing guide or set up a call with a Bambino Gear Expert.
• Location - Find a flat and spacious area that is free of any vehicular traffic.
• Learn - Show your child how to hold the handlebars and how to sit on the seat and simply encourage them to walk around!
• Monkey see monkey do - Remember this saying? Well, it really helps with learning to ride a bike. If you have friends or family with a little rider that is just a little more experienced, your child will quickly progress by just seeing their peer ride a balance bike. You’ll be amazed at how willing they are to try new things when riding with someone their own age.