Why training wheels don't actually "train" anyone

To be clear, anything that gets a kid outdoors and on bikes can only be a good thing. If your kid is riding around the park on training wheels and having a blast, that's legitimately great! However, if your goal is to learn how to ride a two wheeler, there's more than one reason to avoid training wheels from the start. Training wheels aren't teaching kids much more than how to pedal, and in fact they can lead to bad habits that make things take longer. There are several quicker and more effective ways to learn to ride a two-wheeler, one of which costs you $0.
Today we'll talk about how a bike actually stays up, and why kids are better off learning with their feet on the ground rather than on the pedals.
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[@Krowdaddy]

This is almost exactly how my parents taught me how to ride. I won a BMX in an art contest as a little kid and wanted to learn how to ride, but my family was too broke to justify buying training wheels. They told me to start pushing myself around the house on it until I felt like I could start pedaling. By the end of the second day, I was racing my older brother down the driveway. The only difference is that they didn't bother to take off the foot pedals. I ended up with some bruised shins, but it was worth it.

[@heylolp9]

scaped legs were a staple of my childhood anyways so same here we Dad just didn't bother taking off the pedals after work but taught me on the actual bike i would ride

[@explorenaked]

No training wheels, no helmet, not protective gear at all. Shins and elbows were pretty much always bleeding. Mom would tell us "don't come in the house until you rinse off the blood using the garden hose". Oh and we drank from that very same garden hose. How did we ever survive?

[@Jehty_]

@@explorenaked the better question is: How many did not survive. (not because of the hose, but because of no helmet)

[@thedamntrain5481]

@@explorenaked this is still happening in Eastern Europe lmao

[@tjchad1]

@@explorenaked the lead in the hose helped the blood coagulate quicker!

[@Infidelio]

The balance bike was actually the first bike: German Inventor Karl von Drais is credited with developing the first bicycle. His machine, known as the "swiftwalker," hit the road in 1817. This early bicycle had no pedals, and its frame was a wooden beam. The device had two wooden wheels with iron rims and leather-covered tires.

[@AnnekeOosterink]

Right? I was like, how is it new in any way when it was the literal origin? Plus, balance bikes specifically aimed at little kids have been around for ages and ages.

[@thonkingintensifies9510]

you know he felt like the shit he definetly was a swiftwalker.

[@MistaGSpecialEducation]

For me I immediately rode a two wheel after using training wheels for 3 years

[@Nikioko]

Hence, the name Draisine. More charming than dandy horse.

[@YuutaShinjou113]

​@@AnnekeOosterink he, the video creator, really should know

[@Abendrotchiller]

I thought Seth was born on a bike 🤔

[@callumgilbert2547]

Lol me too

[@_frixx_746]

Wait he wasn’t ??

[@meetv7700]

😂😂😂

[@edusam666]

Seth IS a bike

[@cactus_cuber1589]

I thought Seth’s parents were bike’s 🤔

[@rusNi314zda]

Few years ago I taught my 3 years old brother to ride a bicycle. Basically I advised him 3 things to follow: watch directly forward so he couldn't see the front wheel or did not look on the pedals, just concentrating on the road. grip the handle bars tight so he has an extra points of stability and the 3rd one is to keep pedaling with no fear. Little man caught it up in 2 days and now he is a great company for a ride at the age of 7. He's riding basically an adult bike now with no fear and feels very secure in it.

[@cat47]

russian ;)

[@rusNi314zda]

@@cat47 Ukrainian

[@cat47]

@@rusNi314zda o cool. stay safe out there

[@ifureaddisugay]

​@@cat47 the good ending

[@BermPeakExpress]

Good on you, and good on your brother. Looking far ahead is really good advice for any type of cycling, and so you probably instilled a great habit into his riding for the rest of his life.

[@ryankennard6626]

This works!!! My 7-year-old had not learned to ride. She had training wheels that we took off this year. Every time she tried it this year, she would almost fall and run home crying. Today, I lowered her seat and took off her pedals and rode around with her. In about an hour, she asked for the pedals and then rode for 2 miles!

[@kjellg6532]

Allmost the same experience. He got a balance bike. He fixed it in a few weeks, 2 yrs old. Some weeks later he graduated to a pedal bike and rode along at 2 yrs 3 mnths.

[@haydennharves]

Man, the “dad running behind the kid at full speed” example is so spot on. I had a little 10” pedal bike in my garage that dad took the training wheels off of, and he taught every single kid on our block to ride on that same bike, just by pushing them through the grass and chasing them. Over a decade later I’m knee deep in the BMX racing world, and so thankful for that little 10” haha. Thanks Dad!

[@Blox117]

actually what he said is not true. tire grip and balance is what keeps a vehicle upright. steering doesnt matter because that only applies when there is no one on it. this is easily observed at low speeds on a unicycle, where steering and leaning doesnt apply yet its very easy to stay upright in a straight line.

[@iwatchwithnoads7480]

@@Blox117 you're constantly shifting weight to make adjustments when you're riding even in a straight line. Training wheels doesn't force you to do that

[@Blox117]

@@iwatchwithnoads7480 yep exactly, thanks for agreeing

[@ohsweetmystery]

A few hours pushing and chasing in a parking lot should teach practically any normal child how to ride. 3 years and older have enough coordination.

[@upshift_actual]

@@Blox117 but steering is balancing?

[@Anderson_999]

Seth in full dad mode in this one, love to see it.

[@SEThatered]

Very wholesome!

[@srdjanbabic8304]

Two years ago, I used this method to teach my girlfriend (24 years of age at a time) to ride a bike. It took her 1 day to learn how to maintain balance and then how to pedal and lean while turning. This method is by far much better than having the training wheels. I think this should be propagated further so that parents apply this more often. Great video as always! Cheers!!!

[@crazywarp36]

24 and cant ride a bike 💀 same energy as 30 and not driving

[@srdjanbabic8304]

@@crazywarp36 hahah, you don't know how many like that are out there then 😃

[@crazywarp36]

@@srdjanbabic8304 xd, I mean its not as bad as being 30 and not driving yet, (my step sister)

[@geriroush8004]

@@crazywarp36 Not everybody's parents can afford to get a bike for them. When given the opportunity, she learned pretty quickly.

[@WanderingWind71]

32 year old here. would love to test this for myself as i have balancing and stability issues even while walking. I have spine damage which causes irregular bouts of numbness in my legs and feet, and have had to switch to using an adult tricycle for transport. I actually might try this if i can scrounge up a cheap two wheeler somewhere just as a learning tool.

[@knightsofthedraftingtable1961]

As a small child, I remember having some training wheels on my first bike. The thing I specifically remember, since the sensation of turning on a bike still haunts me to this day, is that the training wheels would cause an imbalance of friction on the ground with even the slightest of turns. This very quickly results in falling over to the side, not knowing how to fall safely because they haven't rode a bike before. This video is good.

[@Android480]

I couldn’t learn ride a bike as a young kid, but my parents bought me a razor scooter and after just a few weeks of that, I hopped on the bike and got it first try. I think the concept of leaning to steer is almost identical for both, it’s definitely a great safe way of learning.

[@fprintf]

This is what I did with my kids about 20 years ago. Balance bikes were not yet a thing but I knew how problematic training wheels were. But they had Razor scooters and learned all about balance on those. At the time my kids learning to ride at 4 and 3 respectively was seen as an amazing accomplishment. Balance bikes and scooters FTW!

[@EpicVideoGamer7771]

Razor scooters ftw💪💪

[@Generic-Name]

@@fprintf I actually learned how to rid a bike at 3, the funny thing is the reason. I did have training wheels and my older by a couple years sister was getting them off and got a kickstand. I really wanted a kickstand. My Dad was firm you only get one when you don't have training wheels since it would hit them and no point... I told him to take off the wheels and did it that day lol

[@pauljs75]

The scooter is better, and learning by standing up to ride rather than the seated position is better. This is because the bike can go all over the place while still being able to keep balance above it. Once seated it "hooks" you and takes your body where the frame goes. So it puts you at a disadvantage, which isn't what you want while learning.

[@Generic-Name]

@@pauljs75 Oh definitely, wasn't disagreeing. Just a funny story that I was able to learn at a young age at the time since I really wanted a cool attachment. Scooter definitely is a good stepping stone to it especially before the no pedal ones he was talking about existed

[@shampoochamp5223]

My first bike had training wheels, as you might guess. I unsure of why the training wheels themselves were not even, so that they never both touched the ground simultaneously. I didn’t think much of it, but one day, eventually, I noticed that you can balance the bike just so while riding so that neither of the training wheels touched the ground. At this point I was simply riding the bike the way it was intended and never really had to do the whole father-son cliche moment of learning to ride the two wheeler because my training wheels, along with my mushy childhood brain which endlessly explored things, trained me to do so. I felt really proud if that moment because I was able to see that this big event of learning to ride a two wheeler was no big deal at all, and I felt like I had discovered something about the intended use of the training wheels that literally no one I have ever met even talks about.

[@justinlee1421]

This is the proper way to use training wheels. My parents actually read the instructions and did this intentionally maybe yours did to and just never told you.

[@NoThankUBeQuiet]

That's how you are supposed to use them. Once the kid isn't relying on them you take them off and then do a little work on getting on and getting going + the psychological aspect

[@DrakeVaranus]

Same over here, still remember lightly bouncing between the two training wheels and thinking about how close i was to not needing them...

[@kjellg6532]

My advice is to never use training wheels. With them you learn to steer a car, not a two wheeled vehicle. Set the seat low and start duck walking

[@JH-pe3ro]

Kick scooters will also teach the proper motor patterns for bicycle balancing: once you kick off, it's all balance and carving turns. Also you learn to be very worried about tiny cracks in the pavement. That was my actual progression since I rode kick scooters for a while when I was younger, then picked up bicycle as an adult in about 48 hours(two half-hour sessions).

[@renderproductions1032]

I used to use this tiny kick scooter so much, even when it didn’t fit me feel. I would end up doing all of the same lean-turns on the scooter that I would on a bike.

[@Idiot4481]

Why would you be on the pavement?

[@ilikesnow]

Surprised you did not mention the Swiftwalker from the early 1800's. The first bike was a balance bike and that would have been a great history point to throw in there. Great video as always guys!

[@BermPeakExpress]

Oddly enough, you'll see a picture of it in the next video

[@bendu49100]

And it's not like they disappeared or something, draisiennes have been used for kids for a very long time, that's nothing new.

[@sstrazzi]

I taught my 25 year old brother who never road a bike before how to ride in 3 hours by dropping the saddle and getting him to waddle around the parking lot. He loves riding now. Looking back training wheels definitely slowed my progress as a kid

[@DemonFox369]

I learned how to ride on my own in 3 days at 24 but I still fear riding a bike on the road with cars. No problem riding where there aren’t cars but I can’t ride it if there are cars

[@otobustutkusu303]

I learned how to balance without training wheels and some day, somehow, I learnt how to ride all by myself, somehow. don't remember. But I love to ride!

[@antonberglund117]

I am not trying to be mean. But why didn't he learn to ride a bike earlier? Not enough money for a bike? Uninterested? (And which countrie are you from? From what I've heard and seen America is not built for biking or walking😅)

[@sstrazzi]

@@antonberglund117 new zealand. we moved a couple of times and there was nowhere for us to ride. 15 year gap in riding for me also

[@Midnight-wh2bs]

@@antonberglund117 To be fair, some people just don't ride bikes. Like, I learned how to when I was young, but I haven't ridden one in close to 15 years.

[@sunnyskies3969]

My first time riding a bike started like this. I hopped on the bike with my step-dad holding the bike steady, and started getting rolled forward. He kept pushing me and I was pedaling. I never noticed he got left behind, I thought he was still supporting my bike. Id actually managed to keep my balance first try without realizing. I then stood on a curb, hopped on and rode off again. I love how quickly I picked it up. Thank you step dad for one of the few fond memories I have of you. We don't talk anymore

[@ManLikeEddy]

your profile picture explains why

[@sunnyskies3969]

@@ManLikeEddy haha, no, not the reason. My parents don't really care. They judge, but at the end of the day they could care less. Nah its my mom's side of the family (stepdad) and the way they treated me that led to us not talking anymore

[@ManLikeEddy]

@@sunnyskies3969 eh it's just parents nonsense when you grow up to be older you learn to understand that you shouldn't involve yourself and just live your best life and I understand you might say your best life is with them but did they ever think their best life was with you?

[@colfdralegend]

I actually had a sort of unique experience with training wheels. My father was sort of distracted by certain things in that time, so he never got around to actually trying to teach me or even raising the wheels up. Thing was though, the wheels started to bend and raise up on their own. I still remember noticing the wheels sort of “bouncing” when I leaned to the side and such and deciding to treat it like a sort of game where I tried to ride without the wheels hitting the ground. It taught me to keep balance, and each time the wheels hit the pavement they bent more. You’re probably right about it not teaching me to turn, but I lived on a cul de sac, so I was always turning and that was how I trained to steer. I remember getting pretty good at going around without even noticing the wheels and eventually my father noticed what I was doing. So he took em off, gave me a push, and I didn’t even come close to falling as I had been doing the same thing for some time. Balance bikes definitely seem better though, I believe my niece and nephews have one. Actually, now that I think about it, I haven’t ridden my bike that much, but last time I did I think sort of sucked at it. Main reason was I was just unhealthy, but I wonder if I have to get used to turning again 🤔

[@takatamiyagawa5688]

Same, except I think my dad angled the wheels up a bit, or maybe they were just built that way. If you practice maneuvering the bike within that narrow near-vertical envelope, then logically you should be able to keep it up without the training wheels.

[@sidecharacter3171]

For me, one of my training wheels broke off completely, and we just never got it fixed. I would do the same as you, making a game out of it, to teach myself how to balance properly.

[@LilChuunosuke]

I had an extremely similar experience! But I was only allowed to ride my bike in the driveway & my parents paid far less attention. By the time my mother noticed I was able to ride a bike, my brother actually let me use his old bike, which didnt have training wheels on them, while my brother used my mom's old bike. She had walked up to the window just to check on us, only to stop and yell out to me "WHEN DID YOU LEARN HOW TO RIDE A BIKE?! It had been weeks at that point and only my brother was even aware of it. Also, as someone who stopped riding their bike for many years & just got back into it, DO IT! It's so worth it. I splurged on an ebike to make my commute to work substancially easier & cheaper. I've had some soreness as my body adjusts to it & have had to take multiple breaks due to pain or poor weather, but its SO worth it. I forgot how freeing it was to race down the road with the wind in your hair.

[@justinlee1421]

This is the proper way to use them your suppose to raise the wheels so they just keep you from falling over but should never touch the ground at the same time. My parents actually read the instructions and as a result I only had training wheels for a few days.

[@MTB_Rider_96]

This was actually way more helpful than I expected it to be because my Daughter-in-law has never ridden a bike, and my son and I need to teach a 30 year old how to ride. Thanks!

[@andyu69]

Howd it go?

[@Logarithm906]

Tell her how to use the brakes and then find a nice long slope. Have her get used to just lifting her legs off the ground, then practice placing them on the pedals, then practice actually pedalling (but not producing power, just to get used to how your CoG moves while pedaling), then practice actually putting power down. Did that with a dyspraxic cousin, she was fine.

[@hansentt]

Some of my kids had a hard time getting used to the pedaling motion. After they had mastered the balance bike I set their pedal bikes up with training wheels on blocks and had them pedal stationary. They soon learned when to push down on each pedal and when not to. Then I took the training wheels off and that was it. They were riding after just a few minutes of getting used to pedaling and balancing.

[@quantumleap359]

Spot on. My son learned on his own on a bike I was repairing for him. The pedals were junk, so before I had a chance to get a new pair, he started riding up and down the driveway, just kicking around. In two days, I installed the new pedals and off he went. Easy peasy, the best way to learn to ride a two wheeler. Great video!

[@annaairahala9462]

I actually never learned to ride a bike past training wheels. The step from feeling safe with the wheels to having nothing always felt too great. Been wanting to get back into it and learn, but not in a financial position to do so currently and feel nervous as an adult to be learning

[@gabrielatrillo4109]

I also never fully learned how to ride a bike without the training wheels. I don't know what it was but I would keep losing my balance and after scrapping my leg to the point of some blood coming out, even with the encouragement of my dad of how far I went, I never got back on.

[@johnnystankiewicz295]

Man, if i had the ability to teleport i would definetly teleport to you guys and just run behind you to catch you when you are about to fall. Its such a good thing to be able to ride a bike, its very fast and efficient. My dad taught me by first attaching a broom handle to the back of my bike and helping me balance when i was having troubles, and when i was getting a hold of it he just ran behind me and caught me if i was about to crash.

[@clestoncoxii7506]

I'm 59 and like you i learned on training wheels. And likewise taught my sons in training wheels. Mainly because there wasn't a better way at the time. A couple years ago my son picked up a Strider balance bike for his son. It made a huge difference in how fast he learned to balance and steer it. Keep bringing these great videos. They both informative and entertaining.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

There still isn't a better way, him showing improperly set up training wheels doesn't really do much to bolster his point. If the bike stands vertically with all 4 wheels touching the ground, those aren't training wheels. I don't know what they are, but they're not training wheels. The whole point of the training wheels is psychological, to manage the fear of falling over. If they're set properly, the training wheels only contact the ground if you've leaned too far. Simply make a game of it about how long you can keep the training wheels off the ground and kids will pick that up faster than folks realize. As far as the balance bikes go, those are pretty much completely useless. You can take training wheels off a bike without much trouble and still have a bike that handles just about the same as it did. But, it's a bit more involved with a balance bike, either because you need to completely replace it, or because you need to install the pedals, chain and related bits of drive kit. What's more, with the training wheels, you can typically adjust them up or down, so you can start with only a little bit of lean being permitted and advance to the point where you have to lean nearly to the point of falling over before they touch.

[@Carma281]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade username checks out

[@memediatek]

​@@SmallSpoonBrigade tell me you didn't watch the video without telling me you didn't watch the video

[@SuperPickle15]

I don't think 18 months have any fear, by the time they learn fear... they already mastered balancing a bike and thus would know that riding a bike is well with in their skills.

[@thebiglimey]

Balance bikes are an amazing gift for kids (and even adults) to learn to ride. A friend helped a 50-year-old woman to ride, purely by getting her on a bike with no pedals, she was pedaling around a parking lot within an hour. When I developed bikes for another California kid's bike company, I did the same thing as Prevelo, by designing the frames to be hard-to-install "training" wheels. Because of that, we had younger and younger riders graduating as confident riders. keep on spreading the good word Seth!

[@ManicObsevations]

Perhaps because you have to know how to balance on a bike, to ride a bike.

[@thebiglimey]

@@ManicObsevations true, but but it’s a knowledge that comes from experience. Kids are very adaptable and can often learn things that adults struggle with, because they have no preconceived ideas, no prior experience and are open minded to having fun whatever happens

[@ManicObsevations]

@@thebiglimey mhm Thats why balance bikes are good

[@thebiglimey]

@@ManicObsevations true story

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

As an education major, this makes me cringe. This misunderstands how people learn to ride bikes. The short answer is that you don't learn how to ride a bike, it's why people don't typically forget even after many years. If they can't later on in life it's usually a balance issue unrelated to the bike. What you do, is establish the possibility and understanding that the bike will balance itself. As it starts to lean to one side, it will tend to start leaning in the other. If you give a bike enough forward momentum, it will keep upright for a shockingly long distance. Balance bikes are one of those ideas that seems like a good idea, but is mostly just a cash grab as there's nothing that you can do with a balance bike that you can't do with a normal bike with or without training wheels. The point of the training wheels is purely psychological. They keep the bike from leaning so far as to take the rider out of their comfort zone. So, you can focus on the pedaling and forward motion.

[@daanbos5918]

In Dutch we call balance bikes “loopfietsen” or “walkbikes” which in my opinion is more accurate

[@juliecampbell860]

I agree with all statements you made. I never learned how to ride a bike as a kid. Now that I'm an adult, I run into 2 issues - there are no balance bikes for adults, and the "right" size of bike for me has the seat too tall for me (at the lowest setting) to walk the bike with the pedals off (which makes it harder for me to even stand over it with pedals on too). Might have to learn on my daughter's bike, now that she just sized up.

[@neino36]

I vividly remember the day I realized for the first time that my training wheels were hindering me more than helping me. I asked my dad to remove them, a few flops later I was riding with the best of 'em. A few scrapes and bruises are just part of the learning process.

[@mulletsmayhem492]

I remember I kept telling my dad to take them off. He was busy but finally after asking probably 20 times that day he grabbed them and bent them up😂 started riding just fine without

[@-user_redacted-]

I asked for mine to be taken off and after a week of no luck I took matters into my own hands and bent them until the wheels pointed at the sky. Training wheels are the worst.

[@liutang]

My son went from completely scared of the bike to riding in one week thanks to a balance bike. These things are a game changer.

[@sothesalamilidwontfit]

I learned to ride a bike just last year at 19 lol... parent running behind the bike was definitely a much better training tool than more wheels. I used an oversized hand-me-down where my feet couldn't touch the ground and it sucked. biking feels and is a lot more dangerous when you don't fit your bike properly. I finally got my own bike this year and it feels so comfortable being in full control.

[@UMIunited]

I remember the exact moment I truly "learned" how to ride a bike. I had relied on the training wheels a lot, so when I knew that they weren't there, I basically just fell over every time. But in some instances, I noticed that I just went in a straight line even without the training wheels. Yet in practice I couldn't pull that off 90% of the time. One day my friend was practicing with me. He had just learned a few weeks earlier and was extremely enthusiastic about teaching me. So he held my seat and pushed me....or so I thought. I looked back when I felt I was going a bit fast and immediately realised that he didn't even hold my seat let alone push me. It felt weird but amazing because I didn't fall over that time. But then I hit a wall and stopped. From then on, I could properly ride without training wheels.

[@aarongeronimo2622]

I taught my wife how to ride a bike last year. Children are amazing in how fast they can pick up skills, adults however, take arguably longer. She was terrified of falling and had next to no balance reflex. No pedals and walking the bike got her up and running in 30 or so minutes. Threw the pedals on and about an hour later she could ride without me as a safety. 10/10 method for teaching/learning how to ride a bike.

[@DualDesertEagle]

I used to have a girlfriend who hadn't ridden a bike at least since her childhood, if ever, and taught her how to do so on my old ebay Dirt Jump bike which came with shifting gears and as such was the only suitable bike I had to teach her on since my real Dirt Jumper was single speed only and all the other bikes I could've borrowed from family and friends were way too tall for her. Started by running along next to her to try and prevent her from hurting herself in case of a crash but a few minutes later she was riding around that parking lot all by herself without crashing even once. Felt good to see her enjoying the ride and how happy she was about having (re-?) learned to ride a bike.

[@bruh10246]

Weird, I tried to learn how to ride a bike when i was little and never really get anywhere. But when i try again when i was older(18) i got it way quicker precisely because i have less fear of pain. I guess we all got a different learning curve

[@hexagon8899]

@@bruh10246 you completely misused the term "learning curve" there

[@higherquality]

"I taught my wife how to bike" I live in the Netherlands and the "wife" part of the sentence is so odd to me

[@DualDesertEagle]

@@higherquality Why is that? I'm sure that even in the Netherlands there are adults who haven't ridden any bikes for a long time or never learned how to do so in the first place, albeit probably few and far between.

[@Gribbo9999]

My daughter had a tricycle when she was very young ( pedals and steering) Then she learned to ride a scooter (for balance on two wheels). When she was given her first bicycle she just got on it and rode. She already has all the skills. No extra learning required.

[@nballard88]

My kid couldn’t grasp riding a bike with training wheels so it just sat in the back yard. After seeing the video, we pulled the training wheels and pedals and dropped the seat. One week of using this as a balance bike, we put the pedals on and he was riding in 5 minutes. Game changer!

[@7GtwNYkHYs]

I was 4 when I learned to ride. Before I even rode the bike my dad removed the training wheels saying "you don't need those." So yeah, I learned how to ride with my dad running behind exactly as you described. Balance bikes for the kids is a great idea

[@dunbar5741]

Highly recommend the pedals off strategy. My parents are both avid bikers and this helped me learn to ride a bike in a single afternoon as a child.

[@jnawk83]

i taught my 3 year old how to ride in about 30 minutes. he had had balance bikes his whole life (he has an older brother with whom we had used training wheels, BIG mistake).

[@Lautere]

Your videos got me into mtb 4 years ago and its the best thing that ever happened to me. Thank you Seth for making the best mtb videos!🤙

[@dumiahbro]

My dad has always pointed out the flaws of training wheels to people and told them you should instead get your kid a balance bike. I was using training wheels for 2 years until I was 5 years old, and they didn't teach me to ride a bike at all. After my dad got me a balance bike, I was able to ride a bicycle 1 week later. Glad to see a popular youtube video addressing this.

[@meowserita]

Just gotta say perfect time to post this video as its getting to perfect biking weather and theres a ton of kids that want to learn including my little sister who i might just try and teach later with the info from here.

[@blackswan135]

Being Dutch, but growing up in South Africa, my Dutch uncle was appalled to find me riding around with training wheels. Immediately kicked them off and gave me a push down the lawn and I was good to go (after a few face plants)

[@davidlandrigan7067]

My LBS gave me this advice 12 years ago when I bought my daughter her first 2 wheeler - no training wheels, take the pedals off. Learning was fast, painless and intuitive. Her first bike also had hand brakes. I remember fighting hand brakes as a kid because I was so used to the coaster brake…and slamming it for long skids.

[@tompang5296]

My childhood best friend and I incentivised each other to get rid of our training wheels as quickly as possible. Both our bikes' training wheels were elevated, so we both experienced fabulous bursts of speed and smoothness whenever one of us managed to balance on two wheels whenever we raced each other. We had been itching to remove our training wheels for almost a year by the time our parents decided to have our training wheels removed!

[@cooldudessurvival]

Honestly teaching someone how to ride is very fulfilling, when I was 8 I taught my 5 year old neighbor how to ride and I still feel proud of that 15 years later.

[@b.s.adventures9421]

I’ve taught kids this in the parking lot of the bike shop used to work at. It’s so cool watching kids just get it and take off.

[@s00p3rman]

I have done this method with all three of my kids (started the hard way with the 1st one) and they were pedaling on their own with about 3 hrs of practice. An hour and a half of balancing, coasting down a slight decline and walking the bike back up. The next day they do it again a few times to get confidence, then I put the pedals on. Do the same thing with pedals and BAM! They suddenly get it and I celebrate (my awesome parenting skills😂)and hug them and tell them how proud I am. So glad you talked about this because it's an essential dad skill that nobody knows how to do.

[@Hawk3r]

Thank you Seth, I have two kids who I started on balance bikes...and they were doing great. For my eldest I then made the stupid choice to get her on a 16" with training wheels to practice the Pedals... Massive mistake as all of a sudden she forgot how to balance the training wheels kept catching and obviously undoing everything she learnt about the balance. I did the same, removed the training wheels and Pedals, really had to build her confidence back up (it took months). finally today she has mastered it! My youngest, has not had training wheels at all. We are taking the same approach this time on a 12" pedal bike, started with pedals off and no training wheels. Already he is now on the verge of being able to pedal and balance at 3 years old. Thank you for videos like this, really amazing information and hopefully it will help other dads get kids outside and having fun! Keep doing what you do! Merry Christmas!

[@otter-pro]

Thanks for the tip. I think this is useful especially for teaching adults to ride bikes, too!

[@anthonymiller1305]

I couldn’t agree more. My kids were going down hills with their feet up on a balance bike at 18 months, and taking jumps at 2 years. At 2.5 years I bought my oldest his first pedal bike, threw training wheels on it for a day so he could figure out how to pedal and use brakes and the next day he was good to go. My youngest is now 2.5 years old and will be making the switch to pedals in a few weeks.

[@jbw5485]

Yep. My exact same experience with my two boys. Training wheels don’t allow you to get that feeling of leaning and steering into the turn to balance.

[@hexagon8899]

wait you let your 2 year old kid do jumps on their bike?

[@jbw5485]

@@hexagon8899 no but my oldest was jumping at 6 yrs old. Where did you get that from?

[@hexagon8899]

@@jbw5485 not you the original commenter

[@anthonymiller1305]

@@hexagon8899 doesn’t everyone?

[@Blunt8912]

I was 5 years old when my dad took me and my training wheeled bike to a local park. After a while of strolling around and pestering people, i fell down. I didn't get hurt, but one of my training wheels bent upwards, not touching the ground. Whithout giving it a second thought, I jumped back on the bike (!) and rushed back to my dad, asking him if i could fix it. Now, my old man was a roadbike aficionado, and saw that I could keep balance pretty well even when leaning into the side with the missing training wheel, so he took my bike and fixed it by bending the other wheel up as well. He handed the small bike back to my extremely puzzled self and: "there you go, son, fixed, now go", "...but dad...", "I. said. go.". He was the sweetest and most caring man to ever exist, but his military background made him a very authoritative man. Reluctantly, I followed his order and to my surprise and awe I could ride the bike without those stupid plastic wheels! "I can do it dad, look at me!!!!" I kept saying over and over with the purest joy I was capable of. "Well of course you can! You could do it all the time!" said my father, with the proudest smile on his face. Now I'm 33, my dad passed a long time ago, when I was 9. In those 4 years more we got to spend toghether he took me on numerous bike trips. He wanted to share with me his greatest passion. Sometimes when I'm out on my bike and everything is perfect I thank him for bending the second training wheel on that small bike when I was 5. I thank him and I know he's there, riding his Bianchi by my side... I miss you Dad. Thanks Seth for this video, you unlocked a very precious memory of mine. That kid of yours is going to have a blast with you as dad. Lucky, both of you :)

[@seansnyder2855]

It's good to see you finally accepting your hand in life and riding bikes more your size Seth.

[@bryanseare2704]

glad to know I was teaching my nephew correctly. i took cranks off and turned it into a balance bike. hes now ready to try pedaling

[@mtbwithtfb]

I hope every parent, include my daughter who is expecting my first granddaughter in August, watches this video. I would love to see my granddaughter get into mountain biking with me. Thanks Seth.

[@ef6820]

Just took my kids off balance bike and onto a pedal bike with wheels. This video is extremely relevant and timely for us! I could tell the training wheels were actually “un-training wheels” and will be removing them just after they understand how to pedal. I give them 2 weeks on “training” wheels, tops.

[@ericthompson3574]

Thank you for the video. It popped up on my ten year olds KZbin, the next day we removed his pedals and training wheels. Three hours later the pedals were back on the bike without the training wheels. He ride for hours, He loves it. Balance was his biggest concern.

[@ChrisLewisthx1377]

This video came out at just the right time, so thanks! I’d been struggling to get my twins riding, though I’d seen them demonstrate all the needed skills separately - they could pedal, they could balance and corner on scooters, etc., and I’d filmed them lifting the rear wheel up on training wheels so had identified the problem. But this video, along with the footage I’d taken of them, helped to demonstrate the plan to them. They love KZbin Kids, so an external source of validation was supremely helpful. The next day we went out without training wheels or pedals, and within 30 minutes of each other they were riding independently. That was about a month ago; last weekend they came with me on a ride and did 10km on 16” wheels!

[@playgroundchooser]

4:32 THIS!! This is *EXACTLY* what happened to my daughter when she was learning to ride her bike. The reliance on the training wheel to keep her upright was a real hard habit to break, because she had learned to turn at speed without having to do the lean. We didn't make that mistake again with my son, and he took to it much quicker using a little strider type bike.

[@takatamiyagawa5688]

Eh, training wheels worked for me. I recall finding it annoying when the training wheels touched the ground because they don't roll as smoothly as the main wheels, so I naturally learned to maneuver the bike without letting the training wheels touch the ground. They were angled so the bike could lean a few degrees each side. Sure, this does not permit more aggressive turns possible with no training wheels, but, I had confidence that if I could keep the bike within that tight upright envelope, then I could handle it when the barriers to that envelope were removed.

[@sandy_knight]

My dad spent months trying to teach me to ride in the mid 80s, unfortunately he couldn't ride a bike himself so he didn't really understand the mechanics of balancing on a bike so he failed in his endeavours. I eventually taught myself but only after I'd grown enough so my feet touched the ground.

[@timparker9341]

This worked great. My daughter was up and riding without training wheels very fast. Thank you!

[@ersia87]

This is great and makes so much sense. Thanks! Will vome in handy when I eventually get kids. 'Cause I'll teach them... early.

[@Beezenberry]

Ever watch a video that perfectly expresses a thought you’ve had for years but never said anything about. 🤯 Wouldn’t expect anything less from Seth. My eldest daughter didn’t learn to ride a bike until the training wheels came off, now she’s never off her bike. My youngest however still clings to the idea she needs her training wheels. Can’t wait to show her this video. Hopefully we will be adding another member to our riding squad soon. 🤞Thank you Berm Peak Express. 👍🇦🇺

[@tjchad1]

Also, it's just a lot of fun to just pump around flat ground without pedaling- same as on a skateboard seeing how long you can cruise without putting a foot down. Good to learn all the dynamics involved.

[@SoLowKaspar]

Thank you for making this video. It has never crossed my mind that a balance bike was a thing.

[@iuppiterzeus9663]

I love to see that this discussed. When talking about the steering geometry of a bike - I would enjoy a detailled video on this specific topic. Maybe you even have that already, I'm pretty new on your channel and I really enjoy your content :)

[@jeskli11]

I was born in 2002, two-wheeled balance bikes weren't really a thing at least in Europe, so I obviously started riding with training wheels. Unfortunately my parents didn't take any photos or videos from those days, but the moment, when the elevated wheels both detached from the ground and I was balancing the bike by myself is one of my most memorable experiences from my childhood. That might have been perhaps my third ride on the street. After that my dad took the training wheels off and never had to mount them back.

[@gosera-1108]

I was also started riding with traning wheels here in Europe and as you asoon i could balance with out having them touch the ground they disapare, which is why im so confused when i see them installed so they always contact the ground becuse that wasnt the purpose for them

[@The4Crawler]

I could never get the hang of training wheels, especially with "adult supervision". One day, a kid down the street had a small bike w/o training wheels he was riding. I think he got called in for lunch and I asked him if I could try the bike while he was inside. A few minutes later and I was riding around the block. It was the lack of "advice" on what to do and not do that was the biggest help. Instead, just get on the bike and figure out how it works.

[@jakeanator2004]

I wish I had seen this a long time ago! Makes so much sense

[@TheBaron48]

tnx for the info😮 I will teach my 3 old brother accordingly🎉

[@bjamin]

This is how I wanted to teach my daughter, but it freaked my wife out not having pedals, so she failed a lot with the training wheels until she let me do old school of running behind holding her seat as she wanted to ride with her friends.

[@ollythomas6702]

My grandad taught me. After riding round the park on flat ground with training wheels, he took them off and put me at the top of a hill. Pushed me off and I did indeed balance. I was upright all the way down the hill as I gained massive speed and went straight into the metal slide. It hurt quite a lot 🤣 I have no idea why I neither steered away or used the brakes, but it did certainly teach me I didn't need the training wheels any more.. 😅

[@Logarithm906]

I was similar, I spent way too much time with training wheels, my parents got tired of it and took me up a hill (well actually a volcano...) and *push*. I finished figuring it out by the time I got to the bottom. I did similar with my dyspraxic cousin, she had a fair bit of practice with being pushed and balancing in the garden but that pushing force isn't natural. So we took her to a (shallower hill) and let her go down it a few times, first few times was just to keep her feet off the ground, then she practiced placing her feet on the pedals while balancing (but not actually pedaling), then we added pedalling to the mix but only to get used to turning the pedals while balancing, not to produce power. After a few times she had the confidence to actually put some power down into the pedals and off she went. The problem was stopping her once she got it all together...

[@mirkodf2162]

Discovering funny way to learn clever things! Well done, Seth!

[@ChrisakaPES]

I learned at around 21 on some public bike rentals so I could move around with friends and they essentially played the dad roll on a incline street we were on. Thankfully the people nearby on the bar patio were nice about it and turned it into a positive experience.

[@harcormor]

As someone who within the past 3 years had to go through teaching a kid with training wheels I definitely see they are the wrong way to go about it. Had the hardest time with the transfer from the training wheels because: 1) she got used to them catching her, and 2) also got freaked out by how the back wheel came off when it naturally tried to lean. So then with the wheels off she was afraid to let it lean like it needed to. We eventually got there, but it just took longer than it should have.

[@kaylee6208]

My first bike had training wheels, and I remember pretty quickly my mom took one side off so there was just one. I still remember how much harder it was to turn in the direction the training wheel was on, and was very happy when I got them both off and didn't have anything getting in the way of my turns.

[@KarlosEPM]

That' s exactly how I learned!

[@ethancampbell245]

Good video Well done 👍

[@Goldman_Bernstein]

Wow! I learned something new today! :D

[@sawdustysneeze]

20 years ago I taught both my boys on what we called the black magic bike. A very small bike that never had training wheels on it. Both learned to ride at a very young age 3-4. I swore up and down to all my friends and brother that training wheels slowed down the learning process. I did not need validation, but I’ll take it! Thanks for the entertaining video once again.

[@ReneParlesak]

Hi Seth! Maybe you read this. I'm 45 and live in Austria. As I grew up my parents did not teach me how to ride a bike but my brother and I got one of this old folding bikes that were popular in the 1980s. We were to short to start riding siting on the seat so we started by climbing up to the seat from the luggage rack in the back. That was possible the worst way of learning how to ride a bike 😂. My kids are spoiled as I happen to get them a Woom 1 out of Christians garage when Woom bikes first started here in Vienna. Since then they went through quite a view bikes and are now both riding their Mountainbikes better than a lot of adults. They are 10 and 7 now. I can just confirm that balance bikes are the best way to go and also it is important to let them decide how fast they want to learn and not pressure them too much. Cheers from across the big pond René

[@RafaelZanolla]

Upon picking up cycling again on my adult years, I was in my LBS one day for a service, when this woman walked in with her kid and a kid's bike, asking the guys to install training wheels on it. I vividly remember being astounded to hear him reply firmly: "I am sorry, ma'am, but I wont get in the way of your kid's development on a bicycle". So much has changed since we first got into bikes (I'm 33 now) and it always makes me smile, seeing younger kids fly about on balance bikes. I figure that, if I had had one of those, I too would have kept on biking throughout my teenage years.

[@dom-romer663]

0:49 that deep sigh at running into the car brings back memories lol

[@eoinkenny3188]

One of my earliest memories was when I was around 3/4 and I first encountered a bike with training wheels. Given that I already knew how to ride (as Seth described, plus scraped knees) I had your typical 4 year old reaction of getting immensely frustrated with it and crying because I couldn't turn how I wanted😂

[@ArturPiel]

100% true on all here. Another useful thing I did to help my kids learn pedalling when transitioning from the balance bike is build a simple stand for the pedal bike out of wood to keep the back wheel in the air. That way the kid can learn pedalling on a stationery bike. And adding that to knowledge of how to balance, had the youngest riding off-road and pump track at age of 3 with a huge grin on his face.

[@shoobydooby2564]

100% agree that balance bikes are the right way to teach a kid how to ride a bike. I couldnt get the hang of riding a 2 wheeled bike until I was 8 or 9 years old, and i was practicing for a couple years. i only learned how after coasting down a hill on my dads rusty, old bike from his childhood with pedals that couldnt turn (basically an accadental balance bike)

[@stephanh.1293]

I learned with training wheels but after some time my dad bend them so if I rode forward I did not use them. And on some day they were gone and I cycled without them. Of course, I drove straight into a hedge on the first try😂😂 I totally love your videos and wanted to thank you now for your wonderful work. Keep up the good work Seth! Greetings from Germany.

[@Panfleto89]

Seth, thanks for the explanation. It makes so much more sense now. I was very critical of the balance bikes, mainly because I would see kids still using them a lot instead of bikes with pedals. I think that is a point that does needs to be made. Once, the kid knows how to balance, there is not need to keep them on that style bike longer than needed.

[@BermPeakExpress]

Interestingly enough, A LOT of kids keep riding their balance bikes after they learn to ride a pedal bike. To them it's just another toy that provides another type of fun. To me they're good for small spaces like a driveway

[@karamtraktor]

For some reason I still remember vividly the day I learned how to ride a bike on two wheels back when I was 3 years old too. I had a bike with helper wheels, and my father told me to try and ride it in such a way, so the helper wheels made as little noise as possible. Over the course of a day, my dad gradually bent them higher and higher until the moment they were so high it was practically impossible for them to touch the ground without me falling over.

[@TSeific]

Great video!!! Balance is absolute key (look at Nino Schurter's training). Reinvented balance bike is often overlooked. But the most important for your child - have fun, go outside, move (even with training wheels).

[@nickpro1]

Awesome video. My child was on a balance bike since 15 months old and had a blast. I totally recommend a balance bike for any kid because of how much fun we found it to be.

[@michaelmann3636]

I have preached this to all my neighbors with kids for a long time now. When my brother and I learned to ride at age 4-5, we where just given pedal bikes right from the get go, no stinking training wheels. Of course it was pre 1970 and it was survive or die.😂

[@retroryan838]

I would say pre 1960. Safety became important in the 60s from what I’ve heard.

[@michaelmann3636]

@@retroryan838 totally depends on where you or who you were raised by, I would say.

[@Epiphonech]

My training wheels bent within 1 hour. Then an older friend recommended to try roll of a smaller hill, in a balance bike manner, the only brakes at front barely working. That's how I learned biking 6 year old while my only parent was at work. 13 years later I learned myself how to snowscoot and now it's time for some surfing beginner steps. Progression is fun!

[@Fezezen]

I learned to ride a bike without training wheels when I think I was 5. I recently relived that memory when helping my 6 year old niece learn to do it too. She was terrified, but kept trying with me franticly running behind her to make sure she didn't crash.

[@palleus1]

I work at a bike shop and want to have this video on a loop for parents who come in looking to buy training wheels.

[@amysilverstone9059]

I started on training wheels, my dad decided to keep those for as long as I need to get the basics of my controls. Then he took me to the local school's stadium place without training wheels, he was supporting the bike for me to get used to moving, and then he would let go, and he challenged me with going as far as I can without losing control... Most often I just couldn't feel when he was letting the bike go so when I started to getting how to balance, I was really surprised to start seeing him meters behind - it felt like he was holding me the whole time right until I started losing control. Later I got better and better, my final "exam" was cycling back home which I successfully completed. I was not young to be fair, I was like 6 or 7... But damn that was worth it, I love cycling nowadays.

[@char1194]

As a kid after using training wheels for awhile, my parents decided to put me onto the next step of learning to ride a bike by... removing the left wheel. Not sure why they thought that was a great idea but I got really good at riding while leaning to my right! idk if its cos of this but I do have some trouble making sharp turns, even though im quite proficient at other aspects of riding a bike

[@skitterly]

After a really bad bike accident in 6th grade I had a couple years where I didn’t ride bikes out of fear. So in high school I had to completely reteach myself how to ride a bike. And the balance bike method is kind of exactly what I did. I would try to peddle but keeping my feet ready to catch myself if I tilt. I also kept my seat low to touch the ground. It took a while but the more I practiced the less and less I needed to catch myself :)

[@kevinkunst4822]

Seths rip in his jeans was about french fry away from turning the video from PG to R rated hahaha. great video btw!

[@moladiver6817]

In Dutch we don't call these training wheels but side wheels and they're meant to give the smallest kids the ability to ride a bike. I never thought of these wheels as training wheels and they specifically don't teach kids to learn to ride a bike. They're only there to keep them from tipping over. So traning wheels sounds quite strange to me. I don't have kids and I have no idea how it goes these days. Holland is also a radically different place when it comes to cycling so it's difficult to compare anyway. Side wheels don't teach kids to cycle just as walkers don't teach kids to walk.

[@kimobous1076]

Nice

[@clovisdesousa3366]

I ended up doing the opposite. My son used training wheels for about 5 months. He as able to learn how a bike feels under him like turning and all the basics all on his own. After that,I took them off and he just took off riding by himself. He basically taught himself to ride. Now, a month later, he's on a mountain bike.

[@johndef5075]

Sounds like my experience. This is another one of those not really a problem problems😅

[@Jehty_]

@@johndef5075 Clovis just told us that it took his son 5 months to learn how to ride a bike. How do you consider that "not really a problem"?

[@Srt3D01-db-01]

They can take all the time they want. They are actually having fun, not competing. I probably just use regular bikes and use the usual training: learn to balance and progress as they want and how they confident feel instead of buying an expensive "balance bike" crap. So much overexplaining this subject on this video , still

[@BermPeakExpress]

There's nothing you can do to stop an athletic kid from mastering anything physical

[@clovisdesousa3366]

@Jehty21 I let him learn on his own and on his own time. He loves riding his bike and is now interested on taking on new terrain on it. It was never a problem.

[@kaimon23]

Seeing kid Seth made me smile, so adorable 😢

[@ThePortjumper]

My brother is an able-bodied twenty-one year old who never learned how to ride a two-wheeler. He had a bad crash as a kid, and it kind of left a mark on him. I'm hoping I can get him on a bike and be the parent riding top-speed behind him. This video certainly helped, thanks.

[@bentleyrm5835]

Great explanation of counter steering and why training wheels are harmful to that lesson. Counter steering is a hard concept to wrap your head around. Thanks for the great video Seth!

[@randomc1949]

Sort of, he was very close in saying if you keep the bike upright and turn one way the bike flops over. That is counter steering and how the bike initiates a turn, not leaning. It's counter steering, that fact you have to turn the bars right initially to go left that is the problem with training wheels, if you turn right you go right with them.

[@Blox117]

sorry you were fooled, counter steering is not used majority of the time

[@randomc1949]

​@@Blox117 really? How so?

[@sgainforth]

A small counterpoint for balance bikes: two of my kids were just never that interested in their balance bikes. They rode them occasionally, but they never really used them *fast* enough to learn to balance. When their friends started riding pedal bikes they were suddenly interested, but trying to teach them immediately on pedal bikes proved difficult, as they were trying to learn balance and pedaling at the same time. For the older one we sorta forced our way through, and he ended up not liking biking...probably from all the difficulties and frustrations we both felt. For the younger one we actually bought training wheels and had him tool around with the training wheels until he got the pedaling down, and then teaching him without the training wheels was easier. My third son, the youngest, loved his balance bike and rode it constantly. For him, when it came time to graduate to a full pedal bike, the transition was easy. His was the first time I believed people when they said starting with a balance bike was better. For my older two I actually think it was counterproductive.

[@MSUTri]

Perhaps the key for less interested kids is to find a gentle sloped hill for them to go down with the balance bike. They can pick up enough speed to make it interesting, but not so much to make it difficult to control.

[@sgainforth]

@@MSUTri Yeah, knowing what I know now I'd start them back on the balance bike in earnest. Or, I love Seth's idea of just taking their pedals off and getting used to the actual bike they'll end up pedaling.

[@FriendBe]

When i was 14 my friend (who was 12 i think) didnt know how to ride his bike so i taught him how. The way i did was by basically just having him ride my bike down a slope without his feet on the pedals. He figured it out pretty quickly. Didnt know that was a common way to teach people so thats cool to hear. Great vid.

[@Slash0mega]

this is useful, my brother is trying to teach my niece how to ride, and now i know about balance bikes.