Last week was a big milestone; my 4-year-old daughter learned to pedal her LittleBig bike. She has been on the balance bike since age two and has been absolutely flying, going off the homemade see-saw, pump track, and BMX track.
Last year, we fitted the pedals to her bike, and while she did pedal by herself for short stretches, she wasn’t comfortable and couldn’t quite get the hang of pedalling and balancing at the same time. So rather than press her and take away her enjoyment, we took the pedals off until she was ready. This patient approach paid off in the end.
Six months later, SHE asked if we could fit the pedals to her bike, which we did straight away (strike while the iron is hot!) and then headed off to a quiet cycle lane. Initially, I gently supported her while she got to grips with pedalling, but soon she said “daddy, let go” and she just pedalled off. The whole process only took 5 minutes! It was a proud and exciting moment for us as parents to witness her progress.
We kept it going, and by the end of the session, she had pedalled a couple of kilometres and was becoming increasingly comfortable. This made me realise how timing is crucial for a successful outcome. So how do you tell if your child is ready for pedals?
Your Kiddo can glide along as smoothly as an ice skater.
Your little one should be able to ride their balance bike with feet up for an extended period. Find a long, gentle downslope and see how far they can go; perhaps make a game out of it. When I watched my daughter on her balance bike, she made it look effortless and graceful as if she were dancing, and I knew then she was ready to pedal.
Is able To steer comfortably
There’s no point in being able to glide along in straight lines; at some point, your little one will need to turn a corner. Your child should be able to turn smooth arcs without jackknifing and lean slightly towards the inside of the corner (which is why we don’t recommend stabilisers), depending on how tight they are turning. They should be able to steer around obstacles easily.
Top Tip!
It helps to encourage them to keep their eyes looking forward; wherever your eyes look, your body will follow. I learned to say "look ahead" as my little one looked into the sky when I said "look up"!
strong enough to begin pedalling
Pedal bikes have more parts than balance bikes (pedals, cranks, chain, bottom bracket, sprocket), so they are generally about 1.5kg heavier than the equivalent-sized balance bike. The lighter the bike, the easier it will be to pedal, steer and brake.
Gearing is really important too; if it’s too high (big front cog, small rear cog) your child will not be able to start off or climb hills easily; if the gear ratio is too low, they will spin out at slow speeds (imagine driving along in 1st gear).
able to use the brakes To Stop Smoothly
Your kiddo will need to control all that excited pedalling and newfound speed by using the brakes. One reason the LittleBig balance bike has brakes is so that kids can learn this skill before progressing to pedalling. I do a few reminders to use the brakes at the start of each ride, otherwise kids tend to brake by dragging their feet on the ground at the expense of being in control (and their shoes)!
tall enough to fit the pedal bike
Any pedal bike will need to be taller than a balance bike, as the underside of the frame needs to be high enough to prevent the pedals from striking the ground. A balance bike will have a considerably lower saddle than a typical pedal bike with the same wheel size.
Assuming your child is not learning to pedal using stabilisers (training wheels), I’d set the saddle so that they can reach the ground with the flat of their feet, but if your bike has a quick release, you can tinker around with the saddle height as needed until your child is comfortable.
If the saddle is too low, it can make pedalling difficult and uncomfortable as your child will have a tight knee bend at the top of the stroke.
If the saddle is too high, your little one may feel perched on top of the bike and have to stretch to reach the ground.
excited to begin pedalling
Hopefully by the time your child fits their pedal bike and has mastered the above skills they will want to begin pedalling, but if not, don’t force it. You want them to be eager to learn to ride with pedals.
You’re better off patiently waiting for the right time, as I learned. Maybe I’m a softie, but I feel if you push too much, you risk turning them off the idea. Transitioning too early can lead to frustration, lack of interest, and even accidents, so it’s important to be patient and wait for your child to show readiness.
While riding the balance bike they are improving their skills and as their confidence improves, the transition to pedalling will be even easier.
Bonus tips To help get your child pedalling with confidence
Celebrate the wins
High fives all round, lots of stoke and enthusiasm, perhaps finish with a cup of hot milk or a cookie so it goes into their positive memory bank.
Keep it short and sweet
Leave them wanting more rather than making it a gruelling lesson they may not wish to repeat.
Choose a Clear, Quiet and Safe Area
Choose a flat open area with few people and obstacles so they can initially just focus on pedalling. Its best of it’s quiet too so they can hear your directions clearly.
Keep away from stabilisers
Stabilisers can give a false sense of security and hinder the development of balance and steering skills. It’s better to let your child learn these skills on a balance bike before transitioning to a pedal bike. You can read more on our post Balance Bike Vs Stabilisers (Training Wheels), Which Is Best?
So, has your child learned to pedal yet, and how did it go? If you have any more tips please let us know in the comments below?
Kids can begin pedalling from as young as two and a half, but they are usually about four years old when they begin pedalling. Each child is different and it's important that your child is ready. There is no rush to begin pedalling, they are still learning valuable skills while riding the balance bike and the more confident your child is the easier it will be to progress to pedalling.
Your child is ready to begin pedalling when they can:
- Glide on their balance bike for extended periods.
- Able to steer comfortably
- Strong enough to begin pedalling
- Able to use the brakes to stop smoothly
- Tall enough to fit the pedal bike
- EXCITED to begin pedalling
It's important to keep any learning sessions short and sweet to keep them wanting more, and whatever you do, avoid stabilisers (training wheels).
If your child is ready to begin pedalling, notably able to glide smoothly, steer comfortably, strong enough, tall enough and most importantly, EXCITED to start pedalling. If your little one ticks all these boxes, it should take a few minutes to get cycling confidently with an hour of practice.
First find a quiet safe area clear of obstacles. If you child has started on a balance bike they should have the skills to start on a pedal bike. All it takes is a little nudge to get your kiddo started and they should begin pedalling with ease.
Round the world cyclist, mountain bike racer, engineer and all round bike geek, Simon Evans clearly loves all things BIKE.
Simon worked as a Structural Engineer in Cambridge for a number of years before setting off on an 18 month, 30,000km cycle around the world, testing his bike, body and mind to the limit and giving a wealth of wonderful experiences.
Coming home in 2010, he wanted to combine his engineering with his love of bikes to create a better and more sustainable bike for kids. In 2015 he launched LittleBig bikes which have now been sold to 77 countries around the world giving thousands of kids the best start on two wheels.
