Kids Category Spotlight: How to Teach Children to Ride in 2023

The following is a guest post by Lauren DiMartino from Kids Ride Shotgun.

It’s no secret that young cyclists are our future customers.

And whilst training wheels and coaster brakes may have been part of our learning-to-ride journey growing up, these items now hinder (rather than help) kids learning to ride.

But thankfully most bike retailers are aware of the benefits of balance bikes, and buy into the idea of them being the first step in a child’s riding journey –  but with that change comes a new challenge, the transition from a 12” runner bike, to what is typically a 16” bike with pedals and brakes. It’s a big transition for our future riders.

So, to uncover the best way for kids to learn to ride in 2023, we (kids ride shotgun) conducted over 400 hours of research, by interviewing a bunch of cycling coaches, child development experts, and passionate bike parents around the world.

And what we discovered is that isolating the 3 skills of balancing, braking and pedaling is the most effective way for kids to learn to ride. In child development, this practice of learning one skill at a time (and building on top of each previous skill) is referred to as stacking.

How to teach kids to ride in 3 steps:

1. Balance biking

A balance bike is still the best introduction to riding. By starting with a runner bike with no brakes, pedals or gears, kids can learn to balance before worrying about tackling any additional skills.

2. Braking

Once kids have their balance sorted, and can run and glide around independently, it’s time to introduce a rear hand brake, so they can learn to stop safely. Thankfully many balance bike brands offer hand brake add-on’s with levers suitable for small hands – which creates an upsell opportunity for retailers, as well as increasing the useful life of a balance bike for kids.

3. Pedaling

Once children have balance and braking sorted, it’s time to introduce pedaling. Some of the parents we spoke to suggested placing the bike in a stationary trainer first, to allow children to get familiar with the circular motion of pedaling, before setting them on their way independently.

By teaching kids to balance, brake and then pedal, we’ll give kids the easiest path to riding independently, and provide them with a great first experience with our sport.

But don’t take our word for it, many brands have started adding hand brakes to balance bikes to teach braking before pedaling, and others now offer hand brake conversion kits for their pedal bikes – as although coaster brakes are still required by law in the US, many recognise they are a step backwards (literally) for young riders learning to ride.

Kids Ride Shotgun are on a mission to raise the next generation of mountain bikers, learn more at www.kidsrideshotgun.com