Originally Posted by
livedarklions
I'm pretty sure I disagree with the idea of scooting. As previously noted, keeping your balance at really slow speed is very difficult. I'd want to get you pedalling and up to speed as fast as possible. When you are going fast enough, the bike basically balances itself. If you have a friend willing to prop you up while you start pedalling, and walk alongside until you feel stable, that's the tried and true method my family has always used. Once you learn pedalling, getting started gets easier.
Please keep us posted on your progress. I'm rooting for you!
This is false. Balance bikes have exploded because it has been shown time and time again that the hard part of biking is NOT pedaling. It’s staying upright. And while to an experienced rider “the bike balances itself”, we all apply very very small inputs to both a) stay upright and b) go in a straight line.
OP, no matter what anyone tells you, do NOT use training wheels or even focus on the act of pedaling. Figure out balancing first. I would go as far as to say don’t even scoot. Sit low enough on the bike that you can “walk” with your butt on the seat. Walk a couple miles like this. Try to keep in a straight line. As you start to pick up speed and confidence, switch to scooter mode. Then try pedaling.
Do you know how to ride a kick scooter? The fundamentals of riding a bike are basically the same as those of riding a scooter. You can get a Razer A scooter from walmart for $40. Once you have mastered this, the transition to biking should be fairly simple.
EDIT: Whoops. Should have read the whole thread. Congratulations OP! I’ll still keep the reply above because I think a scooter is a much cheaper and simpler entry point into the mechanics of biking.