How to Ride a Bike Without Training Wheels

Wear a helmet and safety gear., Make sure your feet can touch the ground., Find a flat spot to ride in., Practice pedalling and braking., Practice turning while you pedal., Practice going up and down hills., Get a friend or parent to push you if you...

8 Steps 5 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Wear a helmet and safety gear.

    You should ‘’always’’ wear a helmet when you’re on your bike, but you might also want to wear other pieces of safety gear too! These make it less scary when you try to ride without training wheels.

    Since safety gear keeps you from getting hurt, you won’t be as nervous of falling off your bike or crashing.

    Here are some things you might want to wear the first time you try to ride without training wheels:
    Elbow pads Knee pads Wrist guards
  2. Step 2: Make sure your feet can touch the ground.

    Bikes are less scary to ride when you know that you can stop yourself.

    Before you take your training wheels off, get on your bike and try to touch the ground with your feet.

    If you can’t reach, get a grown-up to help you lower the seat.

    It’s OK if you can’t touch the ground with both feet at once when you're sitting on the seat — you only need one to stop yourself when you're sitting down.

    You should be able to touch the ground with both feet when you're standing in front of the seat, though. , Bring your bike to a place that’s wide, open, and flat, like a park or a parking lot.

    Someplace with soft grass is best — it doesn’t hurt to fall on grass, so it’s not scary to practice riding on it.

    You can practice by yourself, but it’s easier if you have a friend or grown-up to help you! If your bike still has its training wheels on, get a grown-up to take them off before you go to the place where you’ll ride. , Sit on your bike and hold yourself up by putting your feet on the ground.

    Put one foot on the pedal and push down! Push yourself forward with your other foot at the same time.

    Put both of your feet on the pedals and keep pedalling! If you need to stop, pedal backwards (unless your bike has a hand brake — then just squeeze it with your fingers).

    Don’t be afraid to put down your feet if you need to! The first few times you practice pedaling, it can feel like you’re going to fall, so don’t worry about stopping and putting your feet on the ground when you have to. , When you have the hang of starting and stopping, try going left and right.

    While you’re pedalling forward, turn the handlebars just a tiny bit to the right.

    You should go to the right.

    Next, turn the just a little to the left.

    You should go to the left.

    Try turning a little more to each side — see how far you can turn without feeling uncomfortable.

    Don’t be afraid to stop yourself if you have a hard time turning! It's actually harder to turn when you're going really slow than when you're going really fast.

    When you're barely moving at all, balancing is tricky, so if you're having a hard time turning, try going a little faster. , Next, find a small hill or slope.

    Try pedalling up it — you'll need to push a little harder than normal to get to the top! When you're at the top, try going down slowly.

    Use your brakes to keep slow.

    When you're at the bottom, go up again, and this time, go a little faster.

    Do this again and again until you can go down the hill without using your brakes.

    Be patient! It can take a while until you're able to go down a hill without stopping, so don't worry if you can't do it the first time you try.

    Start out with small hills.

    Don't try to ride down big hills until you're good at riding without training wheels. , It's a lot easier to learn how to ride without training wheels if you have someone with you to help out.

    Try asking a parent, a friend who can ride without training wheels, or your brother or sister to give you a hand if you can.

    These people can make it easier to learn in a lot of ways, but one of the best ways they can help is by running next to you and holding you up until you can pedal on your own. , Learning how to ride without training wheels can be scary, but once you can do it, riding a bike is a lot more fun.

    If you can't ride without training wheels after the first day of practice, don't worry — you'll get it eventually! Try again with the help of a friend or grown-up when you have the chance.

    Never give up — riding without training wheels is something almost everyone has to learn how to do.

    Each time you practice, riding should get easier and easier until it's the only way you can ride!
  3. Step 3: Find a flat spot to ride in.

  4. Step 4: Practice pedalling and braking.

  5. Step 5: Practice turning while you pedal.

  6. Step 6: Practice going up and down hills.

  7. Step 7: Get a friend or parent to push you if you need help.

  8. Step 8: Don't give up!

Detailed Guide

You should ‘’always’’ wear a helmet when you’re on your bike, but you might also want to wear other pieces of safety gear too! These make it less scary when you try to ride without training wheels.

Since safety gear keeps you from getting hurt, you won’t be as nervous of falling off your bike or crashing.

Here are some things you might want to wear the first time you try to ride without training wheels:
Elbow pads Knee pads Wrist guards

Bikes are less scary to ride when you know that you can stop yourself.

Before you take your training wheels off, get on your bike and try to touch the ground with your feet.

If you can’t reach, get a grown-up to help you lower the seat.

It’s OK if you can’t touch the ground with both feet at once when you're sitting on the seat — you only need one to stop yourself when you're sitting down.

You should be able to touch the ground with both feet when you're standing in front of the seat, though. , Bring your bike to a place that’s wide, open, and flat, like a park or a parking lot.

Someplace with soft grass is best — it doesn’t hurt to fall on grass, so it’s not scary to practice riding on it.

You can practice by yourself, but it’s easier if you have a friend or grown-up to help you! If your bike still has its training wheels on, get a grown-up to take them off before you go to the place where you’ll ride. , Sit on your bike and hold yourself up by putting your feet on the ground.

Put one foot on the pedal and push down! Push yourself forward with your other foot at the same time.

Put both of your feet on the pedals and keep pedalling! If you need to stop, pedal backwards (unless your bike has a hand brake — then just squeeze it with your fingers).

Don’t be afraid to put down your feet if you need to! The first few times you practice pedaling, it can feel like you’re going to fall, so don’t worry about stopping and putting your feet on the ground when you have to. , When you have the hang of starting and stopping, try going left and right.

While you’re pedalling forward, turn the handlebars just a tiny bit to the right.

You should go to the right.

Next, turn the just a little to the left.

You should go to the left.

Try turning a little more to each side — see how far you can turn without feeling uncomfortable.

Don’t be afraid to stop yourself if you have a hard time turning! It's actually harder to turn when you're going really slow than when you're going really fast.

When you're barely moving at all, balancing is tricky, so if you're having a hard time turning, try going a little faster. , Next, find a small hill or slope.

Try pedalling up it — you'll need to push a little harder than normal to get to the top! When you're at the top, try going down slowly.

Use your brakes to keep slow.

When you're at the bottom, go up again, and this time, go a little faster.

Do this again and again until you can go down the hill without using your brakes.

Be patient! It can take a while until you're able to go down a hill without stopping, so don't worry if you can't do it the first time you try.

Start out with small hills.

Don't try to ride down big hills until you're good at riding without training wheels. , It's a lot easier to learn how to ride without training wheels if you have someone with you to help out.

Try asking a parent, a friend who can ride without training wheels, or your brother or sister to give you a hand if you can.

These people can make it easier to learn in a lot of ways, but one of the best ways they can help is by running next to you and holding you up until you can pedal on your own. , Learning how to ride without training wheels can be scary, but once you can do it, riding a bike is a lot more fun.

If you can't ride without training wheels after the first day of practice, don't worry — you'll get it eventually! Try again with the help of a friend or grown-up when you have the chance.

Never give up — riding without training wheels is something almost everyone has to learn how to do.

Each time you practice, riding should get easier and easier until it's the only way you can ride!

About the Author

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Brian Shaw

Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in organization and beyond.

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