
How Doug Engelbart taught kids to ride a bike (without training wheels) - jackcheng
http://collectiveiq.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/how-doug-engelbart-taught-kids-to-ride-a-bike-without-training-wheels/
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cduan
Apparently a much simpler way is to just take the pedals off the bike:

[http://www.sandcanyoncyclery.com/index.php?option=com_conten...](http://www.sandcanyoncyclery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70)

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radu_floricica
I recently helped somebody (adult) to learn to ride a bike, and I'm pretty
happy with how I did it. The first and only thing I insisted on was how to
stop, i.e. how to come from both feet on the pedals and bike moving (mostly
pushed by me) to a proper stop with one foot down. Once he could do it from a
reasonable speed on both sides... it was pretty much over.

I took the idea from a friend who once got on a motorcycle without a good idea
of where the break was, with rather funny results. First concern should be how
to stop. The rest can be trial and error.

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benhoyt
That's brilliant! Just the other day I tried taking my almost-three-year-old's
training wheels off and tried to help her go straight without falling, but
quickly decided she "wasn't quite ready". Maybe she still isn't, who knows,
but this method sounds like a great idea -- I'm gonna try it tomorrow. :-)

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ghshephard
Second grade I received my first bike, a pedal bike, which puts me at 8 years
old. I recall, precisely and clearly the experience of being pushed on the
bike, being told to pedal, and once it got going, pedaling to the very end of
the road.

<http://bit.ly/gmaps-firstRide>

Actually turning around was a bit of an adventure, but I managed that (and
precisely recall the experience as well) - and so, 5 minutes after being
introduced to my bike, I had pretty much mastered the basic skill.

I wonder if there is an age at which training wheels really don't make sense,
and how many children after around five years old or so actually bypass the
training wheels stage - I'm guessing it's a majority.

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trefn
I've got another anecdote to support this: I taught my girlfriend's little
brother (age 10) to ride his bike in about 30 minutes one afternoon. He'd
never ridden, not even with training wheels, and is not particularly athletic.

All it took was running along beside him and letting go, then following and
catching if he started to tip.

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aaronblohowiak
This is a perfect example of scaffolding.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructional_scaffolding>

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sga
I initially learned to ride a bike on a grassy area (much softer falls, I
highly recommend this). As I got much better my dad graduated me to the road.
Everything was going great during this transition until I saw a kid a couple
years older than me pop a wheelie. I thought this was awesome and being very
confident in my new found skills, I immediately decided that I should give it
a shot. I yanked up and back hard on my banana seat bike, I don't think my dad
had any idea I was going to do this, and we both quickly learned my mistake as
I tipped over backwards and my face met the asphalt. With my front tooth
laying on the ground and my dad likely standing there wondering what the hell
happened, I bolted home in search of my mom with blood streaming out of my
mouth. I was probably about 4 or 5 at the time. So my advice is make sure the
person/kid is wearing a helmet and possibly even a mouth guard those first few
trips out and beware of the pop a wheelie.

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psygnisfive
It doesn't hurt that the gyroscopic behavior of the wheels also makes it
unnecessary to do steering corrections at high enough speeds. Once you're
going fast enough, you can hop off the bike and it'll still go upright for a
while.

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blaiset
Better than the way I was taught, My older brother gave my bike a shove and
told me to pedal. It only took one fall to figure it all out :)

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ghshephard
What age?

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blaiset
Was taught at the age of 4. From my experience (younger siblings also) 4-5 yrs
of age is about average right?

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Tichy
I don't see how training wheels would help learning at all? Just wondering if
there is an age when kids can not yet learn riding a bicycle, and then
training wheels would enable them to use a bicycle anyway (like you wouldn't
expect a 6 month old who can barely walk to be able to learn cycling, I
suppose). That would be the only reason I can see for using training wheels.

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spokey
Training wheels don't have to be in constant contact with the ground. With my
kids I installed the training wheels several inches off the ground. The kids
had to balance to use the bike effectively, but the training wheels would
catch them when they leaned too far.

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catch23
I wonder if there's an equivalent see-saw for inline/roller/ice skates. The
only training wheels I had were knee/elbow pads.

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pmjordan
The way I was taught to ice skate was to try and walk on ice with the skates,
not actually try to slide along. I suspect this too is the minimum amount of
complexity that still lets you get a feel for the situation and develop the
ability to stay upright. I think it worked pretty well for me, I don't have
any bad memories about it. (I was 6)

Learning to cycle was less successful. I distinctly remember crashing into a
tree; in fairness, my dad's decision to teach me in the middle of a forest on
uneven ground was probably not the smartest move.

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jellicle
They're called "balance bicycles" or "run bicycles" and they're readily
available from dozens of manufacturers.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_bicycle>

I don't know why anyone cares that Doug Engelbart discovered something already
known by millions of people - that pedaling isn't the important part of
learning to ride, balancing is - but hey, here's my golf clap for him. {clap
clap}

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FahnRobier
If anyone is interested in building one of these for their toddler, there is a
great pattern located here:
<http://crumleydotorg.chattablogs.com/archives/038834.html>

I used the above pattern to build 2 of them for my 2.5 year old twins... they
love them and have great balance now.

Here's how mine turned out: <http://dl.dropbox.com/u/113513/bikes.jpg>
<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/113513/bike1.jpg>
<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/113513/bike2.jpg>

I broke-even in price, it cost approx. $60/bike which is what it costs to get
a similar "elmo" bike at target: <http://www.target.com/Elmos-Beginner-
Bike/dp/B00155X3UI>

If you're going to break the bank, it's going to be b/c you couldn't find
cheap wheels. This is where I went wrong, since I spent about $11 per wheel at
home depot. I later found them for $4 at a smaller local hardware shop. ;p

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jacquesm
That's a good job you did there. And so much more satisfaction making your own
than just going out and buying one.

What better gift to your child than something made with your own hands and on
your own time.

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scott_s
I learned on my own, but on the grass.

