All kids are different, and will go at their own pace.

I’d say just relax, keep cycling with the training wheels on (it’s all cycling, and you really don’t want to put her off) and she’ll want them off in her own time, especially when she sees her mates without…

Is the saddle lowered? You need to have the saddle low enough that she can get both feet flat on the ground. Then she can securely scoot about on the bike and get used to the feeling of balancing the weight, without the training wheels.
Once she’s scooting without the stabilisers, encourage her to lift her feet and glide for longer distances. Finally you can reintroduce the pedals, one at a time if necessary. Scoot with a foot on one pedal, then gliding, fit the other pedal, then getting both feet on the pedals while gliding and finally pedalling.
If she needs some assistance to get going, just give a wee push under the saddle from behind, but avoid holding her up, which will interfere with acquiring balance.
Keep it fun and don’t rush things. She’ll get there when she is ready!

They’re all different (sometimes determinedly so). If you can find a safe bit of gently sloping grass try sending her down that so she doesn’t have to peddle and can use the bike as a balance bike. I’ve got three kids they all had the same bikes and learnt in completely different ways but get to the same place (eventually).

My limited experience with 5 year olds (two kids now 9 and 12) and teaching them to ride is that at 5 years old a week is a lifetime, even a day is a significant portion of their lives. Just keep working on building their confidence at their pace. It could all change tomorrow.
Also sibling/peer rivalry helps. If they see other kids dong it, they will be more motivated.
However your job is to keep them calm and confident. I’d be tempted to promise you are never going to ask to take them off again, and keep saying come on, lets go for a ride.

My daughter was kind of the same, she didn’t learn to ride properly until she was seven as I was a b******* and wouldn’t let her have training wheels. While I feel a bit bad, when she finally decided she wanted to learn as her younger brother could ride it only took a few goes and she was done, using her 20″ wheel bike with no pedals like a balance bike to start.

Her brother on the other hand went from a balance bike to riding when I wasn’t looking, jumping on an older boys pedal bike and he was off. I turned around and there he was pedalling the (far too large) bike down the street with me chasing after him like that bloke with the dog. ‘Felix!! FELIX!!!’

They’re all different as said.

If you can find a safe bit of gently sloping grass try sending her down that so she doesn’t have to peddle and can use the bike as a balance bike.

I did this with my eldest (outside the FC centre at Loch Morlich for those that know). It went brilliantly. The only fly in the ointment was when he sent our youngest flying at the bottom of the slope when she showed too much interest.

take the training wheels off or it’s no pudding. obvs

I had the same thing with my daughter. She wanted to learn to keep up with her friends but really struggled. It turned out being a biking mad dad probably didn’t help with establishing expectations and she (and I) got into a total rut with learning – tears, the whole thing.

I quickly learned to get over myself and go at her pace, making sure to praise every little step, console with every scary moment / crash and realise that learning for her was just short sharp bursts, then sitting around thinking about it for a long time!

It turns out that was the key; go at their pace, do what they feel comfortable with, check out your own expectations, and make sure you as the teacher are shining a light instead of casting a shadow. Ultimately it just clicked early one Saturday morning, and I managed to get the footage recorded. Honestly, it was totally magic, and i’ll never forget the look of pride on her face 🙂

Take the pedals off and let her use it as a balance bike. We we’re lucky enough to be given several old bike so I had one setup with stabiliser and pedals and her bigger bike I turned into a balance bike. Number 4 was quite happy switching between the two. She can ride her big bike fine now ,with pedals, but still likes to take the one with stabilisers out for an occasional spin.

Same here. Now at the point where bike with stabilisers is too small. First outing with beinn 20 and she hated it. Then the other day when it was raining she demanded to go out and practice the new bike without stabilisers!!!!

So as above, it’ll happen when it happens. Biky Biky vest I quite good I’ve found.

My son is the same. Five and still prefers the balance bike he’s outgrown to the Frog with stabilisers. It’s pedalling that he struggles with though. Half a turn then starts going backwards. Patience, praise and only getting the bike out when he asks for it have been the best approach so far.

Exactly what Fadda said. My eldest was fine with stabilisers for a short time then we went away in the caravan where he met some new & older kids who’d ditched their stabilisers & was having a great time until he found he couldn’t follow them over rough ground with them on. He ‘told’ me to take them off immediately which I did & off he went without them, & without me holding him upright!

Managed to get the nephew (4 at the time) to try no stabilisers by holding the saddle and running along behind him, he could pedal by this point and had been on a balance bike since he was about 18 months tho. I let go of the saddle after about 10 yds but kept running so he didn’t realise then told him I wasn’t actually holding him and that he’d done it by himself, he didn’t belive me. 2nd attempt I held him upright then gave a little push and he was away. Try 2 find somewhere with short grass to start on, nephew wouldn’t try on the road or pavement

If it’s any consolation, apparently Chris Hoy didn’t learn to ride ‘til he was 7, he soon caught up!

No pudding until the stabilisers are off?

Genuinely amazed by the number of you that put stabilisers or your kids bikes……. On a bike forum….. Goodness.

Stupid pointless things.

It may also be related to the weight of the bike Vs rider size, my two were closer to 6 before they were ready. They need core strength and leg power to power the bike

There’s definitely something in this. My daughter went from struggling and not really enjoying her Halfords ‘weighed more than my mtb’ princess bike, to an Islabike cnoc 16 and the difference was night and day. She was just absolutely flying and enjoying it so much more – so yeah, strength and weight of the bike definitely comes into it, and it was one of the only times my wife agreed that spending more on bike stuff was actually worth it!

Is the general consensus that if your child starts on a balance bike, the transition to a pedal bike is one without the need for stabilisers?

It seems to help, there is no hard and fast rule as such.
My eldest daughter took to cycling like a duck to water – She got her bike with pedals for Christmas, 3 months before she turned 4, hopped on it got a push and pedaled away. She had the balance sorted from her balance bike and had pedaling licked from hooning around on the trikes in nursery.

It was not quite so easy for her friend who is a couple of months younger, he got a bike for the same Christmas and it took him till the new year and going out a couple of times with my daughter to get going. He is now better on his bike than my daughter.

Nither child used stabilizers.

My daughter didn’t get it straight away either. So i just screamed at her loudly in front of everyone else in the park, told her she was letting me down and threatened to beat her when we got home.

That did the trick.

She prefers her mum.

but is the general consensus that if your child starts on a balance bike, the transition to a pedal bike is one without the need for stabilisers

If you want your kid to learn to ride a bike then don’t use stabilisers. End of.
If you want them to learn to ride a quad, and kid yourself that they can ride a bike then fill your boots. And then agonise, like half the posters above, about how you later make the transition to actually riding a bike.

PS. A tricycle is also an excellent option pre balance bike to get the pedalling sussed.

/Awaits good kicking