Choosing the right bicycle?

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Hi, I pop on once in awhile and it seems mostly when I need help.

My son is about to turn 5 and is mildly on the scale with having the Kennedy Kreiger folks a bit stumped. They have him placed as PPD-NOS, borderline Asperger's. Basically, he has a lot of traits and they are causing him some developmental delays.

One such delay is his motor skills. He's been delayed every step of the way, but once he gets the skill, he's actually pretty good. He also deals with some anxieties, though he usually can work through them if given the time and patience.

Which leads me to bicycles. He wants one as he's outgrown any kind of tricycle. WHile he might be delayed in development, he is HUGE. He's about 55 lbs and 46-47" tall, so things meant for little kids, don't work for his big kid body. He basically has a 7 year old body with the physical age of nearly 5 and the motor skills of a 3.5 year old.

What we need is a really stable bike with training wheels that is good for his big size... or should we skip it and get him a kettler car or hot wheels until he develops his peddling skills better (he learned to pedal a trike right after his 4th birthday)..

Any suggestions? I figure where else but here to ask!

Get a bike, it's an important life skill for any child to learn I bike everywhere because it's great for exercise. I would suggest taking one training wheel off of the bike you buy. That helped me when I was a little kid. I learned to ride a bike when I was 6. I had bad motor skills up until high school. I got into cross country which I found easy. It doesn't really matter the model you can buy training wheels often at a bike store they will usually offer them. Trust me he will pick it up through trial and error and will love it. Make sure he bikes on the grass otherwise he might get hurt. I destroyed my knee when I was learning to ride a bike. Still messed up to this day.

Good Luck

Best of Wishes.

I do plan on getting a bike. I wonder if a balance bike is a way to go... something like this: http://www.especialneeds.com/weplay-bike.html

That bike looks really weird, I can't imagine how you would be able to keep your balance when your feet are out in front of you instead of under you. You would have to balance with your torso or something. If anything I think that would make it harder to learn how to ride a bicycle.

Anyways, my question would be does he really need a bike? He is only 5 years old, so it isn't like he needs the bike to go out and ride to the library or store by himself. If he just wants the bike to have fun going around the yard then just get him a scooter or something. I know my 7 year old cousin (who should be about your child's size) has one of those. It isn't really dangerous as your standing on the scooter with your feet about 3 inches off the ground. The worst you can do is fall off which is no worse then tripping while jogging.

And of course just getting some sturdy training wheels would work well too.

I would be surprised if they made those large enough, given your description of your child.

My son rode with training wheels on a regular bike until he was 9, which was when he finally was willing to give the real thing a go. We have since seen some little ones using balance bikes (they rarely peddle them, so the front peddle thing is a bit irrelevent) and have wondered if that might have helped him learn earlier, but the point really is moot for us.

One thing to be aware of is that most regular bikes have handle breaks, and that was a problem for my son. He didn't have the hand strength for many years - and that was probably part of his hesitation in learning to use the bike without training wheels. It is scary if one cannot properly stop the bike.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the future with the bike; he will learn all the skills when he wants to. The main thing, it seems to me, is that he have something he can operate effectively and enjoy riding. As long as the joy is there, the skills will come. JHMO.

Oh My Goodness this is a good point. I was looking at a balance bike on REI and said, "Oh hand brakes so he doesn't have to unlearn back pedal brakes, TOTALLLLLLY forgetting that he has terrible hand strength (bottom 1%). He has hands like a baby.

I think maybe we'll stick to his scooter for now. I got him a really nice one last year that has been fantastic for him. I think now he just has too many anxieties about things being unstable and swaying. He is extremely cautious about going down stairs he doesn't know.

Not this one!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVfzWpmyXXk[/youtube]