Comment by alentred
3 days ago
Indeed! This is an age-old method, this is what a dandy horse is for! In France, and surely many other places, you see the kids of young age on dandy horses ("draisiennes") coming to and from the school supervised by their parents. As a rite of passage towards the bicycle :)
Ditto for Germany as well. Most kids get a Puky fahrrad and they are ready to ride a cycle when the time comes.
https://mytoys.scene7.com/is/image/myToys/ext/13468895-01.jp...
In France and Belgium, Decathlon makes neat bikes with pedals that can be taken off easily and properly (including the cranks) turning them into a "normal" draisienne.
This means the kids can easily try it with pedals on, take them off again if it doesn't work, etc, and it looks less like a "baby bike" (which matters for some kids). I think they're really nice.
Yes, I’m surprised that this is apparently something new for Americans. I thought that was a basic kids toy that’s common everywhere, like skipping ropes or slides.
Both my kids learned on a "draisienne" and they hoped on a regular bike like it was nothing the first day they got it. Kids in the neighborhood who didn't learn on a draisienne, but instead got small wheels, really struggled with balance, and some are still scared to ride their bikes to this day (I'm talking 5-9 years old kids), while my kids are riding with no hands. I don't know if it's enough to see a pattern, but I'm convinced :)
These were around in the US back in the day, but known by the name "hobby horse." Relatively few of them survived, but I've seen them in a few collections in my travels, chiefly the Bicycle Museum of America in New Bremen, OH...which I highly recommend visiting if you happen to be passing by. Pretty neat bit of history and I'd love to try and make one with wooden wheels one day.