Learning to Cycle: Body Composition and Balance Challenges in Balance Bikes Versus Training Wheels.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Empowering our children and youth to cycle empowers them to pursue a healthier, fuller, and more responsible life. The present study implemented the Learning to Cycle program with the following aims: (i) to promote learning to cycle; (ii) to investigate and compare the use of different learning bicycles, i.e., balance bicycle (BB) and bicycle with training wheels (BTW); (iii) to investigate the influence of body composition during this learning process. Methods: The program was implemented through a quasi-experimental study involving two intervention groups, with pre- and post-test evaluations. The program was applied to 50 children (M = 5.82 ± 0.94 years, 23 girls) who did not know how to cycle previously. One group explored the BB and the other the BTW for six sessions, followed by four more sessions with the conventional bicycle (CB) for both groups. The assessment of independent cycling was considered as the ability to perform, sequentially and unaided, and the various cycling milestones: self-launch, ride, and brake. The children's body composition was accessed by the BMI's percentile and classification according to their age and sex. Results: The program had a success rate of 88.24% for acquiring independent cycling, with 100% success in the BB group and 76.92% in the BTW group. The BB children learned significantly faster to self-launch, ride, brake, and cycle independently. Children with higher BMI percentiles faced greater challenges in achieving balance milestones. Conclusions: BB are recommended, especially for overweight and obese children, as they help develop balance from the onset, and showed to be more efficient in learning to cycle than the BTW.