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How can you determine if your child is ready to ride a bike?  Frequently the issue is balance.  We recommend using the Dizzy Disc Jr. to strengthen balance.    If a child has the required interest, regardless of age, there is a simple Joules test for determining if s/ he has the coordination and quickness necessary to keep a bicycle in balance. Joules test for bike riding coordination Stand about a yard away facing your child. Toss a ball to either side of your child, far enough away so that s/ he has to move his/her upper body to reach for the ball. If your child reacts in less than a second to catch the ball, s/ he may have the right reaction time and coordination to be able to balance a bike. Note: S/ he does not have to catch the ball, only come close enough to catching, indicating that s/ he has the ability to react quickly, mentally and physically, to motion stimuli.  Autism Coach Notes:  We recommend using the Dizzy Disc Jr to strengthen overall body balance.  Balance and reaction time in catching a ball can be strengthened by playing catch with the child and slowing starting to throw the ball off to the side as one would when teaching a child to catch for baseball.  Also, there is a ball toy called  Bunjee Ball that is a ball with a velcro wrist strap attached to a bunjee cord that is can be effectively used as well and versions of this are frequently available in many toy stores.   Repeat this test to either side ten times. If your child reacts correctly within a tick all ten times, s/ he has the coordination to balance a bike. Suggestion Do not put your child on a bike unless s/ he passes the coordination test and has the strength and ability to handle a bike on his/her own. S/ he should have the potential to handle the bike without any aid -- either from you or from any supporting hardware or device. If not, s/ he will be better off on a tricycle. Bike handling potential Your child should be able to propel a bike by pedaling, as well as paddling on the ground with both feet. Remove pedals, if necessary, to determine whether s/ he can move the bike by paddling. Muscle strength Propelling by pedaling requires muscle strength. If your child is very young or small, you may want to check if s/ he has the muscle strength to pedal while you hold the bike up. Do not run or let your child fall, etc. when you do this. You just want to check if s/ he has enough muscle strength to move the bike a little. If you use a bike with training wheels while checking muscle strength, make sure neither training wheel is touching the ground. Training wheels distort test results, because they cause drag. It requires less muscle strength to propel a bike without training wheels.   Tricyle vs quadcycle If a child does not pass the coordination, pedaling and paddling tests to advance from tricycle to bicycle, do not force him/her to retreat to a quadcycle (bicycles with training wheels). Odds are 1 out of 3 that quadcycles will diminish the ability of a child to learn to ride, and 1 out of 9 that they will program a child with training wheels dependencies that are hard to break without effective intervention. Tricycle is the best device for teaching your child to pedal and brake at an early age. The kid next door may have a quadcycle, but s/ he may be struggling to learn to ride a bike several years from now because of it.   Most parents cannot resist the compulsion for putting their children on quadcycles even after hearing about the problems they can cause. With smaller and smaller quadcycles appearing on retail shelves, cultural programming of parents to put children on training wheels at the earliest possible age is very subliminal and immensely powerful. By the time one realizes that training wheels have been more hurtful than helpful, getting the money back is uncertain, and not getting the lost time back is absolutely certain.  If your child passes all three tests, but has training wheels dependencies, Pedal Magic has a remedial process for extinguishing training wheels conditioning and starting over with the right conditioning required to balance a bicycle.