Balance Buddies

Most parents remember the moment when their children first learn to cycle, and we think that this is a very important key life skill.

Cycling brings so many advantages to lives of all ages, from improved mental health, to creating memories of family time adventures, not to mention it’s great for the environment.

Balance & Pedal bike training for children in Ayrshire.

Typically children learn to cycle at a younger age and can learn faster with balance bikes than with bikes with stabilisers because they learn to balance before they learn to pedal.

Our Balance Buddies programme helps children learn key balance skills to develop their physical ability

Our classes always have high demand so book now to reserve your child’s place

Book Now!

Our Bikes

Our bikes are light weight, easily adjustable, and comfortable with air filled tyres.

Our balance bikes are made so that it’s easy to get on, sit on them and walk with them, this is how children learn to balance.

Our bikes are sturdy and durable enough to train lots of children. To save parents the expense of buying their own balance bike that may only be needed for a short time we provide balance bikes, first size pedal bikes and helmets along with balance equipment and all resources needed to help your child learn.

Our Training Program

Our structured programme can take children as young as 3 years old through a progressive series of outcomes.

The sessions are filled with fun games and activities and range from balance techniques to cycling freely around set out routes and tracks. Balance is important to achieving success in almost every sport or physical activity and is fundamental in the process of learning to ride a bike. It’s all about the child gaining confidence.

During the first session the instructor will carry out some initial assessments to understand the level your child is at and what their current ability is. We use this assessment to provide interventions that may be needed to get them introduced to the balance bikes. The length of the course will vary for each child and the instructors will move and progress at the pace of each child.

First Steps – Learning to Balance

Riding Position

Feet on the floor
Slightly bent knees
Sitting firmly on the seat
Hold handlebars securely

Learning to balance

Start walking whilst remaining seated
Build confidence and take longer strides
Balance will develop with speed
Lift the feet and glide

Ask your trainer what your child has learnt week by week, they should be able to show you which outcomes your child is developing, or has mastered. You can also to watch a session, and once your child can glide they will progress them onto one of our pedal bikes, that’s the ultimate goal…

Helping your Child Learn

At your local park, or playground, you can have a go at simple balance activities with your child. They should be able to show you what they have been learning with us, but you can:

Jump, hop and run, and move in a variety of ways, it can be integrated into simple games
Walk along a line pretending it’s a tightrope
Use steps and other things to balance on, practice stepping with alternate feet

A key part of our programme is to help them take bigger steps on a balance bike and to gain the confidence and speed to lift their feet up. We also help them to learn to steer by including courses with turns, slaloms, and obstacle courses. You can also help them practice these skills.

Balance Buddies FAQ

What is the price for Balance buddies training?

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£50 for a block of 5 lessons

£25 deposit required to reserve an offered space – we will send you a payment link after you agree to reserve a space on one of our courses.
You can also call us to pay by card, or pop into the shop.

The balance is collected at the start of the first lesson.

We accept cash and all major cards.

When does Balance buddies training run?

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We currently run our training classesin two locations: Cumnock & Galston.

Cumnock on Thursday evenings.
Galston on Saturday mornings and early afternoon.

What time will depend on which class your child is participating in.

Where do you run your classes?

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We have 2 locations:

📌 Loudoun Leisure Centre, Glasgow Road, Galston

📌 Barony Campus, Auchinleck Rd, Cumnock KA18 3JB, United Kingdom

Do I need to stay for the duration of the classes?

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Parents are welcome to stay and observe progress made each week, some children progress quicker with parents help or sometimes without the added pressure of you watching!

Can my child use their own bike?

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You can use your own bike but we recommend that you at least start on ours which are fully designed around the geometry of children and are lightweight and well maintained by our team.

Please feel free to bring your own helmet.

What age children do you accept in your classes?

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Minimum age is 3 years old

How many children are in each class?

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We limit the number of children to a maximum of ten in a class which gives a good balance of trainers spending time on a one to one basis and teaches spacial awareness to the children.

What ability does my child need to attend?

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We cater for all abilities, whether a beginner, a new peddler or advanced.

We offer learn to ride, intermediate and advanced sessions.

What equipment is provided?

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We provide all the equipment needed for each session including bikes and helmets

What should my child wear for the training?

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Your child should wear comfortable clothing, which is not too baggy to avoid getting caught in chains, wheels etc. a pair of trainers or plimsoles are ideal

Long hair should be in ponytails or tied back low to ensure helmets fit properly.

How long is each training session?

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Our sessions are 60 minutes long usually made up of 45 minutes training with 15 minutes setup, fitting helmets and adjusting saddle heights, updating parents on progress etc.

What happens if my child misses a session?

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We organise the sessions based on weekly progress and we encourage you to attend all five sessions in that block.

If a session is missed then we will try and alter the content of the next class however payment is not carried over or refundable as we still have costs such as hall hire and wages whether you attend or not.

How many classes do you recommend my child attends to achieve competency?

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It varys from child to child on ability and how quickly they learn, we go at their pace.

We would recommend one block of 5 as a minimum.

We have three blocks available (beginner, intermediate and advanced) to take advantage of and provide the maximum amount of knowledge and development.

The place is yours until we can’t teach them any more or you and your child decide that you’ve achieved the level you wanted.

Derek

Trainer & Workshop manager

Naomi

Trainer

Cycle Station Trainers

Our instructors are fully qualified cycle trainers and bike mechanics who have developed the course to suit the needs of children learning balance techniques, control, handling and coordination skills to develop them onto pedal bikes.

Our balance buddies sessions can be run inside or outside and the sessions expose the children to no greater risk than their everyday play activities at nursery or school.

Learning to cycle is always done in a traffic free environment.