Recreational & Family - K2 Zed 20... training wheels compatible?

K2 markets its zed 20 as being for five and up. My son is very tall for four going on five, so no problem there.

Question: can training wheels be fitted to small mtb's such as these?

Don't get training wheels - see threads on teaching your kid to ride.

Buy bike, take off pedals and get him to scoot around/roll down gentle slopes until he gets used to balancing/steering and can keep his feet of the ground for some time.

Put pedals back on and watch him ride.

Then your troubles will begin.

I already took apart an entire 16" goodwill special precicely in accordance with this take on teaching. Removed the ashtabula cranks, chain, etc.

While the 12" I have him on now is too small, the 16" proved too large to stride from the seat. The cheaper bikes that are worth taking apart are boat anchors and are way heavier than what ought to be used as a like-a-bike....

I know that conventional wisdom on BF is to go the route that you describe. However, he's having plenty of fun on his bike with training wheels, and I'd rather allow him to enjoy the pedaling at this point. I did not learn how to ride a bike until age eight. Less than four years later I did my first MS150. No rush. We have a very nice beachside boardwalk and MUP nearby, and it makes more sense to me to have him enjoying it immediately...

He'll tire of the training wheels soon enough. :)


The cheaper bikes that are worth taking apart are boat anchors and are way heavier than what ought to be used as a like-a-bike....

They do make training wheels for bikes 14"-to-20" that are single speed only. Adult "stabilizer wheels" is your only option if you have a dérailleur bike. Too expensive imho. They hook up and look like this:
http://www.bwieland.com/atw_ls.jpg

Might be better (cheaper) to lower the seat so your child can easily flat foot it or put both feet on the ground. Can raise the seat later to the proper height when they get their 'bike legs and balance'. Many kids w/o training wheels will use their feet to get rolling then start pedaling when they feel they are in control/confident.

Can contact K2 and ask them if they have or recommend a brand of training wheels for the Zed 20 youth bike:
http://www.k2bikes.com/index.php?section=faq

They do make training wheels for bikes 14"-to-20" that are single speed only.

This is what I was wondering. I kinda assumed that this would be the case. Thanks.

However, he's having plenty of fun on his bike with training wheels..

The problem is he's not learning the true nature of 2 wheeling.
One of my twin girls (7 y.o.) has had to rethink 2 wheeling after spending too much time with training wheels.
She tended to lean in corners the opposite way, trying to counter the training wheels that were no longer there.

To make it easier on you, just remove the training wheels & pedals. Leave the crankset installed and lower the seat all the way. I had to remove the reflector from the seatpost to get the seat that extra 3/8" lower.

They started with 16" wheels and now ride 20", one being a K2 Zed 20.