Riding with one-hand is a helpful skill for your child to learn for a number of reasons: It will enable them to wave to their friends in the park, have a drink out of a bottle when cycling, or perform a hand signal to communicate which way they want to turn!

Riding with one-hand can be a challenge for some riders so it’s important that you teach your child the technique for this in suitable steps, and only when they are ready. Riders who are nervous to take a hand off the handlebar are likely to look down at the ground or at their hand when they lift it off, which can lead them to lose balance. They may also grip the handlebar too tightly when taking a hand off, which can make it much harder to balance.

One great way to start teaching your child to ride with one hand is to First, ask them to wave at you when they are sitting stationary on their bike. When they do this they will almost certainly look straight ahead at you (rather than down at the ground), which is exactly what they’ll need to do when practising one-handed riding when cycling.

In addition to looking straight ahead, your child should sit up straight when riding with one-hand; doing this will enable them to balance through the saddle and therefore have greater control. You can give examples of how we balance when sitting on a stool, or how road cyclists celebrate by lifting both arms high above their head when celebrating winning a bike race!

Your child should also pedal in comfortable gear that is not too easy or difficult when taking their hand off: Pedalling helps propel the bike forwards, helping to keep it upright.

Finally, as we mentioned earlier, you should remind your child to not hold on too tightly when taking the other hand off the handlebar.

To practise riding with one-hand, your child will need a large flat area where they can attempt the activity in straight lines. They can first start by raising the palm of their hand slightly off the handlebar whilst looking straight ahead. Once they are comfortable with that, they can progress onto waving with one-hand, and then signalling left or right.

A fun exercise is for your child to ride towards you and then “mirror” the gesture or hand movement that you are showing to them! Alternatively you can carry out a “Simon says” game where your child has to carry out certain hand movements!

Your child should regularly switch hands as they will likely initially have a stronger side; regularly alternating the hand they take off will help them to become proficient on both sides.

You should initially ask your child to not squeeze a brake lever when riding with one-hand (squeezing the front brake lever firmly whilst riding with one-hand can easily cause a rider to fall), though “soft braking” whilst riding with one-hand can be attempted later on when your child is ready.

Once your child is able to confidently ride with one-hand in a straight line for a few seconds at a time, you can demonstrate to them a helpful communication routine: To look behind to see if anyone is there, signal in the direction that you plan to turn, and then, after putting your hand back on the handlebar, to look over the shoulder for the direction in which you are about to turn.

Riding With One-hand

Unii’s Learning to Cycle Journey shares how to teach your child to ride a bike with one-hand.