I remember S7 was trying to ride around our street (cul de sac) with the older kids and that is what motivated him. Apparently his trying to to keep up with the bigger kids while using training wheels frustrated him so much. One day he just stopped, demanded his mother take off the training wheels right then and there, which she did, and then he just started riding with little hesitation or problems. For some time up to that point he had apparently mastered his balance, and the training wheels, bent as they were, had become superfluous. He never looked back.
I've got to now figure out how I'm going to gain some bicycle time with S3. We don't live in a neighborhood where he would be so encouraged. And now that W has also moved into an apartment, she has cut them both off from that opportunity. I bought S7 a new (very good) bike just this past year, and S3 inherited S7's old bike, but these are both with W -- I may have to break down and buy them a set to keep wherever I reside.
Yes, siblings can be so different from one another. As they say, every child is different. That's interesting that D4 is already ready to lose the training wheels.
