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It was a smooth transition for us. LO was not quite 4 and was an expert on the balance bike. He could pedal a tricycle with no problems. It took him 20-30 minutes to ride his bike.

We decided on a woom 3 bike (check out https://www.twowheelingtots.com for all things bicycle related to kids)

DS was a master in balance bike but the transition was not super smooth. He was always on the balance bike and didn't have a trike. He kinda get the concept of pedaling just riding neighbors' trikes. I am just sharing my experience so you can take what applies

He is on the shorter side. DH didn't want to spend money buying a 14" wheel bike (regular bikes came in 12" and 16"), and he was adamant about buying a bike with hand brakes (regular kid bikes have pedal brakes instead, hand brakes are expensive). We got a 16" with hand brakes in a 2nd hand store. DS was too short for the bike, so he had a hard time starting. DH had to push him every time he start riding, then he can ride no problem, but he couldn't stop and DH would have to catch him. DH basically had to run behind him the whole time. That was last year when he was 4. This spring when the weather got warmer he wanted to ride and DH wasn't there. Unfortunately I wasn't the master of running after his bike, and I basically made him fall because I didn't catch his bike right when he needed to stop. He was scared since and didn't try again until 1/2 year later. (And we already gave away his balance bike so he was bike-less for 1/2 year lol)

Thankfully he grew and finally was tall enough for his bike. Over labor day we went on a trip where we borrowed a friend's trailer bike. DS rode behind DH. He didn't have to do a lot of real balancing/riding, but it allowed him to feel how it is supposed to be, and get some of his confidence back. One weekend I made DH and him go out and ride his own 16" bike. After a while he learned to start, ride and stop all on his own. And that was that.

I think the key point is that they need to learn to start and stop on their own. With the balance bike they start and stop with their feet but a regular bike is a bit different. Also remember to wear a helmet every single time. DS still crash into things and flew off his bike a few times afterwards (he still wasn't used to the brakes). Thankfully that didn't scare him off again.

I have also seen our neighbor's kid riding on a bike with training wheels. The bike was a hand-me-down by his 2 brothers so it was quite beat up and the training wheels were croaked. In a way he was able to learn balancing because of the croaked training wheels. He was always on that thing. Until one day he saw DS and another neighbor's kid riding their own bicycles outside, he insisted his mom must take off the training wheels right that instant. They took it off, and he was riding it just fine, like magic.