Balance bikes.

How old was your kid when s/he started? What is the best first balance bike? How tall does the kid need to be?

Our shorty is going to be two at Christmas and so one of these is definitely going to be under the tree. It's really hard to tell how big things are on the internet, so of course, I am turning to the obvious best source.

Does it matter? Should we just find a used one, or are the lighter more well-designed bikes worth it?

This was suggested as a good one in another thread because it has a steering limiter and hand brake.

http://www.firstbike.com/wp-content/...d-Street-1.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/FirstBIKE-Cros...e+balance+bike

They sell a lowering kit too, so the seat goes down further, I guess:

http://www.amazon.com/FirstBIKE-Z500...HGHCPFV8ZPQW6P

Then, for around the same price, there is an aluminum Strider that they claim weighs only five pounds?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._al_bw_g468_i4

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...JL._SY355_.jpg

Amazon sizing info is not great. The Strider looks pretty big, but it's damn hard to tell.

not necessarily worth paying retail for these if you can help it...suggest finding used
and, yes, lighter the better...the plywood ones are pretty good too
sorry, no help on sizing

where do you live?
any bikey community should have plenty of hand-me-downs or CL listing for these things
or, if you aren't in one of those cities, you could search those cities' used listings (sea, pdx, boulder, denver, bay area, etc)

Strider was the smallest bike I found. I'm sure there are a few smaller, but I wanted to buy in person to make sure it fit, and looked at a few in a specialty kids shop here in SLC. What looked small online was not in person.

I doubt weight matters at all. Steering limiter is a great idea, but probably unnecessary after a short while when the kid gets used to the bike. See Dan's recent video on how effective a brake can be for kids.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by acinpdx

not necessarily worth paying retail for these if you can help it...suggest finding used

---

Yeah, I am keeping an eye out. We have another on the way so if the consensus is that some are significantly better than others, it seems reasonable to get something nice. I am definitely intrigued by the brake.

definitely worth it compared to training wheels and the balance bikes are typically smaller than the conventional bikes so they can start earlier

We've bought a skuut, and were handed down a strider and MIL mailed another one made out of plastic of similar concept.

Strider was my choice between those 3.

Pretty decent standover height for starting small, pretty light and relatively (more) durable.

Hand brake one looks cool though and learning with a hand brake "could be easier" than Fred Flinstone stops depending on condition...

We had the plywood Elmo one for our son. He did great with it. But we handed it down to our niece and it was too heavy for her. She would fall over when she put her foot down from the weight of the bike.

we got this at costco when our 1st boy was 2. Both boys have learned on it and it has been great. Done a lot of miles. Would not likely last a third kid though - the tires are a solid compound,etc., but solid little light balance bike. Pretty small stand over height from what I have seen. Was about to get a strider when they were on sale at the Clymb, but decided to just keep what was working

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....1iHm58tafL.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-Bullet-.../dp/B004SN4YHK

One nice thing about the strider is there is a platform for the feet to go on. Not sure how old a kid would need to be to figure out the hand brake, we just went through a few pairs of shoes real quick doing the foot-drag to stop.

My oldest mostly ignored it until he was 3. Then, he ran it everywhere. His younger siblings had bike envy from watching him, so they were going for it after they turned two. I haven't seen many kids actually get the run-glide action before 3. The Striders fit my avg sized kids. Not sure what's the best, but I'd echo the other comments to keep it simple and on the cheaper side.

My boy has a strider and loves it. We first tried it when he was 17 months and it was too early - it was too heavy and he just didn't get it. Tried again at 19 months and he started walking around standing over it. The strider Sport 12 model comes with a 2nd larger seat for when the kiddo gets taller.

He will be 2 this month. He wakes up and says "bike". Out of all the toys and other stuff he gets this was probably the best thing I've given him.

He is starting to get the glide and coast motion down and it's about time to buy the foot brake. I'd say keep it simple and buy a helmet & pad set.

Attachment 170369
Back yard

Attachment 170370
Mini pump track

Attachment 170371
Back alley

Our neighbor put the foot brake on their kids Strider and he never used it. He just kept using his feet. Obviously it's only one instance but when our daughter used his Strider she didn't use it even when I showed her how/told her about it etc.

Logan had a strider and LOVED it starting around 20 months. He got pretty good at it, flying down huge hills and our local pump track. He got a big boy pedal bike around 3 and a half and rides perfectly fine now at 4. We have a "tag along" that goes behind our bike for longer trips together and that really helped him learn how to pedal.

Our girl is 3.5 and has been riding a Strider for over a year and a tricycle at school, so she gets the peddling motion. What should we do for the next step? Bigger pedal bike with or without training wheels? How is that transition made from Strider to pedal bike?

We got a micro for our daughter at 2 yrs old. We bought it used for $75, so it's a bit spendier than other models. That said, it is built like a brick shithouse, despite weighing only 7 lbs. She rides it everywhere, and my son will inherit it when he is big enough, and then we'll sell it again for probably not much less than we originally paid.

https://vimeo.com/112441873

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The SnowShow

Our girl is 3.5 and has been riding a Strider for over a year and a tricycle at school, so she gets the peddling motion. What should we do for the next step? Bigger pedal bike with or without training wheels? How is that transition made from Strider to pedal bike?

---

It's an impressively easy transition for the kids. At 4 and change, ours jumped on 12" wheels and didn't needed help. They needed push starts with 16" wheels. Figuring out the brakes on hills was the next challenge.

Looks like there are several super young riders here; great to see.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dschane

It's an impressively easy transition for the kids. At 4 and change, ours jumped on 12" wheels and didn't needed help. They needed push starts with 16" wheels. Figuring out the brakes on hills was the next challenge.

Looks like there are several super young riders here; great to see.

---

That's awesome.

Should I forgo any training wheels if she's been on the balance bike for awhile?

As long as they can pedal...I'd skip the trainers.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The SnowShow

Should I forgo any training wheels if she's been on the balance bike for awhile?

---

Ours took 4 days off of the Strider to master the pedal bike without training wheels. They already know how to balance so maybe a few falls and they should be good. The hardest thing is convincing them to pedal as it's less likely they'll fall over with a bit of speed. She needed a few push starts but once I cut down the seat post she didn't have any problem on flat ground. Any incline start was a bit of a challenge.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by concretejungle

Ours took 4 days off of the Strider to master the pedal bike without training wheels. They already know how to balance so maybe a few falls and they should be good. The hardest thing is convincing them to pedal as it's less likely they'll fall over with a bit of speed. She needed a few push starts but once I cut down the seat post she didn't have any problem on flat ground. Any incline start was a bit of a challenge.

---

How old is your kid CJ? My boy rides great but doesn't start on his own very well. He rode down a pretty good size hill this week and then rode up it coming back. I'm a proud daddy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by montanaskier

How old is your kid CJ? My boy rides great but doesn't start on his own very well. He rode down a pretty good size hill this week and then rode up it coming back. I'm a proud daddy.

---

She turned 4 at the end of July. I taught her how to start just like her Strider by using her feet until she gets some speed. I did also shell out for the Spawn Banshee which only weighs like half of her weight unlike some of the anchors I see kids trying to ride.

Admittedly I push her pretty hard to do things for herself and she's pretty good about not wanting help after she's been shown a couple of times. I'll thank Montessori school for that as well.

I agree that I'd skip the training wheels part; I'd let them stay on the balance bike longer if they're not interested in or ready for pedaling.

We did a short stint on training wheels to teach her how to pedal, then she got it. She still needs a small push to start up, and she's bad about braking (she knows how, but forgets, and gets scared and won't do it on hills). We haven't been diligent about getting her on the bike recently, so she hasn't advanced much. We'll start back in hard next spring. Till then, SKIING!

I think that was my FirstBike recommendation in the other thread. I didn't come close to looking at every model out there, but that one was very highly rated by various sources and has proved to be very durable (still looks like new despite many, many crashes and sitting out in the sun and rain for over a year now) and safe (with recessed bolts at every attachment point, among other features). Maybe it's being overcautious but, for instance, I look at that Chicco bike above and can easily envision our kid gouging the shit out of his leg with that exposed seat tube end or the seat clamp. Then again, Dallas Jr. is kind of nuts (did I mention the many, many crashes?) and really good at figuring out how to hurt himself, so YMMV. He figured out the hand brake pretty early on and remembers to use it most of the time.

He got his bike at around 2 and it was definitely too big for him. He's a pretty tall kid, too, so the seat lowering kit is probably a good accessory (although for the price you'd hope it'd be included).