Balance Bikes for kids

[Commander Quan]

Has anyone purchased a Balance Bike for their kid? I am looking to get my 1.5 year old one for Easter, and letting him walk and tool around with it indoors until the weather gets nice. I'm currently looking at the Strider Sport due to it's light weight. The guy at the local bike shop recommended a Kazam due to it's footrest, but that bike is almost twice the weight of the Strider, and the the bike just seams to be too big for him in general, but there are other bikes that would be size appropriate that have a footrest.

If you have one, does you kid even use the footrest or do they just pick their feet up and coast?

 

[global_dev]

I had one for my 2 girls, they didn't really like it... My nephew had a ball on it. No foot rests. It was a wooden version from 2008 or so.

 

[davent]

We received the neighbourhood learner bike when my daughter was maybe 3 1/2. Tiny two wheeler that kids could sit on the seat with their feet flat on the ground. Taught herself to ride in no time, no training wheels no adult holding on, she could push herself along get some momentum up then figured how to get her feet to the pedals and make them turn and make the bike fly. (figured out how to make it stop too)

Passed the bike onto the next family with a non-rider coming along, hard to say how many kids learned to ride on that bike.

 

[211bma]

I taught my oldest with one, and have just started my youngest. At first she didn't really like it, but after a little while it became the cool toy. For a while she didn't trust sitting on the saddle when she finally did the progress was rapid. When I bought her a real bicycle I only held her up for one block, I was telling her "just to get used to the pedals, don't worry I won't let go" she said "no daddy let go" I did and she was riding!

I whole-heartedly recommend getting a balance bike for your children.

 

[dklaiman]

I hadn't heard about balance bikes before this thread. It looks like a fancy version of what I used to teach my kids how to ride. I just took a small bike and removed the pedals--not the cranks, just the pedals. When they got the hang of balancing, I put the pedals back on and they were good to go. You might have to come up with a different present for your son, but it was nice to not have to buy anything else to teach my kids how to ride.

 

[Commander Quan]

Dave how old were your kids? This thought had crossed my mind but my little dude is still young, and a lightweight at 27 pounds although he is tall. Bikes that have a full chain assembly tend to be heavier, just a quick search for 12" bikes on Target's web sight the average weight is between 15-20 pounds. Take the training wheels and the peddles off and you'll save a couple pounds, but that is why I was looking at the Strider which weighs in at 6 pounds and some change.

 

[dklaiman]

They were between 2 and 4 (the younger kids started older than the oldest one), so a little older than yours. I hadn't considered the weight issue.

 

[Hirsute]

We got a Yuba Flip Flop for my son just after his second birthday. It flips over when the kids get taller so they can use it longer. He's loved it. And the seat wasn't quite down all the way when he first started using it, so your 1.5 year old could probably start using it right away. We also considered the Wishbone 3-in-1, which is also a flip balance bike but starts out with tricycle wheels in the back. Our son had already moved past that phase and living in rainy Portland we opted for the steel frame of the Yuba instead of the wood or recycled plastic of the Wishbone models. We also got a good deal on the Yuba which helped make the decision.

 

[Commander Quan]

The flip bikes are cool, I haven't seen those before.

 

[Hirsute]

The flip bikes are cool, I haven't seen those before.

My little guy really likes his. There's lots of videos of kids riding the Yuba and Wishbones online so you can see the range of kid sizes they fit.

 

[sheikahmes]

Has anyone purchased a Balance Bike for their kid? I am looking to get my 1.5 year old one for Easter, and letting him walk and tool around with it indoors until the weather gets nice. I'm currently looking at the Strider Sport due to it's light weight. The guy at the local bike shop recommended a Kazam due to it's footrest, but that bike is almost twice the weight of the Strider, and the the bike just seams to be too big for him in general, but there are other bikes that would be size appropriate that have a footrest.

If you have one, does you kid even use the footrest or do they just pick their feet up and coast?

I have two kids: one aged 5, the other 2.5. They both started on the balance bike at 2 years old.
When you shopping a balance bike for your child, you should first consider the size and the weight of the bike. Too high or low seat height will both make the child feel uncomfortable. Proper seat height should allow for a slight bend in the knee. Generally speaking, the overall weight of a bike shouldn’t more than 30% of your child’s weight.
The footrest shouldn't be deciding factor when you buy a balance bike. In fact, most of the balance bikes do not have footrests because they are not needed. For more in-depth information about buying a balance bike, I highly recommend this article: Buying guide to the balance bikes for toddler

 

[John Rose]

When I were a wee lad, I went from a tricycle to a sidewalk bike that had direct-drive pedals on the front wheel. Twelve-inch solid rubber wheels, maybe? No problem making that transition. The only disadvantage was that I could not stand on the pedals for more torque.
Since the pedals were on the front wheel, they didn't get in the way if I walked it like a Balance Bike.
Then when they got me a regular single-speed 24" bike, I had no problem adjusting to that.