Balance bikes for kids

[Mick D]

Evening all
I am looking into getting my little ones bikes the twins are 3 and little one is 2, Not that they need much encouragment.
Was looking into balance bikes, Does anyone on here have experience of them, Advice needed please.

Mick

 

[robster]

Just bought my daughter one from Halfords, not the best quality but its ok at the price, I would have loved to get the Specialised one but have just bought a new P7 so was short of funds....
I think they are a great idea and my daughter loves riding hers, in the long run I hope we wont need to go down the stabiliser route because we got her this bike first.

 

[Crantinope]

My little boy has been riding his since he was 2, in fact he is on it so much he has forgoten how to walk!!!! :

Early rider, costs about £90(ish), damn cool. He has been using it on our local BMX track for about a year now and thinks nothing of powering down 10 foot +45 degree banks on it. He is 3 1/2 now, and i'm just about to get him some pedal power courtesy of Isla Bikes. You could also look at the Rothan Balance Bike for your 2 year old from Isla Bikes or Pedals if you think your 3 year olds are up to it. Only downside is the price, but keep them in good nik, and you will get some return.

CNOCH 14 at Isla Bikes - http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/cnoc14.html#

Early Rider Bikes - http://www.earlyrider.com/bikes/

 

[Awkward Kid]

My lads got his very own Specialized! £100 i paid i think?

 

[Splatter Paint]

So cool!

Mine's still in 'bump' stage (due in June) but I got a really tidy, tiny Raleigh from the tip for £3!

SP

 

[The Ken]

here's my wee one on his walky bike - he can ride pedals too but prefers this one for stunts...

photo courtesy of the Courier Newspaper - copyrighted 2010

he tried one out that also had a platform for your feet, he like that too but he wouln't have learned how to brake with his feet on the tyre is we had got him that. No brakes, sealed bearing mag wheels, loads of fun!

 

[hamster]

Second son learned on a balance bike (Islabike Rothan) and was whizzing around all over the place by 2 1/2. It generally takes them around 40 minutes to pick it up. My local skate park has one very shallow ramp, and an hour there going down the ramp early one Saturday morning (before the teenagers had got up!) gave him the knack.

Stabilisers are completely useless, don't teach anything about balance and the bike still tips over anyway. :roll:

 

[Archangel]

I bought my 1st born daughter (1Y 11M) an Islabikes Rothan balance bike (£100 + postage). The bike is lovely and it has a rear V-brake which is a plus compared to Specialized et al.

However, my kid doesn't want to even sit on the bike yet but I'll give her time to get to used to it. Other kids (a bit older, 3-4 years old) in the playground next to our house were really excited about the bike and after a few minutes were rolling with it around the plot.

 

[pigman]

balance bikes are clean, light and look good.
the one thing that put me off them was the lack of hand operated brakes, something I wanted to instill into ours as soon as they started. So, this and being a tight arse, I got an-skip 12" wheeled bike, took off all the transmission and hey-ho we had a balance bike for nowt. Then reinstated the missing bits and we had a bike (at that age theyre not bothered whether it looks good fashion wise)

Personally, ours both wanted the pedals to power themselves as soon as they learnt to balance, which for our first took him less than 5 minutes on his own down a gentle slope.

 

[parksj]

I would like an islabike rothan for my sons 2nd birthday, does anyone know of any for sale in the North East area. Have hunted the web but can't find any. It's a long way to travel to get one if they aren't suitable for him.