Need to let Father Christmas know.

Is a balance bike the way to go, rather than stabilisers?

Brakes or not?

Thanks.

balance bike brake wont really matter as they probably wont be able to use it anyway

Balance bike with no brakes. Take a trip to decathlon and see what they have. No need for anything fancy.

No need for anything fancy.

but something fancy will be better and you’ll get a good portion of your money back if you buy a second hand Kokua, Islabike, etc. and sell it on.
my boy is 3.5 and still prefers his Kokua to his pedal bike and is quicker than his peers who are on pedal bikes.

Islabike Rothan, has a back brake and it’s surprising how well they get used to using it.

Check out the pre-owned Islabike Facebook page for some decent deals. Islabikes (new) pricing is getting pretty eye watering.

Just be wary that many balance bikes are quite big – if your child isn’t then they may not fit it.

Balance bike for sure. My lad is just 3 and loves his and is now starting to ride the BMX track on it. A ‘big boy’ was there with stabilisers and pedal and they were just getting in the way and he got frustrated. Balance bike lets thje kid glide and promotes balance (!) and that’ll transfer to pedals. Our lad is small so suspect the Islabike Rothan (we were given it, great friend!) will last until 3 1/2 at least.

crankbrat has a balance bike with rear brake , it took a while for him to get going on it but now he is really good . Having ridden it to nursery on a daily basis his balance and confidence took off quickly.
given the route has a couple of corners on a hill we are both really glad of the brake which he picked up reasonably quickly .
http://www.pedal-pedal.co.uk/adventure-zoom-balance-bike-2015.html?gclid=CMqtkIDPv8gCFdXGGwod8PwNxw

Just bought an early rider trail xl for my little un, great little bikes and quality is amazing proper mini fat bike

Balance bike daddy here.
Li’l J loves his.
When he saw that Lola,Of Charlie & Lola fame, had problems with stabilisers,he was very happy he didn’t have them. 😀

Balance bike all the way. My boy loved his and went straight to a pedal bike from it without stabilisers.

He had an Islabike Rothan – it was brilliant and I got a great price for it when I sold it on when he outgrew it. He then went on to a second hand Cnoc and is now on a Beinn 20.

Some pics here:

Milestones