which balance bike?

Looking to buy my daughter a balance bikes for Christmas and trying to decide which one, already ruled out isla bikes based on cost (yes I know they have good resale value but no).

Was looking at the strider at £80 but there are a whole host of bikes around the £50 mark such as the bike star and wondered if anyone had experience with either of these bikes and if its worth paying the extra for something that will probably only be used for a short period of time?

Views/recommendations

We were given a cheap kids bike for our then 2 y-o. I just took the cranks and chain off. Once he “got it”, the drivetrain went back on.

It worked great, on not a lot of outlay.

Got the Strider for Geordie Junior (he was 20 months at the time), and he loved it. Now 2 years five months old and he’s cycling faster than I can run*

* Which isn’t saying a lot, but he really loves it.

How did Geordie Jnr cope with no brake, most others seem to have one?

we have a Norco alu balance bike and although it has been excellent it does not have a brake which lets it down a little. i think learning to use brakes is as important as learning to balance. i would recommend getting one with at least the option of adding a brake.

how weird is this? was just about to post the same q…..

fadda – that’s actually a great idea. will look into it. seen some good looking wooden ones at about £50 each though, but cannot find the make for the mo…..

Puky

you can get tiny bikes that are actual bikes, as opposed to balance. perfect for doing the mod fadda mentions and then you have an actual bike for the child to use when it’s ready.

I got my little boy one of these

Its pretty good. Nice and light, somewhere for him to put his feet, and its well built.

Spooky – I’ve just been going back over that old thread for this (which one for a <2 yr old), and bought the 10″ bike star one that’s on amazon. Looks pretty good, pneumatic tyres, brake, and it’s a splendid colour 8)

Anybody had a bike star?

isla is great, puky cheaper but heavier.
spesh looks v nice, while decathlon do a very cheap one.

Flow how old is your little boy…. my grandson is 2 year old in march…..and his dad has been looking at balance bikes but my grandson just cant get his feet to touch the floor when he sits on one of these bikes ….

I’ve got a wooden off road like-a-bike to sell.

Email in profile.

I got a Ridgeback Scoot for my little girl’s 3rd birthday. Great little bike

Flow how old is your little boy…. my grandson is 2 year old in march…..and his dad has been looking at balance bikes but my grandson just cant get his feet to touch the floor when he sits on one of these bikes ….

He turned two this month.

The saddle is at its lowest in the photo, so I cut an inch off the seatpost so it goes right down. His feet are pretty much flat on the floor.

The Spesh Hotwalk there is a good bike. My lad loves his, flies down the hills on it.

spesh hotwalk….
nice’n light, and my boy didn’t really need a brake for the first few months.

Then i got the same size spesh bike with brake, and pedals. He was riding pedalling confidently on his own within 6 months of getting the balance bike, at around 3 yrs.

I think having a light enough bike at that age is of under-rated importance.

We just got our little girl a Strider, mainly because it’s so light and because it smaller than most of the others out there (she’s only 19 months). She’s not exactly a pro just yet, but she clearly loves being on it and hopefully it won’t take her long to get the hang of it. We bought it through the main UK dealer, but via ebay so that we could put a ‘best offer’ in and so got it for £70 rather than £80 – definitely the easiest way to save a tenner and they posted it out straight away – very impressed with the service all round!

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/national-deal/bodini/1835136/.R2swKl seen this yesterday was gonna buy one for my daughter but I’m going to get a more girly looking one.

We just bought a barely used Puky off ebay for £24. Its perfect. No brake but tiny.

We just bought a barely used Puky off ebay for £24. Its perfect. No brake but tiny.