[Closed] Balance bikes - help please

Have you tried the Specialized hotwalk? Looked pretty small, going to have a look for one in France in a couple weeks to see how much cheaper they are, will report back as maybe able to get a few 😀

The Zooom ones come with two seatposts, a very short one and a longer one. Might be worth looking at?

The specialized hotwalk is awesome, an amazing little thing, my son (now 4 yr old) learnt on it and still loves riding it even though he's graduated to a 'proper' bike and my nearly 2 yr old can't wait to use it.

It has a low slung 'top' tube but the saddle/seatpost join means that the saddle can't be put as low as you think it ought to, meaning that there is a bit of a minimum height/leg length to be able to ride it.

The ridgeback scoot looks like it might be more suitable for a smaller rider, but i've not really investigated it.

Ridgeback Scoot is the same as a Zooom

Look at the Early Rider lite, this is the bike I shall be getting for my 2 year old at christmas.

Another Scoot user here..... well, Miss BB.....

loco/simon - when are you back? need one for the 24th

Hotwalk here and worked great from 2 (although quite tall). A friend had an Isla Rothan and that did drop lower. The Hotwalk had very stable geometry (slack angles maybe!) and gave my son massive confidence at speed - good excuse to post this clip again!

A mate of mine has started selling balance bikes which seem pretty good on all accounts (not actually seen one in the flesh yet!).

www.striderrider.co.uk

18th ish depends on local bike shops over there as rural N.France so not sure what they'll be stocking

I gave my lad a Scoot for his second birthday. Couldn't ride it properly for at least 6 months, but now he loves it. Have pronised him a bike with pedals as soon as he cna use the brake properly.

But on the smaller side, try [url= http://www.pukybikes.co.uk/ ]Puky bikes[/url]
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Got this for my two year old, he took to it straight away, it's plenty small, and has a QR saddle for adjusting. On sale too.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=21476

The specialized hotwalk is awesome, an amazing little thing, my son (now 4 yr old) learnt on it and still loves riding it even though he's graduated to a 'proper' bike and my nearly 2 yr old can't wait to use it

Likewise, mines on its second generation. Third if you count me, it's great fun 🙂

I looked at a lot of balance bikes, and the only frame I could find small enough for my daugher was the Islabike Rothan. Minimum inside leg for this is 30cm, so it is a couple of inches smaller than the Scoot, and an inch smaller than the Early Rider.
£20 over your budget, but it is very light, and the construction and components are top notch. I remember someone on here saying they re-sold one for close to the original price.

Scoot/Zoom. My little lad is 2 in 5 weeks and he can only just touch the ground but thats with his dads 'modifications' made to it to lop another inch off the seat height (the internals of the cheap seatposts are easily flipped to make them sit lower and I lopped a cm or so off the top of the seat tube).

hughjayteens - that video is ace 😀

My little un had an Islabike Rothan. Like kcr said, its a bit over budget but worth it IMHO. It really is a quality bit of kit. And you'll get back a serious chunk back when you sell it on once the little' ladies moved on

I found a Thomas the Tank 10" bike which is a horrid thing, and attacked it with a hacksaw. After making a wooden saddle I now have a tiny balance bike that my grandson could potter about on. He's now 18 months and it's the first thing he looks for whenever he comes round. He's starting to get the hang of it, lifts his feet whenever I push him around and has started to do a bit of scooting too.

I've determined not to coach him, just to let the technique come naturally. Never too young to get them started.

Big fan of the easy rider, Particuliarly liked you could restrict the steering to start with. Also British company and their customer service is fantastic. We had a problem with the bars on ours, had had it for over 18 months. Phoned them up to buy a replacement part and they insisted it was a warrenty issue and replaced it for free.

Also look brilliant.

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Also.... just moved my little girl onto a pedal bike (no stablisers at 3, very proud) and got an islabike, went to pick it up from the shop and their balance bike looked good, had a brake which seemed a good idea as once they get going on a down hill they fly 🙂

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find a 10" wheel one, my wee one's been scooting since 18mths on one I found on Amazon and she's quite short legged (it's quite a bit lower than an islabikes) a mate just bought a hotwalk as it was the lowest 12" wheeler he could find

Ridgeback Skoots are really quite big

got a very well used Rothan you can have for £55 posted if you want? Not sure if secondhand will go down well for a birthday present though.

2yr olds don't understand "birthdays" or "second hand"

Stuff it, its a good excuse to post thus:

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/6027070158/ ]DSC_0404[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr

And this:

[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2299/5721524437_60c5d6239e_b.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2299/5721524437_60c5d6239e_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/5721524437/ ]DSC_0527[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr

vinneyeh

i'll take your rothan as long as its not to bashed up. Any pics of the worst bits?

cheers

simon f reid at hot mail dot com

Simon, I'll drop you an email and pics tomorrow.

I've got a Pucky LR1 going spare (as above) in good condition. £30 + postage if you are interested. They are a Mumsnet "Best Buy" don't you know 😉

[url= http://www.mumsnet.com/Reviews/first-bikes/7-puky-lr1 ]http://www.mumsnet.com/Reviews/first-bikes/7-puky-lr1[/url]