Jamesyjunior turns 2 in a couple of weeks and a balance bike is top of [s]his[/s] my shopping list.
The budget is no more than £100.00. What does the STW massive recommend?
I cannot fault my lads specialized hotwalk. Its been perfect for him.
Mine had one made by tiny bike to start and has a scoot now. Both good bikes.
Highly recommend the smallest Puky, even converted it to the latest fat bike niche on Saturday whilst camping in torrential rain.
He's two next month and happily scoots it about.
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/21556621@N06/9605732729/ ]Bank Holiday camping in Alfriston[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/21556621@N06/ ]pictonroad[/url], on Flickr
My son has been riding a ZOOOM since he was two.
Came with 2 seat posts for when he gets taller. He loves it.
My lad had a super cheap piece shot that had pedal on the front wheel that I cut off. He was an absolute demon on it.
Daughter has a btwin run ride, £30 does what it's meant to, only down side is the solid tyres.
My little lad has just out grown his silver zoom balance bike, and I was going to advertise it on single track soon, but if your interested I can send you some photo's? Would want £50 collected from Huddersfield? Email me at jonathantraverse@hotmail.co.uk
I can't believe no-one has said it yet! ...... Islabikes Rothan!
I might have a red one for sale that we've kind of finished with, I just need to speak to the owner 🙂 Mail me if you're interested.
Op said max £100!!
I have a very good condition Micro Balance bike. My 5 year old has gone on to a full size in the last 6 months
I can put an advert in For Sale if you are interested.
Check out the Micro website, they are cool bikes
Yep, but you can get them for under £100 second hand. Not sure how much mine would go up for (if he'll part with it) but it wouldn't be that much!Op said max £100!!
Of course it's nice to get their first bike new, in which case good point well made.
Spesh Hotwalk for my Daughter and then went on to Islabikes.
Got my daughters for about £40 off Amazon. Its one of those Plywood jobbies. Been perfect and wouldn't want to spend any more than that considering they'll be on a proper bike within a year or so. Its one of these, or something very similar...
I'd go for a second hand Rothan.
I got my son the small Earlyrider when he was 18months, my daughter is now using it, though my son at 5 still jumps on it for a blast around the garden.
Both of them love it! It'll be getting an overhaul for number 3 shortly.... Then it'll get framed somehow 🙂
I'd go for a second hand Rothan
This. I replaced the steel post with an aluminium one, Schwalbe Big Apple tyres with Stans, titanium bolts and ceramic bearing upgrade, good to go*.
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*some of this is not true.
Rockfield junior has a strider bike which he absolutely loves. Its a nice light aluminium frame with about the lowest standover height possible. You can fit a brake to it as well which I'm gonna do soon as junior is going pretty quick now!
The strider bike importers are pretty active organising balance bike training and races all over the country which looks quite cool.:
http://www.striderbikes.co.uk/
we picked up ours brand new on ebay for £50..
Scooot are cheap, functional, come with a rear brake and decent tyres.
Isla Bikes Rothan are better frames than the Scooot, nicer contact points and v good resale value, but expensive.
We ended up buying a couple of Early Rider bikes for our two from the very nice folks at http://www.keeppedalling.co.uk/bike-brands/earlyrider. Wooden, good tyres that are fine on rocky trails, loads of adjustment and steering limits which stop tank-slapper moments. Once they get bigger, you can reverse the forks. No rear brake though, which is not ideal as they get close to moving to a proper bike, but not a biggie.
Yon decathlon one was great for our lad. Hes coming up for four now and still tears about on it. Got a back brake too. For the price you canny whack it.
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Strider here. The National Cycling centre use Strider for their 2-4 balance bike sessions.
My lads been using a Puky since his feet touched the floor (21 months ish). Bought it 2nd hand for under £30 of eBay, it's v well made and even takes my 12 st, almost...
Anybody tries a Stompy off eBay? £45 with a back brake.
I would recommend the Isla Bike Rothan as well. I know it is slightly outside your budget but when I compare by sons against other balance bikes you can see why it is a bit more. They are better built and better proportioned than any of the others I have seen.
Ours has lasted well and my son now 3 is doing 8km rides on his. Last weekend he did the Minotaur at Coed y Brenin and the week before we did the last half of the Follow the Dog at Cannock. Not sure some cheaper balance bikes would cope with that sort of use.
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You are getting a 3yr old to ride 8km? Are you not at risk of putting him off/pushing him? Its your hobby and it should just be fun for him at this stage.
I am not forcing him trust me! It is trying to get him to stop after 8km that is the problem.
He loves his bike and asks to ride it all the time. I don't believe in forcing kids to do things they don't want too.
I know but they are eager to please too. Its an over riding desire. I always take mine off the pump track before hes ready to leave.
We've got a Rothan. Can't fault it.
Not sure how you will get a meaningful answer as I doubt anyone on here has owned more than one balance bike.
Anyone gone for a Frog? They seem pretty good and are just within the OPs budget.
Can't fault the Decathlon one for £30
I got Evan a scoot for his 1st birthday, he is 4 in a couple of months and he still gets on it.
Rose has a strider. It is *very* light. They are as far as I know the only company that actually has a big community of riders and events, rather than just selling bikes, which is nice - they do regular racing and general fun sessions at various BMX tracks around the country. Very fun events too; the first race I've ever been to where the start has been delayed for one competitor to have a nappy change.
It is super duper light, which makes a massive difference when I am carrying it home up the hill from the park, and makes it easier to ride as a bonus. I think it is the lightest, and has the lowest standover of the 12" wheel ones, which made a difference when Rose was 18 months, but may be less important at 2. Friends have a cheap heavy one (Raleigh I think), which was much much harder for either their kid or ours to ride, Rose actually couldn't even pick it up, even though she could happily ride her strider for miles (Not sure how far the furthest she's done is, but she did a few miles of downhill under a ski-lift in Italy, and has done 2+ milers here). The solid (very lightweight) tyres work surprisingly well off road. It has nice footrests for the kid to put their feet up on, with grip tape on, which make it easy to scoot with feet right up for a long time.
I wouldn't bother with the brake, bit of a waste of time, stupid funny design of brake, and you don't really need it, even on big bmx tracks and things; once they're 3, you can get them a proper bike anyway, and in my experience braking is quite easy to learn at that point.
Friends have a Rothan. It is okay, bit heavier than the strider, not such a low saddle height, does have a proper brake if you're intending them to ride it for a long time. It has pneumatic tyres, but the solid tyres on the strider are fine, and it makes it heavier. Other than the brake, I don't think it is any better.
Both makes have really thought through making it toddler friendly, the Islabikes has taken a much more conventional tiny bike with no pedals approach, but got things like tiny grips and brake, whereas the strider, they've really thought about things like the footrests and the grips and the funny brake and the wheels in terms of making a toddler specific bike, but some of that makes the Strider better (the footrests), although the brake on the strider seems pretty stupid to me - Rose had the strength in her hands and skill to operate the small brake on her new pedal bike whereas she never really got the skill to operate the silly foot brake on the strider.
If the Ridgeback one is the Scoot, that's what I think we'll go for - looks like a decent mix of quality and not ridiculous price. Though would go for any decent second hand one at a good price.
Edit - although now tempted by a Strider instead!
Everytime our lad went off a kerb the bars spun, no matter what we did they still would move- prompt refund.Can't fault the Decathlon one for £30
Heres hora jnr this week on his Strider. Definitely no need for brakes.
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Please note the smile. He likes the helmet pulled very low over his eyes too - heaven knows why.
My daughter loves her Decathlon BTwin run-ride, for £35 it's been great. The brake stops her scuffing her shoes on the floor to stop and so saves money on shoe leather 🙂
YMMV ours was rubbish, hardly been used (don't ask, sore point) but it's wrecked.Yon decathlon one was great for our lad. Hes coming up for four now and still tears about on it. Got a back brake too. For the price you canny whack it.
Ridgeback scoot is what we got toppers Jnr. Got it 2nd hand but in perfect condition. Still in great condition. He went everywhere on it until he moved to a pedal bike at 3 1/2. Really pleased with it and would have happily paid full price for it. The adventure zoom is basically the same thing with different stickers on it. 2014 sees the I trod unction of a 14" wheel version too. Kidimoto are also bringing one out shortly (a metal one with a brake that is). Will retail for same price as scoot.
My grandson has been riding an Early Rider for the past few years (getting his first pedal bike off grandad for his birthday next week) - looks good and has stood up tolots of abuse well local woods,skate park etc.
He loved it and says he's keeping it forever !!!
Thanks for all the offers and recommendations.
LBS stocks Adventure so going to have a closer look at the Zooom rather than punt for something on line that we can't see beforehand.
My son found the Rothan too heavy and long at 2 years old. Refused to ride (but coveted it all the same). Finally got on it last weekend and was just off like a shot. He turns three in 6 weeks. So in our case the Rothan was a 3+ bike really. Others may experience more success younger. I guess our lad isn't the heftiest of boys.
Happy days now though!
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Garylake- great pics. He'll be looking back at those when hes 20-odd 8)
Reminds me of my favourite Mintsauce
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My son found the Rothan too heavy and long at 2 years old. Refused to ride (but coveted it all the same). Finally got on it last weekend and was just off like a shot. He turns three in 6 weeks. So in our case the Rothan was a 3+ bike really.
This was our experience too. My boy is now 4 but still loves the Rothan but is now starting to have a go on his pedal bike too (second hand Cnoc 16).
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My son found the Rothan too heavy and long at 2 years old. Refused to ride (but coveted it all the same). Finally got on it last weekend and was just off like a shot. He turns three in 6 weeks. So in our case the Rothan was a 3+ bike really. Others may experience more success younger. I guess our lad isn't the heftiest of boys.
Yeah, that's why we got the Strider, because it is lighter. Was pickable up by Rose about 3 months before she was 2, and easy enough to ride by 2, and she wasn't that big a kid. Feels noticeably lighter compared to any other ones I've picked up.
Most scootbikes do a good job. Key things to look for though are Tyres and tubes for the wheel option, my lad had solid close cell foam ones, hard wering but not much grip when wet. Also go for an option with a front brake, learning to stop with brakes is then done. when your young'un gets on a bike with pedals and brakes then you just have to teach them to pedal. Enjoy! 🙂
My nephews both had a Stompee and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Excellent quality and very durable. Great value too.
http://www.mafiabike.com/stompee-balance-bike/stompee.html
My nephews both had a Stompee and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Excellent quality and very durable. Great value too.
Looks great for the price, although 35cm seat height surely rules out a lot of 2 year olds - my one only hit 35cm inside leg with shoes at about 2 and 9 months.
Everytime our lad went off a kerb the bars spun, no matter what we did they still would move- prompt refund.
The model I have has stops to prevent this
I bought a FirstBike for ours;
My 3 year old is just moving onto a Hotrock 16 and his older sister has a Beinn 20 (bought through b r off here). I think you're better off spending more money on kids bikes as they get bigger and more complicated (the bikes, not the kids). We paid about £80 off Wiggle for the FirstBike about 4 years ago so they've gone up a bit in price although ours doesn't have a brake. However it appears to be near indestructible, you can leave it out in the rain unlike the wooden ones, it has a lowering kit for the rear axle and is really light and easy to carry when their little legs get tired.
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I may have also ridden it down the same slope a few times and it isn't bust or nuffink!
Likeabike Jumper.
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My nephews both had a Stompee and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Excellent quality and very durable. Great value too.
That Stompee looks bad assed!
Tell me a bit more about it if you can...weight, size of brake lever for little hands and is there steering restriction?
Looks great for the price, although 35cm seat height surely rules out a lot of 2 year olds - my one only hit 35cm inside leg with shoes at about 2 and 9 months.
Going to measure him up tonight, he's a tall lad...head buts me in the testicles every time he goes in for a cuddle 😯
for what its worth, the minimum saddle height on a scoot/zoom is 27cm
Cheers guys, was a very proud weekend!
Shortly after the picture of him tugging on my brake levers he called out to his Mum, "I'm telling Daddy how to do it!"
And so it begins…
Fantastic picsLikeabike Jumper.
Udderlet 1 is on a Specialized Hotwalk. Udderlet 2 is just getting to grips with his castoff Toddlebike, which was pretty instrumental in getting Udderlet 1 onto a balance bike and riding it, feet up, in under 20 minutes.
The Hotwalk is a brilliant little bike, but one thing we've found is that Udderlet 1 needs a brake. He's worn out a couple of pairs of boots over the last three months stopping, and is now jamming his heels into the back wheel. Given the chance, we'd have spent the extra on a Beinn. I think it was about another £15 or so at the time. We're ordering a Cnoc for him next week, as he's now three years and four months old. Plenty of life and adjustment left in the Hotwalk, but his riding ability has superseded the bike's ability to stop.
Don't underestimate the need for a brake of some sort - although they can bring their own problems, too.
Looks great for the price, although 35cm seat height surely rules out a lot of 2 year olds - my one only hit 35cm inside leg with shoes at about 2 and 9 months.
Not sure but I think my nephews had them from about 1 1/2 onwards... I might be wrong though, probably best to measure.
That Stompee looks bad assed!Tell me a bit more about it if you can...weight, size of brake lever for little hands and is there steering restriction?
They look great don't they! I'm not sure re weight, but I can remember being impressed at the weight/quality (rims are alloy etc). Brake levers were fine for the boys, they had them from about 1 1/2 if I remember rightly. They also have a decent V-Brake too which is very effective, unlike most others which have cheap bmx brakes. Certainly hasn't been a bad start for them.
Just hit the buy button on a strider here for blobby jr. So what's the best way to get him started on it? He's 18 months so I'm guessing it'll just be up and down the hallway initially and see what he thinks before he progresses to drop offs and gap jumps 🙂 I'll have to try not to be too disappointed if he shows no interest!
I took Jamesyjnr to the LBS for a look at the Zooom on Saturday. None in stock however he had a seat on a Cubie and was off with no tuition at all!
Needless to say a Zooom is now on order and I'm worried for my Strava segments...
This just turned up today...
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To say I am super excited is a bit of an understatement. I'm sure Blobby Jr will be underwhelmed and just want his tea when he gets home!