[Closed] What balance bike or other wheeled contraption for my two year old?

Islabikes Rothan. A wee bit spendy, but very strong residuals on eBay so works out cheap.

http://www.ridestomp.com/stompeevid/stompeevid.html
Sorry don't know how to do the linky thing.Our three and a half year old has one of these and loves it. Just about to get another one for number two son.

My two year old's riding an Early Rider. He loves it!

IslaBike every time. Proper little bike, really well made (would take your weight if your legs were small enough), huge height adjustment and a brake.

Good resale value too. Buy 2nd hand, use, sell.
Let some other mug pay for them new.

[img] [/img]

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/kids-on-bikes-1

Some great looking options there, I can't wait to see his face! 😀

Depends how big he is, Jimmy was quite small & started at 18 months but the only bike that small was a TinyBike.

He moved onto a Hotwalk wich is a lot more stable.

Isla does look great & resales are high, but I went for the Hotwalk so I could do the go into bike shop & leave with bike bit.

[img] ?t=1350026079[/img]

Decathlon- £29. I built it and it is good quality. I really really don't understand why anyone would pay £100 for a first bicycle, its chattering-classes madness 😉

Must admit the Stompee is looking favourite at the moment for £55 delivered. That said the Hotwalk looks Demo8tastic!Although it has to be blue for my son, fussy bugger!

My lad was on a Halfords bumble bee bike. With stabilisers.

Before he was 3 he was off the stabilisers and doing

[IMG] [/IMG]

I got my little guy a Haro Z10 an I can't get him of it 🙂

Hora, Jimmy has 5 bikes now ranging from a £2 dump find to the £100 Hotwalk, they are spread between mine & my parents house....

The search continues for the perfect bike. 😉

My boys 22 months old and has just started riding on a Pukey. It seems well built an v light. I've adjusted everything to it's lowest setting.

Picked up a Hotwalk for jnr monkey when he was about 20 months but he was too small for it. Now, nearly months on he's still about a cm from sitting comfortably. During that time he's taken to riding his scooter, tractor and trike so much that he's not interested in giving the Hotwalk a whirl 🙁 Will persevere and hopefully he'll take to it and find the whole balancing thing really cool - he should because he's great on a scooter.

EDIT: the Hotwalk really is a lovely piece of kit - a PROPER little bike!

Currently got a Zooom and a Strider. The Zooom is very heavy for an aluminium frame. The Strider is brilliant, very light steel frame, the seat goes really low so they can get on it before they are 2.

I really really don't understand why anyone would pay £100 for a first bicycle, its chattering-classes madness

Because you sell it for £80 on ebay when they've outgrown it. Cost of ownership: 20 quid. Bargain-tastic! 😀

Islabikes are the best built bikes you'll ever own. Go for

[img] [/img]

They've a really low standover, so they're soon flying along

+1 for a Strider

My youngest has had a Strider since he was 2 and my eldest used a 12" bike with stabilisers from 2.5.

See what works for your kid, try out a few in shops?

WE got a Strider for JuniorP as it was the smallest standover (we could find at the time) and he got on well with it.
Upgraded to an Earlyrider classic as a)he won it at the BigBikeBash, and b)it's bigger, faster, and has pneumatic tyres which are probably the best bit about it!
He loved them both.
Currently eyeing up either an Early Rider Belter, or an Islabikes Knoc 14..

DrP

[url=

of these?[/url]

Rothan

Loving the vid DrP!

I really really don't understand why anyone would pay £100 for a first bicycle, its chattering-classes madness

What binners said.
They are really well built bikes. Just look how nice that Rothan is in the pic.

We bought ours second hand off ebay - in absolutely perfect nick.

When #1 has finished with it it will be passed to (currently theoretical) #2. When they are done it will be resold for pretty much exactly what I originally paid for it.

Nothing wrong with spending money on quality - especially when you get it all back at resale.

The bonus with an Islabike is that if you keep one long enough Islabike will put their new prices up and the s/h value of yours will increase in line - I reckon it's actually possible to make a profit on a s/h one.

Because you sell it for £80 on ebay when they've outgrown it

When you've taken off the fees, Paypal bother and contributed to ebay paying their taxes on sales made in the UK to elsewhere? Then theres the hassle of posting it etc. Sorry I think the Decathlon bike is well made. I don't buy into the milking the chattering classes ethos. Yes its your money and kids but will junior be having a Ti or carbon bike before they are 10?

Mine will... & Probably a KTM, or whatever the hot auto race bike of the day is. So daddy can go & race in the adult class on his RM. 🙂

When you've taken off the fees, Paypal bother and contributed to ebay paying their taxes on sales made in the UK to elsewhere?

I paid £100, brand new for Lily's Rothan. She used it for 18 months, then I sold it on the classifieds on here for £80 to someone who came and picked it up.

Did you factor in the cost of your petrol driving to Decathalon? 🙄

You are a fool!

[img] [/img]

My son does seem to be quite destructive with his toys, cheaper may be the way to go I think.

yours for only US$2000:
[img] [/img]

But the Jeff Jones ti trike is really what all the rest in the neighbourhood are getting this year. 😉

That would be a Lynskey ti tricycle.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lynskey-Titanium-Tricycle-/170921304598?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item27cbb42216

will junior be having a Ti or carbon bike before they are 10

Yeah... I've sent both their measurements to a bloke who does custom Ti frames in China 😆

When you've taken off the fees

Okay, so maybe total cost of ownership will be around a ten or fifteen quid per child? Sorry I don't see what the issue is.

Paypal bother and contributed to ebay paying their taxes on sales made in the UK to elsewhere?

?? Not sure what "Paypal bother" is. If you object to eBay then there are plenty of other classifieds available including this here forum.

Then theres the hassle of posting it etc

Oh yeah - major hassle that 😀 if you really can't be bothered then you just mark it as collection only, job done.

Sorry I think the Decathlon bike is well made.

Hmmm...

[img] [/img]

versus

[img] [/img]

The Decathlon one looks alright - but I think it's a false economy. You could have the Isla for the same overall cost and its a much nicer bike.
(without the Harley style rake as well!)

I don't buy into the milking the chattering classes ethos.

Good plan. Milk wouldn't go well with that chip. 😀

I've seen the islabikes one and the Strider, and I personally thought the Strider was better, hence we got it. Lighter, lower standover, really well designed (little things like grips, the funny brake that is actually usable by a 2 year old, the very light wheels, lovely smooth frame with no bits to catch clothes on, designed to be easy for them to pick up off the floor)

They also run tons of balance bike events (weekly in some cities) and seem like they are building a real community around their bikes. Which is nice.

Probably going Islabikes for first pedal bike, but I didn't think the Rothan was as good as the Strider as a balance bike. Obviously I'm biased now, as we have one though.

Yeah we looked at Strider too (as well as the Specialized). They are very nice too.

[img] [/img]
http://www.stridersports.co.uk

Like all the extras available for it too. Thing that put me off the Strider was [url= http://www.stridersports.co.uk/products/Optional-Foot-Brake-%28ST2-%26-ST3%29.html ]that weird foot brake[/url]. For me the advantage of the Isla is it comes with a [i]real[/i] brake so they can learn to use that before they have pedals to worry about. A foot brake seemed to be teaching them the wrong thing to me.

Plus the Strider cost more and there weren't any on eBay 😀

Actually you may be onto something Hora. Just looking at the head angle on that Decathalon one, I reckon you'd ultimately graduate from that onto a Hooligan Hardtail with a set of 180 forks on it.

Are you going to be living your own life through your offspring? 😉

hora - Member

Decathlon- £29. I built it and it is good quality. I really really don't understand why anyone would pay £100 for a first bicycle, its chattering-classes madness

Worryingly, [i]I agree with [s]Nick[/s] Hora[/i] -on this one. My daughter has the Run Ride. Its not 'flash', but it is certainly good enough for the job and she loves it. (Against my instruction, she rode down some steps in the park the other day -I was actually very proud).

It has also taken my weight when I've knelt on the seat to demonstrate the finer points of balance bike riding skillz.
It'll hopefully also be used for child No.2.

30quid up front or 100quid+ with the [i]possibility[/i] of selling on for 80quid in a few years' time?
-Money now is worth more than money in the future.

Admittedly, turning up and getting a Decathlon bike out of Dad's Mondeo would be embarrassing to the [i]Isla bike & Audi Set[/i] (like Binners 😉 ), but I've managed with unfashionable bikes and cars for a while now....

The steering rake angle on ours is not as slack as shown on that photo.

It is like this:
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]<

I agree on the brake - ours had no problem learning to use that at the point they needed a brake (which was before they were 3 for both my kids). Before they sussed that they just used the old-fashioned form of foot brake. It says on the Strider website "just gripping the bar is a handful for a 2-3 year old hand... their fingers are not long or strong enough to pull a brake lever" which is basically a lie based on the evidence of my kids. What's more, the whole point of a balance bike is preparing kids for riding a real bike - they make a big deal of that on the Strider website - so why not also teach them how to use a handbrake at that point? Also nothing wrong with the grips on a Rothan, nor is there anything more to catch clothing on, and I'm not impressed with the solid tyres on the Strider - proper air ones have to give a better ride, and despite what it says there I've never had to fix a puncture on ours, and can't remember the last time I even bothered to pump them up.

Of course I am biased as I have a Rothan 😉

30quid up front or 100quid+ with the possibility of selling on for 80quid in a few years' time?

You're right - it is only a possibility. You might well get more than that back. I presume you're also placing no utility on the functional advantages of a Rothan?

(I don't work for Islabikes or have any financial stake in them - well so long as you don't count my investment of 4 of them sat in my garage 😉 )

I presume you're also placing no utility on the functional advantages of a Rothan?

Each to their own, the Run Ride is light and smooth enough for the task.
I'm not particularly passionate about the issue!

As somebody, ahem, once said,
"It's not about the bike", although I'm not intending to embark on a doping programme.

Stompee ticks all the boxes still, pneumatic tyres, proper brake, pretty light and two for the price of one trendy Islabike. 🙂

30quid up front or 100quid+ with the possibility of selling on for 80quid in a few years' time?

Paid £80 for our Rothan. I'll probably sell it for the same.

Even if I can't sell it on for some reason (e.g. stolen or hit by a meteor, because it certainly isn't going to break any time soon) then we're still only talking about spending an extra £25 per child for a bike that is markedly better and hopefully gives a really positive first experience of being on a bike.

I can live with that.

Stompee ticks all the boxes still

Yep, nice. Higher standover and more limited size range though.
Stompee website says the seat adjustment is good for 35-45cm.

The Rothan can run from 30-47cm.

You wouldnt think that balance bikes could cause such a bitchfight would you..

To lighten the mood... come on lets see them kids in action. 🙂

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I love this one:

Jack rides a LIKEaBIKE Jumper:
[img] [/img]
http://www.likeabike.co.uk/likeabike_models/likeabike_jumper.php

"Oarsum buddy" 😀

You wouldnt think that balance bikes could cause such a bitchfight would you..

And Binners..... before buying the bike I spent a good 30mins outside shooting the three basket ball hoops. Mrshora was bloody angry and came outside to drag me in...so yes it was worth the petrol to Decathlon

I'm also going to buy a Basket ball hoop.

Again, I'm agreeing with Hora..... Up to a point.

tinsy - Member

You wouldnt think that balance bikes could cause such a bitchfight would you..

It's the Cold War by proxy.

Or possibly the expensive German car vs the non-expensive one
Or the proletariat v. the bourgeoisie.

Well... if there were basketball hoops, then thats an entirely different matter. Also... did you manage to get out of there without buying yourself more stuff you don't need? 😉

Oh.... and remember.....

[img] [/img]

😀

I bought a 2 year old Rothan off a mate for £50. It’s very well made and my daughter absolutely loves it.

I wouldn't bother selling bikes, toys etc etc on.

LOL. This kind of undermines your [i]"it's too expensive"[/i] argument a bit as you clearly have money to burn.

LOL. This kind of undermines your "it's too expensive" argument a bit as you clearly have money to burn.

Yetiman - Member

I bought a 2 year old Rothan off a mate for £50. It’s very well made and my daughter absolutely loves it.

Somebody took a serious hit on their, at least 80quid, re-sale there 😉

You wouldnt think that balance bikes could cause such a bitchfight would you

The OP asked for some advice and opinions and he got them (in spades from some) and will hopefully be able to make an informed decision. The responses on this thread are pretty much identical to those I got when I asked the same question a year ago. Most were useful, some not so.

I ended up going for a new Rothan because:

1) Two boys close together so it'll get well used
2) A friend had one and it was very well built (I didn't look at many)
3) Low standover height so could get him started aged 2
4) Light, so easier for the missus to carry around when they inevitably get sidetracked whilst out
5) They were going second hand for not far off new prices
6) I expect most on here have the most expensive bike they can afford, why would you quibble over your childs first ever bike costing the same as a new stem and seatpost?

Number 1 son only started showing much interest in it in the last few months (he's 3 next month) but is now pretty quick and is getting the hang of the brake. Number 2 son (2 in December) is moving around on it already and often fighting his brother over it - we might have to get another soon. When we've got together with friends who have cheaper bikes they all end up arguing over the Rothan - speaks volumes to me.

OP - whatever you decide I'm sure it'll go down well. I'd highly recommend a bell to get the initial interest up!

OP - whatever you decide I'm sure it'll go down well. I'd highly recommend a bell to get the initial interest up!

I agree. A ladybird shaped bell did wonders.

Money to burn? We spent £125 on a CityJogger pushchair/pram- IMO one of the best products for ease of use from birth to 3yrs IMO! Some people spend upto a grand on a travel system as you can resell it- thats ones' personal choice. He seems to life dismantling them as well and it'll live outside at the side of the house. I just don't fancy the hassle of buying/selling his stuff on. Once bitten is too much for me.

he keeps dismantling stuff? I wonder who he gets that off? Has he stripped down his first set of forks yet? 😉

A bell would certainly appeal to him and may stop him shouting'BIKE' whenever he passes one.

I just don't fancy the hassle of buying/selling his stuff on.

Wait.. so you're just going to bin a £125 travel system because you can't be bothered with the "hassle" of selling it and you're protesting that you are actually quite careful with money? 😆

Which is best for small-for-their age kids?

Toddle North is now 2 and a couple of months. She's v small for her age, so can;t yet reach the pedals on her Little Tikes trike.

Will the Rothan be too big? What's smaller?

GrahamS - whatever you do, don't try and work out what bizarre process occurs between Horas ears

That way lies madness! 😉

ourmaninthenorth - the standover on the Rothan is really low, as you can see from the piccies. I don't think there's anything lower. If it doesn't fit her straight away, it won't be long

cheers binners. will investigate.

GrahamS - MrsH doesn't drive so its been heavily used, shopping, public transport- daily push to and back from the Nursery and it lives outside in all weathers all year round as I don't like the thing inside.. So I imagine it wouldn't be too saleable 😉

[url= http://www.islabikes.com/bike_pages/pdfs/sizes/Size_Chart12AW_web-b.pdf ]Islabike site [/url]states minimum inside leg of 30cm for the Rothan.

IIRC that's pretty accurate.

Anyone want to buy a Rothan for £65 collected. A bit scratched but in full working order. Need to give it a wash and put it on the classifieds. Even comes with a change of tyres for those pushing their kids to be either a roady or mtber.

Anyone want to buy a Rothan for £65 collected.

Smallest one we found was the Puky with tiny wheels (no brake - feet are fine for stopping). Half the price of the Rothan but he was wasn't two before he was scooting round on it with pride. He's no lanky sprog either.

It's light enough for you to cart around when child is not on board and the change to a Hotrock 12 with back pedal brake happened instinctively over a week or so and maybe 2 or 3 rides with stabilizers.

Aristotle. Okay its your for £80.

ajc - where are you?

tonyd - I'll measure her later. Pretty sure she's not at 30cm yet (littler legs than body, just like her shortarse dad)

tasso - I'll have a look at that too.

Toddle North is now 2 and a couple of months. She's v small for her age, so can;t yet reach the pedals on her Little Tikes trike.

Will the Rothan be too big? What's smaller?

We had similar question (at 18 months though!), and the Strider was slightly smaller standover (28cm I think). It was accurate, she was just on it at 18 months. There are ones with smaller wheels that are quite a bit shorter though.

As for the whole expensive vs cheap - having gone out riding with two quite small kids, one with an 80 quid strider bike, and one with a 'raleigh strider' (which is still fifty quid), there was a massive difference in weight when carting it about, which you do a lot of when they're small, plus the strider bike they could pick up, whereas the raleigh was too heavy. Oh and some (but not all I think) of the cheap ones are poorly designed with things like the massive wide handlebars on the Raleigh Strider, which makes them very difficult to steer, particularly round tight corners or round berms and on off road stuff.

Oh and shoes for brakes is great, but going to get expensive where we live - her shoes are already pretty worn down from coming back from childminders down a street which is so steep it has handrails on the pavement. She's just starting to get braking sorted now at about 2 and a half, but still prefers shoes for anything steep.

Rothan for my little one. I paid full price (GASP!) 😀

Given how easy it is to spend more money on a new chain, cassette and rings every few months, I reckon a complete bike for the little one that she loves using is a bit of a bargain. Actually, it's pretty much the same as a full tank of diesel. Eeeeek! I know which I'd rather be dropping the card on.

I also bought a Chariot Trailer too which at the time wasn't cheap but it's proven it's worth in two years of use. Again, the cost may offend some folk but I'm happy with the amount of use it has gotten and the wee one is happy in it so why not eh? Someone has to try and prop up the UK economy 😆

Oh and

http://www.unicycle.uk.com/12-hoppley-beginner-unicycle.html

can cut down to 35cm = short enough for a 2.5 year old! Not that I expect her to actually learn to ride it while she's two, but she quite likes pedalling round the front room while I hold the seat!

Managed to pick up a 2nd hand Rothan (the first brakeless ones) for £40, very tidy and we'll see how he gets on without the brake.

He's been on a Toddlebike up until now (from 12 months old), which while only £20, and to be fair he's adored it too, has been a bit crap. By the time he properly 'got it' he'd effectively outgrown it. The promo stuff shows a lot of much bigger children riding them but the seat isn't much lower than the lowest on the Rothan and the plastic wheels are a battle to move over rougher tarmac.

Still, let's see how he gets on with the Rothan before I get too critical!

her shoes are already pretty worn down from coming back from childminders down a street which is so steep it has handrails on the pavement.

Eeek!

If I can hijack this informative thread briefly: how do you cope with her on hills joe? Do you run along in front/behind? Or just teach well and hope?
Interested cos our street isn't nearly so steep but our little un (2.5yo) has still had a few nasty spills on it. All part of learning I know, but I don't want it to put her off so I tend to carry the bike down to the park where it's flatter.

If I can hijack this informative thread briefly: how do you cope with her on hills joe? Do you run along in front/behind? Or just teach well and hope?

On roads, running shoes on, and I usually stay quite close to her.

On the really steep hill, I started off by holding the bars while she zoomed down it, and sometimes do still if she's tired or something. Nowadays she'll usually go down it herself, quite gingerly on the really steep bit, then shouting 'zoom' on the slightly less steep rest. I've taught her to stop at the side streets and only cross when I say, and to stop any time I say to stop.

I can just about run fast enough to stay in front, so traffic on cross streets permitting, I'll just run in front and tell her it's okay to cross, so she just keeps going all down the hill (unless there's something shiny and interesting like a slug, in which case we stop for a while).

I also bought a Chariot Trailer too which at the time wasn't cheap but it's proven it's worth in two years of use. Again, the cost may offend some folk but I'm happy with the amount of use it has gotten and the wee one is happy in it so why not eh? Someone has to try and prop up the UK economy

Adding up Rose's balance bike and her (Croozer) trailer, they cost about the same as my mountain bike. Which is quite a painful thought, but I'm still glad we got them. I reckon they've had more use in terms of hours than my mountain bike over the last couple of years - we use the trailer an awful lot, and she rides her bike most days, whereas I mostly ride the road bike.

Sounds cool joe. (And you sound like a properly fun dad).

I tried holding the bars, but she tends to get a bit miffed and shout [i]"NO daddy! I want do it all by'self!"[/i]... then promptly falls over 😕 Ah well. These days I try to just stick near enough to catch her or pick her up 😀

Oh, FFS. Considering the amount of money you end up spending on your kids, the cost of a balance bike is neither here nor there, especially if you can re-sell it.

Given that I've managed to buy a second hand pram, cot and croozer, I reckon I can cope with the idea of buying and selling an Islabike.

Ransos - You fool!!! Are you mad?!!!! Don't you realise that boxing up and posting a two-wheeled object about a foot long is faaaaaaaaaar beyond the capabilities of most mortals!!!!

*wonders how many full sized bike frames and sets of forks, hora has ever bought, sold, and posted?*

Ransos - You fool!!! Are you mad?!!!! Don't you realise that boxing up and posting a two-wheeled object about a foot long is faaaaaaaaaar beyond the capabilities of most mortals!!!!

😀

I even managed to get her to nursery this morning. In the croozer. On my own. If we're really lucky, I may even manage to get her home again.

For those having trouble keeping up with toddlers on balance bikes, I reccomend a stunt scooter.. Just spend a lot less on the balance bike, its only a child, & get yourself a decent stunt scooter, £200 should get something nice like my MGP. 🙂

They are rubbish offroad though.

Oh, FFS. Considering the amount of money you end up spending on your kids, the cost of a balance bike is neither here nor there, especially if you can re-sell it.

The expense is to come....Our duty is to give our sons and daughters exposure to as many hobbies and interests as possible isn't it. If he likes Karts I'll have to fund that etc etc.

Ideally though I want hora junior to get into guitars and surfing 😆

I also bought a Chariot Trailer too which at the time wasn't cheap but it's proven it's worth in two years of use.

Me too - though we've now had ours 5 years. Multi functional as well - can be used as a pushchair (we're relying on that if we need one now, as we've already sold our other chattering-class essential - a Phil&Teds), and here's another way to use one:

[img] [/img]

A quick check on ebay suggests that with the price of new ones having gone up so much since we got ours, we'll get most of what we paid for that back too.

Our duty is to give our sons and daughters exposure to as many hobbies and interests as possible isn't it. If he likes Karts I'll have to fund that etc etc.

Worringly there are a lot of horse stables and riding schools round here and MiniS has already expressed an interest.. 😯

Ideally though I want hora junior to get into guitars and surfing

Are you trying to breed a replacement for SurfMat?

Ideally though I want hora junior to get into guitars and surfing

You fool! Whatever you push them towards, they rebel against. If you're not careful he's going to end up being into boys and cross-stitch 😆