Our lad's coming up to two years old, so thoughts turn to the first bike. Are these bikes with no drive train – balance bikes? – any good? We didn't have them in my day so I'm not not sure what they do. Is it a worthwhile purchase to get the bairn used to two wheels? Or is it a better bet to get a bike with stabilisers, or even a trike with stabilisers?

Just got my wee guy a balance bike 1.5 years, the thinking goes, as i understand it, that stabilisers teach them bad habits from the start – like leaning out on and depending on the stabilisers when going round corners. Things which have to be un-taught when learning to cycle without them.
I also like the idea of him being able to scoot along with his feet, lifting them up when he feels comfortable and putting them down when he gets a fright.

balance bike for sure.

my oldest lad started on a like-a-bike at 2. it teaches them balance from an early age and makes then more mobile sooner.

avoid stabilisers and get an islabike rothan. my boy turned two this week but has been riding his for atleast 6 month and will ride all day if i let him but my daughter got into stabilisers and is a lazy little sod now.

Ridgeback scoot

We got my daughter one of these when she was 2 and within 2 months she could balance and coast along on it. It definitely helped her to learn how to balance and corner a lot quicker than my eldest.

Its very light and comes with a short and long seat post too.

A Scoot here too, has easily been his most used toy since he got it. Makes going for walks so much easier, he whizzes along on that instead of being dragged/cajoled/carried without it. Definitely money well spent.

im not a dad but those scoot things look the best bet, for evidence i refer to the second pic on the below thread

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-us-your-start-them-young-pics

that is big jump for one so little!

Yep balance bikes are the way to go. I went for a likeabike and it is worth the extra money IMO. Very light, steering limiter which means no jack knifing, rear sus good for kerbs and off roading. Cameron went everywhere on his with the help of a climbing sling round the bars to tow him on the steeper hills and a wee rucksack with a handle to lift him clear when it all got a bit tricky on the downs. He rode a lot of the trails I ride including Dumyat, many hours of fun had.
Moving to a pedal bike took 5 mins and he was off at just under 4.
A couple of pics –

Have to admit that the pic in the other thread is photoshopped, I woz there!

We got a Rothan for our lad, at 18 months, he was riding a trike, but if it gets bumpy they are unstable. It didn't take him long to be riding down hill with his feet in the air. I didn't really understand how they worked when we got it, I though that it would always be feet on the ground walking or running, I was amazed and proud when he started zooming along balancing and not touching the ground.

i have a scoot for my little lady but the lad has just turned one and is always trying to get on it but its too big for him. Is there a smaller one at all. Maybe one of the wooden ones . Sorry for the hijack 🙂

Definitely some sort of balance bike. We bought our lad a Rothan just before he was 2. Was a few months before he took to it but there was no stopping him when he did. Moved on to pedals last Christmas and is very good on it :lol:. Our 2yo girl now has the Rothan.

+1 for Rothan. Worked brilliantly for our little girl.

The Yorkshireman in me is wondering why not get a pedal bike with adjustable seatpost and just take the cranks & BB off; then refit when ready.

Anybody tried it?

I was in Shitefords just now and they had a balance bike, marked 3yrs and upwards – put the wee man on it and it was miles too big. So I think you must need an especially low seat position if you're looking at one for a toddler. So a reg kids bike won't fit, even with seat set completely down.

A toddlers limbs are really short when you think about it, compared to their long trunks and enormous heids.

Darn it – was worth a try!