Anyone recommend a kid's pedal-free balance bike? I'd like to get my 20 month old on a "real" bike. He's pretty bold and adventurous, but I'm not sure what to go for.

Get a proper bike that fits him and take the cranks off it.

Get a proper bike that fits him and take the cranks off it.

+1

Then when he is ready, pop them back on and away he goes. 😀

If he's 20 months then thats what I'd do – my daughter has been using her Islabike since she was 12 months old – on and off but with hindsight I would have waited another 6 months and just wipped the cranks off a slightly bigger bike

"Get a proper bike that fits him and take the cranks off it."

Yup, done that with three kids, take the pedals and spanner with you to the park, once they've got their balance, sling the pedals back on quick whilst they're not looking.

I've found the islabikes rothan perfect for my 2 year old, and thought bb too high on the smallest 'normal' bike I looked at to imagine it working without the cranks, my lad's legs would have been too short.

You'll struggle to find a proper bike that will fit a 20-month old.
(Thump has a Islabike Cnoc 14 – way too big for Thud to even think about scooting on)

Thud is 24mths (and tall) – he's just getting the hang of an Adams Norco.
Solid tyres means no punctures and they're too young to use brakes -that's what welly boot soles are for.

Islabike and Like-a-bike are two other brands to look at.

http://www.pukybikes.co.uk/learner-bikes/index.htm

OK, so next question is, where do I find a bike small enough for a 20 month old who isn't exactly enormous?

To be fair my daughter was then about the hieght of an avergae three year old (or seemed it) so I take it back – perhaps a balance bike is a good bet – in which case I can only reommend a Rotah – which is what she has

I noticed halfords are now doing balance bikes for £45!

Miss Hairychested has a balance bike from Early Rider and loves it. She also has a regular bike, a tiny Spesh, but prefers the lack of weight of the ER. I bought in from WizzBikes in Brentford who recently became a part of, apologies for saying it here, Evans.

The islabikes rothan is great. Beautifully designed and built, and if you helitape it will fetch £75+ when the time comes to pass it on. Strong enough for the odd Ill-judged stunt too.

OK, so next question is, where do I find a bike small enough for a 20 month old who isn't exactly enormous?

okay…scrap the Puky Bike…still a little too big for our 2 year old

specialized hotwalk?

They tend to have an inside leg of about 13 inches, I got the lowest one I could find locally the specialized at about 12 inches, my baby is 3 and is only just tall enough touch the ground.. Measure the old inside leg..

The puky is 29cm which is nearly 12 inches.

As bol has said above, Isla Bike Rothan.

We got our secondhand for a decent price for our two year old son. Tried a wooden one from Ebay for my Daughter but the foam covered wooden seat and other limitations seemed to put her off.

Our Son loves his Rothan and whilst he's still mainly walking around with it between his legs is showign signs of wanting to sit down and scoot after big Sis.

They're simple, no brakes or cranks to get in the way. When he reaches the limitations of it that's when a proper bike can be introduced.

I just got my son a Halfords £45 one for his second birthday (which is on Thursday so I can't comment on him using it yet) – it's good for compared to the other more expensive ones I've seen, doesn't seem heavy and has the features that I'm told are important – steering lock stop (to stop the bars turning too far), back brake and plenty of seatpost adjustability. Size wasn't really a worry though – my son takes after me so is about the same height as most 3+ year olds…

he's got a 28cm inside leg, so some of these might still be too big

Isla bikes Rothan. I got the little un one for christmas. She absolutely loves it!!! On taking delivery of it I looked over it and wished the bikes I've owned were as well built as that. Absolutely lovely. A quality piece of kit

And when they've outgrown it you'll get a good price for it on the classifieds here

I got one of these at christmas

It has already taught my eldest son how to ride and now my 2 year old is pretty much ready for a real bike…

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We got a Firstbike off Wiggle with an axle lowering kit for our daughter when she was 20 months old. It may cost more than some of the other bikes mentioned here (apart from the wooden ones) but it is very light and because of the lowering kit, can be used by smaller kids, like our own.

I do like the look of the First Bikes.

dont forget the diamondback scoot's – cheaper than the speicalized, and my littlun was zooming around on his at age 2 – and more importantly its got a brake – which is very handy as soon as he realizes that downhill means you can put your feet on the down tube and go 'vroom'… He now rides off road more than me…!

I can't find the Diamondback Scoot on their website. Any more clues Bigdawg?

sorry it was ridgeback not diamondback – loads of shops had them I think I got a 2008 bike for about £20 off last september – even though its identical to this years.

Would post pics of little loony dawg flying down hills on his but never worked out how to post pics…

The only problem with the Halfords one is height as the seat does not go down very low. Having a low seat meant he could start riding the bike early.

My little boy been using one of the wooden early rider bike since he was 2 & 1/2…he rides it to nursery every day and can do 4-5 miles on it with me. It needs some checks to ensure everything is tight but its gets some abuse.

He has an Isla Pedal bike to move onto next as soon as he can sit on it comfortably.

Early Rider

Spec Hotwalk goes fairly low and should be easy to get a try on.

Supports an adults weight too 😉

41-47cm saddle height for the Halfords one – not really sure how that equates to height though.

My eldest learnt on an Islabikes Rothan. Great little bit of kit. Can't really comment on sizing as my boy was nearer to 3 when he started out with it. Check out the Islabikes website for recommended heights – think they give recommended height and leg lengths for all the models.

The Islabike is a touch too big at the moment but give it another few weeks and should be OK. With a 28cm inside leg I wouldn't want anything with a saddle height bigger than 30cm at its minimum, otherwise the little fella won't see any use this side of Xmas.

I couldn't find anything with a lower saddle height than the Rothan (which is 30cm), but that was over 3 years ago now, so others might be available now.

He started on it at 20 months, and he's never been that tall. He moved onto a Cnoc14 at just over 3. That was the lowest saddle height bike I could find at the time too, and he was just big enough. So we got 18 months use out of the Rothan, he could ride the Cnoc within seconds of getting on it, and he still enjoys scooting about on the Rothan occasionally.

So I'd definitely recommend getting a balance bike first – they're the right size and nice and light, and no extras (brakes etc) to confuse. You'll definitely get your money's worth out of it getting it this early.

Our Rothan has a second rider on the way, and I'm trying to work out how low a standover 20in wheeled bike I can find for it's first rider – that's still looking like an Islabike too, but he's not quite there yet (he's 5 now).

i fancy making a wooden one,, for my friends child,, are there any plans around?

I'm another dad looking to buy a balance bike. This would be for the yoof's second birthday.
Sizing seems fine for Puky LRM, Spec Hotwalk and possibly Rothan but can anyone suggest what age, height or inside leg measurement I could expect before he outgrows one of these?

my boy loves his rothan….http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3410/4627501288_4d375df7f9_b.jpg

cant get him off the bloody thing, even in the house. good service from the supplier too – andthe bike is lovely (very jealous – beat the raleigh elf and then strika I had with stabilisers for my 1st bikes)

Islabike and likeabike are far too expensive for what they are IMO, I bought a £10 aldi likeabike rip off around 6years ago and it has been used most days by something like 10-15 different kids. (it's also adjustable at the wheel axles and seat so can fit 2-6yr olds).

think you can buy them on Ebay (you certainly used to be able to)

Doubt the saddle on a bigger bike will go low enough for a 20 month old to gain any confidence.
Take a trip over to Islabikes shop near Ludlow, a chance to try them out & the staff are great. They even have a test-track. Shame you've missed their fun day a few months ago. My pair came on loads after an hour blasting around with all the other kids.
And Rothans always sell on for a decent price.

to random and still tortoise….I am soon selling a ridgeback scoot as my lad is turning 4 and progressing to a pedal bike. The ridgeback scoot is great, chunky aluminuim frame that is really light so it can be manhandled by the nipper. Mine is in excellent condition with the hairs still on the tyres. It also has a spare long seatpost so it is fairly versatile. rear wheel v brake and all I have done to it is put a lizard skins patch of the seatpost where the brake cable passes to stop it rubbing. In a nice bright blue. Let me know if you might be interested.

Just thought I'd post a bit of a follow up – the Halfords bike I mentioned above (and pic below) is too big for my son as standard and he's a 99.6th percentile height giant (so 2 years old but similar height to most 3 year olds) – basically he can sit on hit but his toes JUST touch the ground – a bit like if he was riding a proper bike – which is obviously no good as a starter balance bike.

So looks like I'll be doing some mods to shorten it slightly so he fits it now.

My boy has particularly short legs so I had to go for something with a really low seat so I chose a Stryder Prebike which (at the time) was one of the only ones that fit him due to his diminutive inside leg (Seat goes down to 11" from floor)(islabike, for example would have been just a bit too big)

Got it for his 2nd birthday in April and he is going well; just starting to pick his legs up and freewheel! 🙂