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

Are you suggesting hora encourages hora junior towards boys and cross stitch? Boy, that could backfire!

My son is riding a Rothan and compared to other balance bikes it is definately worth the money. Don’t think a lot of other balance bikes would survive what my 2 year old puts his through. It has been on various greens and blues as well as a section of red as well.

Here is a vid of him on the local bmx track –
Islabike Rothan

That could backfire. Binners I will ask him to follow me and you…

So hopefully he wont be a pastey looking, ale drinking lover of middlin stuff.

Rothan here. No question.
But we’ll never sell. It’s taught both our kids to ride without stabilisers before they were 3.
Now it’s going out on loan to friends and family. All it will cost them is a photo of their child using it, so we can build up an album of kids that have learnt to ride on it.
I genuinely have hopes that it will be used until I’m a grandparent…

No one has mentioned carbon fiber or XTR yet! Or a dropper seatpost! Disappointing!

Lister, what a great idea and viewpoint. Good to read amongst all the strong feelings over not much really on this thread.

Two wheels, it’s all good.

danbarker, great vid there, looks like he is loving it! 🙂

Both of mine used a small standard bike with the crank arms simply removed – then just put back on when ready.
Funnily enough they were both off them and onto better bikes within a very short space of time leaving me with 2 bike sized obstacles in the garage to sell…..

Hi.. just to add to this, my little girl (now 3 1/2) destroyed her Decathlon bike – smashed back wheel and broken brake within 3 months, she’s now had a Rothan for 14 months and it is brilliant, she can regualrly do 3/4 miles and it will do her brother too and then we’ll get anything from 60-90 quid for it… 3 years of bike for about 30/40 quid… sounds good to me!
Replacemnt for her will be a Cnoc14 or a Belter 16 if it fits!!

Been looking through many of the balance bike threads. Just placed an order with the LBS for a Pink Hotwalk for my little girls Xmas (she will be 2 yrs 2 months then). I can’t wait. 😀

She did say it was too heavy when I tried her on one in the shop, but thankfully “too heavy”, is her response to most things right now. A lot lighter than the Scoot and Decathlon bikes anyway, which she had tried before.

Nearly went for the Rothan, but will worry about braking with her first pedal bike.

Given what Rothan’s, Hotwalks and Likeabikes can go for on e-bay plus postage, you might as well buy new (IMO).

Sadly, you will need to budget for some new grips or soft end plugs if you have hard floors indoors & you intend to let her have a potter about the house.

Ours went through the end of the grips in no time.

Micro scooter ones are good for floors but too big a diameter for little hands.

That said the bike is very, very stable & is great quality other than that.

What you spend on a balance bike is irrelevant because if you succeed in indoctrinating the into your hobby (that’s what we’re doing right?) then 100 quid vs 50 quid becomes a bit meh. After the balance bike (Rothan natch) came the 14″ wheels, then the 20″ MTB, then the 16″ BMX, then the 24″ road/cross bike, and now I’m scraping together parts to build a decent 24″ MTB for next summer as we’ve run out of money 😉

This is obviously all on top of the Chariot trailer (AMAZING BIT OF KIT!) and the extra bike (or two) to pull the trailer as I knackered my knees doing it SS and didn’t fancy do it much with the full suss.

The first carbon appeared on the 20″ mtb (hand-me-down bars), next carbon will probably be the cut down Pace forks planned for the 24″ mtb 🙂

The Rothan is the best balance bike about, it’s also the most expensive. It’s not really a surprise is it? The main problem is setting their standards too high, our youngest rode a Strider recently and declared it rubbish. A strangley proud, but worrying moment.

strangley?
gives me the shivers.

Ok Im man enough to admit that I was wrong. You get what you pay for and the Decathlon bike is junk.

The collar holding the bars constantly loosens so the bars are always off centre. Nice safety issue there, one refund and and Isla please.

Anyone tried the Zooom from CRC ?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=51811

Looks good value with a £10 voucher + quidco

The Strider is light and great quality

The first carbon appeared on the 20″ mtb (hand-me-down bars)

Ooh that sounds like a challenge. Sadly my oldest is already on a 20, so can’t get you there, but shall have to see if I can find something carbon in the parts bin to put on the Cnoc 14 my littlest is just getting going on.

The Strider is light and great quality

Do you trust the opinion of a man who just a week ago was saying “Decathlon- £29. I built it and it is good quality.”, “I think the Decathlon bike is well made.” ? 😉

Ok Im man enough to admit that I was wrong. You get what you pay for and the Decathlon bike is junk.

*falls of his chair*

Wait… you.. you.. were wrong…?

Has this ever happened on STW before?
Isn’t this one of the portents for the End of Days or something?

What have you done with the real Hora, you monster?!!!!