Teaching Balance- Ride a Bike w/o Training Wheels Ages 18 mos-2yrs+

[TeachingMyToddlers]

This is super short b/c I don't have time to post anything lengthy at the moment, but what a neat concept!

Balance Bikes, Pre Bikes, Run Bikes, or Pedaless Bikes provide a way to teach your 18 month-2 year old + balance and how to ride a bike WITHOUT training wheels, because it teaches the most difficult part, the balance aspect, FIRST, without the pedals in the way before the child learns to rely on the training wheels. Then learning to pedal is (supposedly) a breeze.  I would think teaching them this young helps their balance develop *that* much faster too b/c their brains are still in prime brain-building mode.

Do a google search on it.  Walmart (I know, yuck, but they have great prices) carries a 10 inch wee ride for $29! Or, you can always take the pedals off a traditional bike I suppose.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/10-WeeRide-Learn-2-Ride-Bicycle/14248176

As luck would have it, they have one at the walmart nearby and I can get one in time for DD birthday on Sunday! Yay!

[nhockaday]

That's really cute. Let us know how well it works if you get one.

[ariel]

it sounds great but is there a place for them to rest their feet for a little while?  i like jfjfsdawalmart...who can beat the low prices

[Twinergy]

Thank you TMT, I had only seen balance bikes that cost around $100 and I thought not with twins.  Now this is something we can afford.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

After some further reading, I read that some people let their kids learn to pedal on a tricycle, then get them a balance bike, then a regular bike. So I figured we could get a regular inch bike with training wheels to let her learn to peddle, then remove both the pedals& training wheels, and once she gets the hang on balancing, put only the pedals back on.

So I got a holiday deal on a bike this morning, but now we're not sure HOW we're going to get the pedals off! it looks like they might be "permanently" welded to the tire. ::sigh:: So I might have to go buy the balance bike anyway, I was just trying to save some money buying one bike instead of 2 or three.

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_080W010169970001P?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5

That's the one we ended up getting. Without purchasing a radio flyer for about a million dollars, seems everything has characters on it these days. Thinking about leaving off the side decoration piece. Hubby's inspecting it all now during nap to see what we're going to do about it. The bike was $24.99 (reg $49.99) and the helmet was $20, almost as much as the bike! The other thing is I hope my little shrimp is tall enough for the 10 inch. Guess we'll find out after we get it all put together and gifted.

eta: after reading the reviews on this thing- some of them are really bad. The child has to steer the entire front wheel like a trike versus a "real" bike, and many say the pedals are too far. I'm a bit nervous now, hope hubby kept the receipt...

[lorenp77]

My 3yr old is an old hand on his balance bike, and has been confidently riding it since he was a bit over 2. 
We bought a Strider, as there were no cheap alternatives here at the time.

I think it would be much heavier for a toddler to manouvre a regular bike with the pedals removed, as the balance bikes are really light weight, and designed that way for safety and ease of use.  There would also be the problem of the fixed cogs once the chain is removed. 

Our 15mth old is super keen to ride around on it now (has been walking since 10m) but his brother will not give it up!!  He is reluctant to use a pedal bike or trike, instead preferring to use his feet in the same manner as the balance bike. 

We haven't had the need for the footrests yet, as B sticks his legs out to the sides when he is tired or scooting downhill.

We love the balance bike - Go for it.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

yep, the training bike is going back. Not only was there no way to get the pedals off, but there was a non-related issue with the seat not fastening properly (last model, open box on the shelf, black Friday deal, buyer beware I guess). And it was too big, because the pedals are attached to the wheel, her feet couldn't reach even if we wanted to use it as a "regular" bike with training wheels.

I am going to go with the balance bike in the end anyway. I liked the price of the Wee Ride, but the seat on the Strider Prebike drops lower and the frame is lighter too I believe (not by much though). The Strider has the lowest seat on the market it seems (a minimum of 11 inches off the floor). But the seat being lower is very important for us because my daughter is so short (takes after her momma I guess!). So, looks like I will be forking out $100 for this thing anyway. From what I can tell they have very good customer service if you run into any troubles and most people seem very happy with the purchase. The potential payoff  of acquiring balance early & the corresponding brain development & skipping training wheels altogether looks like it will be worth $100 even though I do NOT want to fork out that kind of cash during the holiday season. ::sigh::  But, I plan to buy it in red so DD can pass it down to DS when the time comes, assuming I won't have to buy a second for him to use at the same time (they are only 1 year, 1 month apart, I may very well have to anyway).

Will update how it all turns out. Probably going to order it later this week.

[Tamsyn]

We bought the mini-glider from Timberdoodle, and my son, now three, loves it!  My review of the product is the first one posted on their site.  He loves his bike and has made great strides with it recently, at least until the snow came.

http://www.timberdoodle.com/MiniGlider_Bicycle_p/176mini.htm

[lorenp77]

In AUS we paid more than $100 for the Strider, but we have never regretted the purchase.  It is so light, and incredibly durable.  It gets dropped, scrapped, crashed, carried, goes over rocks and high door frames, all by my 2yr old.  Worst that has happened is that the seat vinyl has scrubbed off when he has had some big crashes at speed (he was alright!).  I have to run to keep up with him.  I also like that you can lower both the seat and the handles. 

[aangeles]

Thanks for sharing, TmT. I had not even heard of balance bikes until I saw your post! My daughter is short too (25th percentile) - I am SO tempted to get the Strider. Please do let us know how yours turns out.

[TM]

I'll add my experience, which echoes others' here. For my daughter's 3rd birthday a couple of months ago I got her a Strider PreBike. The main reason I went with that particular one is the very low adjusting seat. My daughter is short, and measuring her inseam I wasn't even sure if the Strider would go low enough, so I was surprised when I actually had to raise it an inch once she actually tried it out. And as has been said, it is built to be light & tough, and the frame is such that they have a place to put their feet if they want.

[GamerDad]

The Strider Bike is "the" bike to teach very young children (2-3) how to ride.  As other forum members have indicated, it's lightweight at around 6 lbs. and extremely durable.  We taught our three-year-old daughter to ride on a pink Strider bike ( http://www.balancebikes4kids.com/products/Pink_Strider_Bike-6-0.html ) and she continues to enjoy it after 6 months of rides. 

In our experience it only takes a day or two of riding before a child masters the balance and steering skills a bike requires on a balance bike, but the fact that its so light means she can take it off-road, uphills or anywhere else she desires.  She does things with it that kids on a heavy pedal bike with training wheels could never do.  It totally cracked me up when she decided it was a time to start riding the bike balancing on the curb (though it did not end well).

I think some parents might be hesitant to invest in a balance bike because they're more expensive than a traditional bike, but I don't see our daughter giving up her Strider anytime soon.  It's just another toy like her scooter or her brother's skateboard.  This Christmas we plan to get her a Hobby Bike, a slightly larger balance bike that converts to a pedal bike.

I found this site that has a pretty good breakdown and review of balance bikes for those who are interested.  http://www.squidoo.com/balance-bike-reviews

[Krista G]

My 2 year old niece has one of these and wow, are they awesome.  Her feet reach the ground so she pushes off and zooms around the house on it.  As soon as she gets going she holds her feet up and has perfect balance.  When she wants to stop she puts her feet down.  I think these are awesome!

[ruamulla]

I did introduce the balance bike for my baby boy when he was like 16 months old. I bought The PUKY balance bike (medium size ) from Germany and its very good and sturdy .
He can balance on it very nicely since then and he developed good since of coordination.

[Mummamia]

we LOVE LOVE LOVE the balance bikes.  My older 2 had the "JD BUG bikes", and both went straight to a normal pedal bike on their 3rd birthday no problems.  Although they both STILL love riding their balance bikes

My next little bub is getting a "wishbone" bike for her first birthday (can be used from 1 yr of age)

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