OT: Need bike advice for a toddler

[91Joe95]

My little girl turns four this summer, and with the snow melting away, its time to think about a bike for her. She has a tricycle, but she's outgrowing that rapidly. I've seen a few different styles out there but wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions/recommendations. TIA.

 

[PSU95alum]

Get a 12" Princess type bike at Walmart with training wheels

By the end of the summer, she should be off the training wheels. Then next spring, you'll move her up to a 16" bike with training wheels again. Those training wheels will only last a few days/weeks as she adjusts to the new size.

WalMart bike

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Don't know it you'll like this answer....


but if I had it to do again, I would look at yard sales, 2nd hand stores, and craigslist and find a cheap used little kids' bike that someone will sell you for next to nothing or give you free, until she learns to ride. She will outgrow the thing faster than you can believe. When she's a little older you can start thinking about getting her a better bike. JMO, after giving away so much stuff that my son outgrew, that we bought new.

 

[cjrugger]

Ahhh, the offseason

Only 5.5 more months

 

[massimoManca II]

no reason to spend more than $50 at Wally*World and buy a standard 16" two-wheeler with training wheels... she will be on this bike for precious little time and will graduate to a 20" bike sooner than you know

Take this bit of advice from me:

when it comes to teaching her how to ride w/o those training wheels - get a BALANCE BUDDY (see link) for about $20.... worth every penny!

I did not bother getting into better name bikes until my boys were burning around on 20" bikes (Trek / Diamondback / Specialized 7 speed 20" bikes are fine)

Balance Buddy

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Another easy thing to do...

when it's time to ditch the training wheels is take the pedals off. You could do this with the Balance Buddy too, if you wanted. You take the pedals off and let her scoot around that way, Flintstone-style until she can push herself along and take her feet off the ground and coast for x-feet without tipping over. Then you put the pedals back on and she's fully operational.

 

[thecoolestfish]

Ha! I guess the days are long gone....

...of your dad just giving you that first push to get you started -- And you taking it from there, while he walks back to the house to have a beer and read the newspaper.

 

[Viennalion]

Any experience with balance bikes?

They have no peddles or chain - you balance with your feet until you don't have to.

Wondering if anyone has any experience with this. We live in a very hilly area, but need to get our 5 year old on a bike this summer.

 

[91Joe95]

Good stuff.

Thanks!

 

[91Joe95]

That's not a bad idea.

Thanks!

 

[91Joe95]

I had not seen that before. Instead of training wheels? Interesting.

Thanks!

 

[massimoManca II]

used the Balance Buddy only at the time they were ready to shed the

training wheels...

pretty neat as you let go of the bar and they don't even know when you are maintaining their balance and when you are not

it's better than trying to catch them as they fall / towing their bike from a moving car

 

[bovine]

Re: Any experience with balance bikes?

My son learned to ride on a balance bike. We never had to use training wheels and he was riding a regular bike with pedals at age 5. Might be genetics though since his old man was a helluva an athlete!

 

[Whaaaaaaaany]

Don't abandon it next to a tree...The PoPo might take it....

wasn't that a story from this board?

 

[jdog1124]

I got a balance bike to help my scared daughter lose the training wheels and it worked like magic. It took less than a day of her riding around without pedals to figure out riding with them. Best purchase I made

 

[psu1969a]

Re: Don't know it you'll like this answer....

I agree; she will outgrow it no time.

 

[tboyer]

Get a tiny bike and take pedals off...

Instead of training wheels, i'd get the smallest bike available (10 or 12 inch wheels) and then take the pedals off to let the kid scoot a little. Best bike to learn to balance on is a bike that is too small because the center of gravity is much lower so balance is so much easier, plus the falls are a lot softer.

Have her scoot along with you when you go on walks. Then after a couple weeks suggest she's ready for pedals but don't push it. They can really get the hang of 2 wheel balance very early if the bike is small.

I think parents make the mistake of getting the 16 inch bike and training wheels, and then when you take the training wheels off it's very scary for them.

 

[Class of 67]

There's a brand of bike actually sold this way, as seen on Shark Tank.

But probably cheaper to buy a used bike and remove the pedals; after all, as others note, the child will outgrow this quickly.

kazam bikes

 

[PSU Mike]

Re: Any experience with balance bikes?

You must be proud of your husband!

 

[TheGLOV]

Kawasaki Ninja!

She can handle it!!

 

[LionLen]

Get her one with a color to match the helmet you get for her.