balance bike?

bim38106

does anyone here have a balance bike for their LO? I'm thinking of getting DD2 one for her 3rd birthday. Any recs? TIA!

3003girl

We just bought one for LO who is 2. DH is a bike snob, so we got the Giant PreBike, which has "real" tires and a "real" frame - his words. lol. 

So far, she loves it and will walk with it but hasn't gotten the hang of picking up her feet to coast yet. DH is going to take off the pedals of one of out bikes so we can balance bike with her.

The other brands we looked at were the kinder bike, the specialized and the strider (which he did not like). I let him pick it out because that's his thing. 

JungleJulia

we have the strider. It is the lightest balance bike on the market. It has plastic tires because air filled tires = more weight. DD is super tall though so we may have to get the extra long seat for her soon. She's 2.5 BTW.

kj07

solidio:

We just bought one for LO who is 2. DH is a bike snob, so we got the Giant PreBike, which has "real" tires and a "real" frame - his words. lol. 

So far, she loves it and will walk with it but hasn't gotten the hang of picking up her feet to coast yet. DH is going to take off the pedals of one of out bikes so we can balance bike with her.

The other brands we looked at were the kinder bike, the specialized and the strider (which he did not like). I let him pick it out because that's his thing. 

I mean this in the nicest way possible - what did your bike snob H not like about the Strider?  It's the one we were thinking about for B because it has the lowest seat and is pretty light, so I'm curious.

3003girl

no worries for the question kj07

Bike Snob DH (I think that is going to be his new nickname. lol) liked the fact that it has real tires and a real headset (I have to admit I don't even really know what that means). He also did not like the "feel" of the strider - he thought it was "more of a toy than a bike." 

This article seems to explain a lot of things: (sorry I can't make it clicky)

https://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/balance-bikes-performance-vs-strider-658960.html

But it compaires the strider to the performance, which, I think, is the specialized bike. But it talks about the tires and headset "construction."

I was concerned about the weight too, and LO is a shorty, so the height was important too. She is 2 years old, 22 lbs and 33 inches tall, and can get on and off the bike by herself. If she was 3-4 months younger I don't think she would be able to do that though. 

LIke I said, I pretty much left the decision up to him, he is a former cyclist and worked at a bike shop for a long time when he was younger. 

His second choice was the kinderbike, which also has a really small version. I'm not sure how much that one weighs.  

bim38106

Thanks for all the replies! I hadn't even heard of the performance one... I was looking at the strider vs. kinderbike and also just started looking a Ybike (I think it's called).

MouseInLux

We just got DD a wishbone bike. They come in two versions, the one we got starts as a three wheeler and then converts. The other option is just a balance bike. We like it for the conversion option and that its wooden with air fillied tiers.

TunaTown

We will be springing on a Strider in the next few weeks.

TunaTown

letranger:

kj07:

solidio:

We just bought one for LO who is 2. DH is a bike snob, so we got the Giant PreBike, which has "real" tires and a "real" frame - his words. lol. 

So far, she loves it and will walk with it but hasn't gotten the hang of picking up her feet to coast yet. DH is going to take off the pedals of one of out bikes so we can balance bike with her.

The other brands we looked at were the kinder bike, the specialized and the strider (which he did not like). I let him pick it out because that's his thing. 

I mean this in the nicest way possible - what did your bike snob H not like about the Strider?  It's the one we were thinking about for B because it has the lowest seat and is pretty light, so I'm curious.

If it makes you feel better we are house of bike snobs and we are buying strider as it  is one of the smallest and lightest. I want something light not to discourage LO heavy bikes are hard on the little ones to balance.  

YEAH! Bike snobs!

Our current inventory is n+1 :-)