Balance bike with a seat that drops to 11in?

[JuniperTisane]

DS2 will be all-but-2 at christmas, his older brother is getting a bike and to stave the jealousy we are looking at a balance bike for him but he's only got a 29in inseam so most of the major brands seem to be too big.

I have found the Strider online but I would prefer air tyres if its possible.

Can anyone help?

[UniS]

Islabike Rothan. IIRC the seat goes down to about 28/30cm from floor. DS was almost 2 when we bought it and it was the smallest proper balance bike I could find.

[JuniperTisane]

Very nice but £129 is a bit ouch! Can't possibly spring to that. Anything more mid-range?

[youbethemummylion]

The Chicco Red Bullet was the smallest I sae when I was looking for a very small one. Couldn't tell you exactly the measurements though.

[ihearttc]

Puky LRM...its tiny. My little boy was wearing 12-18 month clothes when we got it for him for his second birthday and it was the perfect size for him. I can't remember the lowest seat measurement but it was definitely the smallest we found.

We paid about £55 for it if that helps?

[RoganJosh]

We've got the Chicco. Cheap, but super light so great for real little ones.

[JuniperTisane]

Thanks Youbethemummylion Can't find measurements for saddle height for the Chicco, even on their own website thoughI'm not prepared to spend out if I'm not sure.

The Puky looks possible. The LRM needs him to be 30cm inseam so maybe, just maybe, he might be just about big enough with a stretch by christmas?

[youbethemummylion]

Hang on ill go and measure mine

[ihearttc]

Are you looking at the right Puky cause there are lots of them? DS2 was (still is) tiny and we didn't even have the seat on the lowest setting so it must go really small.

He was 2 in the November and he had it for his birthday and he'd literally just grown out of 9-12 month trousers so I assumed it would be too big for him!

[youbethemummylion]

Its 33cm on its lowest so might be a bit big.

[BertieBotts]

The PUKY ones are sold for one year olds in Germany so must go low enough.

[bronya]

We have a Traxx balance bike - DS got it at 18 months and is only on 9th centile for height so it must go down pretty small! It was about £40 from Halfords and is still going strong 8 months later. He loves it, could ride it from day one and it comes out with us daily to walk the dog.

[JuniperTisane]

Thanks mummylion thats very helpful info. I know to leave that one now.

The Puky LRM is the lowest saddle height according to their website

Traxx definitely goes low enough. Only plastic wheels though.

[UniS]

Islabikes are expensive, but very well built and will out last several children. This means they have a good resale value. we sold the Rothan on for over 50% of new price and have done the same with two more Islabikes since, whilst buying an additional 2 Islabikes secondhand.

s=Scarey to realize the boy is on his 4th & 5th bikes.

[JuniperTisane]

Thanks for your help everyone. We've gone for a Cruzee which is top of our budget. We had the opportunity to see one in the flesh and its very light compared to many others and seems well built.

[MsBug]

Hello juniper, I just did a search for balance bikes as I want to buy one for DD for Xmas and I found your thread DD is also a shorty although I haven't measured her legs yet.

At the moment I'm thinking about the puky - can I ask what made you decide on the cruzee?

[JuniperTisane]

Hey MsBug the final choice was between the Puky LRM, the Cruzee and the Strider. We went for the Cruzee mainly because we got to see one in the flesh and its so light its ridiculous.

Strider - 2.2kg
Puky - 3.54kg
Cruzee - 1.9kg

Was top of our budget though - £99 whereas you can get the other two for about £60-70.

[JuniperTisane]

She needs to be able to stand a cm above the seat. DS measures 29cm so he needs a seat height of 28cm,

Cruzee goes down to 10in/25.5cm which is about the smallest available. Puky LRM (smallest size) is 29cm so just too tall
Strider is 27cm

[MsBug]

Cheers will measure her legs later if I can get her to stay still long enough

[JuniperTisane]

Pin her against wall
Stick a pencil through at the very top of the inside of her legs and scribble wildly at the wall
Measure scribble

[MsBug]

Thanks!

So I measured her like you said and her diddy little legs are only 28cm and that's without a nappy. So the Puky would be too big for her.

I'm tempted by the Strider as the height should be just about ok, it gets good reviews and is more budget friendly than the cruzee.

I also saw this which looks like a great idea, but I can't find any reviews of them.

[JuniperTisane]

We very nearly went for the strider. The reason we didn't is seeing the other one in the flesh. Its really hard to judge when you cant see them.

The other one looks very nifty. I can see the attraction. £154 though!

[MeanwhileHighAboveTheField]

My son was big enough for the Puky LRM when he was 19 months and he is small for his age. He was less than 80cm tall at that age.

Air tyres are not really necessary at first :)

[MeanwhileHighAboveTheField]

Oops I hadn't realised this thread had three pages when I posted. I actually cam on to suggest the Cruzee but I see you got one already :)

My post about the Puky might help MsBug though!

[JuniperTisane]

Thanks Meanwhile You are right, of course, about the air tyres. He's not going to be taking it very far off grass & path anytime soon. When we go to the forest he can walk I think.

[KiteyDelighty]

Striders are great (small DC here) light enough for them to manage and very robust.