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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Missing the appeal of balance bikes please explain

97 replies

Endofmytetherfinally · 21/03/2023 21:04

Its my LO 2 year birthday party next week and DH wants to get her a balance bike.

But a decent one is 150quid (Byk). I just don't see the point if it doesn't have wheels.

I want to convince him to get a scuttle bug or an actual bike instead.

OP posts:
ThreeFeetTall · 21/03/2023 21:17

I would wait until they are 3. Get something else for 2 (scooter?) and then balance bike for 3rd birthday. Both mine learnt a pedal bike in about 2 days after having the balance bike. Got ours on eBay.

Oblomov23 · 21/03/2023 21:18

Of course you should get one. 2nd hand, cheap. Never used them because they weren't a thing for ds's, but they are well known now.

olivehater · 21/03/2023 21:19

One of mine learnt on a balance bike and never had stabilizers. The other two just couldn’t get on with it and we had to revert to the traditional style of a pedal bike with stabilizers first. It depends on the child.

I would say a balance bike if better for a first born where you have time to focus on just them more and they are not trying to catch up with an older sibling.

Random102 · 21/03/2023 21:19

My DD was riding a pedal bike at 2 years 7 months with no stabilisers after spending the past year on a balance bike.

She had a second hand Strider one, you don’t need to spend a fortune. Save your money for a good first pedal bike which could be sooner than you think if they take to the balance bike.

Wombats23 · 21/03/2023 21:19

I saw an amazing toddler on a balance bike on a real trail the other day. It really was a joy to watch.

Bike riding is really all about balance & the younger it is learnt, the better.

MrsMullerBecameABaby · 21/03/2023 21:20

My kids all had them from 18 months old (dc2 from 15 months as he was talk and just adopted his older sister's), but they also had a pedal tractor, and didn't need to learn to ride a bike or need stabilisers. All of them just rode the pedal bike (wobbly for ten minutes then fine) without any need to learn.

DC2 absolutely adored the balance bike and there was rarely a day he didn't spend a couple of hours on it (only drawback was his upset at not being allowed to bring it inside) and as I said tall for his age so unsurprisingly he randomly wandered over and rode around on his sister's regular pedal bike without stabilisers before he turned 2.5! His siblings were both a year older but still both took to the regular bike easily at 3.5.

MsJD · 21/03/2023 21:22

I had to google Balance Bike. They look dead cool 😀

Greensheep242 · 21/03/2023 21:24

Can you get one second handand maybe a skuttle bug s much as well? Skuttlebugs maybe better inside or sticking in a pram basket.

Hazelnuttella · 21/03/2023 21:24

I’m planning on getting one for my 2 year old, I see loads of toddlers in the park on them zooming around having a great time.

I think the idea is that they learn to balance instead of relying on stabilisers - like how toddlers don’t use arm bands when they’re learning to swim now.

Saschka · 21/03/2023 21:25

DS had one from age 3, and got the hang of it within a day or two. Was then able to whizz around the park as fast as me.

Got a pedal bike for his 5th birthday (bit late but he was between sizes aged 4 and honestly the balance bike was working fine for him). Got the hang of it in 15 minutes.

Honestly, so much easier than trying to teach a child to pedal from scratch.

GreenWheat · 21/03/2023 21:25

We just took the pedals off an ordinary bike, and put them back on when DC were ready. No need to buy a separate balance bike.

BeardieWeirdie · 21/03/2023 21:27

I got a secondhand Frog balance bike on marketplace for my child’s second birthday for £30. She absolutely loved it, we ditched the pushchair as she biked everywhere. Got out the 5th hand Islabike from the shed as her third birthday present and she nailed it straightaway on first attempt on her birthday, no need for stabilisers. Have now sold the balance bike with a £50 profit!

timesogin · 21/03/2023 21:28

They are amazing. My child had one aged 2, whizzed around in it and at three and a half learnt to ride a pedal bike in a couple of hours with no drama and no need for stabilisers because the skill of balancing was so well learnt by then.
You don't need an expensive one though

Original poster
Endofmytetherfinally · 21/03/2023 21:28

Sorry team, yes you're right I mean pedals not wheels. What a fool.. the 150 is because my DH won't buy second hand or anything cheap because he's terrified about safety. Honestly we had a new pram and balance board, and 2 very expensive car seats (0-6 months, 6 months up).

He won't take the risk of nor knowing something has a defect. We bought a ride a long bike / trike thing the parent can push like a pram and she tipped in it and he immediately put it out for the tip.

OP posts:
VivaVivaa · 21/03/2023 21:31

We bought a ride a long bike / trike thing the parent can push like a pram and she tipped in it and he immediately put it out for the tip

And we wonder why we are drowning in a sea of discarded plastic…

Curlysusie · 21/03/2023 21:31

Save the money for the pedal bikes. There's a £30 that was absolutely perfect from argos/Halfords. I really rate balance bikes 😊

lilsupersparks · 21/03/2023 21:32

You could spend your £150 on a pedal bike (make sure you get a lightweight one) and take the pedals off?

£150 is pretty crazy for a balance bike but in general I would say they are a good buy. I wouldn’t spend more that £50 or £60 tbh.

My twins didn’t take to them though (I probably didn’t take them out on them enough) and had to learn riding a bike from scratch.

welshweasel · 21/03/2023 21:32

Balance bikes are ace. Mine both had 'expensive' ones (Frog tadpoles) but with my eldest we rented via the bike club and for my youngest we bought secondhand for £100 and sold on for the same amount when he moved on to a proper bike.

Both kids were riding pedal bikes competently aged 3, with minimal input from us.

BeardieWeirdie · 21/03/2023 21:32

A second/thirdhand Frog/Islabike will be much better quality and importantly lighter than a cheap brand new one though, even with a £150 budget. You could ask a bike shop to give a secondhand one the once over for peace of mind.

Original poster
Endofmytetherfinally · 21/03/2023 21:33

VivaVivaa · 21/03/2023 21:31

We bought a ride a long bike / trike thing the parent can push like a pram and she tipped in it and he immediately put it out for the tip

And we wonder why we are drowning in a sea of discarded plastic…

Well to be fair to him he didn't want to donate in case another child had an 'accident' on it as he sees it as defected. I hardly think that makes us planet wreckers.

OP posts:
owiz · 21/03/2023 21:33

We skipped the balance bike thing, they learned to ride normal bikes fine.

MuffinToSeeHere · 21/03/2023 21:34

Endofmytetherfinally · 21/03/2023 21:28

Sorry team, yes you're right I mean pedals not wheels. What a fool.. the 150 is because my DH won't buy second hand or anything cheap because he's terrified about safety. Honestly we had a new pram and balance board, and 2 very expensive car seats (0-6 months, 6 months up).

He won't take the risk of nor knowing something has a defect. We bought a ride a long bike / trike thing the parent can push like a pram and she tipped in it and he immediately put it out for the tip.

How bloody wasteful!

A second hand bike is not a safety hazard. No wonder the world is full of plastic if he's literally throwing away perfectly functioning items for no bloody reason.

carriedout · 21/03/2023 21:36

Balance bikes are great!

But if he worries a lot about safety I do not think it is a good choice for him as they go pretty fast and it looks scary Shock

But I would recommend from our experience.

Frogdoglog · 21/03/2023 21:37

My dd got a balance bike for her 2nd birthday and she absolutely loved it although did cause the issue of her being a lot faster than me and her not having any comprehension of basic road safety so had to limit where she could use it! We would take it to the mountain bike trail and she would fly around on it. She could ride a pedal bike by the time she was 3 because she already had the balance sorted but she actually preferred the balance bike for a while even after that.

However Ds Also got one for his 2nd birthday and had very little interest in it so I guess it really depends on the child!

nutbrownhare15 · 21/03/2023 21:37

Get a secondhand bike and get it serviced to check for safety. Balance bikes were great for us. My girls learnt on one when they were 2 and loved them. They moved on to pedal bikes in about 15 minutes at the age of 3.5 and 4.

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