To ask for balance bike advice.

[YourNameGoesHere]

Going round in circles looking at all the options and am no closer to a decision so I'm looking for advice.

I have a nearly 4 year old which whilst appreciate he is on the older end he still struggles to use a balance bike although he's desperate to ride one like a big boy. We've tried several but are no closer to finding one which works for him.

Key information he's quite petite and small for his age (approximately 90cm) not to mention he's quite likely to have inherited coordinated issues which doesn't make the task any easier. We're having real trouble finding one that's light enough to manoeuvre and where he isn't using his tippy-toes.

Any advice would be appreciated.

If he really can't fit a 12 inch strider with the seat very low does he have unusually short legs? My daughter (also 90cm) is really v short and it does fit her and she can ride a 14 inch bike too.

Try a seriously tiny 10 inch frog mini tadpole. They are very very light and small. DD was only about 82cm when riding one and just 2 years old.

As someone else has already mentioned, hornit airo all the way! Super light (under 3kg), size was fine at just over 2yo and still had room to grow at 4.5 when moved on to pedal bike (could have done sooner but she loved her balance bike so much and didnt want to give it up). Proper air filled tyres which some people see as a downside but actually allowed for more speed/fun and we never had a puncture in over 2 years of near daily riding. Really can't recommend enough!

We have a Specialised Hot Rod for our boy, he's been able to sit on it and move since he was about 18 months old; don't think they're very common (certainly haven't seen any others, unlike Isla/Frog etc).

Another brand we've come across (DH loves doing due diligence 🙄) is Banana bikes; don't seem too expensive and would come down low enough.

When I had the same problem over ten years ago Puky did the smallest, lightest bike for my tiny dd. Has done four more kids since, all of whom loved it!

You've had some good advice re possible bikes already OP so I won't repeat anything but just wanted to point you in the direction of British Cycling's Ready Set Ride programme if you're not already aware of it. I'm a cycling coach and the pre school sessions at our club are based on this but the resources are available for anyone on the website.
I've successfully coached quite a number of children with conditions like dyspraxia or hypermobility who can find learning to ride a bike more difficult than average using these techniques. It's worth spending some time on the "prepare to ride" activities. Sometimes parents look at me as if I have gone mad when we do these activities at our sessions as they are not obviously anything to do with cycling, but they help young children develop the physical skills that are needed to ride in a fun, low pressure way. You could try playing these games whilst you're looking for a bike and then progress to the other activities once you've found something that fits better,
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/getinvolved/article/20200325-getinvolved-Getting-the-most-out-of-UK-Ready-Set-Rid-0%20

Islabikes should be fine, the roathan 12.

Make sure you're getting the right size, the saddle is the correct height.

And give him LOADS of opportunities to ride it. My DD was on a pedal bike at 3y5m after her rothan.

BUT there's a lot of walking and toddling along it's PAINFUL, so boring and she stopped every few seconds to look at a dandelion or whatever... but they get there. I would have some really boring and short "rides" where she would just kind of walk along with it between her legs, but then all of a sudden she was sitting on it and walking, then all of a sudden started running and gliding etc. The balance is the hardest part.
They can't just get on and be pros.

She now loves racing her pedal bike round the skatepark and pump tracks.

Don't go to places like Halfords or anything!
Find a proper bike shop, and buy a proper bike designed for kids. Like frog, Islabike etc. Not just a mini version of an adult bike, and definitely not any of those horrendous things with Cars/barbie/paw patrol whatever on them

Get your lad to lift the bike up, if he can't, it's too heavy.
Get him to try and close the brake lever,if he can't reach it or it isn't easy, it's the wrong bike.

It's his leg measurement that's important,not his height. Ignore them if they want to know how tall he is!

We didn't have a balance bike, but went straight for a bike with stabilisers. She then learnt to ride a proper bike a bit older than some of her friends but without any problems and with the added advantage of being more able to follow instructions and understand boundaries (eg when to stop!).

We found it was really quick learning waiting until she was older (7) and having a bike with stabilisers before. And easier as she's bigger so you're not bending down over a tiny bike and child.

This is so helpful thank you! Am so pleased you posted.

I've looked at the bike shops near me but unfortunately none of them seem to have a good selection of balance bikes and some only seem to stock adult bikes which isn't helpful.

You might be best looking at local second hand selling sites @YourNameGoesHere Little kids bikes seldom get worn out and at least you can try before you buy.
Also may be worth making contact with your local Go Ride club. Even if they don't run balance bike sessions, chances are they will have parents who have their children's outgrown balance bikes languishing in their sheds and there may be someone who can help you. There's a search function here: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/go-ride?c=EN
I hope you find something soon. Keep it light and fun and celebrate small successes. Children learn at such different rates so try not to compare to others too much.

Are you on Facebook? There is a group "Family Cycling UK" and there are other groups for buying and selling kids bikes (Frog/Isla etc). Plus there are often local groups for parents where you could ask if anyone near you has a bike you could try. You might be in WhatsApp groups for local parents too? Just ask around.

I do think the Isla Cnoc 14 Small (make sure it's small, not large) or the Hornit Hero 14 might possibly be ok quite soon, as the advertised lowest height is 34cm and I've heard that with Islas you can get the saddle even lower, so at 31cm he's not far off and it could be worth a try.

Otherwise, rent a 12" balance bike from the bike club or find a lightweight second hand one until he's tall enough for a 14" pedal bike.

This is so helpful, I will send them an email and see what they say. 😊 much appreciated and yes it's so important to not compare his ability with others some of his similar aged peers can already ride a pedal bike but I genuinely don't care as long as he's enjoying trying and I want to help nurture his interest before he gets older and the fear of learning puts the brakes on his enthusiasm (pun intended).

We're going to have a look at a few this weekend to hopefully see if we can find one that's small enough and light enough for him to gain confidence on. I've been in touch with a few people on FB marketplace so hopefully they reply soon and we can go try them out for size.

All the advice has been gratefully appreciated so thanks to all who have taken the time so far to suggest models and give encouragement it's given me lots to work with.

I would really recommend you stick with a balance bike (we had a hornit and it was great), don’t switch to a pedal bike with stabilisers. It took my daughter AGES (a year or so) to get the hang of balance biking, as above a lot of walking along with it between her legs, gradually getting more confident. We got it for her second birthday, by her third she was just about riding it. By her fourth she was flying along and we bought a pedal bike with no stabilisers. She literally learned to ride the pedal bike the first day she rode it as she was so confident on the balance bike. My nephew was even more confident on the balance bike, but they gave him a bike with stabilisers and 18 months on he still can’t ride with them off…

it does just take time to get the hang of balance biking. Lots of practice in short bursts. I wouldn’t bother buying a new bike, persevere with the one you’ve got and he will probably get there in the end.

Littlebigbike are great. Ours used them from 3-7 as the frame flips to increase the size when they get bigger, and they can be used without pedals or with. Really good for building confidence for kids with less coordination as they are quite long and feel sturdier, whilst still nippy.

Yes I definitely want to stick with a balance bike as in the long run I'm hoping it helps with his balance and coordination skills which will fingers crossed help mitigate any potential coordination problems.

I do think we need a new one as the one we have is quite cumbersome hence trying other options and looking for something he will actually want to use.

Quantumphysicality A friend recommended the littlebigbike as it changes with the child but unless I'm reading it wrong he's too short for it?

Is he definitely about 90cm tall with an inside leg measurement of 31cms? His torso is 2/3 of his whole body? Might be worth rechecking his dimensions.

https://www.cyclesprog.co.uk/family-cycling-advice/how-to-easily-measure-your-child-for-a-new-bike/