balance bike help please?

[shelley72]

i was struggling to come up with ideas for DD (who will be 2.5 by christmas) and when i asked on another thread someone suggsted a balance bike. i have had a quick google and there are lots! i think i like the look of the wooden ones and have found a john crane or a kiddimoto. would anyone recommend either of these two - or should we go for something else completely? it probably wont be long before her brother has outgrown his first 'proper' bike so that will no doubt come her way soon so would rather not pay the earth for one.

thank you

I've just bought as Isla bike. Because they are IMO the best. They are pricey but have good resale value. If you search there is a very very long bunfight thread about them which explains more.

I'll step in and back up what Alice has said (before the bun fight begins!). Isla bikes are fabulous and DS1 went from balance bike to pedal bike virtually overnight with them. DS2 will hopefully follow suit.

If you buy second hand from eBay, you will probably sell for the same price you paid, or only lose £10-20 so they are actually not as expensive as they appear.

You are going to get a lot of dissenters and lots of people who's say take the pedals off a normal bike. But Isla bikes are high quality, light and perfectly designed for little people!

www.amazon.co.uk/Hudora-Balance-Bike-Ergonomic-Design/dp/B004OW9BLO/ref=sr_1_26?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1349598262&sr=1-26 £30 job done.

I wouldnt get a wooden need lots of maintenance one. Some kids take ages to get the hang of it. With a metal one you can change the height of saddle and handlebars.

We bought a Strider balance bike for dd when she was 2.5 and she progressed to bike without stabilisers by 4yo. This bike has since been passed on to ds 2.5 and he loves it. It is not wooden but looks great. It is quite straightforward, no brakes to complicate things, and it is nice and light, think you can get various colours too. here

I got DS an Isla bike after recommendations on here. It's good and really well made. I do sometimes wonder if I should've just bought a cheaper one, but the adjustable saddle has been a godsend as DS's leggies were just too wee without the seat fully down. Conversely, I guess this mean we should have plenty of use out of it whilst his leggies grow!

I'm glad I didn't get a wooden one as I think the weight if it might have been an issue (secondary to the none adjustable seat height of course)

I'm not sure that one balance bike is much different to another, they all do pretty much the same thing, (wading into the bunfight). But like so many have said, DO NOT BUY A WOODEN ONE. One that is more like a proper bike so that you can change the height of the saddle will be much better. (one with a brake is not a bad idea either)

Our dd got a mini micro scooter at the same age, (we have a puky balance bike to hand down to her) It is brilliant too.

I think these look rather amazing. Some oddbod in the states who spends all her time reviewing balance bikes seems to rate them. I'm thinking of getting one for my 3 year old for Xmas if I don't decide on a kidkraft dolls house as her main present instead (decisions decisions!).

I thought MNers were generally recommending puky when I bought one for dd's 2nd birthday - I like it and so does dd. I've adjusted the seat already. The tiniest one doesn't have a brake.

Another nice thing about a metal one is that it's clearly a bike, as in it looks like a bike - dd was very impressed with it as soon as she saw it.