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Original poster

Balance bike Vs Bike with Stabilisers?

16 replies

baby0684 · 14/08/2014 18:34

Hi, im not sure if im posting in the right place. Sorry if its wrong.

I just wondered what people thought of bikes for little ones. My son is 2, im thinking of getting him a bike for Christmas, but unsure on which is best.

My daughter had stabilisers, but she learnt to ride about 5 years ago, so there wasnt really many balance bikes out there.

Any reviews or comments are greatly appriciated x

OP posts:
KenDoddsDadsDog · 14/08/2014 22:54

DD and her friend are 4 now and moving from balance bikes to bikes with no stabilisers. She has loved her balance bike a lot !

5madthings · 14/08/2014 22:59

Balance bike!

Acolyte · 14/08/2014 23:00

Balance bike....they do away with having to have stabilizers when moving up to a 'proper' bike.

FlossyMoo · 14/08/2014 23:03

Sorry I am old fashioned.
I still remember 30 years later the joy of taking off the stabilizers on my bike. My dad was the one that taught me and he took them off. I will never forget it.Momentous moment in my childhood.

Balance bikes are brilliant but the stabilizers off was a milestone I reached in my childhood.

PacificDogwood · 14/08/2014 23:04

Get a bike with removable pedals - balance bike to start off with, then pedals get attached: you get the milestone AND only have to buy one bike.

MeanwhileHighAboveTheField · 16/08/2014 20:41

balance bike. Taking the pedals off a bike to turn it into a balance bike doesn't work when they are 2 as they are too small.

5madthings · 16/08/2014 20:45

You can get balance bikes that come with a chain, pedals and cranks! My dd has one, hers is a bmw one we got it secondhand.

RabbitSaysWoof · 16/08/2014 20:46

Another balance vote here.

gd1976 · 04/10/2014 20:14

Balance bike- we had specialised (off eBay) balance bike which then progresses into the next bike with pedals and they just get on with it- both mine were riding with pedals at 2.5yrs, purely down to the brilliant bikes.....

ElphabaTheGreen · 04/10/2014 20:22

Definitely balance bike - so incredibly good for developing core stability, which a bike with stabilisers doesn't do to the same extent. We got DS1 a balance bike for his second birthday. He looked at it warily for a couple of months, stroked it proudly for another month and now he's a total hoon Grin I reckon he'll be on a normal bike by this time next year.

FWIW, I never had stabilisers on my first bike and this was also 30 years ago. It was just a case of keep trying until you stop falling off, and a bit of dad running behind to keep me upright. I can still recall the sense of achievement when I didn't need help anymore and I still feel totally smug about saying, 'What, me? Oh, I never bothered with stabilisers.' WinkGrin

Finlaggan · 04/10/2014 20:55

balance bike!

DD got a pedal bike at 4 and just got on it & pedalled off after using a balance bike for a year.

DS has just turned two and is just starting out on the balance bike although its still a little big for him.

bronya · 04/10/2014 20:58

For a two year old, the smallest bike with stabilisers will still be too big to use the brakes (at all in my DS's case!) and to use the pedals easily. So balance bike at that age. We have both as DS will grow into the pedal bike by the time he's three, but he loves his balance bike and it is the right size for him now.

BlingBubbles · 04/10/2014 20:58

Definitely a balance bike, my DD rode hers from 2.5 and we have just bought her a normal bike for her 3rd birthday and after 2 days she is riding around all over (she just needs to learn to set off by herself), would highly recommend the balance bike. We live in Germany and all the kids have them and ride then to nursery, you don't see any kids with stabilisers anywhere.

JuniperTisane · 04/10/2014 21:03

Hmm. DS1 is one of those seemingly rare children (at least on MN) who absolutely refused a balance bike at any point at all from age 2 - said they were too wobbly and could he jsut play with his scooter please? Now at 4 he is keen to have a bike but only if he can make it not wobbly. He is impressed with a particular green one, especially the stabilisers. So he's having a stabiliser bike for christmas.

We will hand down the old unused balance bike to DS2 for his 2nd birthday. One of my children will like it won't they?

shelsco · 04/10/2014 23:06

Balance bike. I have 4 dc and first two had bike with stabilisers and took them ages to learn how to ride once stabilisers came off as they had become used to leaning to one side on their bike (which is what always happens with stabilisers). Dc3 also had stabilisers but went to a cycling club when he was 4. First thing they said was don't let him ride with stabilisers but instead take pedals off bike so he gets his centre of gravity. Within a couple of weeks he was riding his normal bike. Dc4 had balance bike from age 3 and last summer got on the normal bike that used to belong to his brother and just rode it. We were all amazed. No running after him to help him balance or anything. Definitely think balance bike makes it much easier to ride a normal bike!

DisappointedOne · 27/12/2014 15:16

Bought DD a balance bike at 2. She never rode it, just stood with it.

Bought her a second hand bike with stabilisers at 3 and within an hour she had pedalling, steering and braking sorted.

Not all kids are the same. ;)

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