Like A Bikes/running bikes - have your kids had one? Would you recommend them?

[Enid]

dd2 is 'bike averse'

I think she would like one of these

they are heinously expensive though

there are loads of similar but cheaper ones on ebay. or habitat do one for 50 quid i think. ds didn't have one, & has just learnt to ride his 2 wheeler bike at 5. dd is going to get one for her 2nd birthday.

her nursery teacher cannot stop going on about hw she cannot pedal a bike (she is 4 btw)

here .

can she peddle a trike? 4 is pretty young to be able to ride a proper bike i think.

no she can't

I always think a trike is harder to pedal than a bike tbh

she has no real interest in learning either

My friend has them for her dc and they love them.

Mine love their pedal bikes, but that's probably because dh is a man on a mission and they have no choice.

i wanted one for ds but dh caved in and bought him the first proper bike he saw in bike shop. He tried a like-a-bike when we were on holiday last summer but he was only 18mths so too small (feet nowhere near the ground). They are expensive but they are recommended by the British cycling association (or something similar) now for learning to ride. 2nd hand like-a-bikes have a very good resell value.

ooh ta they are much cheaper

wonder if they are as good

a trike is harder i agree
my 4 yr old couldnt pedal a trike but she was fine on a bike

has she any interest enid? maybe shes just not bothered

my 32 yr old friend cant ride a bike

Dp is into bikes and from what he has heard they are great. He wants to get one for ds's 2nd birthday. There are cheaper makes around, like Puky. Have you any bike shops near you where she could try one out?

Dh is a real cycling nut and the nut's view is that the best way to teach a child to ride a bike is without pedals so that they learn to balance before they learn to pedal.

Ds (3.8) is the most uncoordinated child in the world and no way could he pedal! He got one of these for his 3 birthday and loves it, it is his favourite toy. A word of warning thought - they can go very fast indeed and require me sprinting (terrifying sight) to keep up particularly on hills especially as they don't have brakes!

We looked at a Puky one at the weekend, and I'm sure it had a brake

Lidl do them every year for £9.99-not sure when though...

Enid, we got dd (2.4) the likeabike jumper for christmas, not expecting her to be able to use it until summer but she loves it and is already getting speed up and lifting her feet and balancing. It really is brilliant to watch.

She does have a trike she can pedal but seems to get bored a lot quicker on this.

We just took the pedals of ds1's bicycle.

I think the key to his learning to cycle without stabilisers, though, was the fact that he'd learnt to scoot well first and therfore already had the hang of balancing on two moving wheels.

BTW, modern trikes are harder to pedal than a bicycle because of the angle of the pedals to your body. Neither of my older two could manage the modern trike we got, but learned first on the old trike that my parents dug out of the loft. The old trike has the seating position much higher and the wheelbase is slightly shorter, so that the child pushes down onto the pedals, rather than away.

Didn't have a likeabike but got a small bike (must be able to put both feet flat on the ground) at the local tip for only £2.50 (a bargin I think) and took the pedals off. Soon got the hang of scooting a long on the bike. Them out of the blue ask for her pedals (about 3.7) with the help of a slight hill she scooted and put her feet on the pedals and was away. We never looked back. This was a child frighted of bikes with trainer wheels.
Did learn to pedal on a trike and has a pedal car.

My ds (2)has one I got it from halfords £29 he loves it and can balance for a long way it has an adjustable seat and brake (not that he uses it!) when he learns to pedal on something else he will be on a bike fairly quickly I think.

Do you think there is any point buying one for my 4 year old? I see alot of you are buying it for your 2/3 year olds.

Mala - think I would get him a normal bike and take pedals off as like a bikes are quite small. Think your 4 year old may still fit on one, but you might not get too much use out of one. Depends on the child though and how "bike averse" he is!

I got a Puky for my 4 year old. It took her a few tgoes and she complained a bit and then one day she just did it straight away. She'll be ready for a proper bike v soon.