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Original poster

I know it's been done loads of times........balance bikes.

16 replies

Phoenix · 18/01/2009 21:04

Dh thinks they are a complete waste of time and money but i have read so many positive things about them that i want to buy ds one for his 3rd birthday.

I've found this one on the Halfords website for £39.99, the cheapest i've seen.

Do you think they are a good idea?

OP posts:
liger · 18/01/2009 21:15

my ds had a micro scooter or his 2nd Birthday, then a balance bike just before his 3rd birthday got the hang of it in not time and now at just over 3 and a half he is confidently solo on a pedal bike. All very straightforwrd, I think the balance bike gave him the confidence that kept him keen to learn more.

Lubyloo · 18/01/2009 21:29

DD has this Islabike

It is fantastic and I can't recommend it enough. DD whizzes along on it and I run to keep up which is great exercise! I've seen friends struggle with their children on bikes with stabilisers (easily topple over and make slow progress) and I'm very glad we chose a balance bike for her.

Liger - I'm interested to find out how the transition went from balance bike to pedals. We have just put the seat up on DD's bike today and it won't go any higher. How did your DS manage learning to pedal?

MmeLindt · 18/01/2009 21:31

They are very popular in Germany, our DC were both cycling on normal bikes without stabilisers from 3yo.

DS had a tractor with pedals at the same time so that taught him the pedalling bit while the balance bike taught him the balancing bit.

liger · 18/01/2009 21:35

DS had an Islabike too -they are great and he is now on the pedal version of Islabike - they part-exchange the bikes as the child grows which is grea .

Lubyloo the transition was easy, it literally took a couple of days before he was pedaling solo. It came to the point with the balance bike that he had pedal envy - and had almost gone back to riding his tricycle because he was more fascinated with the pedals than the speed.

Once we had the pedal bike he was away. The only thing he had to get the hang of was not looking down at the pedals all the time! He loves it and wants to ride it everywhere, he even has a little light on the front so that dh can take him round the block in the evenings after dinner.

IwishIwasmoreorganised · 18/01/2009 21:36

we got ours from chainreaction.com for about the same price. Not had enough good weather for ds1 to try it out much yet though

mckenzie · 18/01/2009 21:38

if your DS already has a small bike just take the pedals off that one (and pedals attachment bits). That's what we did with DS and it worked just fine although DD does have a proper balance bike but only because i got it secondhand on Ebay.

TheTwaMacDugs · 18/01/2009 21:39

this is the one my dd has. she loves it!
We also bought one for the Toddler Group I ran, and it proved very popular with the 2.5 - 3 year olds to scoot about on

Original poster
Phoenix · 18/01/2009 21:41

The Halfords one is cheaper than any normal bikes i've seen though and he doesn't have a bike already.

Thanks for all the replies. They're all very positive and dh is listening as i'm reading your stories to him

OP posts:
mckenzie · 18/01/2009 21:44

If you look after it Pheonix you'll be able to sell it one Ebay when you're finished with it I'm sure.

Lubyloo · 18/01/2009 22:57

Liger - that's great to hear it was so easy. I think we are only going to get another couple of months use out of her current bike as she is growing so quickly!

Original poster
Phoenix · 19/01/2009 09:16

Mckenzie - I'm pg with dc2 so we could put it away if we don't sell it

Our options for his birthday are a tri scooter or a balance bike. Dh has eventually said he thinks he'll get more use out of a balance bike

OP posts:
Vinegar · 19/01/2009 09:40

I would higly recommend them. DD had a puky one, it was expensive though. She used it from ages 3-4 and then learnt to ride a proper bike in a day. Tesco also do them for around £35.

HaventSleptForAYear · 19/01/2009 09:45

We have just bought DS1 (4) a new bike and we just took the pedals off.

He was doing really well on Saturday but by Sunday already wanted the pedals on and then of course it was too hard to him to cycle alone.

Is there anything different about balance bikes?

How long would you say a child would need to use one before trying a "real" bike?

Egg · 19/01/2009 09:50

We got the islabike one for DS1 for Christmas (he is 3 in Feb) but he hasn't really got the hang of it yet. Saying that, he has only really tried in the house so far! It does look lovely! Am hoping he will soon ride it to nursery etc.

PortAndLemon · 19/01/2009 09:51

DS (4 next week) has a Puky and we're about to get him a "proper" bike.

There isn't much different about balance bikes except that there aren't pedals to put back on, so you don't get into the situation you has with your DS.

Original poster
Phoenix · 19/01/2009 10:02

I've just ordered the Halfords one. There was an extra 10% off too so it cost £40.22 with delivery

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