balance bike or pedal bike for 3yr old?

[dizzydixies]

DD2 will be 3 in May and is tall for her age, she can go a trike no problem and WANTS to go on DD1's bike (although there are issues with remembering to pedal/steer and look up all at the same time!!)

we want to get her one for her birthday, although give her it early as we're out all the time but I can't decide between a balance one or a pedal one

am tempted by balance as DD1, who will be 6 in July, still has stabilisers and I like the concept of the balance bike teaching them

also by the time the balance bike is no use to DD2, she can have DD1's pedal bike and DD3 can have the balance bike

right then, someone tell me pros and cons please!!!

Really? Are they going to replace it?

I think its more of a problem with the stone wall, I think they've had to replace it before it collapsed and ok, will give them that, maybe better to do it now rather than in summer when its used more

if we get a summer this year that is!!

Top tip when starting out - stick a dog lead (or dodgy paisley tie) on the handlebars to tow it along, so there's a bit of momentum while they get the hang of balancing - dd is getting the hang of sticking both feet up now, and when she's really confident I'll let her off the lead...

Thanks, dizzy. Will keep my eye out for improvements to the path - it's perfect for wee ones on bikes.

We got a beechrunner from Cool Products - pedals to add later - it also has a brake - but you do need to get a decent hat and potentially cycle gloves - both have been very helpful.

Ds could go round the park aged 3yrs about twice the speed of most 5 yo with stabilisers...

We are starting pedalling on a trailer bicycle - so he'll soon put them all together!

writing this from hotel room following our trek to the islabikes workshop today. In a nutshell i have never known such customer service- got to speak with Isla herself (who DD now tinks is a demi god )

have come away with the most gorgeous bike which i am not so secretly a bit jealous of.

They have all the sizes out at the workshop and the balence bikes (Rothan) looked so diddy but still cool!

Main advice they gave which is of help here was to always ensure childs balls of feet can easily rest on floor when sitting in saddle - my DD is tall for her age and we thought we would need a bigger bike than the one we came away with - but when properly fitted this was not the case.

hth

Dobby2001- good to hear of another fan, there really is no comparison is there. Hard to get this across to other people unless you see the bikes in the flesh. Do you know if Isla is planning to sell them in other shops?

I've been so impressed with the build and quality of them I ended up buying the largest bike for myself.

I got the Beinn 26 for myself with the mountain bike tyres.

took DD2 into Halfords just to measure her up on the bikes, the 14" is still too big for her even though she is 98cm tall so shall be phoning on Monday to order her a Rothan

thank you all

Look at www.striderbike.co.uk, fab bike and delivered next day. plus they are the cheapest supplier in Uk that i found and its run by a mum!

balance bike...

got dd (pfb) a bike with pedals... when ds arrived we got him a balance bike (3). Wish we had got dd one..

Fab imo.

We have a Zooom for my 3 year old.

I must admit to being a bit sceptical at first but I think it was well worth the money.

DD has a Isla Bike, she is almost 4, we got it for her 3rd birthday, a bit unsure if it was too young for her, although pedals were too old yet.

She absolutely loves it. And while she is ready to learn pedals, she loves to scoot along really really fast on her balance bike and we felt that while learning is great, she does not need to be pushed and 'learn' all the time, she has mastered this and it is good just stop and to let her enjoy 'being able' for a while, rather than 'learning to be able', before we embark on her riding with pedals, there is no rush to get her to learn that yet. When she stops enjoying the Isla Bike we will move to the next stage.

While the Isla Bike is pricey, we got it as DS was on the way when we bought it and he can have it next, it has good resale value when we come to sell it, and it is sturdy and robust and will take the battering that DD gives it (she has no fear, so scooting along fast downhill is normal).

i posted before noticing that this is old !!

I'm another balance bike enthusiast and my son started using few months after being 2 years old.
I chose FistBike and I'm completely satisfied.
I blogged about it with photos and a video at:

thebestformysonen.blogspot.it/2014/09/the-best-balance-bike.html

Balance bike every time. If it's for a. 2 year old get a lightweight metal one and 10 inch. Decathlon and halfords both do brilliant ones for 40 quid. Everyone we know how has them. Those who had stabilisers for DC1 got Balance bikes for DC2. They can then normally move onto proper pedals with no stabilisers at 3.5 - 4

You could try the LittleBig bike, it's both a balance bike and a pedal bike so you don't need to choose. www.littlebigbikes.com

p.s. this is my business but wanted to respond as I thought the LittleBig could help you.

They look excellent Simon