Trike VS balance bike

[absolutehush]

I wanted some advice on what to get my DD - 16/17 months.

She's very adventurous (read:death wish) and high energy. I was thinking about getting her a scuttle bug or a trike. But would I be better off going straight to a balance bike style thingy?

She has been walking since 11 months and is steady on her feet, and sits on her walkers to try and scoot them about. She has a lot of confidence too!

Not hugely tall but is very slim.

Recommendations and advice greatly appreciated!

Hopeful nudge?

They might be just too little for a balance bike.
frog bikes do have small balance bikes or this mini micro trike?

I totally advocate balance bikes over stabilizers, my child had a balance bike from 3 confident riding a pedal bike from 4, now a whizz with a geared bike at 7. All frog bikes too as super light weight.
There's a frog bike preloved FB group.

My two have both loved scuttlebugs as a first step - 3 1/2 YO still whizzes around on one even though her legs are a wee bit too long really.

Ok, maybe the scuttle bug! It's not too big of an investment if she outgrows fast!

Thanks everyone!

Definitely a scuttle bug! My almost 3yo DS has scuttle bug, balance bike and trike. Scuttle bug was the easiest for him to get the hang of and is still his most favourite of all 3. They do a 4 wheel scuttle bug for younger children which a pp has posted above which might be better than the 3 wheelers for your DD as they are a bit more stable.

I would go for scuttle bug now and then get a balance bike when she’s 2. You can get the strider bikes second hand quite easily and they are great but I would think they’d be a bit heavy for her still

My son got his first balance bike for his second birthday. He took to it right away, got another one when he outgrew it, then got a pedal bike with stabilisers, which he quickly dispensed with. He was riding his first pedal bike to nursery without stabilisers before he turned 4.

I really think balance bikes build confidence and ability.
He too had a scuttle bug which he liked, but he liked and used the balance bike far more. The only thing I would say is it's hard to get a very small one, which your daughter would need at her age. Also, they can go very fast on them so be sure you can keep up, and keep away from roads, at that age they cannot be trusted to stop or stay on the pavement.

We had a scuttle bug too, that might be better at her age as she'll likely be too small for even the smallest balance bikes

I work with children we have a few scuttle bugs, they love them. X

Got a balance bike at about 18 months for our toddler after he used his nice wooden trike so hard it broke - hes now 22 months and lethal on it now.

You can get little ones with 10 inch wheels from halfords for about £20/25 which will probably fit - just put the seat to the lowest setting and go.

We can shove it under the pram sometimes but we are at a point now where he bikes faster than he walks and can go a pretty long distance now.

Would reccomend using with reigns though once she is proficient - its a bit of extra security on hills and pavements

Get the scuttle bug XL as it has multiple heights

16/17 months is young for a balance bike.
I'd look at the mini micro scooter with a seat. Let them use it as a sit-on ride on for a year then convert to scooter and get balance bike at 2.5.

Just to expand on what I said yesterday as I was too tired to type

DS is a very tall 2 year old but even still we could not find a balance bike he could use before he was near 2, they were all just too tall

The scuttlebug XL has 3 height settings meaning it's perfect as the highest setting he is on tiptoes, perfect for practice with the bike

Also, he requires no assistance with the scuttlebug whereas with the balance bike he always needs are there

Ds2 had a balance bike for Christmas just before his 2nd birthday (because his brother got a bike and we wanted to stave off the jealousy) , we went for the smallest we could find but it was still a bit hard for him to control and he didn't really enjoy it for a good six months. He wasn't ready for it til about 2 ½.

Both my kids were nearer 3 before being able to ride the balance bike. But a ride on of some description that encourages them to use their feet in a walking action has to be a good stepping stone.

My daughter was riding an Islabikes Rothan balance bike from 2.5 and went straight to an Islabikes CNOC pedal bike (no stabilisers) before 3.5. It took her 24 hours to transition from balance bike to pedal bike. She was never that bothered by a scuttlebug but did like her micro scooter :)

A wishbone bike starts as a trike and converts to a balance bike - might be worth a look.

Scuttlebug now.
Balance bike later.
Skip the trike.

Thanks everyone! We've got the scuttle bug second hand (yay) and it's a total success!

She's tall but light and I looked at few balance bikes and she would find them heavy. Plus she is totally fearless and I worried about it being safe!