balance bike for 3 year old

[kipsonline]

Hi - I'm thinking I would like to buy my DS a bike for his 3rd birthday but have no idea about the pros/ cons of balance bikes vs normal bikes with stabilisers? Is 3 too late to be buying a balance bike (am worried they seem v expensive especially if not used for very long)?? Are there any balance bikes that convert to proper bikes (and if so are there any good?) Any advice and experiences greatly appreciated!!

Hi,
we have a PUKY learner bike and served two of my boys. Age range for use is really best from 3yrs onwards. It'll do for about age 5! The transition to pedal bike was done within 10 mins. My advice is, do not shy the cost! It's worth every penny. The kids learn how to balance on a bike properly, whereas on stabilisers they need to relearn as they teach them leaning into the bike the wrong way.

DD will be 3 in May and has asked for a bike. We took her to the local independent bike shop to have a play on bikes (we spend a lot of time in there) and asked them what they recommended. We were having the same dilemma. They said to get her a normal bike and take the pedals off until she's got the knack of balancing. Yes, they're heavier and not designed for balancing per se but they said financially and practically it would suit her just fine and the transition would be seamless.

Anyway, dd is ridiculously excited about having a flowery basket and a seat for her panda on the back so normal bike is probably the way to go anyway.

thank you both! we are still wavering wildly between the 2 options!!

Agree with drkk. Get the puky. Its brilliant and my daughter rode this for about 3-4 months before getting on her normal bike and riding off age 4. They can put their feet up on the middle panel once they get going and this really helps with balance and steering etc.

Hi, am bumping this thread as I am also thinking of getting dd a bike for her 3rd birthday and am torn between the two.
The thing is dd was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year and is having chemo at the minute, I guess i'm being overprotective as i'm so scared of her falling, this is one of the reasons she hasn't had a trike.
I went into an independent bike shop last week and the man in the shop told me not to bother with the balance bike and just get one with stabilisers.
I think i'm looking for peoples experience with balance bikes and how many times they fell before mastering the balance

Thanks

Hi Shirley
Firstly I just want to say that I wish your DD all the best for her treatment. I totally understand why you are concerned about her falling. My children had balance bikes and found the transition to a pedal bike easy. In fact a balance bike is very safe as they always have their feet on the ground. However, the times when they did fall off it was as a result of going downhill too fast and getting out of control. The type of balance bike we had (Like a Bike) does not have brakes. The child uses their feet to slow down and stop. If I had restricted use to a flat surface I don't think they would have fallen at all (age 3 plus). Of course each child is different and has different balance. The good thing about the Like a Bike is that is does not let you oversteer left or right which is often the source of a tumble. Original Like a Bike's are expensive new but EBAY is good and I have seen Like a Bike copies for £40 or so new. If you do opt for stabilisers then watch out for the type of bike where the pedals always go round when the bike is going forward. I think this is really bad design as when the child has their feet on the ground (and not on the pedals) their legs get whacked by the spinning pedals. My daughter also had this type of bike but only used it once as she wouldn't get on it again after her shins got whacked.
All the best
Suzy

Hi Shirley,

I have recently bought a balance bike for my 3 year old daughter from tesco direct for £38 direct.tesco.com/q/R.206-0606.aspx. After two weeks she has already mastered balancing and using the brake, something that she was struggling to do on her bike with stabilisers. I would highly recommend buying one, after running around the park last year with my 4 year old son I can see the transistion to riding a standard bike will be much quicker.

Cerys

Hi just to say we also opted for a balance bike from Tesco in the end:

direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-5376.aspx

...just wrapping it ready for 3rd birthday so hasn't been road tested yet but am looking forward to seeing it in action soon - thanks for all your comments and help xx

theres a bike in home bargains for £5 that is a balance bike that converts into a normal bike later....think its fisher price, but could be wrong

£50!!!! sorry not £5 lol

oh sorry, i see you have already got one, hope your dc loves it

Hi thanks for your advice. We took her to a bike shop and tried fer out on bikes and balance bikes and we are just going to leave it til her treatment is finished. She loved them but looked so unsteady on them

Will probably end up going for a balance bike when the time comes

Thanks again

Hi, we have the Like-a-bike that started it all, and it is blaaaardy brilliant.

Dd has used t from 2 to 5.5, we are about to buy an extenson post so she can keep using it. She can ride a pedal bike now, but prefers her wooden bike because it's faster

Can't say enough about it really, it could easily serve 2 hand me downs. Love it.

I can't say about her treatment obvously Shirley, but what I will say is that dd took a good few tries to find her balance. It also took space, no way could she have learnt in the shop. You need a good run of grass and expect a few wobbles. The great news is that if they do loose balance, they only have to put their foot out to save themselves. No pedles, brakes etc to think about. So as a result dd1 has never fallen.

Hope she is all better very soon.

Hope everything goes ok with your daughters treatment Shirley - good luck xxx

My dd is almost 3 and got her Rothan balance bike for Christmas when she was 2yrs 5mnths.

She couldn't go on it at first apart from around the house (all the roads were frozen solid!) so started to go on it from around 2yrs 7mths. It only took her a couple of goes and then she was off ...and I do mean off - she goes like the clappers on it!!

Her balance is superb now and she has no fears downhills etc. The only time she has fallen off is when she has been looking behind her (to see how far behind we are!) and has lent on the handlebars which has then made her lose balance.

She hasn't been in a pram since she started using the bike and the novelty isn't wearing off at all - I can see another good years worth of use out of it ...easily! In fact, I've found that it is older children who really covet the bike - especially older boys.

Best money we ever spent. Get one - you won't regret it

I bought my 3 year old daughter a Tiny Bike - you can see it here: www.fun4kids.co.uk/bikes-ride-ons/balance-bikes/tiny-bike/tiny-bike.html

It's super light and she can pick it up with one hand - she loves whizzing round on it and it's really good quality - the pink is just gorgeous!

Hi if you don't want to choose between a balance bike and pedal bike, why not try the LittleBig bike that changes from a little balance bike into a big pedal bike. You can get from www.littlebigbikes.com

Another huge fan of the islabike rothan here. It has a hand brake which is great and saves shoes! It's also really light which is a big consideration as you will carry it. I'd go for a proper balance bike as asking a kid to balance on a regular bike with pedals off might put them off riding as that could be fairly awkward.

We chose the Islabike Rothan too. A brilliant buy.