Wondering about pedal bikes

[SarahBear]

When Violet was a toddler, I read all about the virtues of a balance bike and I bought her one before she was 2. I also researched balance bikes and got her one that was supposed to be one of the best and was fairly expensive. Well, she liked it here and there but never really took to it. I was thinking I'd have to go the conventional rout of getting one of those junky bikes that's proportioned poorly but at least has training wheels for balance. However, she recently started using the balance bike again and could actually do it! The seat is at it's absolute max though, so she's not going to get much more use out of it. I'm thinking that if she continues using it here and there, she should be ready to learn on a pedal bike by summer. By then she should be a little taller and will have had more practice balancing. The question is, what sort of bike would be best? She'll be 4 and a half by then. Who knows what clothes she'll be wearing, but she's in size 4 clothes now and is about 40 inches tall. The standard bikes are proportioned really poorly so I'm really hesitant to get one. The well proportioned bikes, however, are expensive! Do I go with a more expensive bike that might last longer and can be passed down or do I go with a cheaper one because hey, the others are really expensive! Do you know of any bikes you'd recommend? Also, I'm in the US.

 

[Bella1185]

I'd likely just get her a scooter and let her wrangle that until she's grown enough to purchase the other bike you have in mind

 

[SarahBear]

I'd likely just get her a scooter and let her wrangle that until she's grown enough to purchase the other bike you have in mind

Hm... I hadn't thought of that option.

 

[AngelUK]

We got our boys expensive balance bikes that can be transformed into proper bikes in time. So far my boys have zero interest. Nor in their scooters really. I am thinking of selling them even. I suppose in the resale value is where getting a good brand would pay off. Unless she would wreck a bike you would always have that option.

 

[MindUtopia]

I don't know anything about U.S. brands, but I would recommend going and speaking to someone knowledgeable at a bike shop, not like Walmart, but like an actual bike shop and get some advice and have them fit her for a bike. You may not end up buying from them, but it will give you a better idea of size and also how to fit her yourself.

Do you have anyone you could borrow one from for a couple months? Maybe someone who has an older child who doesn't use it anymore and wouldn't mind lending it to you? We got ours a balance bike when she turned 2. She was too small to really even fit it then and they didn't come any smaller (she was still in 12-18 month clothes then!). But from about 3, she started to be able to ride it and is now amazing on it. She'll definitely be ready for a pedal bike by the spring time. There is a brand that's been recommended to us by friends who are keen cyclists that is good for kids, but it's British (and I can't remember what it is now anyway). But I would just talk to someone knowledgeable and see if you know anyone you could borrow from. If she's bored with it, then you might as well wait. But if she loves it, then maybe worth spending more for something she'll get a lot of use out of.

 

[LoraLoo]

In my experience the more expensive bikes are better, they're lighter weight, less bulky and better proportioned making it easier to ride. My son went straight from a balance bike to pedal bike at 4, he was just off.
We personally like Giant, Frog and Kona for the kids, but we are in the uk.

 

[SarahBear]

AngelUK, one advantage we have is that whatever I get can be passed on to Leo when Violet out-grows it. It would be a bit harder with twins.

LauraLoo, I've been looking at the website TwoWheelingTots.com and they have a lot of good info on there. I definitely think a more expensive bike would be better in terms of getting more use out of it both because it's easier to use and because it's likely to last longer.

I don't have someone with a bike I can borrow other than a neighbor who went the rout of getting cheap bikes. They have had so many different bikes! They have a boy and a girl and each kid has had their own tricycle and cheap two wheeler with training wheels plus a balance bike. Then they've also both very quickly grown out of their first two wheelers. The older one has a second two wheeler now and the younger one has his training wheels removed. So far, we have one hand-me down tricycle, and one expensive balance bike. Now we need to look at a pedal bike and I want it to be one that will last and can be passed to Leo. They're also both using the balance bike right now and Leo is using the tricycle.

 

[Gym knickers]

We realised DD could pedal a trike at around 3 so this summer we justness got her a fairly expensive bike with stabilisers which she managed straight away and loves using.

 

[pinksmarties]

We have the same problem and have gone down the slighty more expensive bike route for his Christmas present (resale value is quite high so that help but DS2 will get use of it ay some point). Islabike/frog are great as they are light weight lower crossbar for easier getting on off and better brakes for little hands.

We are going to take the pedal of initially to make it a balance bike again till he get used to it then pedals back on and hopefully he'll be off.

 

[Eleanor ace]

When DS was 4 we bought him this bike: https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/kids-bikes/apollo-police-patrol-kids-bike-14
It's UK so I'm not sure whether the sizings are the same, but DS's is a 14" bike and its still just right for him now at 5.5 and should last for a good while yet. It was inexpensive but not too heavy or anything. I'm planning to get DD something similar for her 4th birthday.

 

[Ganton]

I'm in the UK but we went down the more expensive route for my son (Frog bikes) and it's great. It's really lightweight, which was important to us as he's only small, and it seems to be very durable given that it still looks brand new despite being used loads. We're hoping to pass down to DS2 then DD, so it should be worth the investment. Even if it didn't get passed down though, I'd still feel like it was worth the money just with the use that DS1 is getting out of it.

 

[SarahBear]

Well, we did end up getting her a scooter.

 

[EcoMama]

If you're thinking of a scooter I'd recommend not getting one that they have to lean to steer. It screws up their ability to use the balance bike properly, ime.

 

[CaptainMummy]

If you're thinking of a scooter I'd recommend not getting one that they have to lean to steer. It screws up their ability to use the balance bike properly, ime.

Even I can't work them out!

With my eldest, we just got a standard 12" mountain bike type (mid range) and at 4.5 she decided that she wanted to do it with no stabilisers. Once she was of the mindset that she was going to do it she had it mastered in a day and there was no looking back. She wasn't interested in her bike at all before that (she never had a balance bike)

Dd2 is amazing on her balance bike and I'm certain she could ride a pedal bike with no stabilisers just now, but I'm going to wait until her 4th birthday because she is tiny and woukd probably struggle to reach pedals on a pedal bike!

 

[SarahBear]

Good to know! Last year I was considering a 3 wheeled lean-to-steer scooter, but in the end, I got a regular two wheeled razor scooter. I got two actually so I can ride with her and so Leo can ride in a few years when he's old enough too. She's ridden it once so far. It didn't take long for her to start to get it. I just had her ride on our neighborhood road as it has very infrequent traffic. I'd like to drive her over to the park at some point though as there's a big fenced in paved area she could ride on.