Balance bikes - are they worth it?

sweetme

I highly recommend balance bikes. I bought my youngest one for his second birthday, for his third birthday I bought him a bike with pedals, he picked it up straight away, never used stabilisers at all, and I really do think that is because of the balance he learned using the balance bike.

Definitely also recommend a helmet, and strong toed shoes, the speed they can reach on balance bikes is heart stopping, and inevitably the toes are used to stop the bike

emz118

My husband runs an independent bike shop. Our first child is due in February and they will have a balance bike as early as possible, about 2 ish he reckons..... (eeeeeek! I have no balance so it frightens me!)


Hubby says there are many pros and cons but he would always advise a balance bike as balancing is the trickiest bit. Once they've got that, they pick up the pedalling much quicker.

SunnyCyprus

Balance bikes are a great idea, and promote the learning of 'balance' much better than stabilisers do. You only have to look at European countries where cycling is much more popular to see that every little kiddy learns to ride on BBs. We visited my brother in Germany in 2012 and this was the first time I had seen BBs, my bro told me that you just dont see stabilisers being used to teach cycling.
I work for a cycle/auto retailer and the sales of BBs are increasing as word gets around that they really are a better way for smaller kiddies to learn. First bikes seem to be so heavy and cumbersome for children so they have to wait until they are 3 or 4 yrs old to just be strong enough to move themselves and a bike.. BBs can be used from a much younger age.