Balance Bikes

[Nerf Herder]

Question for the parents that put their kids on Balance bikes at some point or are considering one

1. If you had a choice of a more Bike Path focused or Dirt focused balance bike what would you opt for (presume only 1 choice).
2. If off road ... would you want brakes for the little tike

• presume you dont care about price ??
• what about if brakes increase cost by $100 ??? pure guess right now.

The diff between bike path and Dirt is essentially tires and brakes

12" wheels

Right now my assumption is bike path focused as the knobbies and brakes will just add weight and those skills can come later ... its more about coordination and balance at this size and developmental stage ??? In summary weight and price is more important.

Appreciate your 10cents

 

[caad9]

Hi @Nerf Herder,

I've got a 2.5 year old boy and bought him a DK Nano balance bike for his 1st birthday.
It is a seriously ripping little thing. Only problem is up until now he has not been able to use it because it's too heavy.
If I had my time again, I would have listened to the fellas in the LBS and gone for weight over form (Cruzee)

I think keeping things simple and light is the best option based on my experience.

The next step up from here is filled with some awesome little offroad bikes that can deal with brakes and bigger tyres

 

[Cardy George]

We put all three of our boys on a cheap wooden balance bike with the foam tyres and barely any knobs. Then sent them out onto various gravel driveways. They all fell, they all got told to rub it better, and now all three have a very solid understanding of grip levels on varying surfaces. To the point where the Little Sender has scant regard for what's underneath him and will slide it thru regardless

 

[kbekus]

A back brake seems like a nice idea but I wonder if a toddler would have enough hand strength to actually use it? Dunno. I put both of my boys on path oriented balance bikes and to be honest, like Cardy George's experience, they just ended up riding on every surface and had to learn how to deal with it.

 

[JTmofo]

I've had my little girl on a balance bike since she was 2. Cheapo lightweight aluminium Chainreaction special. Foam wheels, no brakes.

TBH I think that a knobby wheeled, braked balance bike would be for the whole heartedly dedicated. She enjoys riding it, but its one of her toys. Personally I wouldn't drop the coin on a blinged out balance bike for dirt path use. I don't see the return or benefit.

 

[tubby74]

I worried as bit about the kid being able to stop if he was on a long slope but it never came up and if he was running away down a hill I doubt he'd have had the coordination or thoguth process to grab a brake rather than the reaction of slamming feet down.

The cruzee had a few reviews saying solid tyres weren't the best for grip, but he's ridden bmx tracks amongst everything else and was fine, was his daily transport to daycare for ages. The light weight was the key though. When he was 2 he could run into a curb or steps, pick it up himself and keep going or reset himself after a crash.

 

[Labcanary]

I put my boy on a cheap Aldi balance bike from about 18 months old. It weighs next to nothing, solid foam tyres, seat is easily slammed so his little legs could reach the ground. Once he got the hang of it and a bit of confidence he was following us along green mtb trails and trying to jump off every bump in the trail. Yeah, the tyres wore down after a while but it never seemed to bother him.
About a month after his 3rd birthday I thought I'd get a second hand balance bike with pneumatic tyres, that was the day he suddenly decided to have a go with a pedal bike. He's been pedalling on 2 wheels ever since and never needed stabilizers.

 

[creaky]

Nerf,

I reckon the more path style tyres ones without brakes are the way to go.

My lad had no grip problems doing some light trails on his giant prepush and it was super smooth on the bike path which, realistically, will be most of their initial riding anyway. Make sure they have a supply of rugged and cheap sneakers (ie brake pads).

 

[Tubbsy]

Make sure they have a supply of rugged and cheap sneakers (ie brake pads).

Little kids tend to be surprised when they're suddenly going too fast, and instinctively brake with their feet.

I reckon in most cases by the time they're ready to trust in a brake lever they're probably on a pedal bike.

But conversely that's not to say that you wouldn't make plenty of sales - a lot of parents want the best for Little Johnny and tend to over think these purchases.

 

[slowmick]

we have a two balance bikes, scooters and trikes scattered around the house for our daughter. The balance bikes are one of the wooden jobs with pneumatic tyres (donated) and a giant with foam tyres ($30 from Facebook). The Giant is really light (and pink).

No point in spending big dollars on the balance bike. It is just one of her toys. They probably sat around for 18 months until she had any interest. just getting going now. Getting speed down the sloped driveway with feet as brakes. She's not going fast enough for grip to matter and there's no way she'd pull on a brake. Well she likes to pull on the brakes when in the weeride but i don' think she understands it just makes dad work harder.

A loud easy to use bell would be more of a selling point for a kid...

 

[RealizE]

Go with the Cruzee style. My little bloke was riding his from 18months (had to notch the seat to get it low enough) and even when we were following the bike path, he would spend 90% of the time off the side in the dirt searching for bumps and jumps to ride off. The small nobs were more than adequate, the only issue I found was the foam knobs washing out at the skate parks.

Weight and size is 100% the most important thing. If you have real young/small kids and want them to hate riding, get them a DK style bike. I have 3 mates who are bike guys and they all went with the DK because they were the most rad looking and had proper bike components on them. After a year of their kids failing to ride and wanting to use scooters instead, they got Cruzees and the kids were instantly off and riding.

By the time a kid is big enough to master the DK style bikes, they could have already mastered a pedal bike.

 

[nexusfish]

I think a bike that has good steering stability is important. My kids have two little bikes. One is the death maching, with hard rubber wheels and a super steep head angle. It goes really fast on smooth hard surface, but if they get too carried away with their legs, the side to side wiggleing can all of a sudden cause Moto GP style highsides. Their other one has inflatable tyres and super amounts of trail so once it starts really moving over bumpy ground, it just wants to track straight. The later is the fave on hills camping on bumpy ground and the former is the fave around the house and in the driveway for fanging.

 

[Jpez]

To add further about the weight of the bike being a big factor you will end carrying the bloody thing when they get tired so you don’t want it heavy.
We went with a Cruzee. great little unit.

 

[caad9]

To add further about the weight of the bike being a big factor you will end carrying the bloody thing when they get tired so you don’t want it heavy.

Very underrated comment. Clip on shoulder straps would be handy Nerf

 

[Nerf Herder]

What we are looking at isnt at the budget end ... range is super light weight ... balance bikes are just one line ... mainly focused on 20 and 24" MTBs

So the gamble ... some people really do value light weight / fit and willing to pay a premium for quality and weight ... fine line I know re $$$. Obviously not targeting those more dollar conscious

Just wanted to test my thinking and pretty much in line with the majority of you ie brakes and knobbies arent worth it ... thanks peeps

 

[rstim]

I started both my boys on a cheap cruzee copy which was great being light weight they were both riding at about 18 months, only down side were the foam tyres being slippery especially on loose gravel. We then bought a spawn balance bike when the eldest was around 2.5 which he loved with more grip from the pneumatic tyres and the hand brake to do skids. He was big enough at that stage to easily handle the extra weight and the hand brake helped develop that skill before he transitioned to his pedal bike.

 

[EZZA 84]

Another here for the Cruzee, great little bike and easy to carry once the toddler loses interest and wants to collect rocks or look at bugs instead of ride her bike on our 'bike ride'

 

[Labcanary]

Very underrated comment. Clip on shoulder straps would be handy Nerf

Sometimes I had to hook the balance bike on my backpack. Managed to ride up Black Hill doing that. It was not comfortable!

 

[PJO]

Have had three boys go through various balance bikes, by far light weight (Cruzee) was the biggest factor leading to enjoyment. Also had one with a back brake (FirstBIKE) but the boys didn't have the strength or presence of mind to use it. Feet are for braking anyway just ask the boys at the bowl.

 

[puffmoike]

Echoing light weight and simple, like nearly everybody here. And keep the same priorities as they get older.

Our road bikes weigh ~5% of our weight and our MTBs weigh ~20%. Lots of young kids are on bikes that weigh half as much as they do! Imagine your trail bike was more than twice as heavy!