Mama Geek Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 We talked about a bike for dd for Christmas and dh wants to teach her to ride without pedals. While searching the other day I came across balance bikes and kind of like the mini glide. Does anyone have experience with these and what do you think of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Best way to learn how to ride a bike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Balance bikes are brilliant. My eldest learned with one and my youngest is probably going to move from balance to pedals soon. They are great because they do get that sense of balance quite quickly that you just can't pick up from a bike with stabilisers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Best way to learn how to ride a bike Both of my girls learned on a balance bike. I wished we'd known about them when ds was learning because it would have saved a lot of trouble related to getting rid of training wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 We got one for our son's third birthday. He was very excited about it but haven't been using it that much since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Instead of spending money on a balance bike, then having to buy a regula bike later, get a bike and take the pedals off. Replace when ready. Or, like my dd who is finally learning to ride at 9yo, just give them the bike without training wheels and show them how to ride like a balance bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Sounds like a good idea for a 2yo. When my kids were that age, the only ones I saw had stationary handlebars - you coudn't turn the thing. Seemed no better than training wheels as far as not giving the real feel of a bike. Nowadays they are more versatile and inexpensive. I'd probably go for it. I bought my kids 13" bikes around age 3 and took off the training wheels as soon as they figured out the pedals and steering. So they never really got used to the feel of training wheels. This probably helped, and they did learn at 4/5yo, but it probably would have been easier had I also removed the pedals for a while. Funny thing, when I bought the girls' 1st 16" bike when they were 5, we tried it out in the store (where they all have training wheels). My eldest couldn't figure out how to steer it, because leaning didn't work. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Balance bikes are HUGE in Europe. We see little kids on them everywhere. Indy had one when he was little and when Han Solo is a little bigger, we'll get him one too. I think they are brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momoftwoinga Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 One of the best things I've ever bought for sure!! It helped both of my older kids learn to ride quick. They both refused to keep trying on regular bikes. I know if I hadn't bought Go Gliders, they would still not know how to ride. It was easy to go from the glider to a regular bike too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Got DS a Strider balance bike for last Christmas (2.5 yo). He is a PRO at it now, can glide/balance for long distances, fast or slow, just like you see on the YouTube videos. Highly recommended. And Trek makes helmets that fit little ones 1-3 yrs old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Amazon.com is going to have a Lightning Deal on the "Diggin Active Skuut Wooden Balance Bike" today at 5:40pm Pacific time. Amazon's regular price for it is around $76.00, but I don't know how much the Lightning Deal will be. The deals have been pretty good this week, so it could end up being as low as $50 or so. Here's a link to the product page so you can see if it might be of interest to you: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00264GIFY/ref=gb1h_img_c-3_1582_A1KOJVEZABOVQP?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0CVQXYQ78RS01JRM3CVZ&pf_rd_i=5550342011&pf_rd_p=1416111582 You can find all of the Lightning Deals by clicking on the Cyber Monday Deals Week logo on the Amazon home page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Thank you Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Does anyone have an opinion of a wooden balance bike versus the mini glide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Got DS a Strider balance bike for last Christmas (2.5 yo). He is a PRO at it now, can glide/balance for long distances, fast or slow, just like you see on the YouTube videos. Highly recommended. And Trek makes helmets that fit little ones 1-3 yrs old. Does it have rubber tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 We bought my son a balance bike when he was 3. Best thing ever. It's not one of the wooden-framed skuut ones; I forget the brand, but it is basically a regular metal-framed bike without pedals. Even though he has a pedal bike now (he's five), he still rides the balance bike sometimes because it allows him (to the addition of many more lovely gray hairs on my head) to do better tricks without the pedals in the way. He uses it on friend's skate ramps and half pipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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