You can get your kid started with balance biking as young as 15 months with a light bike with a low seat so they can simply sit, hold the handlebars, and walk around (or at an even younger age, with Strider’s rocking horse attachment, which only works with the 12 Sport). Read on to see my other top picks! It is the lightest bike in the test by almost a kg and is the only bike to weigh in under 2kg. Both have solid metal construction. 3. Strider bikes have long been known for its well-designed, well-built bike, and the Strider 12 Sport is no exception. Strider Sport 14" Kids' Balance Bike. These are key because when most kids transition from a balance to a pedal bike, they’re hardwired to use their feet as brakes—especially if their balance bike didn’t come with hand brakes. Once kids have mastered striding, it’s time to attach the pedal setup, which like everything else Strider, is extremely clever. It gets several positive reviews from customers and I’m positive it’d be an ideal match for your kid. That’s why they land on our lists of the Best Gifts for 3 Year Old Boys and the Best Gifts for 4 Year Old Boys. If the seat is set at the lowest height, the handlebars should be, too. Price can be a big factor in any purchase you make. You can also get a cheaper version of this bike – the Strider 12 Classic – which will last only until about 3 years of age. The Strider tires are 1″ larger than the Banana Bike. It basically comes pre-assembled. Like its smaller cousin, the 12 Sport, the 14x Sport offers key features, in this case a low step-in height, of 10 inches; a long, stable wheelbase of 28.5 inches; a bottom bracket that’s only 5.8 inches high, lowering the center of gravity; and a remarkable seat height range of 15 to 22 inches. Couple that range with a handlebar stem that can be raised nearly 4 inches and a bar that can be tilted upward and forward nearly 4 inches, and you have an incredibly versatile and maneuverable little people mover. The 14x also features smooth and shock-absorbing air-filled, semi-knobby tires on lightweight 16-spoke alloy rims. During that time, 2-year-old Elle went from being a bit overwhelmed to quite comfortable striding around. The seat also has a neat little “grab handle” at the back for when the grown-ups need to give it a lift. As a result, the Cub is best for kids weighing close to or over 30 lb. This is what started the whole debate if a balance bike or tricycle is the way to go. You can use the Strider beginning at 18 months, but you have to wait until age 2 to use the Banana Bike. This can mean striding for a few years. Weighing 9.2 lb., the Cub is on the heavier side for smaller bikes. For our experienced 6-year-old rider, Luke, it was a cinch to bunny hop. We had issues with the width of its rear tubes, which rubbed our tester’s legs. Draw a chalk line along the ground and have them follow it. It is a step up in quality, weighs less (11.2 pound without pedals, 14.5 with), and has excellent front and rear hand brakes and an ingenious system that allows you to flip the midpoint of the frame. This extremely safe beginner’s bike reduces the risk of injury by keeping feet and frame low to the ground. Obviously, you don’t want a bike that is too heavy for an older child either, but they typically aren’t made that heavy. The Strider 12 Sport comes without a rear linear-pull hand brake—the ideal kind for a balance bike. Keep in mind that you should also factor into your cost a child helmet and elbow and knee pads. View in: Mobile 320 | Mobile 640 | Desktop Ryan McFarland, John Bradley, WeeBikeShop’s Ivan Altinbasak, and most everyone I interviewed consider training wheels to be about the worst thing you can put on kids’ bikes. We spent 41 hours to find a best option for you and it’s a TheCroco Lightweight Balance Bike, which comes with all amazing features you ever want. As far as geometry and weight, the 14x Sport is meant for older kids, from the late 3s up to 6 or 7. Yes! Airless, durable tires make for a … They also host balance bike races for children and create bikes for people with special needs. If you’re looking for a balance bike for an older child who may only get 1 or 2 years of use out of it, I think the lower end models may be perfect. The Banana’s foam tires work fine on paved and carpeted surfaces, but were quite slippy on kitchen linoleum and hardwood floors (unlike our top pick and runner-up). I secret shopper’d balance bikes at local shops here in Charleston, South Carolina, and at the REI store in Greenville, South Carolina, and gathered thoughts from our experts and a few cycling editors at Wirecutter. The bars are not quite an inch wider in diameter than those on the Strider with about a 3-inch grip, but they’re definitely still kid-size. It is too small for children older than 4 years of age. This required some attentive wrenching with two wrenches (the bike came with only one) and paying close attention to the diagram on the instruction sheet. Agile, simple to assemble, and sporting a useful rear hand brake, the is the balance bike for bike enthusiast parents who want their kid to have a pro-level tyke bike. It has a removable footrest, and its wheelbase gives it plenty of speed and stability for medium- to bigger-size kids. If you’re buying a balance bike for a toddler, look for tires on the lower range (10 or 12 inches). Like our 12 Sport, the 14x arrived nearly constructed. Why? The Strider 12 Sport Balance Bike hides prodigious design beneath a veneer of simplicity. Ease them in—even if that means simply standing there for a mere 30 seconds until a scooter, butterfly or sippy cup provides a new distraction. Balance bikes are a helpful and fun toy that can teach kids how to balance at an early age. The pedal installation process is not as simple as the 14x, though, and its geometry is more aggressive, which makes it agile but not quite as comfortable as the Strider. It isn’t the lightest balance bike on the market, but at just 6.7 pounds, it should be light enough for even a toddler to control. For a toddler, you should look for a bike that is under 7 pounds or so, in order to guarantee that they will be able to control it on their own. Schwinn Balance Toddler Bikes, 12-Inch Wheels, Beginner Rider Training, Multiple Colors 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,945. The REV 12 also gets high marks for what may be an even easier assembly than the Strider. Like most balance bikes sold today, the grips feature bulbs on their ends that prevent not only torso impalement from jackknifed handlebars but also scraped fingers from inevitable visits to gravel or pavement. Play rocket ship blast-off, or Simon Says (Simon says, “Go!” and Simon says, “Turn the handlebar.”). It arrived in a very small box. Balance bikes have a wide range of prices, starting at about $40 and going all the way up to $200. Geometry-wise, the 14x, which has 14-inch wheels (unlike the rest of the balance bikes we tested, which had 12-inch wheels), the Sport is meant for kids in their mid to high 3s up to age 7. [offer keyword=’radio flyer balance bike’] 9. Geometry-wise, the Banana is very similar to our runner-up pick, the Co-op Cycles REV 12. What is the recommended age for a balance bike? Comparison of Strider Vs Schwinn Balance Bike. If you are planning on keeping the bike outside where it may be exposed to rain, you should opt for a rust-free metal or plastic frame. Experts told us it’s not worth it. For our testing subjects, we enlisted our friend’s adventurous little kids, including 2-year-old Elle, 6-year-old Luke, and 7-year-old Fleet here in Charleston, South Carolina. River, who is 3 and a proficient balance biker, took to our fleet with enthusiasm. Another benefit to riding a balance bike is getting young riders used to two wheels from the start. Its surface is not too slick and not too sticky and comprises a durable yet just-soft-enough foam rubber. (Recall your own awkwardness and tumbles when you rode a too-tall bike as a kid.). Like the Strider 12 Sport, the REV 12 features a very low step-in height of 8 inches—a key aspect for a balance bike—and its seat height is adjustable between a very respectable 13.5 and 18.5 inches. Turn the handlebar into the correct position, tighten it down with the included Allen wrench, and adjust the seat post height, and your child is ready to roll. Other bikes with wider pedals will catch kids in the leg if they put their feet down. That same Allen bolt then attaches the pre-built sprocket assembly, which also comes complete with a correct-length loop of chain. Cruzee claim the OvO is 'the lightest balance bike in the world'. Cub balance bike helps your tiny cyclist learn without the training wheels. Though not as polished as the Strider or Co-op, this lightweight, low-slung bike will get most kids up and happily gliding along—and won’t bust the budget. This way as your child grows, you can adjust the bike accordingly to better fit their height. Watch the product video on the Strider balance bike to compare your child to the children in the video and the recommended height range suggested. Just be sure to factor this cost into your budget when looking for a balance bike. If our top pick is sold out, or if you want the cushioning and traction of rubber tires, particularly for indoor riding or bumpy surfaces, the REI Co-op Cycles REV 12 Kids’ Balance Bike is an excellent choice. And while the Rev 12 is relatively light, it’s not as light or easy to heft as the Strider, particularly its front half (owing to its heavier headset and wheels), and kids will be lifting by the handlebars to shuffle it into position. Our experts advise that learning to ride a bike has changed over the years (no more training wheels) and balance biking is the first step. I think this is one of the more important features to look for. This video compares and reviews the Strider Balance Bike against the Schwinn Balance Bike. Play follow (or chase) the leader. The bike is nonetheless handsome and it performs well—once mom or dad (or a local bike shop) gets it good to roll. After determining that at least one Strider bike would be a final pick, I also spent an hour on the phone with Strider inventor Ryan McFarland. The Bixe 16″ Pro Balance Bike is a great lightweight choice for older kids who are not yet ready to ride a traditional bike or just want to have some fun on a balance bike. For most children, they won’t start riding a balance bike between 18 months and 5 years. Also don’t encourage them to sit on the seat; they’ll come to this naturally. The 14x’s closest competition, the hybrid LittleBig, which is manufactured in Ireland, sells its 3-in-1 model as a hand brake–equipped balance bike and offers its freewheel pedal/sprocket assembly as a stand-alone option. The Banana’s super-light foam tires and wheels work fine on paved and carpeted surfaces, but were quite slippy on kitchen linoleum and hardwood floors. 1 Strider Sport Balance Bike 2 Retrospec Cub Kids Balance Bike 3 Banana Bike Lightweight Balance Bike 4 Chicco Red Bullet Balance Training Bike ... For us, this sturdy and versatile balance bike by Strider is simply the best of the bunch. This shouldn’t be a problem on streets and sidewalks, but if you venture onto grass, you will lose traction. I also emailed with Ivan Altinbasak of WeeBikeShop and Woom’s Dave Norris. The narrowness of this setup allows them to continue to stride and brake like Fred Flintstone until they develop the coordination to engage the pedal and coaster brake in concert. “What they have learned [pedaling] will not serve them when they need to balance,” he said. In the upgrade category, the Ridgeback Scoot is a solid, bigger 12-inch model. Harley-Davidson Strider 12 Sport. Our tester feedback has us split on the Strider’s narrow handlebars: They do allow the bike to turn more quickly, but some testers felt they made it harder to balance. This was the first balance bike I had ever seen with my own eyes. Its seat post has the widest height adjustability range of any bike we tested (9 inches!). It is most important to focus on seat height and make sure your child doesn’t have to extend their legs in order to touch the ground. Giant’s Pre is on a par in most respects with the Co-op REV 12, including the price, but it’s available only in bike shops, making it harder to find. Cub’s easy-to-climb frame is constructed from lightweight high-tensile steel and features a miniature city comfort saddle for easy riding (and balancing!). Critical Cycles Cub Balance Bike - Never Used (mission district) $45. Here, we reviewed top 10 Best Balance Bike for Kids in the market today. Although our former upgrade pick, the , is still out of stock, the company says they hope to be shipping it again in April 2021. There are two types of Strider bike. Slightly bigger with easy-to-install pedals, the Strider 14x Sport can also be used as your kid’s first pedal bike, making this an all-in-one solid investment. Some drawbacks include: weight, because at almost 9 pounds, it will be difficult for younger kids to maneuver; and adjustability. A nicely narrow Q factor—the distance between the cranks—keeps a child's legs from splaying out while on the pedal and allows them to generate power more easily. Works for a wide age range, with lightweight construction and a padded handlebar. For some children, they can start riding a baby/toddler balance bike around 9 months of age. This is an important safety feature for hilly terrain, but we’d love to see a hand brake option. Best Balance Bike for Young Toddlers Strider 12 Classic Balance Bike. An included Allen wrench removes the single Allen bolt that secures the footrest. The handlebar grips are marginally kid-scale with a grip circumference of 3.5 inches, and the seat is also right at the edge of what a little kid would need at a large 5.5 by 8 inches. The most common you will see are pneumatic (AKA air-filled), industrial foam, and rubber. When we accidentally let our balance-bike–loving 2-year-old son see the 14-inch Hot Wheels pedal bike we had stashed in the garage, there was no keeping him off it. Without the pedals, the Strider works great as a push bike. The Strider balance bike is super lightweight. Our testers also liked the footrests, which are basically cutouts of skateboard-style grip tape glued atop the slightly lengthened rear chainstays (the lower fork that holds the back wheel), when they were cruising around with their feet up and attempting bunny hops. But the rear drum-style hand brake didn’t work well and weighed the bike down unnecessarily. But we like that if you go with Trek at a local shop, you can utilize its 50 percent credit trade-up program. It snaps into place with nary a bolt or screw. In addition to being light, it features a very low step-through height—the height of its main, or top, tube—of 8 inches. If you do it, they’ll come to think the most stable position is leaned over to one side. The material is a lot of what determines how heavy the bike is. But this affordable bike from a small UK-based company offers what we consider the most important features for beginning kids: low stand-over height, kid-friendly geometry, and a light weight without compromising on too much else. What We Liked: It’s very important that the child learns to propel himself or herself, first by simply walking along, and that they correct any tipping by themselves. If our top pick is sold out, or if you want the cushioning and traction of rubber tires, particularly for indoor riding, REI’s Co-op Cycles REV 12 Kids’ Balance Bike is an excellent choice. You can later purchase the XL seatpost to extend the age range of the bike from 3 years to 5 years. There are many features to consider when you’re looking for a balance bike. Like many engineering entrepreneurs, McFarland has fanatically followed the behaviors and traits of his consumers—in this case, parents and kids from toddlers to second graders to special-needs kids of all ages, for whom he’s built larger balance bikes. TOP CHOICE: There are many great options out there, but my ultimate top pick is the Strider 12 Sport balance bike. The Joovy Bicycoo features air-filled tires, giving this bike good traction and cushion. When kids do pedal, the 14x is designed to get up to speed quickly. It climbs hills easily and takes off quickly. The Strider is the undefeated champion thus far. They both have a padded seat and foam tires. Brake-wise, we would like to see the 14x Sport come with a non-coaster setup such as hand brakes and a freewheel, allowing a child to “pedal backward” when they need a quick stability check (while climbing hills, for instance). The Cub has a seat range of 12.5″ to 16″ is suitable for kids in 24-month to 3T pants. January 22 at 7:23 AM. They are far more likely to opt for scooters or tricycles. Pair all that with a handlebar stem that can be raised nearly 4 inches, and you have an incredibly versatile bike, size-wise. Fritz learned to pedal quickly, but stopping was another matter. Foam: Won’t go flat, but don’t have as much traction or cushion as air-filled tires. The Strider 12 Sport’s functional design carries over into its very lightweight plastic wheels and foam rubber tires that never need inflating. This scenario could prove more dangerous on hills or along a busy road. And stay off the hills until the child is a solid glider and knows how to put their feet down to stop and/or operate their hand brake. Air-filled tires will typically last longer than foam or rubber tires, depending on how much you use the bike. Kids outgrow 12-inch and 14-inch bikes so quickly, it makes sense to have your kid stay on a 12-inch balance bike or 14-inch hybrid (with a highly adjustable seatpost and handlebars) until they’re ready for at least a 16-inch pedal bike, which will last them longer. We tested a few bikes with foam tires and found all—including the Strider’s—slid out far more easily than inflatable rubber tires on smooth surfaces like wood or tile floors. We also did sprint races along my paved driveway and street and visited the James Island County Park, which has several miles of rolling paved and dirt bike trails that wind up and down through moss-draped Lowcountry oak forest and along the edge of Forrest Gumpian salt marsh. At this price point, a brake would be a nice addition. After testing 70 bike racks—including hitch, trunk, and roof models—we recommend the Kuat Sherpa 2.0 hitch rack as the best way to carry your bikes on a car. $84.99 ... Cub No-Pedal Balance Bike If They Can Walk, They Can Ride! My overall top pick is the Strider 12 Sport because it gives you the most bang for your buck, offering features that are usually seen on higher end models, but coming in at a more modest price. Although better than foam tires, rubber tires still have much less traction and cushioning than air-filled. As with anything with kids, make it fun. The density of the material used to build it helps support a maximum weight of 60 lbs. Banana Bike LT Balance Bike vs Strider Balance Bike. Suitable for kids between the 18 months and 5 years old age range, this lightweight bike is easy to adjust and handle.. This aluminum-framed balance bike costs more than our top pick and is less adjustable, but it comes with shock-absorbing and indoor-friendly rubber air-filled tires. So here’s where the Strider strides far ahead: it has footrests and it has way more adjustability options. Don’t push the kid on his or her bike or hold them up by the handlebars. Encourage them to look forward and not down. Note: You may also see wide air-filled tires. They’ve created a terrific booklet that goes with the 14x that not only explains the how and why behind teaching your kid to go from striding to pedaling but also includes a few games you can play along the way to make the process as fun and natural as, well, riding a bike. This limits the bike somewhat, in that they won’t be able to properly get their feet off of the ground to practice balancing. 16" bike with foam tires for ages 5-9 years. To Sawyers, whose two kids gravitated toward trikes and scooters, it makes little sense to start a kid out on an expensive balance bike when the child might not even want to ride it. £88, Amazon. Unlike most bikes, the 14x Sport’s rear fork/chainstay is designed with a tight inward angle at the front sprocket that allows the chain to be fixed in place without even removing the rear wheel—a brilliant modification. The best material out there, in my opinion, is anodized aluminum. Preschoolers in size 4T pants, as shown below, can ride the Cub, but it offers no room growth. The more you spend, the higher quality bike you will get, up to a certain point. Not all balance bikes come with a designated place for children to rest their feet. Suitable for children aged 18 months to five years, the bike comes with an adjustable seat and handlebars. Kids strider balance strider bicycle bikes (Arroyo Grande Mesa) $30. Their knees should be at a nice bend in order to properly use the bike. Strider Bikes manufactures balance bikes for everyone: from children aged 18 months to adults. The basic, skateboard-style cartridge bearings also worked fine as soon we loosened the axle nuts slightly. The bike’s 24-inch wheelbase, common to most of our picks, gives the bike a good mix of stability and agility. So which is the winner? Typically, too, training wheels encourage parents to buy bikes far too big for their kids. While its air tires, alloy wheels, and standard ball-bearing headset make it, at 9 pounds, heavier than the Strider Sport, the REV 12 also features thoughtful kid-specific design elements like a low top tube (same as the Strider 12 Sport at 8 inches) and a seat height that is adjustable by 5 inches, which while still good is 4 inches fewer than the Strider. (It’s also hard to find in the US.). When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Rubber: Also won’t go flat, and offer a little more traction and cushioning than foam tires. 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