Balance Bikes for Toddlers: What NOT to Look for

This week, we continue our series on balance bikes for toddlers. If you are catching up, here is what you may have missed:

Deciding between scooter and balance bike for an 18 month old.

Finally ending the procrastination and buying a bike.

We purchased a balance bike a few weekends ago, and CZ has taken it out to a nearby park a couple times. She is just 2mm to short to place her feet on the ground, but she still loves it (or at least the idea of riding it). But the big question is, how did we decide on the bike?

Choosing any bike quickly becomes a daunting task, as you do more research. We love Two Wheeling Tots and the intensive reviews and checklists on everything from bike seats to balance bikes. I definitely struggled a bit with analysis paralysis on this one, and I am very thankful we had a host of family-friendly bike shops in our area. We researched a few of the key features and components, but in the end, it was have CZ give the bikes a try that made the decision clear.

Balance Bikes for Toddlers – Checklist

1. Tires – This was first on the list because it quickly narrows down the options. We sought durability and safe for riding at the parks and little bike tracks. This meant rubber tires. Solid tires, especially the foam, were unacceptable for the terrain we envision CZ riding.
2. Steering – There were two big factors on this one for us. First, we wanted loose enough steering that CZ could easily turn the handle bars. Second, we wanted a steering lock to prevent the handlebars from rotating a full 360 degrees. This added a small amount of complexity to the decision because we wanted a balance bike that limited the sharp turns, but not too much.
3. Weight – The recommendation here is that the bike should weigh less than a third of your child’s weight. Many models do not post the weight of the bike online, so we asked each of the bike shops to weigh the balance bikes CZ test rode. All the bikes we tried came in around 4kg or about 9lbs. However, the Strider came in a 3kg/6.7lbs, and the  Byk was all the way at 4.9kg/10.8lbs.
4. Growth Potential – This one is a little tricky. We wanted a balance bike that would grow with CZ, at least for 2 years. But we acknowledged that as she grows, she will require pedals. This means the balance bike has limited shelf life regardless.

With this list in mind, we headed out to our local shops.

Bikes for Toddlers – The Search

First cab off the rank, was our neighborhood shop, Omafiets, where CZ test rode the Byk E200L. This is the smaller of the two balance bike options from Byk, and it includes a hand brake. CZ managed to swing her leg over the down tube, but was not quite tall enough for the seat. While the brake is a nice feature, she is still working on the hand strength to consistently ring the bell, and by the time she needs a brake, I feel like she will be ready for pedals. The Byk does have the most growth potential, including two seat posts of differing lengths. However, we left to check out the next shop.

We caught a train into the city for a stop at Jet Cycles. I happened to pass by on my way back to the office from lunch, and they stock the Specialized Hotwalk so I made a plan to return. Overall, the Hotwalk is a nice quality bike, with well placed footrests and solid construction, but the seat post has very limited range, in terms of height adjustment. Additionally, the cockpit was much too narrow for CZ.

The next shop on the list was Clarence St Cyclery. They are a couple of doors down from Jet, and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that they stock both the Trek Kickster, and the Strider 12 Sport balance bikes. The Trek was a little too big for CZ, but she went nuts with the Strider. There is no question that from a size and CZ enjoyment perspective the Strider 12 Sport was the clear winner. Unfortunately, it has foam tires. We felt like somewhat selfish parents, but we could not bring ourselves to spend the money on a bike with foam tires. Perhaps, if we had enough indoor space for her to ride in the house, it could be a decent option, but our flat is much too small and lacking any proper bike riding areas.

We exhausted our mental list of bike shops, and began the journey home. We were definitely a little bummed to return home without a bike, especially after seeing how much fun CZ had trying them all out. The ease with which she pushed the Strider made it even worse. However, as we approached Town Hall Station, I remembered the Giant shop I pass on my way home from work.

With lunch and midday sleep approaching, we knew it was a gamble, but we decided to go for it.

Balance Bikes for Toddlers – Lucky Last

As you may have guessed from the heading, the Giant shop had our winner, the Giant Pre. The Giant Pre came home with us. The pink, girls version of the Pre actually has the lowest seat option of the balance bikes with air tires, according to the guy at the shop. He actually bought one for his son because he wanted to start him on a bike as early as possible. The height was also a big factor for us, because CZ is apparently all torso. She was all smiles as she comfortably stepped over the bike, and took it for a spin. In the end, smiles, wheels, and size were all that mattered.

Balance Bikes for Toddlers – Conclusion

Once you start looking at bikes, I think the decision will come to you. We felt the build quality of all the bikes at the local shops were comparable, and we looked bikes ~$100 and up price range. There is plenty to research if you have an interest, but you can ignore most of it. In the end only two things matter:

1. Can your toddler step over the seat?
2. Does it have the right tires for where you plan to ride?

Well, there is actually a third one: is your toddler interested? We have yet to meet a cycling family with a young toddler that isn’t itching to get her own set of wheels, but if your young one isn’t scrambling towards bikes, maybe give it a few months, before trying again.

The next post in this series will cover where (Sydneysiders) should ride with young toddlers.