Melissa is pondering the many options for kid-sized bike. Perhaps you can help her out?
The baby daddy & I are thinking about getting our daughter her first bicycle for her 4th birthday which is coming up fast. At first we thought, "Great! that decision is made." Well...now we're realizing there are more options than we were prepared for. Do any of you have experience/advice/stories to share regarding pedals, no pedals, brands, size, etc.?
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Oh good, I have similar questions (no answers, sorry)! We plan to get our daughter a bike for her 3rd birthday, which seems young I know but she's pretty agile and coordinated on trike and scooter so I think she can handle a bike (with training wheels) and I know she would LOVE it. But size? We hope it will last for a couple years... And where to buy a reasonably-priced bike w/o cartoon characters and frilly pinkness all over it?
Posted by: Emily | April 26, 2007 at 09:51 AM
First we gave our son a bike with training wheels, wheels set to wobble a bit for balance training. But then I thought, this isn't working, he just rides off balance....so we bought a like-a-bike knock off. These bikes do not have pedals. After a few practice runs, he is balancing like a pro.
I think they learn much faster without the training wheels.
Posted by: Lila | April 26, 2007 at 09:57 AM
Check out REI for the bikes. They were able to help us with all the questions we had and we made sure that they put the bikes together. They even sent us a coupon for a free bike tune up...not that we need that yet!
Posted by: Tamara | April 26, 2007 at 11:13 AM
The like-a-bikes are great! (knockoffs too). I've seen many around my neighborhood and the kids seems to love them. I plan to get one for my little Bean as soon as she's big enough.
Posted by: Melissa | April 26, 2007 at 12:44 PM
I've been wondering about the Like-a-Bike. Couldn't you just remove the regular bike's pedals and then put them back on when the child gets the balance thing down? Am I missing something? Maybe you would have to remove more of the crank...
Posted by: AmyS | April 26, 2007 at 03:15 PM
My husband went to River City Bikes to buy a bike for our five-year-old. He first went there alone to get help in determining which was the right configuration for her. Then when he brought her in he had the sales guy show her the bike that he had decided on and it was love at first sight. He felt that they gave good input and he was confident with the selection. She rides her bike all the time and loves it!
Posted by: Robin | April 26, 2007 at 06:39 PM
Our daughter inherited a cousin's two-wheeler with training wheels. She outgrew it quickly, and we bought a better-sized bike for her from the Community Cycling Center (they are great for bike fitting and advice). We transferred the training wheels from the small bike to the bigger one.
We realized that she was relying way too much on the training wheels and would ride leaning on one side onto the training wheel. Even when we would raise the training wheels a bit, it didn't work.
We decided to let her practice on the smaller bike, with no training wheels. She was low enough to the ground to feel confident; she could easily put her legs down if she felt wobbly. Soon enough, though, she got the hang of balancing. We had her practice and practice on the little bike for a bit, then she graduated to the bigger bike, also with no training wheels. It was great. We're now working on her biking in the neighborhood on her own, and I think that's a whole 'nother story.
Posted by: olivia | April 26, 2007 at 09:56 PM
We got our son a radio flyer bike (red and white retro lookin) with training wheels when he was three and it is great. He loves it. The nice thing about the smaller bikes is that when they fall (which is inevitable), they're lower to the ground. Only problem is that he's outgrown it already, but his little brother can use it. We're in the market for a bigger bike.
Posted by: hau | April 26, 2007 at 11:33 PM
can someone tell me where to get a knock-off like-a-bike?
Posted by: sarah | April 27, 2007 at 10:07 AM
target had them last time i was there, for around $75 i think.
Posted by: jj | April 27, 2007 at 02:10 PM
hey ~ thanks for helping w/this info. we're going to go w/the like a bike type this year.
Posted by: melissa, the original poster | April 28, 2007 at 08:18 AM
Here's another wooden option, much cheaper then the shockingly expensive Like-a-bikes:
http://magiccabin.com/magiccabin/product.do?section_id=0&bc=1004&pgc=1734&cmvalue=MCD|0|Normal%20Search%20Result|P1
We've been planning on removing the pedals from a regular bike for our daughter (age 6) to finally learn to ride on her own this summer. She's a pro at riding the tandem with dad. Whenever she's been on a bike with training wheels she leans on them so that she isn't even trying to balance on the bike's wheels. Everyone I've talked to and everything I've read about learning to actually ride says not to use the training wheels. Of course, I can see situations (with young children) where they make sense.
Good luck, and happy pedalling!
Posted by: Liz | April 30, 2007 at 10:21 AM