Seeking Balance Bike Feedback

My daughter is almost 5 and a few weeks ago we took the pedals, chain, and cranks off of her bike. (A bike store could help if need be) She has one of the smallest ones that you can buy at the store (10 inch wheels, I believe). It has worked fantastically, she loves it and it saved me a bundle.

My sister-in-law just took the pedals off of her daughter's bike to train her. Much cheaper and it still worked. Good luck. They told us it worked in like 2 days.

They are fantastic! I live in Germany and almost every child here has one. Most of them start on them before they are 2 and they ride down hills with no problems, it's scary and cool at the same time! Google german balance bike for some more tips and I only recommend getting one with good hand brakes, they are all pretty much the same besides that. Good luck!!

We just bought our kids a regular bike and took the pedals off. Then once they have the balance put the pedals back on and off they go. Much more economical, you don't have to buy two bikes!

We have the Strider and it is worth every penny. My son got it at 20mths and we LOVE it. It is extremely light weight which means more independence for the rider (can pick it up themselves when they fall off) and low to the ground (perfect for the younger rider). When I first got it I wasn't so sure about the wheels ( they didn't seem prefectly round somehow) but now I realize they are the best feature of the bike (other than the weight). The wheels do not have air/tubes. They are a foam-like material and are fabulous. No punctures (therefore no distressed kids waiting for repairs) and can go on any surface. I truly wish they made older kids bikes with these great tires. The bike looks like regular bikes (metal frame, regular colors, etc) so if your son has older kids in the neighborhood or extended family he can feel like one of them. The bike is great. I would buy it again without hesitation. Good luck and have fun.

We love the "skuut" and we have used it for 2 kids. The cost is worth it if you will have more children because he will use it for several years. It's good for winter time in the house as well. I think it works better and faster then training wheels.

We got a balance/run bike for our three-year-old and he has loved it. I looked at several different ones and finally settled on a Kazam bike. I thought the Skuut and a couple other wooden models (perhaps the Strider, I can't remember) were definitely cuter (one of them even had a handle in the body, which I thought would be so handy for hauling it around and loading it into the car) but I was concerned about durability and steerability. I also didn't want to spend more than $100, and a couple models I looked at were really spendy.
I think the Kazam deserves consideration. We've been really happy with it. The Kazam is metal and comes in pink or blue. It doesn't have that uber-natural, Waldorf-wood look, but I think it is dang cute. What sold me, though, was the little footrest. It can be used like a scooter or the child can sit and use it as a run bike and scoot along, and when the child is confident enough, s/he can coast down hills and has a place to but his/her feet! It reminds me of a tiny Vespa.
I bought the Kazam as a fun outdoor toy in itself, not necessarily as a major training aid for learning to operate a two-wheeled bicycle, and my child is still just enjoying this run bike, so I can't say if it makes the transition to a regular bicycle easier or faster. But we really like it. The only downside is that it is small and lightweight (advantages, most of the time) but that means it cannot hold heavier children. We had to make sure our seven-year-old knew he was not to play with his little brother's run bike--but he's hardly tempted. I wish we'd had one of these when he was little. Our best friends have a two-year-old and they are looking forward to the hand-me-down Kazam in another year.
I think I compared models at www.runbikes.com, which I found through Google.
Happy birthday!

Get a Strider. It was the best bike for our 2 year old because she's tiny and the seat is able to go low enough for her. Also, a selling point for us was that it weathers way better than the Skuuts since they are made of wood-- we have a neighbor with a Skuut that's been left outside and it looks terrible! Hope this helps! We even went on to Strider's website and let our daughter pick out the color (like she had any idea what she was getting!)...

Hi, we bought our son a Skuut a few months ago (he is 2 1/2). He absolutely LOVES it. And after just a couple of weeks he could ride fast and pick his feet up and balance for long periods of time. He also has a trike and a scooter, but the Skuut is the only thing he wants to do. At 2 1/2 we can now go for long walks while he Skuuts along (or even ahead) at a decent pace. The only negative is that he can go so fast that he can get too far away (for a 2 year old) quite quickly and you have to really be paying attention.

I definitely recommend it, even at the price.

Our neighbors little boy got a Skuut at age 2 and now at 3 he is riding a 2 wheeler! I've never seen a kid so young ride like that - it was a really cool little bike and I think it really helped him learn how to balance - he also has 2 older brothers that he constantly tries to keep up with so I am sure that had something to do with his success! :) Now some other little ones in the neighborhood are trying them out too - seem like a very cool product - wish I had one for when my son who is now 11 was that age.