Best Kids Balance Bike Reviews

Why you should buy Balance Bike

Balance bike is the best option to make your child feel good at a two wheel vehicle without excess hours spent on attempts to teach balancing with a pedal bike with or without training wheels. If you opt for a bike with training wheels, your kid would get used to them and removing them will pose a stress, which would take them much time to overcome. With a balance bike there is no such stress – the child will go straightforward into examining the bike-s capabilities, and since there’s no training wheels they will start trying to achieve balance from the very beginning of its use.

Children develop feelings for their toys, and if you get them a tricycle, they will fall in love with it, but what are they going to learn with it? A tricycle will definitely support their activity, but you should forget about balance. One day you take them their loved trike and give them a true pedal bike they will resist change and do everything to avoid using it – demanding the trike back!

Another very important advantage of balance bikes is ease of transport. They can be brought even in hand, and when taking long distances it can get into the smallest subcompact, as it doesn’t feature pedals nor a bulky design like a trike.

What about parents? Balance bikes require increased involvement of parents when compared to training wheel bikes or trikes. It would mean your greater activity and an even closer relationship with your child as you will spend more time together. Balance bikes get more fun as you would enjoy your child’s every step to mastering balance.

Still think that balance bikes are waste of money? A balance bike replaces both a tricycle and a 12-inch pedal bike. A small pedal bike lacks comfort due to small distance between the upper pedal position and the seat, even at the highest seat position. Thus, a 12 inch pedal bike which is bulkier and pricier will quickly get outgrown, possibly even before your child mastered pedaling. With a balance bike, your kid will look for thrill and thus gain confidence quicker. It’s almost certain that balance bike will benefit your kid. And if you opt for a durable model, once your kid masters balance and steering, you will be able to resell it at a still good price at a garage sale.

Most of us before learned balancing on a bike with training wheels, and some of us still remember how hard it was to drive it the first time with training wheels raised or removed. If you get your girl or boy a balance bike, she or he wouldn’t have any opportunity to rely on such as a third or fourth wheel, and will be forced to go straight to learning. 

Kids Balance Bike Buying Guide

Choosing the right balance bike for your child is more important than you may think. The fact that all balance bike manufacturers need to comply to very strict regulations regarding safety, it doesn’t mean that every bike would fit every child. In fact, you should choose wrong size, length, or any other feature that your kid can perceive as lack of comfort. Children often won’t complain about poor fits, no matter how they actually feel. The first thing to take in account is the age and size of your child or children. Note that size of every child is not the same, and there are no universal sizes for an age. Preschoolers grow faster, so if your kid is one you better buy a balance bike with a good seat and handlebar adjustment range.

The next very important thing is the inseam length of your child – from floor to crotch. If you too ride a bike you probably know its importance when buying a bike for yourself. The average seam of an 18 months old is 11 inch, and for those 24 months old it goes to 12″ and when turning 3 average seam length is 13.5″. However, you should best measure it on your own and see what seat height adjustment levels various balance bikes can offer to your child. The lowest point in balance bikes can be anywhere between 11″ and 15″. Some companies release models for toddlers along with those for preschoolers.

Ability and readiness of your child also plays a significant role. If he or she lacks any bike experience and is unwilling to ride, it’s the best to take them some light bike without much features. Your child would thus focus on what balance bikes are made for. It may be a wooden or a light steel made model, although some manufacturers now have balance bikes with alloy and even composite frames for parents ready to pay some more for it.

Balance bikes made of steel are dominant, since they offer durability, seat and often handlebar adjustability, and a fair price.

Wooden bikes may still be good for those who think raising an environmentally aware child is highly important. However, some preferences are actually those of the parent – not of the child, and not following any honest recommendations. Remember that you buy this bike for your child and his good, not for yourself and your perception of what MAY be good for her or him. Many parents fall into that trap.

Balance bikes are intended to make your child happy and satisfied. When this is achieved learning balance and coordination will almost certainly be easy and successful.

Some other features to be mentioned include:

Tires

There are two types of tires – flat-free foam tires and inflatable or air tires. While foam tires are certainly flat-free, air ones are more durable and less susceptible to damage. These tires also offer better comfort and better steering.

Wheels

There are three major types of wheels. Spokes (as in most bicycles), plastic and wooden. Spoke ones are the most durable and most comfortable, while wooden wheels can only be found in wooden balance bikes. Plasttic wheels are lighter, but also less durable when compared with spoke wheels.

Seats

Latest designs feature comfy, soft saddles, though it applies only to metal bikes. Wooden bikes still feature very basic plastic saddle with few adjustment positions (if any at all). If you consider saddle comfort as essential you should opt-out wooden bikes.

Handlebar grips

Handlebars don’t just offer comfort, they have an important safety role, too. Rubber grips on latest balance bikes usually have knobby ends which protect your child when falls from the bike and when has a collision with tree, wall or any other object on its way.

Safety

Your child needs to always have his helmet on when riding. Think of it that every child is always likely to fall, even if they’re riding with confidence. Not to count many dangerous situations all children often fall into. Also important are shoes, it would be sneakers, tennis shoes or closed sandals.

Always be with your child, especially if it’s riding on potentially dangerous places like driveway, when it can easily ride to the street.