The KinderBike - look Ma, no pedals!

After 6-months of mastering her Kettler HKS Air Navigator at age 3 ½ HB is ready for a bike. Almost. She knows how to steer and how to pedal, and now she needs to learn how to balance. So I began researching bikes without pedals, also called Balance Bikes, Walking Bikes, Running Bikes, Pedal-less Bikes or Training Bikes. The premise behind these bikes is that your child learns how to balance and thus pretty much skips the training wheels step of learning how to ride a bike. They are made for ages 2 - 2.5 and up.

The bikes are very short where the child's feet easily rest flat on the ground for easy balancing and stopping. I showed her how she could transfer her weight from side to side to balance and straighten the bike. Then I pulled her along a bit and showed her how to stop by simply putting both feet down on the ground.

On her own HB walked around on the bike mostly with her bottom off of the seat. I had to keep reminding her to sit down on the bike. Then she started walking a bit faster with her bottom on the seat. Then she started walking really fast and did a short glide with both feet off the ground. It has evolved to more of a lope with alternating long strides and long glides. She even leans forward to get up to a fast speed for really long glides. She is having a total blast!

I am not an impulse buyer - I like to do research and lots of it. I also like to see things in person. When we bought HB's trike last fall I had her try out a Skuut balance bike but at the time the trike seemed the better way to go.

Here are the things I considered when shopping for a balance bike:

1) Frame: I wanted a metal frame - not wood. I felt the steel would last longer and be sturdier through the use of two children. I had also read that the wooden bikes could be heavier. The steel frame bikes look more like a real bicycle.

2) Air tires: I wanted real air bicycle tires - not foam, not rubber and certainly not plastic.

3) Warranty: I wanted a good product and a maker who was willing to stand behind it with a really good, long warranty.

4) Adjustable: I wanted to be able to adjust both the handlebar height and the seat height so both of my children could use it.

5) Handbrake: Even though she can use her feet to stop I wanted her to get used to using a handbrake for when she transitioned to a real bike.

6) Color: My daughter wanted pink or purple (go figure!)

After researching the field we settled on the KinderBike in green. Their bike comes with a lifetime warranty, is lightweight at 8.5 lbs and made of durable aluminum and steel, has 12" rugged tread air tires, and adjustable seat (14" - 18.5") and handlebars. It comes in red, blue and green.

The KinderBike was offering a $79 special promotion. The regular MSRP is $109.

No one else that makes a similar product offers a lifetime warranty. To me, that says it all.

Here are my reviews of the other balance bikes I considered:
LikeABike Jumper $270 (too expensive - the price tag stopped me dead but all the reviews were positive)
Strider $98 (foam tires, but an 11" seat height that might be great for smaller kids, weighs less than 7 lbs., footrests, 6 colors but only a 1-year warranty)
PV Mini Glider $99 (foam tires, foot pegs, 8 lbs., lifetime warranty)
BootScoot Zoomer $75 (hardened rubber tires, 3 colors, 7 lbs, 14"-17" seat height, 30-day warranty?)
BootScoot Cruiser $85 (12" rugged inflatable tires, 3 colors, 10 lbs, 17"-20" seat height, 30-day warranty?)

You can find a great review here and here and a good comparison chart here.

Happy biking!