# Talk To Me About Balance Bikes....Which is Best, Skuut, Strider, Etc



## BeingMe (Oct 25, 2006)

She has a Kettler trike but the pedeling really confuses her. Would a balance bike be good? What about the steering, is it difficult?
What are good brands that have real tires and a place for their feet?
I would love any info/stories good or bad.
And which brand is the best?
Thanks!!


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## BeingMe (Oct 25, 2006)

Anyone have any experience and where did you get yours?


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## XanaduMama (May 19, 2006)

ds has a Skuut which we got online--I believe on Amazon (though right now the price listed there is crazy...we paid around $80 or something in December, I think).

I haven't tried the other brands, but we really really love the Skuut! I think we went with Skuut over Strider in part because of the tires: the Skuut's aren't inflatable (very solid rubber), so don't get punctures (trying to remember the research I did...). There's a German brand that's supposedly great but costs like $300









It's easy easy to ride, ds picked it up in about 1 day. Easy to steer, lightweight so when he crashes it doesn't hurt him. It doesn't have a "place for their feet," but ds just lifts his feet when he wants to balance/coast, and puts them down again when he needs to go faster...it doesn't bother him at all.

And it's meant for ages 2-5 (seat adjusts for taller kids), which I think is a bigger range than some of the others. ds is a very tall 3yo and it has plenty of space left for him to grow.

hth


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## RoundAbout (Aug 3, 2006)

We have the Specialized Hotwalk and love it. DH is a triathlete and was impressed that's made by a real bike company with quality components and good tires. We've been really pleased with it.

ETA - We bought ours from a local bike shop during their 20% off Black Friday sale.


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## Ubelle (Nov 3, 2006)

we've ordered a strider, should be in at the end of the week.

I'll post back on how well DD likes it then, but we chose it for the foot rest, it's ability to go off road - we have no pavement near by and mostly mountain bike.

They are designed for the 1-5 age range, DD is 2.

We paid $89 for the bike, it's her birthday present.


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## wild_reilly (Nov 18, 2006)

We have a Norco for our VERY short 2yo. He couldn't touch the ground with both feet on anything but... I have heard that the strider is quite short, but we couldn't find one to try out.

The Norco is great. Well made, rubber tires so no punctures - single drawback is no footrests, but I think that the strider may actually be the ONLY one that does have them...


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## flowers (Apr 8, 2004)

We have the Kettler and we love it. Decent price, great quality and dh and ds1 love the look of it. He got it at 2 but didn't figure it out until 3.5, but when he did it happened quickly and has so much fun. Ppl are floored at how skillfully he handles it. There is limited steering so they can't crash.


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## Ubelle (Nov 3, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wild_reilly* 
We have a Norco for our VERY short 2yo. He couldn't touch the ground with both feet on anything but... I have heard that the strider is quite short, but we couldn't find one to try out.

The Norco is great. Well made, rubber tires so no punctures - single drawback is no footrests, b*ut I think that the strider may actually be the ONLY one that does have them*...

Bolding mine

There is one other bike, PV Glider (they come in two sizes, the mini glider and the go glider, & run about the same price as other run/walk bikes)
They have foot pegs about where pedals would be - but DH and I dismissed these early on in our search because it looks like they foot pegs would get in the way of walking and running the way they stick out. Plus they didn't seem as versatile/ long lasting given the two sizes, essentially we would have needed the small one to start but would have out grown it too fast.

I am very excited for Caitlin to get her stride, all she can talk about is bikes lately.


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## LuckyMommaToo (Aug 14, 2003)

We have a Like-a-Bike (bought almost four years ago when there weren't a lot of other options). I don't think the foot rests are essential at all. DS was an absolute whiz on the LaB (he's moved on to a two-wheeler now), and he would just bend his knees slightly with his feet behind him. I'm not sure he would have used foot rests even if the bike had them.

I'm a true believer in balance bikes. DD has been practicing -- I think we're going to take her out on the sidewalk this week!
-e


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## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

We have Glider Rider and love it. It has inflatable tires, tough to last a long time, and a foot rest (check out the video on their website).


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## BeingMe (Oct 25, 2006)

Such great replies. Thank you everyone for your help! If anyone else has thoughts please share!


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## ShyDaisi (Jan 22, 2007)

Subbing, so I can come back and share after work...


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## show&tell (Feb 16, 2009)

We have a Skuut. My DS is a bit shorter than other children his age -- the bike was a bit tall for him when we put together as instructed (which was super easy, by the way). We just flipped the body of the bike upside down and it is the perfect size for him. There's some great video of the bikes in use on the Skuut site.


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## BeingMe (Oct 25, 2006)

Question: Whats the difference between getting a small schilds bike and taking off the pedals and a balance bike?


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## sugarlumpkin (Dec 20, 2006)

We have a Strider. My son is 28 months old and he's had it since he was 18 months old. He loves it! My mom got it from the Strider web site.


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## LianneM (May 26, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BeingMe* 
Question: Whats the difference between getting a small schilds bike and taking off the pedals and a balance bike?

This is what we did, and we are so glad we did. It only took a short time of practicing with no pedals before our DS was ready for them so we wouldn't have gotten enough use out of a "real" balance bike to justify the high price.

We spent $40 and he's still riding it, now with pedals







Yay for skipping training wheels!


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## BeingMe (Oct 25, 2006)

How did you decide which kids bike to go with?


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## Snuzzmom (Feb 6, 2008)

We got a Skutt and DS LOVES it (it's his "motorcycle"). I think I just read Amazon review and went with the Skuut based on reviews and price (it was around $80 when we bought it).


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## bobandjess99 (Aug 1, 2005)

We just got a 12inch bike and left the pedals off..dd is loving riding it around..however, ds is so much younger and shorter, we'll probably get a strider for him,since it's the shortest.


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## wild_reilly (Nov 18, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BeingMe* 
Question: Whats the difference between getting a small schilds bike and taking off the pedals and a balance bike?


Quote:


Originally Posted by *LianneM* 
This is what we did, and we are so glad we did.

It all depends on whether your kid is BIG enough for a bike with pedals. Mine isn't even big enough for the smallest tricycle we can find (he's 1st percentile for a 2 year old, plus he's got really short legs!) But he's totally coordinated and ready for a run-bike. There's just no way he could use a pedal bike minus the pedals - even the smallest bike I've seen. (We did talk about that option a year ago - ahhh, one day he'll grow!)


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## rzberrymom (Feb 10, 2005)

We had a wooden one we got in the Netherlands, and it didn't have footrests--that didn't seem to bother my DD one bit. She started on it at age 2 and was riding a regular bike without training wheels by 3 1/2--she's about the absolute *least* athletic child I've ever met, so I'm pretty convinced these balance bikes can work wonders!


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## FreeRangeMama (Nov 22, 2001)

Quote:

Question: Whats the difference between getting a small schilds bike and taking off the pedals and a balance bike?
From my reading it is mainly the weight of the bike and design. We just got a Skuut for dd for her birthday. It has been snowing since then so she hasn't tried it outside yet, but she can walk it quite well in the house. She is a tiny 4 year old though, can barely reach the floor (think below the growth charts entirely







). Ds1 and 2 (8 and 5) totally picked up the idea right away and sail through the house on it. I am very impressed so far! I imagine she will be sailing on it in no time once spring finally arrives.


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