We had Spherovelo ones for them since they were one, but they are just not good for outside. Plus they are getting to be too big for them.

Okay, my son sounds a like your daughter. He's now 6 and has been riding a bike since last June. He's a good rider, though still conservative... he won't tear down hills still. Probably one of the few kids in the world that would rather ride up a hill at a 4% grade than ride down it. A real triathlete in the making.

He was on a 3-wheel scooter since he was 2-3 and got pretty good on it, but wouldn't go down hills really fast or doing tricks. He really liked his tricycle so he started on the balance bike (Strider) later than I originally planned. I didn't see any need to rush him.

We got him a balance bike in the fall of 2012 to get ready for him to ride a "big boy" when he was five which is what he wanted to do. He didn't use the balance bike that much over the fall/winter, but once March rolled around, I made a real effort to get him on the balance bike regularly. He was good on the balance bike, but not a master like you see some kids doing tricks etc. He was good enough to run and "ride" on downhills (ie picking up his feet).

I wasn't sure how it'd go, but last spring, we tried a new bike so he was a couple months short of 5-years old. We got him an Isla, which are awesome because they're lightweight so easy for him to handle. I also got erred on the small size and didn't care if I'd need to get a new bike this year (ultimately didn't need to because we just raised the seat). I think a mistake some parents make is they try to save money by buying bikes that will last 2-3 years so they're too big and heavy for kids to learn to ride. Anyway, after just basic skills with his Strider, he was riding a big boy bike in less than 1 minute. He probably rode 2mi that first day. And not in lots of segments put together. He kinda started riding and kept riding. Braking took a little longer to master as well as getting started by himself (ie the kick, kick, pedal manuever) but he got that all figured out by the end of the summer. We ride together all the time now. It's one of our favorite things to do together.

I'd recommend getting the Strider. It sucks because you'll probably only need for a couple months. But they're lighter and it'll be easier for her to handle. Be diligent about getting her on that but it doesn't require hours of practice. Just a few times a week on walks, etc. Once she can do some coasting, she'll be ready to go with a regular bike.

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Isn't this what "good" marketing does to all of us. Convince us we need something we don't already have or that we need a better version of something we do have? :-)

I'm like you, take the pedals off, lower the seat down, voila! All 5 of my kids learned this way. They only did this for a few weeks before asking for the pedals to be put back on. That being said, they weren't 2 years old. If I was going back at it again with a 2-3 year old I might do this instead of say a tricycle.

What about toddler helmets, as I said my twin boys are turning 3 next week.

Honestly, at that age I didn't worry about it. Not until the pedals went on and they were actually riding did I begin to make that a rule for a while. I say a while because my youngest are now 7 and 9 and they are on/off their bikes so much while playing with other neighborhood kids, I can't keep one on them regularly anyway.

Our guys are well past this stage but I should have done this:
For your older daughter, take off the pedals and the training wheels... the training wheels teach kids exactly the wrong reflexes for bike control. Make sure the seat is low enough that she can put her feet (at least toes, comfortably) on the ground. Get her to coast around, propelling herself Flintstone style. When she can do figure-eights without dumping the bike she's probably ready for pedals again.

Then, take your daughters to the local BMX track and see how the under-6 group is... even if they never compete they'll become 100x more comfortable on the bike from doing regular sessions there.

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Less is more.

Helmets always from day one! It doesn't take a second to fall and we're talking about kids learning a new skill - lets teach them that before you reach for your bike you put on your helmet and it becomes a habit. It is much easier to enforce a rule from the very beginning than try to introduce a rule after a period of time. Lead by example - wear your helmet always, even on the slow family ride round the park - your kids will more often do what you do rather than what you say.
"Why do I have to wear a helmet if you don't daddy?"
They call it an accident for a reason - nobody expects it to happen.
For helmets I recommend http://nutcasehelmets.com - they have kid specific sizes and a range of designs which make them cool.
OK - PSA over.

Thanks for the lecture. I don't need help raising my 5 kids though.

Yup, we surely want helmets and they see me all the time with one, so it will be an easy sell. Had seen the nutcase ones at Interbike and loved them. Pulled the trigger there.

not meant to be a lecture directed at you - more a PSA to people that may be reading about toddler balance bikes. Question was posted about toddler helmets - you responded, I responded. I have my hands full with two kids, you'll have to raise your own.

Fair enough. If I had to make my boys stop and find a helmet every single time they decided to hop on their bike, they'd probably never ride. Same would be true if I said they had to stop and put on kneed pads for the skateboard every single time they hopped on.

Having said that however, i'm not talking about cruising the neighborhood, this is the on again off again spurts they'll go through over several hours of outside play. We're fortunate to live on a street with a hoard of boys 10 and under who roam from yard to yard for hours on end with little direct supervision, like when I grew up. We spend the end of each day gathering up bikes, scooters, and all manner of toys from the yards.

If we "really" ride around, we helmet up.

My son got a Strider bike for Christmas last year, like others have said, it was great because it was light and got the balance aspect. My wife picked up a small pedal bike for my sons birthday this week and no joke, he got on it, started gliding and then just pedaled. First time he even tried it. I'm a huge fan. My daughter at 18 months is already trying to emulate her brother. I think I could have gotten him pedaling even earlier. He didn't really use it much, he liked his three wheeled bike (Kettrike) more, but then as he dabbled in it more, he realized he could go faster on teh strider. I woudl recommend it again in a heartbeat.

We picked up a Novara Zipper from REI, my three year old liked that it was pink ( I'm sure it comes in other colors ), and it looked like it fit her well and would be comfortable. The steering has a detent for keeping the handlebars steering straight, I think it helped her concentrate on the balance without worrying to much about steering.

She rode it most of the summer, lap after lap around the block with me riding next to her. With a very slight downhill on the route around the block, she would start coasting faster and faster. I would have to tell her to slow down as she went through a few pairs of shoes using her toes as brakes.

Well after a couple of months she tried a pedal bike, first try and she pedaled on down the road and has'nt looked back. Now I can run while she pedals along.

I'm sure any strider or pedal bike without pedal will work, as long as they feel comfortable and are having fun.

Good luck and enjoy....

I just went to my LBS and picked up a Haro strider bike. Also grabbed him a helmet that is more a street/skate type helmet. Seems to provide better coverage of his entire head and my son (now 3.5 was just under 3 when we got it) has a giant head so actually had to get him a kid sized one (for like 6 and up) instead of the toddler ones. First thing he did was put the helmet on backwards and run as fast as he could into the door head first to see how it worked. It worked well as the only thing he did was laugh as he laid on the floor in the aftermath of his experiment.

It has held up really well. He rides it in the house and outside. When we go on walks he will of course only ride it on the most treacherous terrain available which is usually in the planters along the sidewalks (rocks, bushes, dirt, mud, grass, etc.). The Haro has rubber/foam tires. No flats, no cuts or deformities of any kind at this point. If it continues to hold up, I hope his little sister likes black with neon green lettering because she will be getting this one handed down.

Maybe not quite what you need, but bike fitter Phil Casanta from Hypercat Racing in Ventura got his son (a little younger than yours) a Wishbone Design Studio push bike. It converts from a no-pedal trike to a balance bike, plus it's all recycled. Looks pretty cool. Phil also has a cute helmet for his son -- I'm not sure what it is, but I'm sure he researched what was out there and will be happy to share his info if you contact him.

We gave him some advice on the Spherovelos, so I am sure he would repay in kind. :-)

x2 on this. I'm picking one up from Phil in about a month for my kid's 1st bday. To go with the ability to add cranks it allows for a 14 inch wheel. I'm not sure how that works to age but I assume until atleast 5 years old.

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I figured you knew Phil, but didn't want to assume too much because, well, you know what happens when you assume. :-) There's pictures on Phil's FB page of little Gio flying downhill on his Wishbone bike with whatever that cute helmet is. Looks like lots of fun!!

Tell the little one to HTFU and ride the full two-wheeler pedals and all. It's never too early to break a collarbone.

Has anyone ever done a plywood bike for grown-ups?

Could be a fun project?

First I have to finish my treehouse (seriously). Satellite TV and slide directly into my pool, still to be completed.

THEN a plywood bike.......

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

We ended up going with FirstBike, a German designed one.

http://www.firstbike.com

We ended up going with FirstBike, a German designed one.

And the next one should be a Puky. Germans know how to design a bike around a kid.

Not that it'll help the OP at all, but I'm in the process of building a balance/push bike for my daughter (she's 14 months now, so the need is a little ways off). Fillet-brazing it using tube ends that I bought from Aircraft Spruce and a set of wheels I bought from The Balance Bike Store.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

I picked up a Y Velo JR for about $50 for my son's 2nd birthday and a Specialized Hotrock 12 when he was about 2 1/2. Both are great bikes. As a result of many hours zipping around on the balance bike, we were able to ditch the training wheels on the Specialized just before his 3rd birthday.

http://yvolution.com/...Velo-Jr-c60c107.html

http://www.specialized.com/...rock-12-coaster-boys

I used the Skuut wooden balance bike. My now 6 and 8 year old boys loved it.

http://www.skuut.com/