We went the cheap route. You all have 2 to 3 bikes of your own, why not Jr?

We had my son on a little bike with training wheels and he learned the pedeling and braking concept. At the same time we had a cheap-o old clown sized bike from goodwill for a whopping $2 and a $5 can of spray paint (since he didn't want it princess colors and stickers), removed the drive train and tossed it since it was so old and dead anyway. He would alternate on each bike depending on which he felt like riding that day. That all started at about 3 months before his 3rd birthday. A week after he turned 3 he was riding around on his regular bike without training wheels, balancing just fine, braking well and pedaling like a champ.

Handed the ghetto balance bike around the neighborhood for whomever wanted it. All the kids were riding a regular bike without training wheels within weeks.

As I mentioned, we live in a hilly area, and immediately after we get out of our driveway, it's a hill up in either direction- some hills are steeper than 12% grade in our neigbhorhood- that's Tour de France hill steep. We go down the steepest ones, not up, fortunately. In order to actually ride, I mean to ride for a while (up to and over an hour), a lighter weight bike was/is much more suitable. The heavier bikes were 70% of his body weight. Imagine riding a bike weighing 70 pounds for every 100 pounds you weigh? Anyway, my son has been regularly going on rides of 5 to 8 miles and we are satisfied with our purchase. Him much more satisfied, than me, probably. In our neighborhood, the other toddler parents are looking hard for a lightweight used bike, but those are hard to come by. We visited a beach area over the holiday, and a heavier/cheap/free toddler bike would have been more than adequate for the flat roads near the beach.

I know Bicycle Connection in Metairie LA has two specialized push bikes in stock. I think they had a deal where you could trade it in for $50.00 creadit if you bought the next kids bike from them. The owner has several toddler grand children and I have seen them zip around with ease.

Great thread. So who wants to sell their old now outgrown push bike for a 2 to 3 year old? I think i will go the balance route for my boy, but he may need leathers. He inherited his mommy's clumsy nature and my daredevil drive, not a good combination...

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