So since this is also a “dad” blog lets talk about that big step of trying to get your kids biking early. It gives me a great chance to reflect on learning to ride on two wheels when I was a 80’s / 90’s kid growing up. I cant really remember when I learned to ride a bike but I guess I was probably around 6 or 7 years old at the time and I do remember it being that typical struggle. It was the “here I will push you down this hill so hold on” philosophy. I am sure many of us now in our 30’s had the same experience. I will tell you as a current parent of two wild boys there is an easier way.
Balance Bikes
I am not sure where the dirt bike mom and I first discovered balance bikes but we had a two year old eagerly waiting to hop on two wheels. The local teenagers on their dirt bikes always got him riled up so we new it was a matter of time. Enter the world of balance bikes. For those of you that don’t know a balance bike is well nothing more than a really small bike without pedals. Kids just start out by kind of straddling the bike and walking it around. The pushing around will eventually lead to them beginning to sit down on the bike and kind of “stride” it around hence the name strider bike which is also a brand name as well. Bikes nowadays are made by just about every large bike manufacturer although Strider seems to have one of the best ones going. We bought our first son Oliver a Schwinn for his first bike and he loved it. Bright green and chrome wheels who wouldn’t love it!
It is amazing at how quickly a toddler can pick up riding and coasting and balancing a bike. Oliver used his balance bike until he was four when we upgraded him to a 16” full pedal style kids bike and he hasn’t looked back after just a week with training wheels to get used to the pedals. Seriously one week and he was riding a full pedal bike after just turning four. We bought our second son Cooper a 12” Strider bike when he was around 18 months old and he was pushing it around really good at that point. Fast forward a few months and just two months after he turned two and he is coasting and fulling balancing and riding on his own. It is unreal the impact these bikes have on such a young child and it is great exercise and a great sensory type of item for them and it make the transition to bigger bikes both bicycles and dirt bikes that much easier.
12” Balance / Strider Bikes
As stated these seem to be the perfect size (in our experience) for a toddler 18 months – 4 years old. The frame size was almost perfect for our boys but of course this may differ for your own children but our little guys were around the 50th percentile in size so use that info as you will. I prefer and I am sure the dirt bike mom would attest the Strider brand bikes seem to really be the best option so far as design is concerned. I really liked how it was a lot more “adjustable” than some of the other options out there. Both the seat height and handlebar height is adjustable and the overall geometry of the bike made it really easy for our second little guy to learn. The price is not unreasonable at $99 USD at the time of our purchase but be forewarned they can sell out if they are “in season” and especially during these unprecedented pandemic times. Outside of that there are many options from a lot of the other bike manufacturers as well.
14” – 16” Bikes
14” – 16” bikes are really the next logical step after a strider bike. Many of the 14” versions can be had in both pedal style and strider style so use that information accordingly depending on your child’s skill level. Age wise I am guessing these are probably perfect for a 3.5 year old on up through possibly a 7 year old? Not positive on that front yet as our oldest is not quite 5 yet. We opted for a 16” pedal model and it was almost a perfect fit for our little guy at just a tad on the large size. Another word of note here I am by no means a bicycle expert but I do know quality when I see it. We had a lot of trouble finding a suitable second bike for Oliver as it was at the heigh of the pandemic and not much was available. I opted for a Specialized RipRock Coaster 16”. This bike is quality nice large mountain bike style tires, an extremely sturdy frame and an adjustable seat and bars. It has a coaster style brake (you push the pedals backwards) and can do lots of “dirt road smoky burnouts” as my little guy says when skidding to a stop. The bike was a little pricy at $260 but at the end of the day it is a quality bike and honestly its been worth every penny. It is also very important to note according to biking experts and technicians overall bike geometry is extremely important to anyone who wants to be successful at biking and I do tend to agree with that as it is similar on a dirt bike as well. There are some bikes that just feel “right”.
Larger than 16” Models
I don’t have an answer for this yet but I am sure I will and I promise I will update you all when I do. What I can say is you do tend to get what you pay for. Seek some guidance from individuals that do this for a living. There are so many local bike shops out there that would love to help you out and determine what may work for your kids or you. Either way being on two wheels of any sort is one of the most fun things out there in my opinion. Just being able to get our children to keep a strong interest in the outdoors and teaching them to enjoys some of the simpler things in life is vital to our sports livelihood and to the world we live in as a whole. Get out and ride and get dirty!