Bike Journey

31 May 2022

I remember when I was a child, learning to ride a two wheeler and not thrilled about it. It was scary and hard. As I learned about balance bikes as a mom, I chose to make the transition between bikes as smooth as possible for our children. I remember walking in town around Philadelphia, seeing a kid riding a bike and asking the parent what brand it was because it wasn’t a brand I had seen. Turns out, it was from New Zealand (my husband’s country) and could convert from a three-wheeler to a balance bike. There are other bikes like Woom and Stryder, but we chose to support a small business called Wishbone, from “back home.” We ordered it for our son’s first birthday. Keep in mind that he started walking well around 10 months, so he was ready for a tricycle. It was a bit big for his height, but he soon grew into it and we made sure he had a helmet. I chose the GIRO SCAMP MIPS helmet (now discontinued. He's outgrown the SCAMP, and now both boys, ages 6 and 2, use the Tremor MIPS helmet). I wanted him to know from the get-go that riding a bike = putting on a helmet. We also chose the bike because the wheels are thicker, made of rubber, and can be used on- and off-road.

At first, we allowed him to use it in our 625-sq.-ft. apartment to get used to it. Then, we ventured into the hallway because our neighbors were all kind, elderly folk who loved hearing his voice in the hallway playing ball and tricycling up and down. We eventually let him go outside while my husband walked, then power-walked, then jogged beside him through the city of Philadelphia. He became quite fast at it that hubs started running alongside him on bike paths when we’d go visit my parents in suburbia. We then transitioned him to a balance bike once he was tall enough and able to ride well on the tricycle. He transitioned smoothly without any difference, really, in the way he rode it. Knowing we’d get him a pedal bike in the near future, I told him that he needed to be able to stay on the balance bike without his feet on the ground, so he began playing around and practicing down my parents’ driveway, which happens to be a fairly steep hill. The goal was for him to be able to bike without his feet on the ground too much so he could ride a bike on his own by his fourth birthday. My husband would occasionally put him on a larger bike, hold him and the bike up and teach him how to pedal so he knew how to move his legs. (If you're interested in knowing more about Wishbone and how we used it to prepare him for a two-wheeler with photos, you can read it here.)

About 6 months prior to his birthday, we ordered him a Prevelo Alpha One and it arrived 2 months before his actual birthday. He was able to ride it pretty much immediately. He tried it twice with hubs’ help until he got the hang of pedaling. When we were looking for a bike, I wanted to be sure the wheels were dirt-bike-ready. The only bike that came in his height and had handle breaks was Prevelo. It is worth the investment. Our son rode his bike through all 4 seasons and on most weeks, would ride 5 – 6 days a week 10.5 miles a day with his dad. We were fortunate enough to have a very long path in Bergen County (NJ) so I would drop them off in one town, drive to another town, take out the stroller and walk with the baby while I waited for them.

This was all helpful for our road trip. The bike was small to pack and great exercise between travel times, so he got his energy out. He rode the bike on Colorado Bike paths such as Superior Bike Path and Valmont Bike Park.

DAD’s MUST-HAVE LIST for bike:

• Hand brakes

• Good tires

MOM’s MUST-HAVE LIST for bike:

• Can be ridden off-road and not just on a paved bike path

• Comfortable for his height

• Helpful to ease transition from bike to bike, from start to adult

• Built for children, a quality bicycle and not cheaply made

• Can be used for multiple children and last for years, if not handed down to the next generation like my Schwinn

Prevelo hit all the must-haves. Prevelo Alpha One (14 inch) comes with handle breaks and a back-pedal brake. It was important to my husband that we have a hand brake, only so we purchased a freewheel kit. It allows you to swap the back tires out so there’s no longer a back pedal. They make it easy and you can use their video tutorial to see how it’s done. I didn’t think this was a big deal, considering I grew up having a back-pedal bike. However, even though I preferred back-pedal over hand brakes (because I became used to it), having seen my son try my Schwinn (back-pedal) and find the reaction to the brakes slow, I am now a firm believer in having my children learn with hand-brakes over back-pedal. The way our kids ride bikes, I need the brakes to have a quicker response, and hand-brakes outperform back-pedal any day.

There are other accessories you can add to the bike. We chose to purchase a kickstand for $15 because we wanted to minimize scratches on the bike, seeing that it was to be handed down through all the other siblings. We also purchased the incredible bike bell for an additional $15 because I remember love having a bell on my bike, and their bell is made in Japan. Also, there were lots of blind corners to the bike path so I wanted to be sure he had a bell to ring to let those coming from the other bend know he was there. They also have an option to trade up where you get 40% off the next bike when you purchase the next size up within 24 months. We never opted for that because we knew he’d be able to handle a larger bike - we purchased the Alpha Three (20-inch wheel, skipping Alpha Two, 16-inch wheel) for his fifth birthday. For that particular bike, we added the kickstand and custom color grips. We had a feeling that our second son would not like the same color by age 4 - 5 as our firstborn did, so we had our firstborn “customize” the bike by choosing a color grip. That way, our other children could choose a color grip on their own or keep the regular black grip. Prevelo typically does it for you but we asked them to keep the black grip on and send us the color grip of our choice separately. That way, my husband could swap the black grip back on for our other sons.

We were on the road during the time the Alpha Three was ready for shipping, so Prevelo was kind enough to hold onto it once it was ready until we had settled in our new place. Their customer service is outstanding, the quality of the bikes are great and I highly recommend them all around. Our now-six-year-old has been riding it around everywhere while our now-two-year-old is getting used to the Wishbone and occasionally trying out his big brothers’ Prevelo Alpha One. (Photo is from when he is 18 months). They recently came out with Alpha Zero (balance bike) but we learned on the road that the best thing to do to save money is to take off the pedals until they’re ready, and the bike becomes a balance bike. It was still a bit big for him a few months ago so dad would have to hold him up on it, but now he’s able to reach the ground. By his third birthday, his height would probably be perfect for it, and depending upon how he is doing with the Wishbone, he may be able to ride a two-wheeler by his third birthday - just in time for his little brother to turn one, who will be able to ride the Wishbone.

Bike Journey

31 May 2022

I remember when I was a child, learning to ride a two wheeler and not thrilled about it. It was scary and hard. As I learned about balance bikes as a mom, I chose to make the transition between bikes as smooth as possible for our children. I remember walking in town around Philadelphia, seeing a kid riding a bike and asking the parent what brand it was because it wasn’t a brand I had seen. Turns out, it was from New Zealand (my husband’s country) and could convert from a three-wheeler to a balance bike. There are other bikes like Woom and Stryder, but we chose to support a small business called Wishbone, from “back home.” We ordered it for our son’s first birthday. Keep in mind that he started walking well around 10 months, so he was ready for a tricycle. It was a bit big for his height, but he soon grew into it and we made sure he had a helmet. I chose the GIRO SCAMP MIPS helmet (now discontinued. He's outgrown the SCAMP, and now both boys, ages 6 and 2, use the Tremor MIPS helmet). I wanted him to know from the get-go that riding a bike = putting on a helmet. We also chose the bike because the wheels are thicker, made of rubber, and can be used on- and off-road.

At first, we allowed him to use it in our 625-sq.-ft. apartment to get used to it. Then, we ventured into the hallway because our neighbors were all kind, elderly folk who loved hearing his voice in the hallway playing ball and tricycling up and down. We eventually let him go outside while my husband walked, then power-walked, then jogged beside him through the city of Philadelphia. He became quite fast at it that hubs started running alongside him on bike paths when we’d go visit my parents in suburbia. We then transitioned him to a balance bike once he was tall enough and able to ride well on the tricycle. He transitioned smoothly without any difference, really, in the way he rode it. Knowing we’d get him a pedal bike in the near future, I told him that he needed to be able to stay on the balance bike without his feet on the ground, so he began playing around and practicing down my parents’ driveway, which happens to be a fairly steep hill. The goal was for him to be able to bike without his feet on the ground too much so he could ride a bike on his own by his fourth birthday. My husband would occasionally put him on a larger bike, hold him and the bike up and teach him how to pedal so he knew how to move his legs. (If you're interested in knowing more about Wishbone and how we used it to prepare him for a two-wheeler with photos, you can read it here.)

About 6 months prior to his birthday, we ordered him a Prevelo Alpha One and it arrived 2 months before his actual birthday. He was able to ride it pretty much immediately. He tried it twice with hubs’ help until he got the hang of pedaling. When we were looking for a bike, I wanted to be sure the wheels were dirt-bike-ready. The only bike that came in his height and had handle breaks was Prevelo. It is worth the investment. Our son rode his bike through all 4 seasons and on most weeks, would ride 5 – 6 days a week 10.5 miles a day with his dad. We were fortunate enough to have a very long path in Bergen County (NJ) so I would drop them off in one town, drive to another town, take out the stroller and walk with the baby while I waited for them.

This was all helpful for our road trip. The bike was small to pack and great exercise between travel times, so he got his energy out. He rode the bike on Colorado Bike paths such as Superior Bike Path and Valmont Bike Park.

DAD’s MUST-HAVE LIST for bike:

• Hand brakes

• Good tires

MOM’s MUST-HAVE LIST for bike:

• Can be ridden off-road and not just on a paved bike path

• Comfortable for his height

• Helpful to ease transition from bike to bike, from start to adult

• Built for children, a quality bicycle and not cheaply made

• Can be used for multiple children and last for years, if not handed down to the next generation like my Schwinn

Prevelo hit all the must-haves. Prevelo Alpha One (14 inch) comes with handle breaks and a back-pedal brake. It was important to my husband that we have a hand brake, only so we purchased a freewheel kit. It allows you to swap the back tires out so there’s no longer a back pedal. They make it easy and you can use their video tutorial to see how it’s done. I didn’t think this was a big deal, considering I grew up having a back-pedal bike. However, even though I preferred back-pedal over hand brakes (because I became used to it), having seen my son try my Schwinn (back-pedal) and find the reaction to the brakes slow, I am now a firm believer in having my children learn with hand-brakes over back-pedal. The way our kids ride bikes, I need the brakes to have a quicker response, and hand-brakes outperform back-pedal any day.

There are other accessories you can add to the bike. We chose to purchase a kickstand for $15 because we wanted to minimize scratches on the bike, seeing that it was to be handed down through all the other siblings. We also purchased the incredible bike bell for an additional $15 because I remember love having a bell on my bike, and their bell is made in Japan. Also, there were lots of blind corners to the bike path so I wanted to be sure he had a bell to ring to let those coming from the other bend know he was there. They also have an option to trade up where you get 40% off the next bike when you purchase the next size up within 24 months. We never opted for that because we knew he’d be able to handle a larger bike - we purchased the Alpha Three (20-inch wheel, skipping Alpha Two, 16-inch wheel) for his fifth birthday. For that particular bike, we added the kickstand and custom color grips. We had a feeling that our second son would not like the same color by age 4 - 5 as our firstborn did, so we had our firstborn “customize” the bike by choosing a color grip. That way, our other children could choose a color grip on their own or keep the regular black grip. Prevelo typically does it for you but we asked them to keep the black grip on and send us the color grip of our choice separately. That way, my husband could swap the black grip back on for our other sons.

We were on the road during the time the Alpha Three was ready for shipping, so Prevelo was kind enough to hold onto it once it was ready until we had settled in our new place. Their customer service is outstanding, the quality of the bikes are great and I highly recommend them all around. Our now-six-year-old has been riding it around everywhere while our now-two-year-old is getting used to the Wishbone and occasionally trying out his big brothers’ Prevelo Alpha One. (Photo is from when he is 18 months). They recently came out with Alpha Zero (balance bike) but we learned on the road that the best thing to do to save money is to take off the pedals until they’re ready, and the bike becomes a balance bike. It was still a bit big for him a few months ago so dad would have to hold him up on it, but now he’s able to reach the ground. By his third birthday, his height would probably be perfect for it, and depending upon how he is doing with the Wishbone, he may be able to ride a two-wheeler by his third birthday - just in time for his little brother to turn one, who will be able to ride the Wishbone.