Tricycle and Balance Bike

14 Sep 2021

We love purchasing things that will last. Although it might seem costly at first, we consider the amount that the item will be used not only for the first child but with consecutive children, so we find it more economical in the long run. It’s no different for bikes.

After some research, we chose Wishbone for the:

  1. Wheels:

    • type of wheels: air-filled

    • 3 wheels for a tricycle

    • 2 wheels for a balance bike

  2. Seat:

    • the type of cushion

    • choices of color on the seat

  3. Wood and not plastic (although the option is available)

Our firstborn started walking on his own (without hand-holding) by 10 months. He walked and ran steadily on his own, so we knew he’d be able to ride one by his first birthday. At 12 months, if he sat back on the seat, he could reach the ground with his feet. As soon as he reached forward and grabbed the handle bars fully, it was a bit challenging for him to do on his own. He’d have to waddle quite a bit to reach the ground with his toes (one at a time). At 13.5 months, he was able to touch the ground with the balls of his feet on both feet without waddling. It was still a bit of a challenge to maneuver the handle bars to switch directions, so we’d help him turn at either end of the hallway as he rode it in the 675-sq.-ft. apartment. We could also fit it in the trunk of the car (we were renting from Budget at the time, so any car fit it) and bring it with us to my parents’ house, which offered 3500 sq. ft. of space to ride his bicycle indoors. Since we hadn’t taken it outside yet, the wheels were clean.





Once he was two and able to ride the three-wheeler well without assistance, maneuver the handle bars well and change direction on his own, we started letting him practice in the hallway of our apartment (we had amazing neighbors who encouraged him to play in the hallway), then my parents’ 1-acre yard in Northern NJ, then onto the streets of Philadelphia. We needed to make sure that he was very good at immediately responding to directions (stop and wait) as well as biking around people who were too busy on their cell phones to pay attention to him coming their way.



By three, we took the third wheel off and he was on bike paths riding for a few miles on the balance bike. I began encouraging him to balance for longer periods of time without his legs on the ground. I had in mind to purchase a regular bike for him for his fourth birthday, so I wanted to be sure he was used to balancing without his feet on the ground. My parents’ driveway is downhill, so once he was able to ride it down with his legs up, he grew in his confidence and boldness to try more (including little hills and riding more BMX-style). We also took him out to a trail to practice as well. *NOTE: we only took the third wheel off when he was tall enough to hold the bars without leaning forward, his feet were firmly planted on the ground and he had better control of his body as well as the bike.



We’ve liked this balance bike and will use it for our second-born, who is learning to walk on his own at 14 months. He’s taller than my firstborn was, so by the time he’s able to walk on his own better, he’ll be ready to ride it and I’ll post updated photos. (Update 12/30/2022: he's now two and has been riding the two-wheeler for 2.5 months. He was at first "walking" with it, where he would use one foot at a time, and has been using two feet at once and balancing more.)

Here’s the summary of pros and cons.

PROS:

- If your child loves going on various trails, this bike is definitely great for it. My husband made a little off-road ramp for him around my parents’ property and the tires can handle it well. He’s also ridden it on dirt bike paths in the park and it’s sturdy.

- It lasted my child from age one to his fourth birthday and will last through. They also sell spare parts so you can replace anything that gets damaged. (Update: 12/30/22 we've now used it for two kids and it's still going strong!)

CONS:

- The handle bar is far from the seat so the kid is in a position learning forward. Their position changes as they grow taller, but for some, this may be challenging.

- it is a bit bulky when it's three wheels but it fits in the back of a car no problem. It would not fit in our closet so it did not fit in our small apartment closet. We had to keep it near the entry way so it did take up space.

(Update: If you’re ready to get your child a regular bike, you can read what we bought our children here.)

We made sure he got into the habit that riding a bike = putting on a helmet, so as soon as he wanted to ride it, we’d put it on. There was slight resistance at times, but once he understood that he had to wear it, he would get it himself. (Update: 12/30/22 it's the same with our second born. No helmet, no bike. Since big brother always wore his, he did as well. In fact, he was wearing a helmet way before he was ready to ride. For helmet info, read the post here.)

Tricycle and Balance Bike

14 Sep 2021

We love purchasing things that will last. Although it might seem costly at first, we consider the amount that the item will be used not only for the first child but with consecutive children, so we find it more economical in the long run. It’s no different for bikes.

After some research, we chose Wishbone for the:

  1. Wheels:

    • type of wheels: air-filled

    • 3 wheels for a tricycle

    • 2 wheels for a balance bike

  2. Seat:

    • the type of cushion

    • choices of color on the seat

  3. Wood and not plastic (although the option is available)

Our firstborn started walking on his own (without hand-holding) by 10 months. He walked and ran steadily on his own, so we knew he’d be able to ride one by his first birthday. At 12 months, if he sat back on the seat, he could reach the ground with his feet. As soon as he reached forward and grabbed the handle bars fully, it was a bit challenging for him to do on his own. He’d have to waddle quite a bit to reach the ground with his toes (one at a time). At 13.5 months, he was able to touch the ground with the balls of his feet on both feet without waddling. It was still a bit of a challenge to maneuver the handle bars to switch directions, so we’d help him turn at either end of the hallway as he rode it in the 675-sq.-ft. apartment. We could also fit it in the trunk of the car (we were renting from Budget at the time, so any car fit it) and bring it with us to my parents’ house, which offered 3500 sq. ft. of space to ride his bicycle indoors. Since we hadn’t taken it outside yet, the wheels were clean.





Once he was two and able to ride the three-wheeler well without assistance, maneuver the handle bars well and change direction on his own, we started letting him practice in the hallway of our apartment (we had amazing neighbors who encouraged him to play in the hallway), then my parents’ 1-acre yard in Northern NJ, then onto the streets of Philadelphia. We needed to make sure that he was very good at immediately responding to directions (stop and wait) as well as biking around people who were too busy on their cell phones to pay attention to him coming their way.



By three, we took the third wheel off and he was on bike paths riding for a few miles on the balance bike. I began encouraging him to balance for longer periods of time without his legs on the ground. I had in mind to purchase a regular bike for him for his fourth birthday, so I wanted to be sure he was used to balancing without his feet on the ground. My parents’ driveway is downhill, so once he was able to ride it down with his legs up, he grew in his confidence and boldness to try more (including little hills and riding more BMX-style). We also took him out to a trail to practice as well. *NOTE: we only took the third wheel off when he was tall enough to hold the bars without leaning forward, his feet were firmly planted on the ground and he had better control of his body as well as the bike.



We’ve liked this balance bike and will use it for our second-born, who is learning to walk on his own at 14 months. He’s taller than my firstborn was, so by the time he’s able to walk on his own better, he’ll be ready to ride it and I’ll post updated photos. (Update 12/30/2022: he's now two and has been riding the two-wheeler for 2.5 months. He was at first "walking" with it, where he would use one foot at a time, and has been using two feet at once and balancing more.)

Here’s the summary of pros and cons.

PROS:

- If your child loves going on various trails, this bike is definitely great for it. My husband made a little off-road ramp for him around my parents’ property and the tires can handle it well. He’s also ridden it on dirt bike paths in the park and it’s sturdy.

- It lasted my child from age one to his fourth birthday and will last through. They also sell spare parts so you can replace anything that gets damaged. (Update: 12/30/22 we've now used it for two kids and it's still going strong!)

CONS:

- The handle bar is far from the seat so the kid is in a position learning forward. Their position changes as they grow taller, but for some, this may be challenging.

- it is a bit bulky when it's three wheels but it fits in the back of a car no problem. It would not fit in our closet so it did not fit in our small apartment closet. We had to keep it near the entry way so it did take up space.

(Update: If you’re ready to get your child a regular bike, you can read what we bought our children here.)

We made sure he got into the habit that riding a bike = putting on a helmet, so as soon as he wanted to ride it, we’d put it on. There was slight resistance at times, but once he understood that he had to wear it, he would get it himself. (Update: 12/30/22 it's the same with our second born. No helmet, no bike. Since big brother always wore his, he did as well. In fact, he was wearing a helmet way before he was ready to ride. For helmet info, read the post here.)