Balance bike for taller children

[ScotHill]

I'm looking for a balance bike for my almost 3 year old, who is a metre tall already. Even Decathlon's larger (12" wheel) balance bike says for children from 90cm-105cm so I don't want him to outgrow it too soon.

Would he be okay on that size bike for the next couple of years, or would we be better getting a lightweight pedal bike and taking the pedals off until he's ready to use them?

[Chester draws]

This was 10 years ago now, but I think our eldest was only on a balance bike for 3 months. Was on a Hotrock 12 pedal bike on his 3rd birthday.

I'm not saying don't get a balance bike, but he may not be on it for that long!

[SamR380]

Just get a bike their size and take the cranks and bottom bracket out, then if they take to it quickly they already have a bike.

[ScotHill]

Will have a look for pedal bikes, if I can get a second hand balance bike for £20-30 we might do that as an interim, would probably sell it on for pretty much the same anyway.

[The Mad Monk]

SamR380 said:

Just get a bike their size and take the cranks and bottom bracket out, then if they take to it quickly they already have a bike.

What he (she?) said.

[lufbramatt]

Frog Tadpole plus was the biggest balance bike I could find. Or just get a small pedal bike and take the pedals off.

[Roastie ITR]

Maybe keep an eye out for a Wiggins Pau balance bike. We took my son's one on holiday with us with friends and their 4 1/2 year olds were happy scooting along with it when I lifted the seat right up, so plenty of growing room with these.

It's a great balance bike too, nice & light & robust.

[jackofall84]

I was in exactly the same position as you (my son must get his height from his Mums side!), we bought the Ridgeback Scoot XL which has 14" wheels for my sons 3rd birthday. Can't recommend it highly enough. Ridgeback build quality and plenty of space to grow with it, it has a brake which my sons getting the hang of now as well, he's been out on it more or less everyday since lockdown began for our daily exercise/walk/him on balance bike.

[ScotHill]

jackofall84 said:

I was in exactly the same position as you (my son must get his height from his Mums side!), we bought the Ridgeback Scoot XL which has 14" wheels for my sons 3rd birthday. Can't recommend it highly enough. Ridgeback build quality and plenty of space to grow with it, it has a brake which my sons getting the hang of now as well, he's been out on it more or less everyday since lockdown began for our daily exercise/walk/him on balance bike.

Do you think he'd be happy enough on it for at least a year? I'm not in a rush to go for pedals, but I've heard quite a few cases where balance bikes only last a few months.

[lufbramatt]

I'd defo suggest getting one with a brake, the bigger wheeled balance bikes roll much better so the kids can end up going pretty quick on slopes.

My son is tall for his age and he kept the frog tadpole plus until he was 4, the seatpost was right up but he was fine on it. I wasn't in a rush to push him on to a 14" wheel pedal bike and put him straight on to a 16" Frog 48 when he was ready. Still has the odd go on on the balance bike in the garden even though he is 5 tomorrow!

Edited by lufbramatt on Friday 17th April 10:30

[jackofall84]

ScotHill said:

jackofall84 said:

I was in exactly the same position as you (my son must get his height from his Mums side!), we bought the Ridgeback Scoot XL which has 14" wheels for my sons 3rd birthday. Can't recommend it highly enough. Ridgeback build quality and plenty of space to grow with it, it has a brake which my sons getting the hang of now as well, he's been out on it more or less everyday since lockdown began for our daily exercise/walk/him on balance bike.

Do you think he'd be happy enough on it for at least a year? I'm not in a rush to go for pedals, but I've heard quite a few cases where balance bikes only last a few months.

I would say it would last till he was about 5 if needed, though I plan on getting mine a bike with pedals at Xmas this year (my sons birthday is Dec 28th so bday and Xmas are more or less the same) when he'll be 4, maybe start using then or in a few months after if he's not quite ready.

Bottom line is I think you'll get at least 12 months out of it and more if he's not ready to move onto pedals by then.

[Prawo Jazdy]

If they fit a Scoot 14” then that’s a good idea. Our son was two when we bought his bike, so I think he was a bit small for the 14”, and unfortunately you can’t swap 12” for 14” on the same bike (one review said you could, but an email from Ridgeback said otherwise).

Our son has a Ridgeback Dimension Runner, which he loves. Pneumatic tyres, 12” wheels and quite light, it’s supposed to be great for quickly building confidence. It’s made really nicely, with a proper V-brake, and other components you’ll see on an adult bike. It has two seat posts and he’s still on the shorter one despite being quite tall for his age. You can get a bit more height by twisting the handlebars up, and it has a proper headset so you could probably use spacers (I’m not certain about this).

Having said that, the idea of a full bike with the drivetrain removed is a great idea that never even occurred to me. If you can find a decent bike that’s the right size then I would go down that route.

[ScotHill]

The caveat on a pedal bike with no pedals is that they can be heavier than a balance bike, so harder to ride for wee ones. Depends what you buy though, will keep checking gumtree and eBay as he won't care if it's new or not and the branded ones wouldn't really lose their value.

Thanks all,

[ScotHill]

Roastie ITR said:

Maybe keep an eye out for a Wiggins Pau balance bike. We took my son's one on holiday with us with friends and their 4 1/2 year olds were happy scooting along with it when I lifted the seat right up, so plenty of growing room with these.

It's a great balance bike too, nice & light & robust.

Thanks for this, managed to pick up one of these and it looks great. Not tried him on it yet but he went arse-backwards off his scooter this afternoon so sitting down might be safer for him in the short term! Will size it up in the garden then take him with it to the park.