So what about skipping the balance bike and heading straight for a small pedal bike (like a 16-inch model with training wheels)? We checked in with Harry Sawyers and with Kalee Thompson, two Wirecutter editors who’ve worked on baby/kid stories. They were skeptical that balance bikes will ever go as mainstream as training-wheel–equipped bikes. To Sawyers, whose two kids gravitated toward trikes and scooters, it makes little sense to start a kid out on an expensive balance bike when the child might not even want to ride it.
Older children can go for BMX bikes, cruisers, or do-it-all Huffy mountain bikes. Our great experience with the Woom 1 began with the arrival of a slightly oversized box that allows the bike to be shipped from Woom’s facility in Texas with its wheels and hand brake already attached and perfectly adjusted. Assembly was thus reduced to snapping and screwing in the headset using the included 6 mm Allen wrench, setting the seat height with the quick-release levers, and handing the bike to our eager young tester. If our top pick is sold out, or if you want the cushioning and traction of rubber tires, particularly for indoor riding or bumpy surfaces, the REI Co-op Cycles REV 12 Kids’ Balance Bike is an excellent choice. Even though it usually costs $30 more than the Strider, we liked the bike’s Strider-like geometry, its ease of assembly, light weight, wheel setup, and relatively low price, as well as REI’s reputation.
It initially manufactured 12 bikes a day, but as the Depression worsened, the company was able to produce 200 bicycles per day. More and more people embrace cycling in their daily commute making Huffy bicycles a necessity. Since it has been in the market for such a huffy cruiser bike long time, it comes with a portfolio of vintage Huffy bicycles worthy of a collector’s item. Getting the brand’s old-school classic designs with a retro appeal can fetch quite a hefty price. Huffy is an impressive bike brand that makes fantastic entry-level bikes.
The gorgeous, aluminum LittleBig 3-in-1 is a hybrid balance pedal bike like the Strider 14x. It is a step up in quality, weighs less (11.2 pound without pedals, 14.5 with), and has excellent front and rear hand brakes and an ingenious system that allows you to flip the midpoint of the frame. The pedal huffy mountain bikes installation process is not as simple as the 14x, though, and its geometry is more aggressive, which makes it agile but not quite as comfortable as the Strider. When it’s set up, the Strider’s pedal assembly is engineered with very narrow cranks and pedals—half as wide as you’d see on any other bike.
(In this case, either a Woom 2 or a Woom 3.) You pay a one-time enrollment fee of about $60, but the discount would be renewed up to your purchase of a 26-inch-wheeled Woom 6. The REV 12 also gets high marks for what may be an even easier assembly than the Strider. Turn the handlebar into the correct position, tighten it down with the included Allen wrench, and adjust the seat post height, and your child is ready to roll.