This point, however, is disputed by John Bradley, who said that, just like an adult, a child will be more likely to want to ride a lightweight, high-quality bike (which proved true among our testers). He also pointed out that such a bike will also sell on Craigslist for a pretty good percentage of what was paid for it, provided it was taken care of, making it a more digestible investment. The single-speed bike has a durable steel frame showcasing the Huffy ornament, while the ribbed-style chainguard completes the classic look. 26” cruiser tires are smooth-riding, and provide good traction for a confident ride. All these details add up to one fantastic bike that is so comfortable to ride. Many kids need a little encouragement (and flat, paved terrain) to get into balance biking.
For our testing subjects, we enlisted our friend’s adventurous little kids, including 2-year-old Elle, 6-year-old Luke, and 7-year-old Fleet here in Charleston, South Carolina. River, who is 3 and a proficient balance biker, took to our fleet with enthusiasm. So what about skipping the balance bike and heading straight for a small pedal bike (like a 16-inch model with training wheels)?
We tested a few bikes with foam tires and found all—including the Strider’s—slid out far more easily than inflatable rubber tires on smooth surfaces like wood or tile floors. But the Strider tires appear to be made of a marginally softer and grippier material than our other foam-tired bikes, which helped mitigate some slides and handled bumpier dirt trails reasonably well. It also was nearly assembled right down to its pre-attached wheels, which were perfectly tightened so they spun freely without any play. Step-by-step instructions, both printed and online, were easy and fun and never frustrating.
Strider does sell a $20 simple add-on foot-operated brake, which can also help teach coaster braking skills. This is an important safety feature for hilly terrain, but we’d love to see a hand brake option. These models can further be subdivided into adult model bikes and children bikes.
It includes ATB resin mountain bike pedals that are lightweight and tough enough to be difficult to break. We also tested the budget Kazam v2e, which features the lowest step-in height of any bike we tested, at 6 inches, and a wide, comfortable footrest. We had issues with the width of its rear tubes, which rubbed our tester’s legs. Agile, simple to assemble, and sporting a useful rear hand brake, this is the balance bike for bike enthusiast parents who want their kid to have a pro-level tyke bike. Ryan McFarland, John Bradley, WeeBikeShop’s Ivan Altinbasak, and most everyone I interviewed consider training wheels to be about the worst thing you can put on kids’ bikes. The ride is simple — no confusion with handbrakes, or with shifting multiple speeds.
At first Horace manufactured products for service stations and steel bicycle rims, but sensing an opportunity during the Depression in 1934, he switched to making bicycles. You can get your kid started with balance biking as young as 15 months with a light bike with a low seat so they can simply sit, hold the handlebars, and walk around. With Strider’s excellent step-by-step instructions (here’s a video), buildout was a simple, 10-minute matter of slipping on a few nylon washers at the headset, sliding on a self-aligning clamp, and inserting and tightening the handlebar assembly. A properly fitted balance bike can enable children to balance on two wheels even as young as 18 months and is a fun first step toward learning to ride a bike. The huffy nighthawk women’s mountain bike is quite good in terms of quality as an affordable, well-built, and long-lasting Full Suspension Mountain Bike for girls to ride. The frame design is very similar, with the same 18-speed configuration, but the Hyper Shocker is a men’s mountain bike, whereas the Huffy Trail Runner is a women’s mountain bike.