Strider Bike

We’ve all seen young children trying to learn to ride “big kid” bicycles, with training wheels.  Inevitably, they tip from one training wheel to other, and back to the first.  While what we want them to learn is to ride balanced, what they’re actually learning is to ride unbalanced.  That’s where the Strider comes in.

Known as a “PREbike” – or, sometimes, a “balance bike” or even a “running bike”- this bicycle does not rely on training wheels to keep a child from tipping.  Instead, it omits the pedals.  The child makes it “go” much like one would a skateboard – by pushing off with the feet, then lifting the feet and allowing himself to glide.  If he starts to lose his balance, he just places his feet back on the ground.  No big deal.  The clear advantage is that he is being trained to balance rather than being trained not to balance.  We haven’t had a chance to try ours out yet (I’ll tell you more in a few months!), but I’m told that this eases the transition to a “real” bicycle considerably and causes the process to go more quickly.  This makes perfect sense to me.  I imagine it’s also much easier on daddy’s back!

This would be a good choice for that “big gift” for your “big kid.”

$99+

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Disclosure: Strider provided me with a significant discount on my bicycle to facilitate this post and my upcoming review.  As always, all opinions are entirely my own.