Hi guys,

has anyone got any views on these wooden balance bikes?

they seem to be all the rage and I was looking at one for my son.

Is there any justafication for £130 for a "Like a bike" over other wooden bikes that cost less than 1/2 the price.

Any views would be welcome

Hi Kovacs

balance bikes are supposd to improve your kids balance and make the transition to a pedaled bike easier.

I think that the Like a Bike was the original hene the high price, however there are a load of spinoffs that are pretty much identicle. The wooden ones are made out of ply, however you can get them in metal and plastic also.

I bought my nephew a First Bike, which is made from impact resistant plastic. My view was that as it was plastic it could be left out in the garden in the rain, snow etc with no effect on the bike. I dont think a wooden one wood stand up so well.

Hope this helps

JBS thanks for the info, you have obviously researched this yourself.

I have taken a look at the "First bike", and looks cool, however I think my wife liked the thought of having a wooden one. I will need to work on her, as I can see the practicalities of the plastic, even if it is not as astheticly pleasing.

Hi Kovacs,

Yes I did the whole trawling through the web to find the best deal versus best bike for the job thing.

As I said before, I would definitley recomend the First Bike, I will give your wife, that it is not as astheticly pleasing as a wooden one, but far more practicle.

Which ever you go for I am sure your kid will enjoy it.

i have had a few thoughts on these wooden bikes, most of them not very charitable.

Looking at the ones in Ravenscourt Park, they seem to be the preserve of the uber-blonde children of stressed looking bankers who with their wives want to 'be seen to do the right thing' (having parked the three litre 4x4 round the corner).

really i think you need to think to yourself 'when my child grows up and sees the photos of his first bike, will it trigger memories of the bright red racing bike with a number 1 on the front that went really, really fast, or will it bring back memories of the heavy chunk of wood that never quite got up to speed and left nasty bruises when it fell over'

buy a bike for your kid, not for your conscience.

dad

Wow dad i sense a bit of an outpouring there. I hope you feel better for it!! I have to agree though the wooden one sounds nice etc but hey it's for ya kids. If Dukes of Hazzard had been in a moris minor it might not have had the same effect. Ah Daisey........