Bike Without Pedals for 2 Year Old?

My boys (ages 3 and 2) love their strider bikes. They are lightweight and high quality. We got them from a mom who sells them locally and it was great to have someone to direct questions to and order spare parts from. She also holds playdates so the kids can all ride together. You can find her at www.portlandstriderbikes.com

Playschool makes one that is called glide to ride. You start with the balance bike and then the pedals can be put on when ready. It actually comes with pedals. I saw this on amazon.

There is also a go glider that has an adjustable seat (no pedals).

I've been looking at these, too. My daughter is finally getting the hang of the pedals, but doesn't go fast enough to keep upright without training wheels. I'm thinking of getting one for the kids to share (like a 5 and 2.5 yr old can share anything...ha ha). I need something we can change seat height on easily.

I'll be watching this post for more answers. Thanks for asking the question Paul.

Just a consideration, but sometimes frustration is a very good learning tool. Children generally learn to pedal around the time they start using the toilet successfully (I say generally, not that this is a universal rule) because both have to do with muscle coordination. There's something to be said for waiting until our children are ready for the next step...

The reason I mention this is that it's been my experience as a nanny that young children on *fast* wheels at this age can be a safety issue. Trikes can be difficult to master, but they have some great advantages over scoot/balance bikes.Many quality brands often make their trikes bottom-heavy, which can help to limit accidents and tip-overs. Because of their weight, it's difficult for the kids to really get up a head of steam, unless they are going down a hill. My experience is that the lighter toys like scooters and balance bikes allow very young children to go very fast--without the advantage of brakes or the experience of stopping a fast-moving ride toy. I have had to chase down a lot of kids who got beyond hearing "STOP!" simply because their wheels go faster than my voice (and because, with a helmet on, their hearing is more limited.

All this to say, a seated low scooting toy, which will help with steering and balance, might seem like a step backward, but it may be more on par with a toddler/early preschooler's abilities. As someone who works with kids, I see more and more often that products are being marketed to children that aren't developmentally appropriate. It's my opinion that while scoot bikes are a nice transition from trike to bike, they should be thoughtfully introduced. I've seen a lot of sad accidents and near misses just in my neighborhood because of youngsters on scoot bikes going too fast for mom and dad. We want to empower our kids to feel competent at something, but once again, frustration is a great motivator and mastering a challenging task is a great life experience. You can also practice balance with your son on park balance beams, too. Just remember, if you do get a scoot bike--it might be best to take it to a flat school playground or paved area for lot of practice away from the roads and hills!

We just got a small bike off craigs list (for about $10!) and removed the pedals. It worked great and we saved a lot of money. Then when my daughter was ready to learn to ride it as a two wheeler, we just put the pedals back on. She had learned the balance so well already that it only took her a few hours to learn to ride it.

Wow! I never new such a bike existed. We bought our daughter a Big Wheel when she was 2 so she could learn to pedal and now she has a bike with training wheels. A cheaper option might be the bike/wagon that a parent can push from behind or kids can move themselves. I also came across these when I did a search because I was curious.

http://www.diapers.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product...

http://www.toysrus.com/search/index.jsp?categoryId=225596...

Good luck!

We bought my son a Glider from Costco when he turned 3. He could pedal his tricycle just fine, but we wanted to skip the training wheel phase once he got big enough for a regular bike. He rode that bike all year and his balance improved so much. He LOVED his "blue bike". When he turned 4 we found a 12in bike that he could touch the ground on (he's on the shorter side of the scale). When we put it together, we left the training wheels off and he was riding it without help in less than 2 weeks and NO TRAINING WHEELS! I HIGHLY recommend the balance bike, just don't fogret to have them learn to pedal on a tricycle, or other bike too. Balance bikes are how kids learn to ride regular bikes in Europe, Sweden, etc.

As far as leaving the pedals off a regular bike, some are already on and it might take a lot to get them off, plus pedal bikes are usually bigger/taller so it would depend on the size of your child.

We are big supporters of the balance bike concept! Our son has a Strider; he got it when he was around 16 months old. It is made of aluminum, very sturdy. The reviews of the Scoot or other wood bikes will show that they wear out/break faster. Whatever balance bike you get, make sure you can adjust the seat as he uses it over the next few summers. Also, you may find some used balance bikes with good prices. I imagine that my son's Strider would resell quite well. The seat has a few scuffs on it, but the bike is in terrific shape considering how many times it hit a tree or slid down our driveway hill. =)

If you opt to get a bicycle and take off the pedals, remember to tighten the handlebars so he can really learn balance. Some people believe that training wheels become a crutch and are never really needed... something to think about.

We bought our son a bicycle for his 3rd birthday. He tried it a few times w/o training wheels, but he doesn't love it like he does his balance bike. He can go far distances and handle hills easily, so why should we push the bicycle, yet? I agree that the pedaling concept is tough to learn, so when he's totally confident with balance and steering, he'll be ready to add pedaling to the whole thing.

Have a great summer!

We have this balance bike from Back to Basic Toys (http://www.amazon.com/Back-to-Basics-Balance-Bike/dp/B000...)

We've been really happy with it, although it seems at 2-1/2 he wasn't quite tall enough to be able to reach the ground while sitting on the seat in the lowest setting.

My friend's son has one she got it at Walmart $22. He loves it and can ride it like a pro. He is 2 &1/2. Check it out online. They have 10" for $22 and 12" for $59.

I am in LO right now, and wondering why theren't any boats on the lake for the 4th. It seems alot quiter than past years. No sun doesn't help.

We have a strider. It seemed to really help build my daughter's confidence where the training wheels made her totally afraid to ride her bike. She went from strider to bike flawlessly. My husband ran over the strider twice and it is still fine. :)

I agree that maybe it is good to encourage both tricycle use and balance depending when they are ready. I hadn't thought about the safety concerns and "stopping" ability of a small child on a balance bike. A lot could depend on your child's personality.

I think a balance bike might have helped my more cautious oldest daughter who never ditched the training wheels until age 8. My second child started riding a small bike without training wheels at age three pretty much all on her own. She had previously ridden tricycles. Someone had suggested removing the pedals on her small bike to create a "balance bike" but it turned out I didn't need to because she just up and went. But yeah, you could save yourself some money by just removing pedals from a small bike, then you have the pedals when you're ready.

She is a much more impulsive and danger-prone kid and I think having a balance bike at age 2 might have been more dangerous with her. We did have a parent steering push-trike thing before she could pedal. I have to say they can be nice but if you go that route make sure it has the kind with pedals that can free-wheel so little ones who don't have the hang of pedaling can just use the pedals for footrests while you push! We had one that I hated because the pedals would go around and whack her litttle legs because she couldn't keep up with them!

Pedaling is tricky but it wont be long before he gets it - good luck!

Can't you just take the pedals off the bike he has now, or trike and let him learn that way? Or push him around and let him get the hang of it.....

I think he would learn just fine with a little extra help.......but it's up to you.......I think they are all suitable if that is what you are looking for.

Good luck.

Our son has a strider bike and we love it. It is sturdy and looks great and he can easily use it. When we ordered it they delivered it the next day.

I think that it is an item targeted towards the baby industry unnecessarily.(which most stuff is) One could just remove the pedals off an ordinary bike or trike.

Our son is the same age and we got him a Strider because the seat and handle bars are height adjustable. Now if we can get him to wear the helmet he could actually try it out!

We bought a traditional bike and then removed the pedals. This way our kids can learn how to ride and balance without the pedals, but when they're ready to add the pedals, we don't have to buy another bike. Taking the pedals and chain etc off took less than an hour, probably closer to 20 minutes and then we taped over the openings so the grease is still there when we're ready to put the pedals on.

Costco.com also has balance bikes.