I was well into my childhood before I ever learned how to ride a bike without training wheels. We lived out in the country and didn’t have great places to ride, but when it came down to it I was just plain scared. I’ve always been accident prone, and I was keenly aware of this as a child. Riding a bike was intimidating! Unfortunately, this seems to be a trait that I have passed down to my daughter. In spite of having a bike and having access to a place to ride, she is still timid of learning to ride. So when I heard about the Radio Flyer Build-a-Balance Bike, I was excited to try it for her. A huge thanks to Radio Flyer for sponsoring today’s post and providing her Build-a-Balance Bike experience!
Designed for kids ages 2 1/2 – 5 years old, my daughter is on the older end of the spectrum, but she still found the Build-a-Balance Bike helpful. The bike reinforces the concept of balancing while riding a bike. The child can walk, then run, and then lift up their feet to glide while attempting to maintain their balance on the bike. My daughter liked being able to lift her feet up and balance at her own pace. It has became a replacement for her tricycle, which is the only bike that I’ve been able to get her to ride to date, and I’m hoping that in the very near future we will be able to transition to a regular bike. The Balance Bike has seemed to truly help. As always, don’t forget the helmet when riding any bike!
What makes this Balance Bike extra special is how you can customize it for your own child. With over 60 combinations, you can pick the material, color and tires, add a bell and streamers, and create a custom nameplate! I am a huge fan of the wood frames. Since I dabble in a little photography, I like the look of them in photos, so I chose the wood frame in red over the steel frame.
I also added a bell- because what kid doesn’t love a bell- and streamers. This may seem silly, but let me pause for a second and totally put a plug in for the streamers. If your child has a bike that has the plastic-like streamers, then you know how easily they are pulled out of the handle. The streamers on the Radio Flyer bike are awesome and quite durable. There’s lots of fly-in-the-wind moments without fly-away streamers!
We have access to pavement, but we also have a gravel driveway, so I upgraded to the Air Tires. I’ve found that Air Tires do better on a variety of terrains. And they look pretty cool, too.
The seat is adjustable to the best fit for your child for their age and height. This is a plus if you’re like me and have tall kiddos!
I had planned on demonstrating how easy the Balance Bike is to put together, put the hubby decided to surprise me by putting it together when it arrived at the house. I came home to find a fully assembled Balance Bike. Not that I’m complaining, of course- it was an awesome surprise!
The Build-a-Balance Bike is a great resource for parents of kids who are learning to ride a bike or for those who are intimidated and scared of learning to ride without training wheels. Do you know of a kid who would like a Build-a-Balance Bike? How would you customize yours?
I love this! This would be perfect for my 4 year-old. Thanks for sharing!
What an amazing bike for littler ones….I wish they had this when my guys were learning to ride!
My 5 year old and 4 year old would love this! They are both a little scared to try to ride a bike without training wheels.
Oh, how sweet is that?! Wish they’d had that when mine were little!
Nancy
What a great bike for kids! Looks like it will be great for preschool-aged kids. I bet my nephews would love this.
What a great idea! I wish I started my son out on one of these.
That is SO fun and adorable!
That is so cool! I never had anything that awesome when I was that age!
MY kids LOVE their balance bikes. It was so much easier to transition them to real bikes. They are fantastic.