What Performance Features Should Your Balance Bike Have?
A well-designed balance bike, like Strider, makes learning to ride easier and more fun with lightweight build, adjustability, and kid-friendly features.
Learning to ride a bike is an important milestone. However, mastering riding can be a challenging and daunting task for some children. As parents, we want to make every learning process easy, fun, and rewarding for our kids. That’s why it’s important to understand what to look for when you’re shopping for a balance bike for your kiddo. The right features can make the learn-to-ride experience simple and intuitive for your children, and turn a potentially stressful process into one that’s filled with joy.
Essential Features of Balance Bikes
Size & Construction
Finding a bike with proper performance geometry is important, especially when a child is first learning to ride. Racing mountain bikes are known for their handling and stability, which makes them the ideal shape for young riders who need to learn steering and balance. Strider Bikes really understands that, since the company is run by parents and cycling enthusiasts. That’s why they engineered all their balance bikes with the same performance geometry as racing mountain bikes but scaled for children. Their lightweight construction, long wheelbase, and mini grips offer children better control of their bicycles, which is key to unlocking the confidence that makes learning to ride fun.
Footrests
Balance bikes with footrests help kids understand the concept of balancing and the critical skill of riding a bike with their feet off the ground. Any performance rider knows that riding with your feet up is the skill that unlocks all advanced riding — from mountain bikes to BMX and beyond. It’s also just a basic skill all riders need when they advance to pedals. Having a footrest gives kids a comfortable place to rest their feet as they learn to balance. Rather than having their legs flying up in the air, they can place them on a comfortable footrest in the same place where their pedals will be on their next bike.
Tires
Before we talk about tires, let’s talk about weight. It’s intuitive that kids will learn best when they can easily control a lightweight bike. How does this relate to tires? Consider that foam tires make bikes 30% lighter than pneumatic (air-filled) tires. Because rotational weight is double static weight, this tiny difference in the weight of your child’s tires is actually pretty substantial. Foam tires are also excellent for young learners because they never go flat, and thus require no maintenance. Imagine how much more fun your kids’ bike riding experience will be if they can ride any time without waiting for you to pump up their tires.
Simplicity Over Complexity
No handbrakes
Handbrakes may look cool, but they’re ultimately more complex than children need. Prioritize simplicity in the learning process by getting a bike without handbrakes, allowing children to use their feet to both stop and start their bikes.
No Steering Limiter
Similarly, look for bikes without a steering limiter. Steering limiters give children a false sense of safety, making them believe their handlebars will stop them if they turn too far. What you want is to teach your child they’re in full control of their bike at all times. Every action they make on their bike has an immediate and predictable reaction. A steering limiter represents an unpredictable intervention by the bike’s mechanism. This doesn’t teach them to be in control. It teaches them the bike will help them when they make a mistake. If kids learn with a steering limiter, they’re at risk of turning their handlebars too aggressively on their next bike, which could cause a crash.
Easy Adjustability
Seek out balance bikes with a wide range of adjustability and a simple adjustment process. This allows for seamless seat and handlebar height adjustments, allowing the child to grow with their bike. Strider Bikes designed a super simple clamp mechanism that makes it easy for grown-ups to adjust the seats and handlebars with just one hand. Less adjusting your kiddo’s bike means more time riding.
Children who learn to ride balance bikes learn to ride with pedals two years earlier than their peers who learn with training wheels, which is why balance bikes are excellent for young children. If your child is asking to learn to ride, consider trying out one of Strider Bikes’ balance bikes. They’ve earned the trust of parents worldwide — with 4 million bikes sold in 75+ countries — because they’ve demonstrated care in engineering bikes with the features that most help kids and none of the extraneous gear that hinders their development. If you have questions or concerns, seek out an expert who knows more about the perfect fit for your child.
BDG Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
