Recreational & Family - Tricycles, big-wheel or traditional metal?

My nephew is almost 2 years old, about time he gets his first bike. I have found him trying to ride my runt mini bike (http://www.speed-sports.com/Runt/) more then once.

I am not sure if he would be better off with a big wheel, or a more upright traditional tricycle.

From what i understand, the big-wheels (http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/toys/ty1118.php) are safer, as they tend to slide around corners, rather then tip over. They also have a lower center of gravity. I am not sure what the advantage of the more traditional (http://redradioflyers.com/radflyer33cl.html) design is, but they look cool (http://shop.store.yahoo.com/mobileation/roadhogtrike.html) and seem faster. :D

One last thing to consider, is that use will more then likely be on grass and hard packed dirt (backyard). I may need to look into an all terrain (http://wagonlady.com/allterrain.html) trike.

Any thoughts for a first time tricycle buyer? I would love something that is adjustable, so he can get more then a few months of use. If possible, durable, always nice to give somebody a bike when we have no use for it.

Budget is cheap, under $50 (http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.asp?number=46305) would leave more bike money in the bank for myself. ;)

Dirt King ALL THE WAY!!! I only wish they had something that cool when I was a kid!


I mean LOOK at the thing! Next thing you know he'll be haulin down the bunny trails right behind you!

I like that bike, but it weighs in at over 40lbs, thats more then twice the weight of my road bike, and a good 15+ lbs more then my FS mtn bike.

I just cant see the kid riding that more then a few feet at a time. The dirt king is also out of budget, but i have seen a few other all terrain tricycles on ebay within budget. I'll need to see what is out there.

Have you seen the big wheel made by razor? It looks like a good combinate between a bigwheel and a standard tricycle.. it is metal.. and seems to be built very strong. And retail price is $49.99, so you probably can find it for less.

Kev, i saw that, it looks a bit to big, ages 4 and older, IIRC. I think i am looking for small and lightweight. There is also no way this kid is going to be using a hand brake for quite some time.

Get a traditional trike for grass and dirt use. The kids around here on big wheels have trouble off the pavement, since less weight is on the front wheel. On a trad trike, the kid can lean over the bars to improve traction.

I remember, long ago, seeing a metal trad trike that was convertable to big wheel-type configuration.

If you can stand a little over budget, how about a Kettler? http://www.mytoybox.com/kettler.htm
Not sure about the colors for a boy, but it has the ability to grow with him. But a seatbelt for a trike?

Tough to beat the basic red Radio Flyer.

It'd be nice to go back in time to get him a Green Machine. The Ferrari of Big Wheels.

Originally posted by Joe Gardner

Budget is cheap, under $50 (http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.asp?number=46305) would leave more bike money in the bank for myself. ;)

I guess that would rule out the Litespeed Titanium Tricycle (http://216.247.25.241/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LS&Product_Code=T&Category_Code=A). :D

Mike-

How funny - Just before I saw your post I was thinking back in time about my Green Machine. Too bad they are not around any more. I thought that thing was soo cool when I was a little one.

Originally posted by Da Tinker
If you can stand a little over budget, how about a Kettler? http://www.mytoybox.com/kettler.htm
Not sure about the colors for a boy, but it has the ability to grow with him.

That looks just about perfect. I think the kid is to small for anything else. I also like the fact that the age range is 18months - 3yrs old. Most trikes are 3+ years only.

khuon, I see you didnt click the link in my post. I love the litespeed... it cost as much as my first real mtn bike! ;)

Attached image of the Kettler trike:

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
khuon, I see you didnt click the link in my post. I love the litespeed... it cost as much as my first real mtn bike! ;)
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Ahhh... oops. Yeah, I didn't go to the link. Sorry. :eek:

BTW, I love that picture Litespeed has on their website of the little kid with shaving cream all over his legs.

My advice is to stay away from any of the "retro" looking tricycles that are now popular (Radio Flyer, in particular). These are very unstable and built just as cheaply as in the good old days, and my daughter never had any fun on it. Traditional design is not necessarily a bad thing, just make sure it is sensibly designed. My daughter is now four and has her first training wheel bike (a Trek Mystic), which she likes very much, but her absolute favorite is the Adams Trail-a-bike that clips on to daddy's bike - I highly recommend this at age four to five.

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
That looks just about perfect. I think the kid is to small for anything else. I also like the fact that the age range is 18months - 3yrs old. Most trikes are 3+ years only.

khuon, I see you didnt click the link in my post. I love the litespeed... it cost as much as my first real mtn bike! ;)

Attached image of the Kettler trike: Yea now that looks kinda cool. In a preschool kind of way :D (which is what you want right?)

I just got the trek version of the Trail-A-Bike, me and my son went on our first ride today. I've had a hard time getting him to ride his normal bike.. He trips over his own feet to give you a idea :) We had a blast today though, went for a 2 hour ride, basicaly 1 hour stopped at carl's jr.. then about another hour to get home.. He just turned 6 years old, I had it on lay-away at the LBS since november (lost job so just picked it up last week).. It has 7 speeds, 24 inch tire, and can handle up to a 80lb person on it. So I figure it should last for a while, not sure if my legs could handle 80lbs on it though :)

Joe,

I think it was Kev that posted about the Big-Wheel earlier. When your nephew gets older, I've got to reccomend one of those. When I was younger, I used my BigWheel every chance I got. I lived on the thing. Every year or two, I'd get a new one for Christmas because I would wear the things out. My parents had a setup with the nieghbor (whose son use his own constantly) where they would put money together and buy the plastic wheels in bulk because we would wear through them so fast. Looks like they've changed now with a hand brake and rubber front tire.
On the one's I went through, your only brake was backpedaling the set of pedals attached to the front wheel. The wheel was plastic so it spun easy. That big wheels definitely contributed to my love of bikes. When your nephew's old enough, You have to consider one of those mandatory.

-Moab

Dirt King ALL THE WAY!!! I only wish they had something that cool when I was a kid!


I mean LOOK at the thing! Next thing you know he'll be haulin down the bunny trails right behind you!

This is a great tricycle. My son (now 4 1/2) regularly rides 2 miles (or more) on this thing, up and down hills, and faster than I can run. (He waits for me at the corners.) I heartily reccomend this.

Last winter, when all the other neighborhood bikes and trikes were stowed away, we were out on the snow and ice with it - though the snowsuit and heavy snowboots slowed him down a little.

My niece and nephew liked theirs because they were the only thing with enough traction for a gravel driveway.

That being said, there are a few cons:

1) The thing is *HEAVY*. (Not that it bothers my son.)
2) It has no brakes. Now my son can slow himself down by keeping his feet on the pedals, but it
took a month or so for him to learn how.
3) At 3 1/2 his legs were too short, even with the seat positioned closest to the pedals - so we added blocks to the pedals. Having the seat closest to the pedals, means having it close to the handlebars. When he was first starting he would try to steer by jerking the handbars abruptly - and a couple of times he tipped forward over the handlebars. So I ran right alongside at first, until he got the hang of it.
We no longer have this problem - the seat is farther back and he knows how to ride.

Here's another recommendation for the Kettler tricycle. My 2 year old loves it and rides it all the time, both in the driveway and in the grass. Best of all, it was originally used by my now 10 year old and is still in great shape. They are built to last.

It'd be nice to go back in time to get him a Green Machine. The Ferrari of Big Wheels.
Your time machine arrived- they've been back for about a year.