Anyone have any experience with LikeaBike ?

[JoeOxfordCT]

....or other "push" or "run" bikes for children 2-5 ?

Here are some links:

LikeaBike:
I think they were the original but they're expensive ! $279 ??

http://www.likeabikeusa.com/
They also make an aluminum variation for approx. $245
http://www.tricyclekids.com/LIKEaBIKE-Jumper.pro

Radio Flyer makes one very similar for about $89
http://www.tricyclekids.com/Radio-Flyer-Beginners-Balancing-Bike.pro

Anyone have experience with any of these models ?
My daugther turned 2 in December. I'm figuring she can start in our house and by Spring she'll be bigger and have enough experience to be ready to tackle the driveway.

Thanks !

J.

[atbman]

We use 3 like a Like-a-bikes in or kids bike club and they're v useful for the 3-4 year old siblings of slightly older members.

Once they've mastered pushing it along with their feet and balancing for some distnce, riding comes very easily.

A cheap alternative is to get a very small s/h bmx type bike and take the cranks and pedals off so that they can use them in the same way. I assume that you could easily pick one of them up at a yard sale or charity shop

[JoeOxfordCT]

I kind of like the design of the Radio Flyer bike.....I'm just wondering what the difference is between that one and the LikeaBike which is also wooden and three times the price ????

[Jeffbeerman2]

I just thought I would revive this thread. I am very seriously considering getting a Skuut (http://www.skuut.com/)for my girlfriend's little boy. He's 2 (27 months) and loves riding in the trailer. I'm bike crazy and consequently so is he. Every time we are near a bike in a store, he cant stay away from them.

He is a bit small for most of the "real" kid's bikes. He has a junk discount tricycle but he doesn't like it much. Some of the kids on the skuut web videos look about his size and the specs say it is good for 2-5 years old. He's a pretty athletic kid for his age.

What do I buy? Do I get hte skuut or just grab the smallest kid bike I can find and remove the cranks? I saw a tiny tiny bike with permanent training wheels at a toy store but i don't think he would like that any more than a trike. that bike actually had the crank on the front wheel just like a trike.

[masiman]

I just thought I would revive this thread. I am very seriously considering getting a Skuut (http://www.skuut.com/)for my girlfriend's little boy. He's 2 (27 months) and loves riding in the trailer. I'm bike crazy and consequently so is he. Every time we are near a bike in a store, he cant stay away from them.

He is a bit small for most of the "real" kid's bikes. He has a junk discount tricycle but he doesn't like it much. Some of the kids on the skuut web videos look about his size and the specs say it is good for 2-5 years old. He's a pretty athletic kid for his age.

What do I buy? Do I get hte skuut or just grab the smallest kid bike I can find and remove the cranks? I saw a tiny tiny bike with permanent training wheels at a toy store but i don't think he would like that any more than a trike. that bike actually had the crank on the front wheel just like a trike.

I would suggest that you try out whatever bike you want to buy for the pedal-less route. I say that because, I have tried making our 12" Trek Jet into such a thing for our 3 year old (average size kid). Unfortunately, the seat does not go down far enough for him to comfortably get his feet on the ground. The bike is about 6 years old though so newer ones may have a different geometry. I am seriously thinking about one of these bikes. There seem to be more available than previously. The LikeABike was about it and they are quite expensive. Thankfully there are some >$100 options.

[Fibber]

I made one using a 12" tire bike for my daughter a few months back. She was about 38" tall at that time, and she mastered it quite quickly. I paid $4 for it at a yard sale. Removed the pedals, crank & chain, and lavishly duct taped over every possible abrasion point. I had her wear her roller skating attire (helmet, gloves, knee and elbow pads). The few times she fell were without pain, so she willingly got right back on.

I recently passed it on to a friend, and there is another family waiting in line after them!

Is there a way to post images directly, or do they have to be links to hosting sites?

[masiman]

Is there a way to post images directly, or do they have to be links to hosting sites?

If the image is small enough you can put it directly into your post by clicking on the paper clip icon next to the white smiley face on the message toolbar. Not the emoticon faces on the right of the message box but the toolbar directly above where you type in.

The images currently must be 100kb or less in size.

[Fibber]

Ah, I just learned something! You get more options on the toolbar when you use 'reply' rather than the 'quick reply' box. Thanks!

I'll have to get the photo of the little bike off my home PC and post it. I guess I should also make a measurement from the seat to ground. Compare that to your child's inseam dimensions to see if the bike will fit.

[kuan]

You can get a likeabike lookalike at Target. I got mine for $37 or so.

[masiman]

Ah, I just learned something! You get more options on the toolbar when you use 'reply' rather than the 'quick reply' box. Thanks!

I'll have to get the photo of the little bike off my home PC and post it. I guess I should also make a measurement from the seat to ground. Compare that to your child's inseam dimensions to see if the bike will fit.

You are welcome!

I would be interested in what that measurement is. I'll try to get my 3 year olds inseam, but I foresee alot of fidgeting and remeasuring, lol. I'd also be interested in knowing the make and model of the bike.

[dave.lloyd]

I just thought I would revive this thread. I am very seriously considering getting a Skuut (http://www.skuut.com/)for my girlfriend's little boy. He's 2 (27 months) and loves riding in the trailer. I'm bike crazy and consequently so is he. Every time we are near a bike in a store, he cant stay away from them.

He is a bit small for most of the "real" kid's bikes. He has a junk discount tricycle but he doesn't like it much. Some of the kids on the skuut web videos look about his size and the specs say it is good for 2-5 years old. He's a pretty athletic kid for his age.

What do I buy? Do I get hte skuut or just grab the smallest kid bike I can find and remove the cranks? I saw a tiny tiny bike with permanent training wheels at a toy store but i don't think he would like that any more than a trike. that bike actually had the crank on the front wheel just like a trike.

We have skuuts for both of our kids, 20 months and a touch over 3. Both love 'em, though we have to walk along behind the 20 month old to keep him from tipping over too much. Our oldest's biggest issue with the skuut is a short attention span.

The nice thing about the skuut is that it's much lighter than the BMX bike with no pedals and there are no cranks to whack their legs against. I'd think that the wood is much more forgiving than the metal. Plus you can invert the main part of the skuut so it will work with kids that are shorter, like our 20 month old.

All in all, I give it a thumbs up, especially if you can convince a grandparent to get it for the kids.

[Jeffbeerman2]

I bought the Skuut. Just got it today

First impressions:
He loves it (2yr+4mo old). It took about 20 minutes for him to master steering. It is difficult to get him off of it. We went outside three times tonight to ride it. At first it scared him a bit, that it would tip if he wasn't careful; but he got the hang of walking it quickly. After about a total of an hour on it tonight he can already scoot as quickly as he can walk, and his bike control/steering are coming along. I can't wait til he's had a couple weeks to practice: I'm going to need my scooter to keep up.

Dave: thanks for the advice on inverting the main part, to lower the saddle. If I hadn't read that I don't think he would be able to use it unless he grew another inch or two. I can't believe how non-existent the instructions for it are. You saved us.

My impressions of it.
Building it out of plywood is why it works so well. It is incredibly thin and light. He has no trouble moving it around. It doesn't have sharp, pointy, or had surfaces to ding himself on. He can take a spill as well as if he wasn't on a bike. The real pneumatic tires will be a big help in smoothing out the ride once he learns to glide, a lot of the little id bikes and trikes I've looked at have foam tires which I didn't like. the wheels are large enough to easily roll on the lawn or the sidewalk. the wheels have a bit of wobble and the materials quality is just good/average for a chinese product, but it is good enough for the purpose it serves. I'm happy with it.

I'll try to report back in a couple weeks and see if he is still riding it regularly and learning from it.

[dave.lloyd]

No problem on the advice. I swear that I saw that suggestion buried somewhere on skuut.com.

I'm with you on the quality. It could be better, but it serves its purpose. Kind of like why we bought our kids furniture from IKEA. It works pretty well, will probably stand up to the kids for long enough, reasonably priced and I won't worry too much about it if it gets dinged, scratched, broken or (given that our kids are the product of two chemistry nerds) set on fire.

I'm sure the likeabike is nicer, and qualitasmacht in Deutchland!, but it's gotta be a *lot* nicer for the premium they charge.

I'm no too worried about any wobblies in the wheels either. It might be an issue if they get going really fast downhill, but they probably shouldn't be riding that fast anyway.

Glad to hear your tyke digs it!

[surfimp]

We have a Likeabike for our 2 1/2 year old, given to him by his grandmother. He enjoys it quite a bit, especially since we got him a helmet and cycling gloves from the LBS. He is mastering steering and walking it along, and I think it's giving him a positive impression of bicycling in general. He's never had too much interest in tricycles, but the Likeabike definitely captures his interest.

Steve

[Jeffbeerman2]

I bought the Skuut. Just got it today

First impressions:
He loves it (2yr+4mo old). It took about 20 minutes for him to master steering. It is difficult to get him off of it. We went outside three times tonight to ride it. At first it scared him a bit, that it would tip if he wasn't careful; but he got the hang of walking it quickly. After about a total of an hour on it tonight he can already scoot as quickly as he can walk, and his bike control/steering are coming along. I can't wait til he's had a couple weeks to practice: I'm going to need my scooter to keep up.

Dave: thanks for the advice on inverting the main part, to lower the saddle. If I hadn't read that I don't think he would be able to use it unless he grew another inch or two. I can't believe how non-existent the instructions for it are. You saved us.

My impressions of it.
Building it out of plywood is why it works so well. It is incredibly thin and light. He has no trouble moving it around. It doesn't have sharp, pointy, or had surfaces to ding himself on. He can take a spill as well as if he wasn't on a bike. The real pneumatic tires will be a big help in smoothing out the ride once he learns to glide, a lot of the little id bikes and trikes I've looked at have foam tires which I didn't like. the wheels are large enough to easily roll on the lawn or the sidewalk. the wheels have a bit of wobble and the materials quality is just good/average for a chinese product, but it is good enough for the purpose it serves. I'm happy with it.

I'll try to report back in a couple weeks and see if he is still riding it regularly and learning from it.


Just quoting myself to give an update

It took him about 20 minutes to figure out steering, and I guess that is all you need to teach a kid in order for him to become a cyclist

Within a week he was scuuting pretty good, walking his legs along with about half his weight on the saddle


In two weeks he could glide for short distances, like the kids on the video at skuut.com

Now he's had it for about 6 weeks

he is scary on the thing. He has ridden for 30-90 minutes four or five days per week. He only kicks his feet to maintain his speed. He is cycling just like anyone else. On hills he just lifts his feet. I jog to keep up with him even on the flats at times (but he stops a lot, at two he's easily distracted). He cruises 4-5mph on flats and a little faster if there is a mild slope. He uses his feet to slow himself on steeper inclines. Curbs and bumps aren't much of a problem, he uses his feet and goes over anything.

He was riding with a 4yr old neighbor girl the other day that has a 12" pedal bike without training wheels. He was skuuting at about the same pace as her with just about the same effort

Bottom line: wanna teach a 2 year old to ride a bike? Buy a Skuut and wait two weeks

[matt52]

Bottom line: wanna teach a 2 year old to ride a bike? Buy a Skuut and wait two weeks

Absolutely. Our 3 year old went straight from his likeabike to riding a proper bike with no stabilisers in a couple of weeks. Kind of disappointing cos we bought him a rather fancy £100 likeabike clone. But undoubtedly staggeringly effective. The best way to teach a kid to ride, full stop.