Balance bike for a small 5 year old?

Meg · Aug 2, 2011

My son's 5th birthday is next month and he wants a balance bike. I can't find any places around here to try them out, so I'm going to have to order one online.

I've narrowed it down to either a Strider, Kazam, or a Mini Glider. Since my son is already 5, it seems like he might already be outgrowing most balance bikes (like the strider?). He is 41 inches tall and 16inches from crotch to ground. For size reference, we tried tried regular bikes at the store and he could fit on a 14in bike with just his toes touching the ground.

Any suggestions? Thanks so much!

ctbcleveland · Aug 2, 2011

My small 4 year old is really enjoying his strider. Strider also sells a longer seat post for not much money if you need extra length. Don't know anything about the other brands.

If you search my posts, I've posted a link that shows which balance bike will fit which kids. I am busy at work now, so I can't search. I think it was in response to something in the community section.

Dillipop · Aug 2, 2011

My 5 yo uses his strider daily. We have the longer seat post for it and he still has room to move it up. He's around 42 or 43 inches.

ahgirls · Aug 2, 2011

We were talking about bikes at feeding group today. The OT suggested taking the petals off to make your balance bike.

mommy2env · Aug 2, 2011

I bought my dd2 and nephew a Mini Glider last year. They were 3 and about to turn 4. They LOVE them. Like seriously love them. lol Everyone asks us about them when they see them riding.

My dd will be 5 in a couple of months, and uses a size 6 in pants. It still works fine with her. My nephew on the other hand, is a peanut. He will be 5 in November, but still fits in size 4 pants lenghtwise, and 3T waist. lol

He fits in it fine, and we've actually had to raise his seat recently. lol

Meg · Aug 2, 2011

ctbcleveland said:
If you search my posts, I've posted a link that shows which balance bike will fit which kids. I am busy at work now, so I can't search. I think it was in response to something in the community section.

Thanks! I'll search to find the thread!

Dillipop said:
My 5 yo uses his strider daily. We have the longer seat post for it and he still has room to move it up. He's around 42 or 43 inches.

You don't have a picture, do you? If not, no big deal.

What makes me nervous is that there are youtube videos of little 18 month olds riding Striders, so I was worried the bike would be outgrown too quickly for my 5 year old.

ahgirls said:
We were talking about bikes at feeding group today. The OT suggested taking the petals off to make your balance bike.

We tried this and it was not successful. Lol. Our neighbor gave us her son's old bike, so we took the pedals off to see if would work like a balance bike, but it just didn't. Regular bikes are just too heavy, so my son couldn't balance the bike at all. Balance bikes are 6-10lbs, where regular bikes are more like 15-20lbs.

mommy2env said:
I bought my dd2 and nephew a Mini Glider last year. They were 3 and about to turn 4. They LOVE them. Like seriously love them. lol Everyone asks us about them when they see them riding.

My dd will be 5 in a couple of months, and uses a size 6 in pants. It still works fine with her. My nephew on the other hand, is a peanut. He will be 5 in November, but still fits in size 4 pants lengthwise, and 3T waist. lol

Thanks so much! My son only wears a size 4T, so it sounds like the Glider would definitely work then.

Dillipop · Aug 2, 2011

Meg said:
You don't have a picture, do you? If not, no big deal. What makes me nervous is that there are youtube videos of little 18 month olds riding Striders, so I was worried the bike would be outgrown too quickly for my 5 year old.

I don't have a current picture, but I can try to get one tomorrow or Thursday for you. DS is in a 4T pant as well.

Meg · Aug 2, 2011

Dillipop said:
I don't have a current picture, but I can try to get one tomorrow or Thursday for you. DS is in a 4T pant as well.

That would be awesome and there's no rush! My son's birthday isn't until 9/17, so I don't plan on ordering a bike for another few weeks. Thanks again!

Beckers · Aug 3, 2011

Check out the Kickboard USA G-bike PLUS. We have their scooters and they are excellent quality.

If we didn't already own a balance bike, I would totally get one!

http://www.kickboardusa.com/kick-scooters/more/for-ages-2-to-5/g-bike-39

For some reason, they've put the description of the original g-bike on the g-bike+...but it is taller. I sent them an e-mail to get the right specs.

solmama · Aug 4, 2011

I second (or third?) the Mini Glider. We have the Go Glider (16" version), which our ds uses (bought it for dd a couple of years ago). Thus far 4 kids have learned to ride a bike using our Go Glider (we've loaned it out twice).

We originally purchased the Kazam bike for our ds. I do like it, but I think the Mini/Go Glider is better made and a better design.

pastrygirl · Aug 4, 2011

Here's a good video of a 5-year-old with the taller seat for the Strider: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16ZYigdBc1Q"]‪Big brother shows Strider running bike to little brother‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

I ended up getting my younger son a Strider for his upcoming birthday, and also got the taller seat in case my 5-year-old wanted to ride it. It's working great for both of them! Now I want a second Strider.

You can also order different wheels. I talked to someone at Bikes That Teach and I'm pretty sure he said that if the Strider was solely for my older son, that I'd be better off with the air tires.

Balance bike for a small 5 year old?

Meg

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ctbcleveland

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Dillipop

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ahgirls

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mommy2env

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Meg

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Dillipop

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Meg

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solmama

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