My older son loved this bike. He used it to learn how to balance when he was around 2.5 years old. He learned how to ride a bike at 4 yrs old. No training wheels ever. My younger son is now using this bike and loves it too. He learned to balance fairly quickly. The trick is to just leave the bike accessible to them. They will get curious and attempt to sit and walk the bike.
Bike arrived promptly. I was probably more excited than my grandson. I had to install the lowering kit as he is only 2 years old. He did not intuitively understand how to ride it and has not mastered riding it yet. He may be a bit young for it (his five year old sister figured it out pretty fast). As far as the bike itself, it appears to be high quality, light weight and well thought out, designed and manufactured. I'm glad I spent the extra money on it (compared to others available). The bike itself looks very cool. No regrets.
FirstBike special edition lives up to the reviews and special evaluations by the experts who say this is the best balance bike. Was a Christmas present to a 3 year old grandson. He is so happy to be able to use it and move himself along. I assembled it and put the checkered decals on it to complete the picture. It was nice that they included two choices of decals. Assembly was easy and logical and quick. Once he saw the bike Christmas was a real treat for him. The safety of the brakes and limited turning radius of the front wheel made it easy safe and fun to see he could control the bike. The wheel will work well on grass, gravel, and pavement. I chose not to place the front basket on and will let him do that when he is ready. Also got the compass bell which will go on at his timing. Wish I had one in my youth but seeing his happines on a safe,indestructable, and fun bike is great to see. Expensive, but well worth it. We will have years of fun.
We ordered this for our three year old son for Christmas and he took to it immediately. Upon opening it to assemble on Christmas Eve we did notice that the rubber seat was lightly scuffed in several places (but hey, no kickstand means the seat will get scuffed eventually). The bike itself was very easy to assemble and once completed, the seat "issue" was not a huge deal (definitely not to the point of worth having it switched out). However, considering this balance bike is a bit on the expensive side, we thought it was worth mentioning. The durability is yet to be tested, but it seems SUPER sturdy and adjustments to the seat and brake are EASY to make. I also appreciate the Apple air-filled tires and more importantly, the addition of the hand brake, which some other balance bikes lack.
As I watched my 7 year old ride leaning 45 degrees on her training wheels, I realized that training wheels are useless. We took off her training wheels, and she learned to ride with me running after her like a crazy person. With our second, we have chosen the FirstBike. We have the one with the brake. My 4 year old uses the brake all the time. The brake is necessary and ensures he stops safely at street crossings. He hated the bike for the first two rides but quickly became a pro and now loves it. I am certain that he could ride a pedal-bike on his own as he has learned to coast long distances. He probably doesn't "need" this bike anymore, but we will let him use it for the full season. If you think it is too expensive for a few months, you might look into other brands of balance bikes. We will be using this for two children and feel it is well worth the money.
I got this for my 40" tall son for his 4th birthday. He already had a smaller, wooden balance bike before, but it was heavy and awkward to steer. This bike looks and feels more like a real bike. My son, having already developed a crude ability to occasionally balance on the heavy wooden bike, immediately took to this bike and was two feet up with it instantly. He really loved the appearance. He complained about the seat being uncomfortable at first, but when I purchased a Batman seat cover (with zero padding), suddenly it was more comfortable, so I'm thinking that was just a mental hang-up on his part. It is well built with quality parts. The assembly instructions were easy to understand and follow. I felt a pinch spending this much money on a balance bike, but now that my son is happily riding his around with both feet up a lot of the time, I'm glad I did.
We’ve now had 2 First Bikes in our family and both kiddos skipped training wheels and went straight to riding their bikes seamlessly. It was a fast and smooth transition from a bike they could easily maneuver and gain confidence & balance. The hand brake was reassuring & the bikes were so simple and light to stack and store or pack to travel. My kids rode them on grass, concrete, dirty terrain and around the house. Worth the investment in the bikes and my children.
It's pretty expensive for a children's bike, but our daughter loves it. She rides it almost every day and learned how to balance on it before she turned 3. The bike is high quality and is very light. This is one of those definitely worth the money purchases.
I bought this for my soon to be 3 yr old son. Did tons of research on different bikes, and even though this one was at the top end price wise, its like most anything else. You get what you pay for. It is built tough and glides smooth. He even brings it inside sometimes when its raining, and flies around corners and furniture. He loves it. No doubt he'll be riding a "big boy bike" soon and skip the training wheels.
My 30 months old son loves it. He likes its appearance with the color scheme as orange/black. It’s still new but looks super durable. Also, brake works great for the kid.
FirstBIKE Limited Blue