Smart Gear wooden Balance bikes (οftеn referred tο аѕ “rυn bikes” οr “training bikes” bесаυѕе thеу аrе pedal free аnԁ without training wheels) hеƖр a child develop thе mοѕt іmрοrtаnt skills nесеѕѕаrу tο later ride a 2 wheel bicycle wіth pedals: BALANCE аnԁ MOTOR SKILLS. Smart Gear Balance bikes wеrе designed tο develop a child’s balance аnԁ coordination bу simply allowing thе child tο sit аnԁ walk οr rυn wіth thе bike bу pushing wіth thеіr feet. If thе bike ѕtаrtѕ tο fall, kids instinctively regain thеіr balance using thеіr feet. Once thеу′ve gained ѕοmе momentum аnԁ balance control thеу саn lift thеіr feet up аѕ thеу feel comfortable аnԁ ѕtаrt cruising! It іѕ аƖѕο suitable fοr children whο need tο bе encouraged wіth motor skill development аnԁ therapeutic training. Traditional toddler bikes wіth “training wheels” don’t necessarily train οr teach a child hοw tο ride a bicycle. Thе training wheels аrе merely a crutch thаt give thе child a fаƖѕе sense οf security аnԁ merely keep thе child busy οr entertained rаthеr thаn actually helping thе child develop thе nесеѕѕаrу skills tο ride a bicycle. Thеѕе bikes аrе mаԁе οf birch wood frοm a replenishable source, using formaldehyde-free glue аnԁ non-toxic paints аnԁ laquer. Real inflatable PAC-free rubber tires, foam handle bar grips, cushioned leatherette seat аnԁ a unique carry handle аrе incorporated іn thе bike’s body.
- Eco friendly wood harvested frοm a replenishable source, formaldehyde free glue, non toxic paints аnԁ lacquer
- Children learn tο balance аnԁ ride whіƖе boosting thеіr confidence, nο pedals
- Adjustable seat height tο grow wіth уουr child
- PAC-free inflatable rubber tires, foam handle bar grips, cushioned leatherette seat
- Unique carry handle incorporated іn thе bike’s body
- Carton іѕ mаԁе frοm recycled paper wіth water based ink printing
Nice balance bike with no advertisement on it,
I just got this bike in the mail for my daughter yesterday. I went with this one because it is not too expensive and because it has no advertisement on it. Walmart and Target are selling a similar red wooden balance bike for 54 dollars, but it has this huge Elmo face on the front. I considered the Skutt too, but went with this one for no real particular reason other than I liked the looks of this one over the Skutt. My daughter was EXTREMELY excited. We just got back from 6 months in Hungary where this type of bike is very popular. Our daughter just turned 2, and the bike is a little bit big for her. She needs to grow about an inch more. The materials seem very good. The only unfortunate thing, which we resolved, was that when the bike came, although it was extremely easy to put together, the front and back tires would not inflate. We suspected the inner tubes had holes, and low and behold, when I took them both out (I can change tires on bikes easily), I found the front tube had a half-inch slice in it, and the back tube had a puncture near the value. Luckily, I had my tube patch kit and I fixed them. I don’t know how this happened–whether in shipping or if the holes happened when the bike parts were assembled in factory. But problem solved at no expense and with just about an hour of my time. So thus far we are happy with the bike–just a little annoyed at the company. I wonder if they have quality control that could check for this “tube” problem. I was surprised there are no reviews for this bike so I thought I would post one. I guess this bike is new on the market.
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|Poorly built knockoff of LIKEaBIKE,
The Smart Gear Balance Bike is one of many knockoffs of the LIKEaBIKE. We chose the Smart Gear over the other copies (and the original) because of its low price, not wanting to pay $200-$300 for a wooden push bike. Well, you get what you pay for.
Immediately after purchasing it, I had to replace both tubes. Whoever assembled the wheels at the factory must have used a tool that ended up slicing both tubes. Then, within a few weeks with barely any use, all the plywood started to delaminate–first the wheels, then the main frame, then the seat column. If you look carefully at the plywood, you can see that the inner layers of wood are extremely low-grade.
Once my son grew enough to actually use the balance bike, the axle bolts kept unwinding themselves out of their mating/binding posts. I had to apply nail polish on the threads to stop the unwinding–an old trick I use when wrenching my own stable of 13 bicycles. By the way, the rear axle bolt and its binding post go through the frame’s wood at a right angle, but due to the curves of the main frame components, the wood pieces are not parallel; therefore, the rear axle stays constantly bent, putting pressure on the wheel bearings.
Despite the use of sub-par materials and poorly-executed construction, the Smart Gear balance bike is one of my son’s favorite toys. He’s now quite adept at cruising on the bike, pushing with his feet then bringing them up and steering to stay upright.
I should also mention that unlike many of its competitors, the Smart Gear has a built-in handle. It’s very easy to lift and carry the bike–especially handy when we’re entering a store or restaurant.
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|All I can think to say about it.,
I read as many reviews on push bikes as I could before ordering this and wanted to give a comprehensive review after having for a month. I did appreciate the comment suggesting just leaving the pedals off a standard bike until our child is ready for pedals, but I think we did well getting this for under seventy, including shipping, and we’ll be able to sell it for half that, or better, after our two kids have outgrown it. I was willing to go as high as eighty for a used push bike, and was very happy to find such a deal for a new one.
We ordered this for our first child and she loves it. She is 3.75 years-old and a little tall for her age.
She was very excited to unpackage and assemble it with me, which was a snap, and she rode it on our laminate flooring that night. The design is such that when the bike is on its side, only the tires and the rubber handlebar grip touch the floor, i.e. no wooden parts or bolts ding my floor when it falls over. We haven’t had any trouble with the tires not holding air.
We took it outside the next day and she just wanted to ride her trike, but by the end of the day she wanted to ride “the wooden bike” more.
We are fortunate to have a bunch of walking paths in the woods near our home and we prefer to ride there to enjoy the scenery, and so that fall are softer, but this bike does great on pavement, trails and indoors. The tires are knobby, but we’ll never take it out in the mud and slicks or semi-slicks would be fine on the trails we’ll be on.
The bike is quite light and she has no trouble picking it up or pushing it. However, for the first couple weeks she was slower riding her bike than when we go “walking.” That isn’t entirely fair of me to say because she almost never walks and usually runs circles around me. So, she is a much faster runner than rider. She has gotten faster on the bike, but will probably always be faster on foot.
When we stray far from home, I always end up carrying it a ways, and of coarse up and down any steep hills. I expected this, but thought it was worth mentioning here.
The handle cut into the frame is handy, but the position/angle of the handle is a little off such that the rear wheel hangs lower than the front and I end up carrying its weight mostly on my pinky and ring fingers. Actually, I usually carry it with my hand between the handlebar grips. This is my only complaint about the bike, and isn’t a big enough deal to dock the review a star. The bike is light enough for me to carry without the handle.
We initially put it together with the seat in the lowest position and immediately saw that this was much too low. I moved it up to the second highest position and that looked pretty comfortable for her, but I was disappointed that she’d only fit it until she outgrew the next height.
She asked a couple days ago if she could have the seat lowered and now it is in the third highest position, and looks like a fair fit, and she reports that she likes it better there. Still, I think she’ll be ready for a pedal bike before she would have outgrown just one more notch. I wish that for her height, the handlebars we higher, but when our second child starts riding it, I’ll be glad they are as low as they are.
We’ve had to explain this bike to so many neighbors that she now calls it her balance bike, which is more apt.
Our daughter still over-steers, but is getting better and corrects well. She’s had a few wrecks, but has walked away from all of them on her own. The lightness of the bike, and lack of protruding parts contribute to this.
We also have a tag-along bike, a single wheel on an arm that attaches to my seatpost, a seat and a pair of pedals. I think that we’ll hold off on that until she is a little taller, but between the two, I think she’ll be ready for a pedal bike by next summer.
We have a younger child also and fully expect the balance bike to be in great condition when he is tall enough to start riding it. It is a quality bike and will take all the riding we’ll be able to give it.
One note on style, we too liked that this was mostly unbranded. It does have a small label on the front, but we planned on our daughter putting some removable vinyl stickers all over it and didn’t want some character’s face on the bike. We asked if she wanted to decorate it and she said she likes it just the way it is.
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