Did you buy a trike or go straight for a bike?

My DS just turned 2 a few weeks ago and we are debating on whether to get him a trike or bike. He will be 31 mo. in June of 2009 which is when he will be able to go outside after this yucky winter. Just curious as to what you think.....it a trike worth it or should we just go for the bike with training wheels? Thanks for all your input!

 

WE usually do a tricycle for the 2-3 year olds and then get the bike at close to age 5. By the time they are 5 they need a bigger bike then you would by them as a 2 year old. I think tricycles are safer as they are generally closer to the ground than a bike and less like to tip over.

CIndy

 

I went straight for a bike because I think that trikes are more likely to tip over, unless you get the really expensive ones that have fixed the design flaw in the trike that allows kids to turn it very very sharply causing it to tip. With training wheels on level---not off level like you'd do for an older child who was actually moving through the steps to learn to ride, it is hard to tip a 12" bike. And to me it seems like they can get both feet down faster on a bike than a trike.
I just saw some little bikes at Walmart that have a trike wheel on the front so there is no chain, the pedals drive the front wheel, they also allow the kids to glide with their feet like the strider bikes if you want to do that. If I'd seen those two years ago when I got my daughter's bikes I think I would have gotten those.

And don't forget to start with helmuts from day one, so it seems normal to them and not a pain.

 

Mine had trikes up until they were 4. We never had a problem with them tipping over, and they are more developmentally appropriate for 2-4 year olds. At 4, my boys got 16" bikes--the biggest you can get with training wheels. Jon moved up to a 20" last spring, and Marcus still rides the 16", although now both boys can ride 2 wheelers. Marc will get his 20" next spring when he is a bit more steady on his current bike.

 

My kids enjoyed their trikes so much. They still used the trikes even after they got their first bikes. If your DS has never used pedals before, I'd definitely go for the trike because he will want to use his feet to propel it for a while. My boys didn't get the hang of pedaling until they were closer to three.

 

For my girls 3rd bday my mom asked what they wanted. I told her bikes. She thought they would be more ready for tricycles. I told her that I thought that they were ready for bikes as they seemed interested in pedaling their other tricycle like bikes (those low to the ground with the handle so mom/dad can help push them type) and my mom thought they weren't ready. Boy was she surprised to see them riding their bikes within a week of getting them.

 

We did tiny little two wheel bikes with training wheels. They loved being like their older siblings.

 

Straight to the bike with training wheels. They got them for their 2nd birthday ( dec) . When we pulled them out in the summer it only took a few days before they were riding them by themselves and LOVING them!!.. Like PP stated strt with helmets from day one. Even on a trike. The boys will not step foot on their bike with out a helmet... Sometimes they have to remind me. Safety first!!!

Good Luck!!!!

 

John used a trike til he was 3 and he got a little 8" bike at his third birthday. He did pretty well with it. Learned how to use it within a couple of months.