Tricycles

We are thinking about getting the kids tricycles right away (17months old), we are looking for sturdy, good quality that will last them until they move onto a regular bike. Any suggestions what to buy or what not to buy?

 

I am curious too, I thought about tricycles as well and there was one by Radio Flyer that I think had the youngest age at 18 months.

 

I've been looking at the radio flyer trikes as well. They seem pretty good quality and I like how the fold up.
Radio Flyer
They also have these that you could push them on and later remove the handle.
Push Bike

 

We have the Kettler trikes and they are great!!

 

We also had the Kettler ones. The boys used them from their 2nd birthday until their 4th (when they got 16" bikes). The great thing about the Kettlers is that they "grow" with the kids.

 

WE choose to stay away from trikes. We did 12in ( i think it was 12in) bikes for their 2nd birthday. they also have big wheels. We did our research and didnt like that the parents talking about them gave bad reviews and the kids fell off them alot and got hurt. Just was not for us.

Good Luck!

 

QUOTE
We did our research and didnt like that the parents talking about them gave bad reviews and the kids fell off them alot and got hurt


I think it depends on the tricycle. Ours were very sturdy and really never tipped. The kids never got hurt coming off of them either. It is the same thing with bikes, the cheaper ones tend to be less sturdy, if you spend a bit more for a better trike or bike, you will have a better experience with them.

 

We LOVE our Kettler trikes. No issues with them tipping over at all. Very sturdy and WELL MADE.

 

QUOTE(dlong83 @ Jun 22 2009, 04:02 PM) [snapback]1364265[/snapback]
They also have these that you could push them on and later remove the handle.
Push Bike

My two had these (got them when they were 2), but without the push handle. They worked great. :good:

 

We had Kettlers, and while they were certainly sturdy and didn't tip over, they actually seemed kind of hard to pedal. A&S are both on the short side, and the pedals seemed too far away, and it was also harder to pedal with their legs stretched out in front of them. They could both pedal the Radio Flyers at school (which are more upright) before they could pedal their Kettlers.

However, the RFs seemed a little tippy, and they are very heavy. (They weren't the fold-up kind -- they were big and made of solid metal.) And the push bar on the Kettlers is very handy for younger toddlers. OTOH, it sort of encourages laziness (at least it did with Sarah ).

If I had it to do over again, I might just get them balance bikes (no pedals or training wheels) at about 18 months. They tried one once at a friend's house and were terrified, but I'm told they get the hang of it fairly quickly. And then the transition to a regular bike is much easier.

 

I didn't even realize they could do trikes this young!

Now, where did I put my credit card......

 

I also wanted to point out that the pedaling motion on a trike is developmentally better than that of a bike. Because it is forward, it makes them use their abdominal muscles in addition to their leg muscles. That is why you will see physical therapists using trikes for kids.

 

I recommend staying away from anything with plastic wheels. I currently have one of the fisher price trikes with a push bar and my son finds it hard to pedal because the wheels just don't roll that smoothly. I just ordered him a Schwinn trike and the amazon reviews on it are fantastic.

 

I just ordered the Schwinn Roadster Trike for the girls.

It's got great reviews and we'll see how it goes!

 

QUOTE(Chillers @ Jun 29 2009, 08:06 PM) [snapback]1374245[/snapback]
I just ordered the Schwinn Roadster Trike for the girls.

It's got great reviews and we'll see how it goes!


We have the Schwinn roadster trikes, which they got for their 2nd birthday. But they could not pedal last summer. This summer those trikes are working great for them though!