Which is the better bike?

Which is better: a bicycle with training wheels, or a balance bike?

• I was looking to get my son a bike with training wheels for his 4th birthday, and I came across these (new?) balance bikes (example images below), which have no pedals, no training wheels, and no chain. I'm tempted to buy one of these instead of a standard bike with training wheels, but I'm also talking myself out of it at the same time. Here are my thoughts: The idea behind a balance bike is that they teach children balance before pedaling, but the downside is that the balance bike cannot be converted into a proper two-wheel bicycle, and the cost is about the same, making the balance bike nothing more than a mere novelty in my mind. And although I'm not completely familiar with the construction of either style of bicycle, as far as I can tell, any standard bicycle can have the pedals and chain removed and you'll essentially have a balance bike, right? The one upside to a balance bike is that it doesn't cause a child to become training-wheel dependent. I can see my son falling into that "trap," but is that REALLY a big concern? I mean, I've never seen a teenager still struggling to overcome his dependence on training-wheels, have YOU? Still... balance bikes seem to have gotten a lot of favorable reviews from parents who say "I can imagine my son or daughter being able to ride a bike in no time," but then again, there is no actual testimonial from or about a successfully transitioned, full-fledged bicyclist. Who knows if they found the transition to be any easier, especially with no basis for comparison? Do any parents or bicycle enthusiasts out there have insights that might help me resolve this matter of bicycle vs. balance bike? Pictures of balance bikes: http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Balance%20bike&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

• Answer:

  In your shoes, I'd buy a bicycle and even skip the training wheels. If you want, as you note, you can remove the pedals and you have a balance bike.. done. And you can put the pedals on when s/he wants and/or is ready. Around our town, folks start their two year olds on balance bikes. I have a balance bike for my two year old (if you do buy one, don't buy a wooden one.. they all break.. I don't know a parent without a broken wooden balance bike, fixed with duct tape and new screws, etc. I've been very happy with the aluminum frame one we bought, a Strider - and generally they're lighter weight than the wood ones too.) I had to get a balance bike because they don't make "regular" bikes small enough for my daughter to ride. If they did, I would have gone right to a standard bike and taken the pedals off. I talked to many parents around town before choosing one.. all said that if your child is tall enough, just go for a regular bike and convert it to a balance bike if you want/need to.. but my girl wasn't tall enough.