Come Christmas, what will be waiting for your kid under the tree? A trike or a balance bike? I know generations of people have spent their childhood trying to maneuver and ride bulky tricycles; often tipping them over.
Yet, most of us have very fond memories of those contraptions. I still remember my bright yellow plastic tricycle that I just could not get enough of.
One of the reasons why we are inclined to buy a tricycle for our kids is because many of assume that riding trikes paved the way for bikes to come into our lives.
Wrong!
Yes, a trike was yours and will be your child’s first taste of a self-propelled vehicle, but it won’t help to make things easy for your tot when he/she finally graduates to a bike.
If anything, it will make the learning curve steeper. This is not to say that trikes don’t help at all or are no fun. However, they do have a few glaring problems, such as:
- Pedaling is the best of what you can get: Let’s get real; most trikes are bulky and those pedals are hard to move. This is one of the reasons why most parents get trikes that can be pushed around much like a stroller. So, all you can expect your child to learn from a trike is pedaling.
- Trikes don’t require balance: Pedaling isn’t the hardest part of learning to ride a bicycle. In fact, if you remember your wobbly days on your first bike, you will agree that the fine art of balancing is what a kid needs to ride the bike on his/her own. Unfortunately, a trike does absolutely nothing to help your child develop that sense of balance and coordination needed to ride a bike.On a side note: Now, all those of you who started on a bike with training wheels, will no doubt say that the pair of extra wheels will take care of that. Actually, they don’t! If anything, like a trike, those training wheels just make things harder! But since training wheels are beyond the scope of this article, I won’t launch into an explanation.
- Bulky and unstable at their best: And the last problem with trikes is that they are very easy to tip over, particularly when a kid is pedaling away feverishly to catch up with a grandparent or parent walking in the park. If you are limiting your child’s trike adventures to being pushed around, then the tot won’t even have the takeaway of learning to pedal from it.
What Exactly Is A Balance Bike?
This is a new twist on an old concept. As the name suggests, you still have a bike on your hands. So, just two wheels and a handle. But, surprise, surprise! There are no pedals.
Then, how exactly does this thing move? Simple, leg power! Yes, your child uses both legs to push against the ground and propel the bike further. As the two-wheeled contraption gains momentum, children naturally lift their feet off the ground and in the process learn to hold their balance on the bike.
Because there is no pedaling involved, there is little risk of gaining too much speed, unless the child is riding the balance bike on a steep downward slope, which is not recommended.
Plus, a lot of balance bikes come with brakes, and most kids, even those who are below the age of 2 years, rarely take more than a few minutes to learn how to use the brakes.
If that is not enough, the fact that the bike can easily be brought to a stop by placing the feet on the ground, instills a sense of confidence in the child. This certainly helps when he/she transitions to a regular bicycle.
So, what should you buy for your child – a balance bike or a trike?
If you only want one, go for a balance bike. But if you can, I’d say buy both because although what your child will learn from a balance bike will be different from what a trike teaches him/her, both are a lot of fun and offer learning experiences. But, do emphasize on the balance bike; meaning, make sure that your child spends more time on the balance bike than on the trike.
Having said that, I am going with the assumption that you only intend to invest in one, so this article would not be complete unless I pitch a trike against a balance bike. So, here it goes…
Balance Bike vs. Trike
1. Ease of use
I don’t know if your memory of bruising your feet on your trike are as vivid as mine, but I sure do remember bawling my eyes out as a 3 year old when I had scuffed my foot particularly bad.
Of course, I am not saying that your kids will also have endure feet scuffing like I did, but the fact is that a balance bike with its pedal-less frame is easier to operate.
In fact, most children are cruising all around the neighborhood within a matter of days after their first introduction to a balance bike.
Balance bike: 1 Trike: 0
2. The design
Usually, in a trike the pedals are placed around the front wheel, which means most toddlers can’t even reach them much less turn them.
Plus, the amount of strength and effort needed to turn the pedals is usually too much for most 2 to 4 year olds. This is one of the main reasons why most trikes come with push-along handles because it is simply not possible for young children to cover anything more than a few feet on their own on a trike.
In contrast, there are no pedals on a balance bike plus the light weight frame is easy to steer and turn around with the handle bar.
Balance bike: 1 Trike: 0
3. Age
Children as young as 18 months can start their adventure into the world of bicycle riding with a balance bike. Even if you were to introduce an 18 month old to a trike, it will be a good year or two before he is finally able to use it on his/her own, and without any help from you.
Balance bike: 1 Trike: 0
4. Safety
The seat of a balance bike is almost always placed lower and closer to the ground than that of a trike, which means that it is easy for a child to control the movement using his/her feet. Plus, there is a lower risk of falling down and of injuries in case the tot does take a tumble.
Balance Bike: 1 Trike: 0
5. Stability
Trikes look deceptively stable, given the three wheels supporting their frame. However, their high center of gravity makes them extremely unstable on uneven surfaces. In contrast, balance bikes are far more stable than trikes.
Balance bike: 1 Trike: 0
And with that, we have a clear winner here when we compare features and safety. In terms of pricing, you have nearly the same range for both products of $60 to $200.
However, your kid is likely to spend less time on a trike than a balance bike because they can start younger with a balance bike and ride independently for longer.
Plus, you won’t have to invest in a bike with training wheels if you start your kids on a balance bike. Also, kids graduate to riding a regular bicycle faster if they have experience with a balance bike.
So, if you only want to invest in one product, I would recommend a balance bike over a trike any day!
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