Any one have a LikeaBike?

[The Review Mommy]

I saw this at the Maukilo store yesterday and thought it was quite interesting. We were actually there in search of a Kettler! :)

http://www.likeabikeusa.com/#

Well...I have enough information about the Kettler from these boards but was wondering if any of you own the LikeaBike! There's not *too* much of a difference in the price and it seems like a TON of fun. I'll have to watch DH carefully! :)

I just love the whole idea of learning how to balance from pedaling and stopping with your own feet....

TIA!

-Rebekah

[LoveMyBabyBeans]

I've been meaning to post on this board about LikeaBikes or similar products. I have one thing to say:

BUY THESE FOR YOUR KIDS!!!!! I swear by them!
http://www.puky.net/pics/produktbilder/intro/laufraeder.jpg

We are a military family living in Germany and when we first got here, I noticed the 2-3 year old set out and about on these little bicycles with no pedals/no training wheels. They are propelled by the child walking at first and then eventually running (while sitting) and then pushing off. The idea is that the child is isolating the skill of balance, without the skill of pedaling getting in the way. It's a brilliant concept. At first, we turned our noses up at these silly little bikes. Why on Earth would parents buy their child a bike with no wheels? However, after time I noticed that it's not uncommon to see 2.5 and 3 year olds riding biccycles WITHOUT TRAINING WHEELS!!! And it's not isolated cases...I see MANY 2-3 year olds doing it and I would say that MANY 4 year olds are off and running on regular bikes without training wheels. Most bike "professionals" (bike store employees and such) will actually tell you here to NEVER put training wheels on a bike for a child because it holds them back from just simply learning to ride.

In the end, we ended up buying one of these "Likeabikes" or "running bikes" as I call them. Now, the Likeabike you mention is a wooden one and it's very nice!! Very pricey too!! More often I see Kettler or Puky brand "Laufrad" (the German word for these bikes) on the streets. The one we bought was, if I remember correctly, about 80 Euros. Figuring in the conversion rate and then the German taxes we got back (duty free), it was about $80 US dollars. The Likeabikes run alot higher than that.

You can see the bike, or Laufrad on the intro page for Puky, although that is a newer model and actually has a handbrake, and the one we got for my 2 year old (who is now 3) does not have a handbrake. Given the option for a handbrake, I would have definitely bought that one.
http://www.puky.de/
You can see all of the Puky products here.
http://www.puky.de/homepage/produkte/index.htm
(And there is a link to view the products in English through their British website)

I am not sure how you go about ordering one of these in the United States, although I've been tempted to research selling these to customers in the US. I think American kids could benefit from a more active lifestyle and bike riding offers that to children. As I'm sure you have heard, Europeans and biking fanatics. You see people ages 2 -102 out biking EVERYWHERE, ALL the time!!

The Puky brand is WONDERFUL!! I know that many, many, many members of this board are tried and true Kettler (which is also German) fans, but after being able to compare Kettler products side by side with Puky ones, Puky wins hands down for quality and sturdiness.

So after we laughed and snickered at this "odd" concept, my husband and I are believers that kids should be offered a chance to ride a bike like this to FIRST master balance and then master pedaling while balancing . . . all the while skipping the training wheels phase of bike riding. We didn't have this opportunity with my oldest, who is now 5 years old. He had a bike (a Puky, of course) that we put training wheels on. He is on the verge of finally riding it without training wheels (he can, but he needs a bit more confidence to trust himself). What's crazy though is that Quinlan, my 3 year old, has been using the Puky Laufrad running bike and he has ALSO just about mastered the skill of balancing on a two wheel bike, and he is a full two years younger than his brother. We will also teach our youngest (now 1) to ride with this "running bike" as well.

Oh, and Germans promote very young children, as young as 2, riding Scooters too (rollers in German). They also isolate the skill of balance and help children get off and running on a regular bike (skipping the training wheels phase). Needless to say, we own a Puky scooter too.

So we do not have a LikeaBike, although they are seen quite often here too. I can't say what the benefit is to the likeabike over the more traditinal looking Laufrad bikes by Puky and Kettler (yes, Kettler makes the running bikes too).
http://www.kettler.net/images/KETTLER_Speedy_10__8715_000_20050130122700002498.j pg

Botton line is that I think these are WONDERFUL tools for your children to learn to ride a bike. I HIGHLY recommend them.

I presume this is the bike you were talking about
http://www.likeabikeusa.com/indexback.gif

For anyone that wants more on the "theory" behind this type of a bike for your child, go to the webpage www.likeabikeusa.com to read about the philosophy behind this bike.

Hope that helps!!

[peterreuther]

Hi there, we are a German family living in the States.

The LIKEaBIKE is the original running bike, the first one so to say. All other ones made by big companies like Kettler, Puky and so on came later.

The one big advantage that the LIKEaBIKE has over the Kettler and the Puky, at least to my knowlege, is that the fork is desigend in a way that prevents kids from making unintended sharp turns. The fork and the frame intersect each other in a way that frame piece acts like a lock to the fork...?

You can only turn the handlebar left and right to a certain degree, so when a kid is cruising along and suddenly sees a butterfly or a firetruck passing by, she/he might not only turn her head around but also her arms and hence the handlebar which might result in a mishap. On the LIKEaBIKE kids feel the bike is steering off in one direction and they have time to react. There's also felt between the gaps of fork and frame so all to inquisitive fingers can't get caught.

The LIKEaBIKE is only 8 pounds, so even a very small kid can feel in control and it has no sharp edges, unlike the Kettler. Just look at the bottom end of the seat pole....

Anyway, Kettler, Puky or LIKEaBIKE my guess it over the next two years or so the concept of the runing bike will make a strong impact on the manufacturers of training wheels.... :-)

Peter, Dad of Josef and Ella-Rose

[reyn74]

Did you see Maukilo has a Kettler one for $89? Down on the bottom row.

(I must confess that this looks so cool that I ordered it before posting about it, lol!)

-Sarah and 3 boys

[lpl47]

I just wanted to ditto the PP recommendation of these pedal-less bikes. We bought DS a PUKY for his 3rd birthday (less than 2 weeks ago) and he's already riding it great.

http://gliderrider.com/

I was initially concerned that the PUKY doesn't have a "limited turning radius" like the Like A Bike or some of the other brands have, but it has turned out to be fine and might even help him learn to balance better in the long run.

The first day on the bike I thought it would be 6 weeks before he really got the hang of it. But he was interested in learning and rode a couple of times a day during that first week and has since picked it up very easily.

I highly recommend these bikes. We definitely won't need to have training wheels and my guess is that he *could* ride a 2-wheeler in a couple of months (or as soon as we are ready to buy him one.) He did ride a tricycle first, and he still likes to ride that once in a while, but the "Big Boy Bike" is definitely a more efficient means of transportation. It's much faster and surprisingly less effort for him (because of the gliding) so he doesn't tire out on our way home from a short trip into town.

[katydid1971]

Wow DS is only 16 months but I want one of these already. I had seen them before and thought it was a lot of money for something you would only use a short while but after reading these post I totally think they are great. Poster in Germany, please start a business selling these here!!! You already have your first customer here!!!!
Thanks for the post.
Sarah

[lpl47]

The PUKY bike is available in the U.S. at http://gliderrider.com.

Other brands are also available:
Like A Bike
Kettler
Bino Bike
Kinder bike
e-bay has some others
Radio flyer is coming out with one this fall

As I wrote above, we have the Puky which we purchased at glider rider and we love it. I don't really know anything about the others, except that they range in price from about $60 to $250 for the Like A Bike.

[zen_bliss]

yep! love it.

here's the thread with all the models from my comparison shopping last year.
http://tinyurl.com/k5b5m

[Corie]

One more thing to add to my son's Christmas list!
Thanks, Rebekah!!

Definitely wish I would have known about these bikes
for my daughter!! She will be 5 in a few months and
she is afraid to take off her training wheels.
This bike would have given her such confidence.

I really like the looks of the PUKY brand!

[smilequeen]

Thanks for the thread :) I've been thinking about getting one for DS for Christmas and I have definitely been inspired :)

[Thatchermom]

DS (just turned 5) started on a pedal-less trainer bike called the FunOne with pedals that added on later. He rode 7 miles the day after we added pedals. Did a 15 mile ride yesterday with DH. It's not too late for your DD! Have her try it out if you get one for DS - I'll bet she gets it in no time. The balance really is what they are afraid of and just can't learn with the training wheels. DS is SOOOO resistant to change that we went looking for something that we wouldn't have to go the whole training wheels route. I could see him at 16 still using those little buggers...

[The Review Mommy]

Corie and Karen,

I started this thread back in Aug of 2005! I was so surprised to see it again. Yes, I had totally forgotten about it. ;)

FYI- We ended up with a Kettler instead lol!

Glad to see the bike has caught some interest...

Rebekah

[LittlePrince_Mom]

We got it as a gift from family in Amsterdam. At first DS didn't like it that much, I think it had to do with the fact that he didn't have enough open space appropriate for practice. We finally found a place with a wide boardwalk that has a little bit of a slope. Now he and we love it. The slope really helped him grasp what he was supposed to do. I have to say that his Uncles also love climbing up a hill and riding down on it, LOL. It's very sturdy.
We also have a Kettler (we bought before receiving the Like-a-bike as a gift) which we also like. They both serve very different purposes. The Kettler is used by us as a sort of stroller. We take it when we want DS to have fun getting to wherever we're going but when we're also in a hurry and want the option of pushing him along. The Like-a-bike for now has pure entertainment value. He loves it, but once he's tired, in the trunk it goes (or in our arms if the car is far).
BTW - DS is 3yo but is not a very physically active boy, he's more into doing puzzles and playing board games. That said he definitely enjoys both bikes for different reasons. I'll try to attach a pic of him on the like-a-bike (on the first day he got it so he's not really balancing yet).

-E

Grrrr. for some reason I can't post the pics, too bad since DS looks so cute on it :)


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http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif[/img][/url]
http://bd.lilypie.com/AcEup2/.png[/img][/url]

[duvie]

Picking up this thread again... it is very helpful!

Has anyone seen or heard of the "Skuut" brand? I just saw it in The Week magazine and it looks a lot like the LikeABike, but it costs $80.

Thanks!

[shilo]

anyone done some comparison shopping on stand over heights of the various models/brands??? i'd definitely consider this for DS's second bday if i can find one that is short enough for him. TIA!
lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[The Review Mommy]

I just saw this look-a-like made by Radio Flyer. I hadn't seen it before. Anyone have it or try it out IRL?

http://www.drtoy.com/awards/5217.html

Rebekah