Need Trike recs for 2 yr. old and 4 yr. old

[ajmom]

The title of my post says it all. I want to buy trikes for my boys for their birthdays. One will be 2 in January and the other 4 in June. I read the other trike thread (about the 18 mth. old). Maybe a "big wheel" is better for my 2 yr. old? Anyway, tell me all about trikes and which you wuold recommend for the different ages. Thanks!

[brittone2]

It just depends on how you want them to use them. You could do one trike and one ride on toy, and figure in your case by the time the 4 y/o is done with the trike the 2 y/o will be ready to pedal independently on it. You could do something like the Like-a-bikes (don't know much about these but there was a recent thread) and a trike w/ pushbar for the littler one.

Even big wheels have pedals, so DC still probably won't be pedaling independently until closer to 2.5 or even 3. I've heard some people say their kids had an easier time pedaling a big wheel (once they were ready) than a Kettler, but that's just anecdotal.

A nice advantage of a trike w/ a pushbar is that even once they are pedaling independently, the pushbar is valuable in slowing them down when they are going down an incline for example.

The Radio Flyers don't get great reviews here or on Amazon. Many mamas here have Kettlers. We opted for the Kiddio Supertrike 4 (available through amazon/TRU online) which is made by Kettler but less expensive. No autofreewheel or steering lock out, but that's IMO less of a big deal for a 2 year old than it would be if you were going to be pushing them from 12 months on up. One Step Ahead sells their own version of a Kettler which is a bit less expensive.

Does that help at all? Clear as mud, right? ;)