Which tricycle for a 2 year old?

[nofeea]

Well, I know that Kettler is the biggie. But:

a) Is it really worth it?

b) If I go with a Kettler which one and where is the best deal? My neighborhood does not have the smoothest sidewalks. Are air tires really necessary?

(I do know that I want something with a pushbar)
I need to decide ASAP to get it by her B-day.

Thanks!

(BTW, I did try to research this in the archives but I still can't decide!)

[brittone2]

We've been very happy w/ our Supertrike 4 (Kiddio).

For us air tires were IMO a necessity as we have a gravel driveway (longish) and DS will be mostly riding in gravel/grass on his own. We live in a small cul-de-sac neighborhood but there are no sidewalks. So for us they are a necessity. I think it depends on how you see your DC using it...riding up and down sidewalks a lot with you walking or pushing, riding mostly in a paved driveway, riding mostly in grass, etc.

I'm sure you saw this in the archives but the Kiddio trikes are made by Kettler they just don't have the fancy add on features. THere also is no parental steering lockout and no autofreewheel. That hasn't been a problem for us at ALL much to my surprise (we got it for DS's second bday, but if we had gotten it earlier maybe I'd have a different opinion).

Our air tires say Kettler right on them. The Kiddio has a dump bucket, push bar, seat belt, etc. included for the price. We paid about 100 or 110 (shipped) for ours w/ a TRU friends and family coupon, but apparently mytoybox.com is now selling them for 89.99.

Our trike is very sturdy and I can't imagine being any happier w/ a Kettler. I don't feel like we are missing out on anything at all.

DS adores his little trike.

[deenass]

Well, I got the $50 radio flyer, and after "test driving" a kettler, I regret not having spent the extra money. the kettler's push bar allows an adult to steer it, our radio flyer's does not, so unless my son steers correctly (something he luckily figured out relatively quickly, but he's not normal in that respect) he's not going anyuwhere fast.

If I were to do it all over again, i would have bought a kettler.

[nofeea]

Thank you! DH was wondering why we couldn't just pick up a Radio Flyer in Target ;)
Now to decide which Kettler...
(Why can't they make a cheaper combo of the air tires and auto free-wheel :( )

[amp]

Ditto what Beth said. Ours is the exact same trike and we feel the same way.

[mommy_someday]

I have no idea how expensive this one would be, but it's a Radio Flyer trike with a stroller handle that allows the adult to steer the front wheel. HTH!

http://www.radioflyer.com/trikes/trikes_54.html

[HoneymoonBaby]

My son is turning two next month and after going round and round and round about this with DH, we ordered this one last night:

http://www.wheelalternative.citymax.com/catalog/item/1791314/1331430.htm

It's not as tank-like as the Kettlers, but it has all the same features at a slightly lower price ($115 shipped), and I liked the fun colors. I don't know anyone who has one, so I will be the guinea pig. Italtrike has a great reputation, though, so I'm pretty optimistic that we'll like it. If Kettler still made the Combi, I probably would have bought that one instead, but as far as their current offerings go I felt like the Navigator/Jumbo were overkill, the Splash/Junior too stripped down, and the Brummi was "just right" but I hated the colors and the bench seat and it was more expensive than the ABC Taxi for the same exact features (pushbar, bucket, handbrake, etc.). So ABC Taxi it was.

It should be here within a week, I'll try to remember to post a review when we assemble it, and then when Ian tries it out next month.

[brittone2]

That's cute. Please post a review when you get it broken in :)

[nofeea]

Thanks everybody. I'm not sure if I'm more confused or less... :)
The new one posted does look cute (with the bright colors) but no seat belt or air tires. I'm actually leaning back towards the canopied Radio Flyer now. It sounds like it's been improved from all the latest reviews I found. Anyone else heard anything particularly negative about this new model? It seems to have all the features of the more expensive Kettlers (although it's clearly lighter and probably flimsier.) From what I read it looks like it'll do the trick....

Thanks for everybody's input so far...

[mudder17]

Yup, we just got ours from mytoybox for the $89.99 price and it's great! We took Kaya out for a regular walk and as we pushed her, we would just say, "turn to the left, right, or straight," and she would work to adjust the steering. We don't actually have to do this, though, since you can push back on the push bar and lift the front wheel up. But it's kind of neat that Kaya's learning another skill with us not having a steering lock. Her legs are not quite long enough, but if she keeps the steering wheel straight, she can actually move her feet on the pedals. Again, the autofreewheel might be nice, but Kaya is learning a skill to move her feet with the pedals. We also noticed that if she drops her feet off the pedals, she'll stare intently at the pedals moving and work to get her feet back on the pedals. It's kind of cool to see her brain processing the info. :)


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_-6_Kaya+is.png
Kaya will be a sister, ~11/14/06!

[HoneymoonBaby]

I have yet to meet the two year old who will consent to being strapped onto a tricycle, so a seatbelt is actually a negative for me. Just something else extraneous to keep track of after I remove it from the trike. I prefer him to be able to get on and off at will, and if the thing tips over, it's not going to matter much if he's strapped to it or not. It's not like they're going 35 mph. For babies, I get why people like the seatbelts, but I just don't see it working for a two year old.

As for air tires, will you use them? Everywhere we go is paved since we live in the very crowded suburbs of a large city. Even the green space has paved paths. I don't see us needing air tires, but your situation may be different. The tires on the ABC Taxi are solid rubber. I'm guessing they'll handle grass but not gravel or sand.

Not trying to convince you either way -- just explaining why we made the choice we did after agonizing for days over it. I was floored by how much stress this decision caused me. You would think the tricycle we chose would get him into college or something the way we fretted, LOL.

[TahliasMom]

Thank you! My little one just turned 2 today!!! sniff...sniff...I bought the one from mytoybox.com so she'll have a late b-day to open! :)

[HannaAddict]

My active two year old loves his Kettler and we love the seatbelt. He's used it with no problems or fights since last summer when we first started taking him out on it. I definitely think the seatbelt is worth it. We got the Navigator but without the air tires. Now I wish we had the air tires. We live in the city and everything is paved, but the air tires would give a better ride I think and be quieter too. And for the occassional off road jaunt, they would be nice. So, I would get air tires if I had to do it over again. The pushbar is great and get a bell too. Our son loves ringing it but doesn't do it enough to drive us crazy. We use the dump truck portion almost every ride too, for dog toys and groceries sometimes.

Have fun picking a trike!

Kimberly

[pixelprincess]

We had a Kettler (it was stolen :() and used it a handful times. The seat belt/pushbar/parental controls were awesome to have on the trike.
I didn't replace the trike and am now considering getting him a Radio Flyer on Craigs List :) One of my play-group friend's has one and it almost seems easier to steer it as opposed to the Kettler. The funny thing is that after going to various preschools and seeing the various assortment of trikes, having a Kettler doesn't seem to be as imperative for the $$. JMO!
Good luck deciding.

[brittone2]

DS has no problem with his seatbelt. He got his Kiddio Supertrike 4 for his 2nd bday. Our rules for the trike are he must have both his helmet and seatbelt on to ride. He never makes a peep about it.

[spunkybaby]

We have this canopy tricycle from Radio Flyer. My sister and BIL gave it to DD as a Christmas gift (surprised me--I was thinking about a Kettler). But it's pretty nice, and we are happy with it so far. We haven't used it outside yet, but we push it around inside our house, and DD is pretty happy. Also, kids that come to our house like to ride it too.

HTH

Not-so-new mom to a spunky toddler
March 2004

[anamika]

Hi,
Hope your DS is enjoying his trike. I'm starting to look into trikes for DD and would love to get a review. It looks so cool - I see Kettlers everywhere so this might be fun to push around.
DD is petite (30") so can you give me some idea if this will be a good choice for pushing her around until she can reach the pedals? Also, do you miss not having the seat belt?
Thanks so much for your help.