Kettler question on tires and where best price is?

[ajrivers]

Hi all.

I think we are going with the Kettler Navigator for 2nd birthday, but I'm trying to figure out what the benefit of the air tires is and whether I need them. There is the special edition one which is a bit less expensive on One Step Ahead and am curious which I should go with.

Also, any idea on where best price is and possibly free shipping? I've done some searching and pretty much everyone is $159.99. Does TRU carry them in store?

Thanks so much!! Amy

[bluestar2]

We have air tires and it's a must for us since we ride mostly on gravel and dirt trails. It allows for a smoother ride since the air tires absorb much of the shock. If you will using it mostly on pavement, you might not need need them.

[brittone2]

I agree w/ the PP. We love having air tires, but we have a gravel driveway and a big yard, so DS rides there quite a bit. If my DC was mostly going to ride on sidewalks and paved surfaces, it might not be worth it, but I"m glad we had the air tires in our situation.

The ride is really smooth with the air tires.

I'm not sure if you want to check the warranty situation out (if that's a concern) but I think I remember in the past the warranty was different at OSA than with the other Kettler models? I'm not 100 percent sure about that.

Another option if you haven't looked into it is the Kiddio Supertrike 4. (eta: The Kiddio is made by Kettler. The frame is very well made IMO, but that trike doesn't take any add on accessories from Kettler and doesn't have the long Kettler warranty. We've been very happy with ours). You can get air tires and a pushbar for under $100, and we have been very, very happy with the quality. No parent lockout on the steering and no autofreewheel. DS got his for his 2nd bday and we never missed those features, to be honest. Maybe for a younger child, but at 2, it was a non issue. Just something else to consider if you haven't looked at them. There are multiple old threads about the Kiddio as well as Kettlers that might help too.

[Tondi G]

we have a Jumbo from our 1st DS! When I was looking I talked to a local retailer about it.... his response was

if you are using it on sidewalks and not gravel then the air tires are not necessary. The benefits to not having air tires is that the trike is Lighterweight and you never have to worry that when your kiddo wants to go for a ride, you'll pull it out and have to deal with a flat tire!

we love our Jumbo and it still looks brand new after 5 years of use!

~Tondi

[kaitlinsmommy]

We don't have air tires & have never missed them. We're always on the driveway and some gravel & the non-air tires are fine for us.

[HannaAddict]

I bought our Kettler through a long ago co-op on this board long before my now three year old could even walk, let alone ride! At the time, the general consensus seemed to be that if you had sidewalks you didn't need air tires and wouldn't miss them. So, no air tires. Now we say we wish we had the air tires!! We use it primarily on sidewalks and regular tires work fine, but the ride is smoother, quieter and just nicer with the air tires, I really wish we had just done the air tires at the start, we did everthing else (push bar - great investment, bell, etc.).

HTH,
Kimberly