adding: do you think air tires are important? KETTLER owners, do you like the trikes?

[kristine_elen]

ETA: How big of a deal are air tires? Our sidewalks are bumpy and cracked, but then again, this is just a kid on a trike. (I almost wish I couldn't do all this research; I go around in circles.)

I know a group of you just bought a bunch of Kettlers. Do you like them? I'm thinking of getting the "Happy" Kettler with regular, non-air tires. Thumbs up? Thumbs down?
Thanks!
(Also posted in "around the house" - forgive me.)

[Rachels]

Jumping in on your thread, can Kettler owners also let us know when your little ones learned to pedal?

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[brigmaman]

I'm going to jump on, too. I'm wondering how the Kettlers are doing on non-paved (grass, gravel) surfaces, since that's all we have. We have an old (10 year-old) Kettler trike that Brig loves to sit on and push himself backwards. He loves it, but probably won't be able to pedal for a while.

[caleymama]

One more question ... anything you would do differently now that you have yours? Wish you had a different trike, different/more/less accessories, etc? Now that the snow is finally melting (for now, anyway) I've begun to think that we might actually get outside to play sometime soon!

[alexsmommy]

He loves, loves, loves his trike. I have the Happy with regular tires. Works fine our our older paved, but cracked/bumpy sidewalks. He's too little to pedal (obviously) but I got just about every accessory including the push bar and footrest. He loves for us to strap him in and push him around. He bounces up and down with excitement and makes car noises that I sure as heck didn't teach him! It was warm enough this weekend in Chicago to bundle him up and take him for a spin outside. He screamed, kicked and arched his back when it was time to take him off and bring him back inside. FYI I have one of the most mild mannered kids around (thus far!) and this is very unusual for him. He just loves his trike. I would definately recommend it - but for the young ones, to me it makes sense for you get the straps, footrest and pushbar also so they can actually use it. HTH
Alaina - Mom to Alex 2-4-03

[COElizabeth]

James loves his. We got the one with the "dump truck" feature on the back (I can never remember if it's Happy or Jumbo), regular tires, the footrest, seat belt, and pushbar. He can't reach the pedals yet, so the footrest is really nice, though it sometimes tilts and causes the trike to stop in mid-push (this seems to happen to DH more than to me). We have pushed James on a walk of nearly 4 miles more than once, and he did great. Sometimes he holds onto the handlebars, and other times he just sits there (so I am glad to have the seatbelt). I'm happy with our choices of accessories and trike. DH finds it more comfortable to push than our Pliko since the pushbar is taller (and easier to handle with one hand).

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[lfp2n]

we got the air happy, with footrest and pushbar.I forgot the seatbelt but have rigged up something that looks similar. DD loves it, it pushes well on rough stuff and grass, today she 'cycled' to daycare on it (admittedly just down the end of our road) which was fun much better than carrying her like normal. I can't see her pedalling for some time but she seems really balanced not at all precarious and really enjoys being pushed around.
My only gripe is that the wheel lock is not centred which makes going in a straight line down a narrow pavement a little tricky.

Lucy 3/03

[shishamo]

We had mine for a while. I have Jumbo with regular tires. The dump truck feature is REALLY nice, not sure Happy has that.

My older son learned to pedal sometimes between 2 and a half and three. My daughter who likes to 'push' around the trike would be two next month and she's nowhere near the pedaling stage.

[MelissaTC]

We have had our Air Happy for around 6 months now...DS LOVES it! He rests his feet on the pedals but can't pedal yet. It handles really well off road. We couldn't be happier with it... :)

[toomanystrollers]

I'm very happy with the Jumbo (non-air version) for Shea. What I would change - probably skip the stroller-bar attachment and just get the push bar attachment because it's almost impossible to push the trike in a straight line - ours veers to the right.

He's 2 1/2 and still not really pedaling much. Now Shea's friend down the street - he's been pedaling on his own since age 2 - a real speed demon :)

[COElizabeth]

We have regular tires. Our sidewalks are fairly smooth, but even if we lived in our old neighborhood with cracked sidewalks, I probably would have gotten the regular tires so I wouldn't have to worry about pumping them up. As you point out, I don't think toddlers care too much about having a smooth ride. A smooth ride in a stroller for a young infant might be desirable, but for an older baby, I think the bumps are part of the fun. However, I haven't tried the air tires, so I don't know - maybe I would prefer them if I compared.

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[McQ]

Oh no. I bought the stroller push bar. Thought it would be easier than the regular push bar. Is the stroller push bar difficult to use? We got the stroller for Declan's first birthday but since that's not here yet, we haven't used it.

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03

[lfp2n]

I like the air tires they are really easy to push and give a very cushioned ride but I have nothing to compare them with. The tires are very thick so I think they will be low maintenance and not need pumping up often or prone to blow outs. But air and regular is a big difference in price, so maybe if you are staying on sidewalks and off grass and gravel its not worth it.
As I said before we have trouble going in a straight line with the pushbar also, so I don't think its a stroler bar problem, its not a big deal unless you are pushing down something very narrow and can't weave a bit.

Lucy

[egoldber]

We got DD a regular Happy last summer. She loves, loves, loves it! I have never missed the air tires, but we have sidewalks (although a but bumpy) and paved trails on my neighborhood. Personally, I didn;t want to deal with flat tires and having to re-inflate the periodicially.

And DD can't *quite* pedal my herself yet, but I think she's close. :)

HTH,

[Tondi G]

We got a Jumbo for DS for Christmas. he is going to be 3 in July! HE LOVES his trike! We went around and around with the air jumbo vs the regular jumbo and went with the regular! We like that we never have to worry about popped or flat tires (there is never a... hold on sweetie mommy has to pump the tires before you can ride issue!). It does make the trike a bit heavier with the air tires as well. we got a handle for it and used it a few times when Ds first got the trike.... he now rides that puppy up and down the street with NO help from mom and dad... pedaling and steering! We opted for the Jumbo because the seat is larger.... DS is a big boy and we figured he might outgrow the smaller seat on the other Kettlers too fast.... so glad we did cause he fits great nad our neighbors almost 4 year old does too..... it should work for him till he 5 like the website says!!!!

When I contacted someone about the Air vs regular... she said unless you are on gravel or in a field the regular tires should be fine! I am so glad we went with the standard wheels over the air!!!!!

Good luck... HTH's you!

~Tondi