do you think 4yo is to old for balance bike?

[chozen]

i have been thinking about buying our almost 4yo dd a balance bike but now i am wondering if she would be to tall for one, she is about 43", i have no idea how she will fit on one and i would have to order it on-line, without ever seeing one in person.

[MommyAllison]

My 5y/o used her brother's balance bike this past spring, and was about 43" tall. She used it for 2-3 weeks, then we took her training wheels off and she went back to her own bike. After seeing how easy it was for her to transition from the balance bike to her own bike, DH and I are definite balance bike believers! I think ours might be taller than some though - DS is 40" and still just a bit short for it. Ours is a discontinued model, so not something you're likely to find anyway (we found it on CL).

So in answer to your question: no, I don't think it's too old. By the time the weather gets nice enough to use it again, DS will be turning 4. You can always resell on CL to recoup most of your money, if you don't have another child to pass it down to.

[wendibird22]

We gave DD1 one for her 2nd bday and she's still using it at 4yo. The handles and seat adjust up quite a bit on ours. We'll probably get her a bike for Xmas and pass the balance bike on to DD2 who will be 2yo.

[WatchingThemGrow]

If you want her to learn to ride painlessly, a balance bike is the way to go. I'm not sure about sizing of brands on the internet. We tried ours out at a local bike shop before buying.

[elephantmeg]

DS still prefers his at 5.5. We got him a big boy bike after he mastered it and his little bike without training wheels but we got one a little too big and he's afraid of it, so he's back to the balance bike. He and DD both use it.

[lhafer]

I just got a Go Glider balance bike (http://www.amazon.com/Glide-Bikes-GG-16B-Blue-Glider/dp/B001HX3CEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317821774&sr=8-1)for my DD1, who's 5.5years old. She loves it.

I was torn about spending the money for one, especially that size. But the smaller one would have just been too small. We have a small 12" bike with training wheels that I will probably start my DD2 out on and then move her to the balance bike when she's big enough. Then I plan on selling it on CL to recoup some of the cost.

I may also just sell the 12" training wheels bike (it's really heavy) and get a Mini Go Glider for DD2 when the time comes. Haven't decided yet. I can always sell them later to help recoup some of the money.

[Kindra178]

If you want her to learn to ride painlessly, a balance bike is the way to go. I'm not sure about sizing of brands on the internet. We tried ours out at a local bike shop before buying.

This. The Specialized Hotwalk is awesome but I am thinking it may be too short for your child. DS1 started to outgrow his a couple months into 4. Because your dc is so tall, could you take the pedals off a 16 inch bike? We did that for DS1 this year, but he's about two inches taller than your dc.

I think there are some traditional balance bikes that are good for taller kids. I think Glide is one of them. Make sure dc's feet are flat on the ground; that will give her confidence to actually glide.

[Melaine]

I just got a Go Glider balance bike (http://www.amazon.com/Glide-Bikes-GG-16B-Blue-Glider/dp/B001HX3CEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317821774&sr=8-1)for my DD1, who's 5.5years old. She loves it.

I was torn about spending the money for one, especially that size. But the smaller one would have just been too small. We have a small 12" bike with training wheels that I will probably start my DD2 out on and then move her to the balance bike when she's big enough. Then I plan on selling it on CL to recoup some of the cost.

I may also just sell the 12" training wheels bike (it's really heavy) and get a Mini Go Glider for DD2 when the time comes. Haven't decided yet. I can always sell them later to help recoup some of the money.

Thanks for this link! I might consider this for Christmas. I really don't want to teach them both to ride bikes, it sounds like a super overwhelming task!

[WatchingThemGrow]

You can always get a used Specialized (or new I guess, lol) and take the pedals off. You can put them back on once she's learned. I think it requires a special tool.

[RunnerDuck]

Not too old, possibly too tall. My 3 1/2 yo twins have mini gliders from costco and I can't say enough about mini glider's customer service. They work for my girls, MIGHT work next summer, hard to say. If not you can get an extended seat post or the next size up of bike. Taking pedals off a regular bike is also an option and is what people have always done but it won't be as light - I wanted light so I could carry them, and other stuff, easily to the bike circle we sometimes ride at. One girl loves hers, one is lukewarm.