Kiddio 4 trike or Kettler Air Happy...critique my thinking here...

[brittone2]

I'm working on Logan's Christmas and Birthday gift planning and decided months ago that we'd get a trike for Logan's 2nd birthday (still 6 months away!). Now that we've moved, it is actually easier for me to determine that we'll definitely need air tires. We have a gravel driveway, no sidewalk...so DS will be riding on gravel or in the grass quite a bit as he gets older. We do live on a cul de sac but the driveway is a little on the long side and I don't see myself taking him out there every single time he wants to ride on the trike.

I've read the reviews, read the old posts...contemplated and tried to figure this out many a time LOL. For a while I thought the kiddio 4 would be great but now it is discontinued and I haven't seen it in any TRU stores. However, it seems like amazon.com still has it in stock, and with shipping it is still 110.00. But, the next cheapest air option I can come up with is an Air Happy which is $160ish (I can pick one up locally I believe). So...still a pretty substantial savings even w/ paying the shipping on the kiddio if amazon really does have it in stock. I know I have time...but I'm afraid if there really are kiddio 4s still available through amazon that they'll be gone before long.

$$ is a bit tight these days with DH returning to school, so if I can save, that's wonderful. Logan will be 2 when we give him the trike, so the lack of auto freewheel and lack of steering lock out aren't as big of a concern for me as they might have been if he was younger. When I was working as a pediatric PT we modified trikes all of the time creating foot plates out of plywood and velcro for various trikes, so I would think we could come up with something to keep his feet on the pedals.

If we need air tires and a pushbar, and DS will be 2 when we give him the trike, is the savings of $50 or so worthwhile to opt for the kiddio over the happy? I do like the dump basket feature on the kiddio (not available on the the Happy) too :)

[Karenn]

Well, I get all my trikes mixed up, but I'll do the best I can!

We have a Kiddio something. It does not have air tires, but it does have a dump basket. I regret not having the air tires. I didn't think I would care, but even on concrete, DS doesn't get as much traction as I would like.

I think the dump basket is great. In fact, when DS opened his trike on his birthday he got on it, immediatly got off of it, and then said "Mommy, where are my clothes?" I'm thinking to myself, "OK, trike is a flop! My three year old is asking for the *clothes* that he got for his birthday after having sat on his trike for all of about 10 seconds!" Still, I humor him and give him his clothes. He immediatly puts them in the dump bucket and gets back on the trike to drive it around the room. The dump bucket has never been empty since. One stuffed animal or another is always going for a ride.

Still though, I think I'd pick air tires over a dump bucket. DS is older, but we don't miss free wheel and we never lock the handlebars (though we could on this trike.)

Does that help at all? I doubt it! But I remember being as confused as you and thought I'd at least try!

[brittone2]

Thanks!! The Kiddio 4 version has both a dump bucket and air wheels, so I could get both. The Air Happy has air wheels but no dump bucket. I think Logan would definitely use the dump bucket if it was there so I can see that being an enjoyable part of the trike experience :) The Air Navigator has both the dump bucket and air tires (along with the swivel rear wheels that make it a Navigator) but at $199 is absolutely just not an option at this point.

The kiddio 2 I think does not have air tires...maybe that's the one you have? I know nothing about the other kiddo models but I do know the kiddio 4 has the dump bucket and air tires (and a pushbar).

IN any case, I'm glad to know that your DS enjoys his. I loved the story abou the clothes! Too cute. I probably wouldn't have needed air tires where we lived before (nice paved sidewalks in front of our subdivision house) but we're a bit more rural here in the new house and I see the trike being used on gravel/grass quite a bit as he gets older.

Thanks again...the help is always appreciated!!

[new_mommy25]

Just wanted to chime in and say we love our air tires. We take it on grass, dirt roads, gravel etc. all the time and it just rambles right over everything. We have the Navigator but I bought the trike when DS was 15 months so I wanted something I could push. The Kiddio 4 sounds like a great deal.

[LucyG]

We have the Kettler Navigator from One Step Ahead, and it does have the dump bucket (though no air tires). DD really loves the dump bucket, but if you decide to go with the Happy, you could always buy the Kettler basket to attach to the front of the trike. We have the basket, and she uses both it and the bucket a lot. Our neighborhood and driveway are completely paved, so air tires weren't an issue for us.

I did want to add that DD was 27 months old when we got her the trike, and she is still being pushed all the time. She is short for her age (about 32" now), and still can't reach the pedals well enough to pedal on her own. For us, the auto-freewheel and steering lock features have been invaluable. She is good to keep her feet on the pedals when we push her, but I think they would get tangled up if we did not have the auto-freewheel. Just wanted to add that angle to your thoughts!


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