List Price: $110.00
Sale Price: $99.99
Today's Bonus: 9% Off
After extensive research on the right balance bike for my 18 month old, I went with a red ST-3 Strider. While I didnt want to pay this kind of money, the expectation is she uses it for 3 years or so and when she is done with it she'll hop on a big-kid bike and ride away. My son, who is older can ride a bike fine now but he is still hesitent and that's because he started on training wheels and the transition is scarier.
I first Spotted these balance bikes at a car show and was amazed at the kids ability to ride around on it so I started my research and was hooked on the idea.
Primary reasons for choosing a Strider over the other manufacturers was that it's seat can go as low as 11", it has a steel frame, and the new ST-3 has the small grips. Given that this was being given to an 18 month old, the smaller the better. Reviews on various sites also helped seal the deal over the wooden bikes and some of thec omposites. I would've considered a kinderbike but besides their own website, they seem hard to find. The wooden ones Ive seen all look pretty beat up and more like a 'craft' instead of an actual bike. Their website marketing showing kids riding their striders like BMX bikes brought me in too, although it'll be a while before my little one does that!
The bike itself is really tiny. The best way to tell this online is to watch the assembly video on their own website (an excrutiatingly boring video however). Its really light weight also which is good for someone so small to pick up off the ground, which she can. Assembly was easy, although I has to use a mallet to attach the quick release on the handlebar stem because its a little tight. Took about 5 minutes with the help of my 6 year old. More time to take all the packaging off than putting it together. The stem is attached to the handlebars directly, there is no neck clamp as in a traditional bike. I was a little worried about this since I thought maybe I wanted some adjustment backwards to make it easier to reach but the bike is tiny and really doesnt need this. Overall construction is fine (paint, weld points, bolts, screws etc seem to be of decent materials) but they could've sprung for some painted on 'Strider' emblems instead of the cheap stickers which I can see peeling off quickly. It would've added to the belief that $99 was worth spending on something so diminutive and simple. My sons Schwinn, complete with metal pedals, front, rear and pedal brakes cost about this and it's got 18 or 20" wheels on it, so a lot more material and engineering over this little bike. (That said his bike is all stickers too, but with orange flames and racing stripes on the seat!)
The seat itself is a hard plastic, not like a standard bike seat which is cushioned. We'll see how the comfort of that is over time. She'll need to learn some new words first before she can express that though.
My tiny 18 month old (girl) saw the bike and hopped right on and immediately started walking with it. She didn't want to get off. Its the reaction I was hoping for, so that's great. She is very small for her age but she can straddle the bike fine and the seat is as low as it can go. With shoes on she should be just right for it. She can reach the handlebars and the smaller grips of the ST-3 are definitely a good thing.
The tires are interesting. They are a semi-soft-hardish solid plastic mold, not the inflatable kind. We'll see how long they last, but I doubt my tiny one can do anything to really mess them up.
One thing I do wish Strider would do is let you customize the bike more on order. I would've ordered straight from their site (instead of amazon) had I been able to choose wheel colors, seats or handlebars to match the bike instead of the all black. They do let you configure it, but not actually buy it. The red on black is great though and I chose that over pink (for resale value, LOL) and in case she wanted to share with her boyfriends (LOL) who may not want to ride a pink bike.
We'll see how she does with it over the next few days as these are first impressions. I am looking forward to seeing her balance with it. She really loves bikes and trikes and now that she has one her size, she's really going to get going.
UPDATE (10/2012):
So she didnt take to the bike as much as I thought she would gravitating more to her brothers old tricycle and scooter. She's maybe used it 10 times so far and only for short spurts of time before switching to somethign else. When she does get on the bike, and she is small for her
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