Strider Blog » Designer’s Corner

Striders on Strollers…This is Easy!

Ryan McFarland — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:21:09 +0000

Strider PREbikes are SO light and easy to carry around. Have a look!

Can a Balance Bike Help Autistic Kids?

Ryan McFarland — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:59:02 +0000

I got this email from a customer last week and it made my day!

-Ryan

Hi! We purchased our Strider PREbike this week, and received it in the mail today. I just wanted to tell you our story and share a video with you.

Our son, Garrett, is 5 and he has a form of autism. We recently took him to buy his first bike. At the store, all of the display bikes had the training wheels set so that the bike rocked instead of all the way down and stable. Due to the sensory issues that go along with autism spectrum disorders, he FREAKED OUT! Needless to say, we didn’t end up getting a bike.

We came home and started shopping online for bikes, thinking that if we just got him one and set it up with the training wheels in the all-the-way-down position, he would be fine. During that process, we found balance bikes. After more research, we chose yours.

We got the bike today and got it put together just fine. We captured his VERY FIRST ride on video for you. Keep in mind that this is a kid that flipped the last time he straddled a bike seat and had a good chance of either failing at this or only succeeding after lots of work. Check out the smile on his face!! He even wiped out on the wet pavement and got back up and kept going. I imagine he’ll be ready to give his Strider to his 3-year-old sister sometime this summer when he upgrades.

I’m going to make sure to tell his doctors about our success with this. More parents with special needs kids should know.

Thank you for your product and for giving us another option, from the bottoms of our hearts

Ryan and Heidi Johnson

From the video description: G has a form of autism. When we went to buy him a two-wheeled bike, all the display models had the training wheels set so the bike rocked and a FLIPPED. After some research, this is what we chose as an alternative to training wheels. This was his first attempt at it. He’s already picking his feet up. He should be riding a pedal bike in no time. Oh, and after the spill, he was fine. He turned to sharp on wet pavement. Oh, well. It happens!

Team Strider riders have all the fun!

Ryan McFarland — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:24:37 +0000

Our latest Team Strider rider, named JoJo, is just 30 months old and resides in Cleveland, OH. He has the great fortune of an awesome indoor mountain bike park nearby. Check out JoJo as he rides a maze of ladder trails and teeter-totters. This video makes me want to travel to Cleveland with my mountain bike just to have some fun with him.

Tricycle experience misconception…

Ryan McFarland — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:43:17 +0000

I’m always surprised when cautious parents make a comment about doubting their child could ride a Strider and say they better just stick with a tricycle… as if the Strider is for advanced kids. Maybe I’ve been so immersed in this for so long that it comes as a surprise. From all of our research and experience, we see it from a completely different viewpoint. We see tricycles as being much more difficult for young children to operate… the weight of the tricycle is just the beginning, climbing on and off is much more difficult, and trying to actually operate the pedals with little legs that are only 12″ long is nearly impossible. If you watch most children on tricycles, they are putting their feet down on the ground (if they can reach!) and trying to push it like a Strider. The other startling misconception is that a tricycle is a safe and stable vehicle for children to be on. The three-wheeled design has to be about the most UNstable design possible… it’s high center of gravity leads to a violent tip as soon as the front wheel is turned. This design is so dangerous that motorized three-wheeled ATVs were actually outlawed in the U.S. because of the number of injuries and fatalities. This same tendency to tip is inherent in the tricycle as well. Watch our latest video with a comparison of children on tricycles vs. children on Striders and you’ll see first hand the difference in the experience. These tricycle clips are all pulled from youtube and are only a fraction of the video content out there… do the research, then save your child the trauma of a trike and advance their skills on a Strider…

And, by the way, a pedal bike with training wheels is basically the same as a tricycle (with an even higher, more unstable center of gravity). We estimate a solid 2 year advancement on balance and bike handling skill when going the route of the balance bike as opposed to the tricycle/training wheels route.

Poor, tricycle-less children missing out on fun… NOT!

Ryan McFarland — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:05:27 +0000

Check out these little kids, some only 20 months old, riding all sorts of fun, challenging terrain and having a ball! Their minds are engaged. Their whole bodies are involved. They’re getting great exercise and building muscle strength and gross motor skills… There are no lethargic, obese kids in Striderville!

Merry Christmas from Strider Sports!

Ryan McFarland — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:26:15 +0000

What a wonderful year it has been! We feel extremely blessed to have a growing business in the midst of so much economic turmoil. We are thankful to all of our distributors, dealers, and customers across the country and around the world. We are thankful for all the smiles and squeals of delight from all the little Strider riders that continue to ‘make our day’. And, we are thankful for the freedom, love and peace offered to us through Jesus, the reason for the Christmas season.

God bless you!

Snow Day Means Another Indoor Enduro-Cross

Ryan McFarland — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:10:29 +0000

The long cold winter here in Rapid City, South Dakota has us riding our bikes inside. We’ve set up a few obstacles in the warehouse here at Strider Sports and my sons and I are having some fun. Check out the versatility of the Strider… from Bode (nearly 6 years old) having fun doing tricks to Jesse (just over 2 years old) increasing his balance, coordination, and gross motor skills… or should I say motorCYCLE skills… Look out Pee Wee Motocross!

Footrests Add Another Level to Skills

Ryan McFarland — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:08:42 +0000

This is a fun little video of my son Bode playing on his Strider running bike. This really showcases the fact that our unique, LaunchPad(tm) frame-integrated footrests of the Strider allow a child to learn an entire new set of skills beyond just balancing on two wheels… to ride standing up, to pull wheelies, to fall in love with ALL the fun that two wheels can offer. We are realizing that the more obstacles and tricks that a child can ride on, the more their brains get engaged in the activity and the longer they’ll stay involved. If the activity gets boring, they’ll seek a different activity… video games, TV, etc. With the Strider being so capable of going off-road, riding obstacles, and doing tricks, it keeps kids engaged; learning, developing, exercising!

Big Brother, Little Brother

Ryan McFarland — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:07:11 +0000

This video shows the range of rider size. Bode (5 years old) has the handlebars and saddle up near the top of the adjustment range while his little brother Jesse (almost two years old) has them set at their lowest setting. There are a few interesting points in this video. First, the opening scene shows Bode gliding while standing… this is an advanced skill that is really only possible on the Strider design with the integrated footpads located directly below the saddle. Second, you’ll notice that Jesse is standing up while walking the bike and is up close to the handlebars. I have seen this on nearly EVERY really little kid that starts on a balance bike. After they get comfortable walking the bike, they learn to relax and extend their arms… allowing them to settle into the seated position. The key is to not rush kids to sit down… they’ll figure it out on their own and at their own speed/comfort level. Simple encouragement and praise is what they really need when they are this young.

Strider Fun in the Snow

Ryan McFarland — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:05:07 +0000

We talk about the Strider running bike being all-terrain but now we can add all-season! While I was busy plowing snow during our recent blizzard here in South Dakota, Bode decided to get his Strider out and play in the snow. Glide down the plowed sidewalk, turn into the heavy, wet snow and flip over the handlebars for the classic endo!