“I was researching a bike to buy for my 3-year old girl for Christmas. She had her heart set on a pink Disney Princesses bike. What I read about the quality of that bike turned me off as I could see her breaking down and crying when it fell apart in a matter of days. I was looking around for an alternative and saw that the Strider bike was a big seller and decided to look further. I became convinced that the bike would be sturdier and that the innovative concept was worth a shot – we could always buy the Disney bike as a back up.
Christmas day arrived and she opened up the box and was all excited to see her new, pink bike. However, I explained to her that her bike was different in that it didn’t have pedals nor training wheels (where we live, no one has these bikes yet). She was a real trooper about it. She let me put on her helmet and she did her best to walk around with the bike, explaining to onlookers that it had no pedals.
A few days of this and I started to worry that she would give up. So I invented a little game – run over daddy’s foot. I would walk in front of her and she would have to move quickly enough to run over my foot with the front tire. This helped a little. So then I turned to YouTube and showed her videos of other kids riding the bike.
A few days later, a bunch of kids in our apartment complex were playing, many of them with bikes with training wheels. My little girl participated a litte more, walking around with her bike. Suddenly, she said: “look, dad!”, took a few steps and then lifted both feet off the ground and coasted. I was in shock! She repeated this about a dozen times but then got tired of it. So, I was happy with the progress but still unsure if this would work out.
The next day, we went to our parking lot and she simply took off. She did not stop running and coasting for a whole hour. The only time she took a rest was to stop and spontaneously shout that she loves her bike! Since then, she rides the thing almost every day and totally loves it.
Ran across this video today on Youtube and thought it was pretty cool! This Dad is very enthusiastic and Joey (19 months) is very committed…especially for his first time on a Strider. (You have to love their high five/fist bump combo too.)
It’s important to remember that every child has varying levels of comfort on their Strider. Some, like Joey, will feel comfortable with an incline and lifting their feet right away. Most, like my daughter, will spend the first few months walking with their butt off the seat.
No matter what speed they take to the Strider make sure to keep it available and make it fun and low stress. Before you know it they’ll be out-Stridering everyone on the block!
Warning: Great review followed by a video with some nasty trike/training wheel crashes.
“We bought two Striders for our 2.5 year old twins who had been really struggling with trying to peddle a tricycle. Within a couple of days they were zipping down the slight incline on our gravel driveway, and really balancing with no adult training required.
We saw them crash many times trying to negotiate riding a tricycle, but they really learned to balance quite easily on the Strider bike. It is well and thoughtfully engineered, strong, but light in weight for small kids. 5 out of 5 stars! Highly recommended!!!!“ — (Jay in Ohio)
That’s what the graphic on this great video introducing Striders to North Carolinians says. While 63 degrees sounds good (as we sit inside on another chilly night in South Dakota) the story sounds even better! The only thing we can find to disagree with is the bike mechanic saying that Striders are “probably better than training wheels.” As most of you know already…Striders Rule, Training Wheels Drool! (Click on the screen shot below to jump to news story)
Are you looking for something extra to do on the side? No Strider dealer in your area and you want to introduce your neighbors and friends to the fun their kids can have on a Strider? Look into the Strider Home Based Dealer Program and you will be able to do both of these things and more.
Here is a short note and some photos from one of our newest home based dealers in Canada, eh!
“I am a new dealer in Vancouver, BC Canada and just wanted to email you and tell you how much we love the bike, firstly as parents and secondly as a small business (that rarely feels like work!) I just started two months ago and sold my 30th bike today! I wanted to pass on a little video if you have a chance to watch it of my 8 1/2 month old son trying out his future bike! He always has the biggest grin when he sees it or gets to ‘ride’ it!” ~Lindsay M.
Oldest son James rode the entire 2.5 km loop!
Mason is being carried for this walk and James is still able to stop and check things out astride his Strider.
When my friend first suggested a bike with no pedals, I thought it was the stupidest idea in the world. “What’s the point?”, I asked. But when my son got on this bike, it was love at first sight. Even though he walked with the bike for the first few weeks, he eventually learn to sit and kick, then stop with his feet and then coast with his feet high in the air. I plan to keep this bike until he’s about 4 and then transition him to a bike with pedals. But now, he loves it so he get exercise every day. Now I can barely keep up with him at a brisk walking pace. I have to take my own bike or start jogging. I highly recommend! ~Floresti (Nairobi, Kenya)
Keep it up Jesse…Maybe you’ll be able to meet JoJo someday!
I bought a Strider bike for my 2 year old for his birthday. The polymer tires are already very worn down…he rides it all day every day….wondering if you would recommend replacing with another set of polymer tires or a set of pneumatic tires. He handles the bike extremely well and we absolutely love it! Thanks, Melissa
This is his first trip to the skate park and definitely not his last!
Melissa, Great video! He’s really riding great for just 2 months on the bike! As far as the EVA polymer tires wearing down, the ‘tread’ on the tires really isn’t important, they’ll roll and roll long after the initial ‘tread’ is gone. And with the low center of gravity of a Strider, they’ll offer ample traction on nearly every surface. The beauty of the EVA tires is that they are SO light. This is fundamental to success for a really little kid. The pneumatic tires are a little smoother rolling and have good traction but they weigh twice as much as the EVA tires and the rotational weight is considered to be twice the detriment to bicycle performance as actual weight. So, adding pneumatics will make your sub-7 pound bike an actual 9 pound bike that will feel like an 11 pound bike! Plus, the energy stored in the rotating wheel will also make it harder for the child to stop the bike. So, for a really little kid, the stock EVA tire is the way to go. Once he’s older and stronger and can handle the added weight and stored rotational energy, then the pneumatics are a nice option. Hope that helps.
Face it…the only way things EVER get exciting on a tricycle is when they get dangerous. Nobody wants to put their toddler in danger, but trikes are inherently dangerous. Plus, kids need perfectly flat pavement to even move on a trike.
A Strider PREBike lets the little kids rip it up on ramps and at skate parks and off road, totally in control, totally at their own speed.
When kids are having fun and engaging their brains in challenging activity, they are more likely to continue playing and being active. This keeps them outside and off the TV/ video games. We love seeing video of strong, healthy little kids outside tearing around on Striders! Keep the videos coming!
We were reviewed by Karen Yuen from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for homeschool families. Here’s an excerpt:
the Strider Running Bike offers some wonderful advantages. First of all, it’s very small; so very young children can start learning long before they would comfortably fit on even the smallest standard bikes. Also, the bike is so lightweight that young toddlers really don’t need much strength to push themselves along. Learning to balance is really the key activity. I also like the “stiffer” steering that comes standard with the bike. This makes is easier to handle. But as the bike is ridden more, the steering loosens up. Very ingenious!
Here’s an email from a young Strider rider, pretty impressive grammar for a 2-year-old!
name: Graham Schuman
message: My name is Graham Schuman and I have a blue Strider bike. I am 2 years old and ride it all the time. I get to go to the dirt jumps with my dad and I just love it. Check out this video.
