2yr olds first bike - Islabike Rothan?

salsajake

Its my eldest's 2nd birthday next month and we are planning to visit Islabikes and pick up (assuming it seems sensible) a Rothan for him. Does anyone have any experience with these? How long can we expect him to use it before he needs something else? He has a Scuttlebug trike and is really good at scooting on that and steering around obstacles, even at high speed whilst being pushed, so I reckon steering won't be a problem, just a case of being used to staying upright and then lifting his feet and cruising on it - can't wait really!

bledington

Hi,
I'm a huge fan of Islabikes. but not of balance bikes.

I taught my son to ride using the balance method, but all I did was remove the pedals and chain from his ordinary bike. This had the benefit of him being used to the geometry of the bike and also saved me quite a lot of money.

My boy was a bit older, but the balance bit only lasted about 3 weeks before I put the pedals back on and he was riding normally within 10 minutes

salsajake

I think the other advantages though are:
bike can be used inside without fear of oil etc
bike has restricted steering lock so little chance of actually falling off it, unlike a normal bike where handlebars can swing round and unbalance them, leading to potentially nasty falls;
its probably better made than a pedal bike for the same money;
i have another son who will 'inherit' it anyway
he is only 2 so no pedal bikes his size;
lighter than a pedal bike for when we go a bit further afield and he/I need to push carry it

I'm fairly sold on the idea of balance bikes to be honest, particularly given his tender age!

Mike Healey

We've got 3 balance bikes (thanks Lidl's) which we use for the smaller kids and I agree with the last poster. The restricted handlebar movement does prevent those over-turning bars crashes.

We also use our own donated small bikes without the pedals or cranks when advisable.

dsmiff

Tesco's have them in store (thought they were £35) but says £38 on website.

salsajake

Thanks for the options, but I wouldn't buy a tin of beans from there, never mind a bike! Also can't stand tesco as an organisation, so don't want to buy from there. I reckon the Islabike is probably worth the difference anyway, bearing in mind it looks so much better made, is made of 7005 alloy, has proper bearings and is guaranteed for 5 years (my youngest will need to use it too). I've seen movies of these things on trail centres and if that's going to happen, I want to be able to trust it. Their showroom is local too so I can avoid postage charges and waiting for delivery. Just wondered if anyone had experience of a Rothan?

ChrisSing1983

Forgive me if I'm being naive or stupid here but I've got a 16 month old boy, and I can't imagine him being able to steer and dodge obstacles and ride a bike in 8 months! Am i being a bad parent? He can walk and run and jump at the moment, but I can't imagine him being comfortable riding....

bisiklet yariscisi

We bought our two-year-old an Islabike Rothan and after about two sessions on it he was flying. I did a lot of research before buying it and nothing came close to it in terms of build quality and design - it wasn't cheap but it still represented excellent value. Eighteen months on he's now the proud owner of an Islabike CNOC14 which he learnt to ride straight-away thanks to the balance and skills he'd mastered on his Rothan.

Whatever brand or style of bike you do decide on please, please, please do not touch stabilisers with a barge pole!

Woolfie

In response to ChrisSing1983, my son is 2 years 2 months and we chose to give him a traditional scooter for Christmas. I really thought about a balance bike and discussed it with a good bike shop - I know the manager well and he would have sold me a bike if he could but he suggested waiting until the summer before getting him one. (He had experience of bringing up two young kids)

They all grow up at different rates with differing abilities (judged against his friends). Although I am very keen for him to get a bike, I didn't want to push my interests on him too early (although he loves bikes - he sees his Dad ride them often enough!) I don't think he is ready just yet. As you can see from the other posts there are plenty who are ready though.

baudman

ChrisSing1983 wrote:

Forgive me if I'm being naive or stupid here but I've got a 16 month old boy, and I can't imagine him being able to steer and dodge obstacles and ride a bike in 8 months! Am i being a bad parent? He can walk and run and jump at the moment, but I can't imagine him being comfortable riding....

Well, I wouldn't suggest you take him to the top of a hill and let him go... no.

But for use indoors, doing the 'walking over the seat' and then 'seated, but slow steps' stages of using a runbike, then provided he can actually sit on the saddle and have his feet flat on the floor, I think it'll be fine.

Initially, they don't go too quickly. (And keep the tyre pressure ultra-low, to help facilitate that).

Underscore

ChrisSing1983 wrote:

Forgive me if I'm being naive or stupid here but I've got a 16 month old boy, and I can't imagine him being able to steer and dodge obstacles and ride a bike in 8 months! Am i being a bad parent? He can walk and run and jump at the moment, but I can't imagine him being comfortable riding....

Just to add my voice to the others, we bought our oldest a balance bike for his second birthday. As he was a summer baby, we left it in the garden and he would pick it up, sit on it and walk along when he felt like it - which was pretty often - but no balance was involved. We took him out and about after a couple of months but there was still no balance involved. He was probably close on 2 and a half before he started balancing on it.

He's now 3 and a half and, for Christmas, he got a Cnoc 14 and was riding (with help to get going) within 200 yds. He has not needed help to get going since the first day. It was interesting on that first day to see him try to start; a few times he simply picked up his feet onto the pedals (into a track stand) and started pedalling!

I had a daughter from a previous marriage who learnt via the stabilisers route and I'm convinced that, while both ways work, the balance bike is the better way. However, as with may things at that age, be led by what your child wants to do; they will start riding when they are ready for it.

_

salsajake

I suspect if it took months before balancing, the saddle may have been too low. The idea is that the knees are only just bent when seated, so it is awkward for them to try and stand up. They can only balance properly when seated, so you need to encourage them to sit down before they try to move off. Looking forward to the spring when he will be able to use it, no chance at the moment!

Underscore

salsajake wrote:

I suspect if it took months before balancing, the saddle may have been too low. The idea is that the knees are only just bent when seated, so it is awkward for them to try and stand up. They can only balance properly when seated, so you need to encourage them to sit down before they try to move off. Looking forward to the spring when he will be able to use it, no chance at the moment!

Maybe but I suspect not. The saddle was adjusted as you state - we just didn't push him to balance while he was happy just walking along...

_

Han2130

I got my little girl an Islabike Rothan for her 1st birthday. She's 14 months now and uses it in the house by herself. Fab little bike. So well made .

salsajake

14 months old! She must be tall - my eldest was only just able to use it on his 2nd birthday, agree it is very well made and worth the investment

Tom Butcher

My kids used stabilisers - don't think it slowed them learning to ride - the girl was riding without them not long after her third birthday - her brother took another 12 months. I'm sure it's 99% down to when their natural sense of balance is developed enough. Nothing against balance bikes - we had one a Lidl one but it didn't get much use - but stabilisers are fine too.

Personally for young kids I'd recommend the Decathlon bikes - I've got an Islabike since but for me the Decathlon's were easily up to the kind of cycling kids do at 3-5 years old. The stabilisers screw on and off by hand which encourags you to give them a go without them so you can see when they are ready.

avoidingmyphd

salsajake wrote:

I suspect if it took months before balancing, the saddle may have been too low.

or maybe the child, in totally normal fashion, wasn't quite ready to balance yet?

salsajake

avoidingmyphd wrote:

salsajake wrote:

I suspect if it took months before balancing, the saddle may have been too low.

or maybe the child, in totally normal fashion, wasn't quite ready to balance yet?

my point was that if the saddle is too low, they can walk around easily standing up with the bike between their legs, defeating the point of the balance bike. The idea is to get them to sit on the saddle, so they start to scoot rather than waddle. If they are walking for months and not scooting, then it is perfectly likely that the saddle was too low, and in fact getting lower as they grew, therefore less likely to ever get into the proper position. Of course kids develop skills at different paces, but once they are standing, walking and running, their balance is pretty much developing at that point so a failure to apply it to a bike for months thereafter suggests they just aren't being given the opportunity to use it in the way intended.

scale20

My daughters first bike was a specialized hotwalk at about 2 years old, it took her a while to get used to it but now she flies on it. From my experience I think balance bikes are the way ahead, I'm so glad I didnt go down the stabilisers route.

NFMC

I'll add my positive comments to the above.

I have two boys and the first went down the 'normal' route of stabilisers and then a bike (no problem with that, he loves cycling) and for number two I bought a Rothan and he absoluetly loved it.

We bought it for the Christmas where he was just two. That was probably a bit young but by the time he was two and a half he was flying on it. Regularly going for flat rides that were about four miles long.

And then, when he was nearly four, he just got on his bike with pedals and was off. No problems at all.

I have to say that you have to be committed to it. We've since passed it on to friends who barely ever use it with their kid. Hence he has no confidence on it. You've got to really get them confident on it and not worry about them falling off - because they will!

Daz555

dsmiff wrote:

Tesco's have them in store (thought they were £35) but says £38 on website.

Seat height is crazy high on those. They say for 2yrs+ but my son is in the 90th centile for height and was still miles away from reaching the floor. In the end I actually took agrinder to the seat tube and cut it down to about a inch. Job done.

I also removed the brake.

ince

+1 for the Isla.

We got our son one for his second birthday (got it about a month before). Initially he too walked with the bike but as he got used to it I upped the saddle a little at a time. He went from one minute walking the bike to the next scooting along. Now sx months on there is no stopping him.

We can now go out for a ride around the estate with him following along on his little bike.

I saw buying the Isla as an investment over the more cost effective bikes out there, we now have a second son due very soon who will also get the benefit of the bike and as I am sure you are aware the second hand resale value of these little bikes it tremendous.

Mossrider

Bought my lad a Scoot for his second birthday and he was riding it on day one and rolling own the hill with both feet stuck in the air by the end of the week. At two he was only just big enough for the scoot ( a big lad but not especially tall).

He's a lot faster than the other lads on their stabiliser bikes and cuts quite a dash through the local park (people are generally amazed at such a young child on a "bike" and he rides circles around the 7 yr old next door who hasn't lost the stabilisers yet...

PS - as said above, he's going to fall off (regularly) so give him a helmet. Generally he just drops it when he's stood so it's damage to dignity rather than anything else.

mrchrispy

I bought a likeabike jumper for my little lad when he was about 20 months (christmas)
He loved it but obviously he was to small to ride it properly but by the time summer came it was well away. he been on it for the last 2 summers and his sister (2.5) is going to get the jumper.

The Isla is a great bike but I'd rate the jumper over it, it really well made, light and looks cooler (the basic suspension is a cool bonus)

salsajake

Update as OP - I did buy one of these (Rothan) and have now had to shuffle the seat up from its lowest position for the first time to make sure he is sitting properly. Took him to the first proper trail, as opposed to just the garden, and he was much better on it. Need to adjust the brake so it is closer to his grasp, and need to teach him how it works, but early days yet as he is only 27 months old and the spring and summer are on their way...

South Bound

Nice one, Isla bikes all the way for my kids. Just bought a Rothan for my 3rd after watching my twins struggle with stabs - bought them CNOCs (they were 4 and struggling) and removed pedals and they learned within a day. The Rothan goes lower than anything else and used versions sell for £70 on the Bay against an initial outlay of £100.

Cafe near the showroom is expensive though!

salsajake

South Bound wrote:

Cafe near the showroom is expensive though!

Not especially expensive, and the cakes and hot chocs was a nice way to celebrate his first bike (and his second birthday of course!)

South Bound

£5.60 for a sandwich! Expensive to me!

salsajake

your error, you should have bought cake!

simon_e

A chap who brings his kids to the youth cycling on a Saturday bought our Rothan. He already had the Tesco one and said it was rubbish, if he'd known he would have spent the extra.

This way he got a Rothan for barely more and was chuffed to bits. Could probably sell it for the same in 2 years time while the Tesco will only be fit for a car boot sale. You get what you pay for IMHO.

Islabikes have an open day on Saturday 27th.
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/i ... hire-25304