Baxter and friends

What's in this article? A general run down of like a bike and various versions for the toddler 'striding bike' market, my take on what you should buy, a geometry overlay of the good ones, some videos of bikes in actions and some comments.

A friend asked me for advice on buying a like-a-bike today and I thought I should write it up properly, giving a range of price and quality options and places to buy.

Please note that I have not actually road-tested all these with my boy - this is an armchair review... If you have an experience with one of these products contrary to my opinion, throw it in the comments down below.

Introduction - why buy a 'mini velocipede' for your toddler?

The first thing to note is that like-a-bike were first off the block and the name like-a-bike now sums up a category of childrens bikes - essentially a bike without pedals for toddlers. Of course the history is obvious - this is exactly what the first 'velocipedes' were, walking frames without pedals. And, it should be noted, without pneumatic tyres. On old gravel roads you really would need to be a hard-arse to ride one of these more than a mile or two.

Fast forward a hundred years and some clever person figured out that it would be a good way to gets kids to learn to ride: Teach them the balance first and the rest will follow. of course this appeals to parents who are active bike-riders as it gets them on two wheels impossibly early and makes the parents feel great :-) Watch this video (this isn't my son by the way) and you get the picture:

Here's another one of the same kid daring himself down a steeper hill...

So, onto the models... I start with the original, deviate through the clever pretenders to the throne and then move to the cheap end of the market.

The original like a bike

In the UK these are marketted on this site: www.likeabike.co.uk. This is s great place to start and look through all the models. There is quite an array and just look at those prices - ouch!

The models worth buying are: Spoky - this is the classic with spoked wheels. There is a reason that spoked wheels are fitted to all bikes in the world - they are light, stronger than solid wood and can be fixed. Sure the wood looks better, but really, save yourself a bit of money and get a better product... See the Spoky

Apparently there is a market for bigger kids and smaller adults who want a strider who are buying the Midi and Maxi models. There must be a lot of richer than me people out there... Frankly I think that's a waste of bike - buy a 20/24in bike and whip the crankset off - the rider will get used to the bikes weight and feel so the transition to pedals won't be so weird.

The models NOT to my taste are:

• Racer - narrow tyres limit use
• Badger - is the Forest with a two-tone saddle, gosh.
• Wing - a classic with footrests, just more to knock yourself on?

Plus see in the comments for the slight differences in all these models. Some are birch, some are beech (yawn). I suspect that the manufacturer has gone a bit crazy and that you can pretty much ignore everything but the Classic and Forest.

As for accessories there are many of them, but forget them all. Kickstand? Kids bike are meant to dumped in a heap on the ground. Mini-pump? Go to the garage, borrow the parents. Trailers, 'hoppers' and the like? Carrying is what parents are for, let the kids enjoy the bloody thing.

There is one bike left that warrants a closer look: The Jumper. Yes, it's made of steel, so bikes don't need to be wood to be cool... ahhh! And it's a bit cheaper too. And wait, it has a great set of wheels with real tyres (Schwable Big Apples - serious street cred there).
And it has real bike parts that you stand a half-chance of actually fixing. I think it's actually made by Dahon, a great brand in commuting and folding bikes with a good reputation.

Heres a kid on one zipping through JFK (and not getting shot, well done!)

Not convinced? Want the wooden one? Then get the Mountain classic or the Forest. They has tyres with a decent amount of air in them: Your boys 'nads' will thanks you for it. The forest has chunckier tyres again. See the mountain classic at the like a bike site or Hellmill, another supplier with great hi-res pictures (and while you are there check out the Bauhaus Dollhouse - nice!)

Like a bikes are slightly cheaper from this online shop. Or you can try Chain Reaction, a reputable dealer, with lots of kids bikes on their books.

Hold on, so other people make these? Yep - and that brings us too...

Isla bikes

Ahhh, you haven't heard of this brand have you? No? Well if you have a kid and you like bikes this brand will see you right from 2 - 15 years old. It's owned and run by Isla Rowntree - see a picture and feature - who has worked for Raleigh and the Halfords chain so knows a thing or two. And all the bikes are really well thought out: Not too many gears, small reach brakes, versatile, proper 7005 grade alloy. Nice kit. But they are not pink, or have any Disney tie-in so they might be a hard sell for your fashion/cred obsessed kid, but at least start the, out right with a 'Rothan'.

Aside from the Lord of the Rings name this has got a lot going for it - like the jumper is a light alloy bike built with solid tubing and should last forever - there are two main differences between the Kuoka/Jumper and the Rothan. The main difference is £35 - the Rothan is £75 not £110. The second is that Isla will take bikes back as trade in on bikes further up the range. Nice one. See the Rothan, or just flick through her site.

Personally I think she should get her bikes into the big bike shops, but it looks like she is keeping it real by being online only. However I've heard it can be hard to actually get someone to answer the phone!

Specialized Hotwalk

If you think that the isla bike is too plain then the metal bike for you is the Specialized Hotwalk. For the bike nuts this is a genuine A! tubing 'Spesh' with some nice curved tube action in bright red and it hits the magic £80 mark. I'm not a great fan of Evans, but they have it here.

A friend has now bought one of these (she couldn't get hold of Isla bikes to order my recomendation) and it is excellent - it's really light, adjustable and solid. I bought the cheap one but at £80 this is a great deal cheaper than the like a bikes and frankly way cooler. And yes, bike nerds take note, it really does have a A1 aluminium frame.

The really cheap no-name alternative

I confess this is the one that I bought after all this research: £40. It doesn't seem to be made by anyone, so it's bound to be Chinese. This bike is often rebadged and sold as something else. Bought mine from the ultra reliable St John St cycles who have been around forever. You can pay upto £90 for this exact bike, and Evans stock it for £50, as do Tesco Direct so ONLY buy it here as you want the cheap alternative to be, well, cheap! Take a look.

To be fair this is not very well put together - the joining around the 'headset' is rubbish. Never the less it does pretty much what the others would do. The wheels are great, it's got a nice look (we got the 'Police' one for a laugh) and it goes along ok. I suspect that in the hands of a really physical kid who took a real shine to it it might die a bit earlier than the others, and if you have more than one kid in the family this one is not 'legacy quality'.

Also let it be noted that the seat is not that great - it's more a nubbin of wood than anything else. In the comments below someone points out the advantage of having a seat that is curved to hold your kids butt in place. And I think this is a good point but not a show-stopper.

However if you are not sure if your kid will like it, or they are not very rough, then this should see you through a couple of summers. and they have the added attraction of being themed. So there is a Police bike, a Pink one and even a Tiger - nice! And cheap.

Want brakes with that? The 'First Bike'

I was in veolrution the other day and they have like a bikes as above (at boutique prices) and also what amounts to a identical plastic version by a German outfit called 'First Bike'. Doesn't sound terribly German, but there you go. Take a look at the First Bike. See how close this is to the like a bike? At £100 it's a proably a better buy as - presumably - it's lighter. It certainly one for the aging modernists in the parent population. And it's got a brake. Is that important? I don't really think so, but if you disagree then this is the one for you!

Want a scooter with that? The Puky Bike-Scooter thingie

I really hope that isn't pronounced at is sounds :-) Also in veolrution they have one of these scooter/bike things and thought they looked quite good. Of course it being a boutiquie London shop they were far too expensive - but take a look: on this slightly strange website (it's a wholesalers site, but has links through to dealers of which there seem to be stacks).

There are models in various sizes and with and without brakes - the brakes are quite clever and very finger-safe being small enclosed drum brakes.

Conclusion

Here's a comparative geometry chart - it's a bit rough as I had to bend some photos to get these, but you get the idea:

The take-away is that the like a bike mountain has a very big 'stand over height'. That's mountain bike talk for 'how likely are you to be able to sire/bear the next generation'. It also has it's seat a couple of inches further back than everyone else. I think this is another vote for the alloy versions myself. Other good thing about the alloy bikes are handle bar adjustability.

• If you want one that makes YOU look good in the playground get a wooden like-a-bike, the Spoky or Mountain
• If you are more Porsche Cayenne than Germanic Eco Wannabe then get the Kukoa/Jumper
• If you are into bike labels and bike cred then the Specialized Hotwalk
• If you want one that can take the abuse and supports a British designer and is a good price then buy the Isla Rothan
• If you are a cheap-skate and don't mind buying from China buy from SJSCyles - the Noname
• If you are an aging modernist with a penchant for plastic and need a brake; the First Bike.
• If you want one with brakes that's a lot cheaper and also doubles as a scooter; the Puky Learner

Best all-round bet for feeling good about the purchase and long-life? The Rothan

PS Bikes not to buy

Dont buy the 'Kiddimoto'. Nice name but look at the wheels - solid plastic. This equals kids face on pavement anytime any moisture at all present on the track. Style over substance, but here's the link just in case you want a look.

Evans also have something called a 'Early rider Classic' which should be 'easy rider classic' if you look at the angles - it's pretty laid back so while this might be good for high-speed action it might tend to 'flip-flop' in the eraly days. My basic objection to this is that too expensive to be a cheapie and at £10 more than the steel bikes here it well... if I wanted a wooden one I would pay more. The think they HAVE got right is that it's the only bike here that comes IN PINK. If you hang around girl toddlers (and my son, 2.5yrs, does) then you will know the power of the Baby Pink Pound.

Hudora Steel Balance Bike. Yes it's cheap from Tesco Direct but look at the saddle height - those are 12inch wheels so the minumum height for the saddle is still a good few inches above the rest here which means your kid is going to have to be three or so before they can use it - what's the point of that?! It's also too far forward for my taste.

Further reading

The Cycling Touring Club has a family riding page which has some more on this kind of thing: http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3595
The Guardian has an article that covers the same ground as this one. It's not as good as this article - but if you still trust big media then it's here for you: http://www.guardian.co.uk/family/story/0,,1748644,00.html

PPS 1950's film about being a responsible bike owner

Just for fun really...

Cheers, comments welcome, add below...