Customer Reviews

Skuut Wooden Balance Bike

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I bought this bike 6 months ago for my girlfriend's son. He was just over two at the time (27 months). He didn't like trikes or toy-training-wheel bikes. His legs were too short for the pedals on his trike or bike in reality anyhow.

I bought this based on reviews on a bike forum site. A lot of people take 10-12" wheeled metal pedal bikes, remove the cranks, and cover the bike with padding to recreate this idea. The bike is simply two wheels, a saddle, frame, fork, and bars. The idea of modifying a pedal bike is good, this thing is great.

The problem with stripping down a metal pedal bike is the weight and the potential danger in a crash. The Skuut bike is feather-light and it won't cause bruises and bumps after a fall like a metal bike. There are no spokes to bruise or break little hands or feet. The bars wont turn sharply (they will only sweep about 40-50 degrees), so a wipeout is pretty difficult. Even the ends of the bars are brilliantly designed to prevent harm to tender little bodies.

Another plus is how adjustable it is. When lowered all the way down, it is still a little big for a young two year old. If you flip the frame (just move the fork and saddle to the other side of the frame) it changes the "head tube" angle and saddle height so that it is low-slung enough for even the shortest legs. There is a ton of adjustability, so I imagine it could fit a tall 20-month old up to a 4-5 year old.

The build quality is just OK. It is a Chinese item, which is why it doesn't cost as much as the German Like-A-Bikes made with non-slave wage labor. It isn't as strong as the $250 Like-A-Bike, but it costs 1/3 as much. It does what it was designed to do well, and is a good value for the $$$. The weak spot is the pin that connects the fork to the frame. The pin is supported by 1/2" plywood. I think a rough, heavy older kid could easily break it, but a kid like that is ready for a real bike anyhow. Just keep the older siblings off of it. The wheels wobble a bit, but they are fine for what they are designed for, you can't really expect a wooden wheel to be perfectly true anyhow. The fat pneumatic tires are great for smoothing out the road once the little guy or gal gets the hang of it and gains speed, or likes to crawl over obstacles. The saddle is wood covered by thin padding and fabric, but the little guy never complained of a sore bottom, and he spends hours on it (I imagine diapers help to smooth the bumps too, how cool is it that there is a bike where kids can balance on two wheels before they can remember to use the toilet regularly).

I can only speak to the learning curve of one kid, but it was incredible to watch him learn to ride it. Again, he was 27 months, a bigger kid would probably pick it up a little quicker. He was instantly drawn to it. I had him help me put it together and he was all smiles. I cycle a lot and he goes along at times, so he knew very well what it was for.

First thing, I took him out to the sidewalk, and he walked along with his feet. He took it as his own pace to get a feel for it. I had to show him a few times how to steer, at first he would come to a bend in the sidewalk and wait for me to aim him in a different direction, or he would just lift the front wheel to maneuver it (it is very very light so it's easy for him to move it around). Steering took him about an hour to figure out, a couple days to get good at it. It doesn't steer very sharply, which helps him learn to lean and turn, plus helps prevent falls. He loved it from day one.

Within a week of daily play on it, he began to add a bit more speed and the balance idea began to grow in his mind. His steering was expert and he was good at stopping. He also liked to try to crawl over low curbs and stones. I'm more of a roadie, but I think he's going to be a mountain biker. I could just see in his eyes that he was imagining himself on rough technical singletrack.

By the end of two weeks, he had mastered balance. Yes. I said mastered balance at 27 months. He could build speed by skuuting and lift his legs to coast til he slowed enough that he needed to kick his legs to get back to speed. His mom isn't terribly athletic and she needed a scooter or her bike to keep up with us (she hates to run/jog). He Skuuts at about 5 MPH (so get a helmet and pads). He learned to stop himself with his feet as he learned balance, so he was pretty good at stopping himself, even at full speed. He instinctually keeps his speed reasonable on hills, but he loves those hills too. Just make sure you are nearby once this confidence kicks in, kids have no fear. He's two so he's easily distracted by flowers, birds and butterflies, so he stops quite a bit; but when he's going he's really going strong. There is no question that when he is big enough for a pedal bike that he won't need training wheels at all. He easily can keep up with the 4 year old neighbor girl on her pedal-bike with training wheels.

When we take it to the park everyone stares in amazement and wants to know where we bought it.

There is good video on the manufacturer web site if you want to see it in action.

I highly recommend it. I wrote this review because I returned to this page to buy another one for my nephew for Christmas. You won't regret buying this thing.

We bought this bike for our 2 year old last year. It was a little too big for him at first, but by the end of the summer, he loved it and could maneuver it pretty well. He loved having a 2-wheel bike like his big brother.

After 6 months, however, the hardware that holds the wheels on the bike came loose and we lost a piece of the hardware. The hardware holding each wheel on the bike includes several small pieces -- screws that you tighten with a monkey wrench, spacers, tiny brass rings and one long bolt. We tried contacting Skuut by email and by phone, we tried our local bike shop, the hardware store (to see if we could match the parts) and a local REI (who carries the bike) to see if they would help us get the needed part or fix the bike for us, but to no avail. No one wanted to take responsibility for a bike we assembled ourselves (Skuut sends it to you unassembled) or, if they did want to help us, they were unable to obtain parts or even a response from Skuut, like us.

So, we have a very cute and cool bike that my eager 3-year old can no longer ride because no one services this bike. REI offered to give us a brand new Skuut if we had purchased the bike there, but sadly, we bought the bike online and were out of luck. So, if you're buying this bike, either buy it from a local store that promises to service the bike for you, or else tighten up the hardware every chance you get. This bike does not hold together like a regular bike. I'm very disappointed with Skuut and their non-response to our requests for parts.

We purchased the Skuut after reading reviews and closely examining the competition (primarily the Likeabike). First, the good: bike assembles easily, looks cute, and rides fast and true. The bad: it started falling apart within weeks, to the point of becoming completely unsafe. Our child is on the small side, just turned three, is 36 inches tall and weighs under 30 pounds. I can't imagine how a heavier child could ride one of these. As much as our child loved it, it just wasn't safe. We were able to send it back even after the 30 day period (way to go, Amazon!) and replaced the Skuut with the Kettler Sprint. Even though it doesn't look as cool, the Kettler is so much sturdier. The resale value will be higher too, since Kettler is such a well known quality kid's bike builder.

The Skuut wood quality used to be questionable, but now they are all made of birchwood, which is the same wood that is used for the Like-a-Bike.

I have both a Like-a-Bike and a Skuut, and the new Skuut is of comparable quality for 1/4 the price. My kids ride either one interchangeably.

One advantage to the Skuut is the tire valves. The Like-a-Bike has German valves on it that will only accept ball-type air pump nozzles, not the longer ones that are found on typical household bike pumps and gas station air pumps. I have to take my Like-a-Bike to a local bike shop when I need to put a little air in the tires. I can just pump up the tires at home on the Skuut.

We were considering the Air Happy trike for my 2 1/2 year old daughter. After visiting a friend with the Skuut, we quickly reconsidered. Not only was the Skuut popular with our daughter, a 3 & 5 year old could hardly wait there turn to use it. What I liked about it was how the toy adapted to the skill of each child. Our 2 year old did not get frustrated by pedals and was able to manuever the bike from an obstacle without getting off of it and dragging it away from a corner as she did with conventional bikes. The 3 year old enjoyed gliding around in circles and the 5 year old was confident riding down slight hills (although it would have been easier for him if the seat was adjusted to his height). Although adjusting the seat height is easy enough, it requires a tool and would not be ideal in switching back and forth between two kids of a big height difference. Overall we are really pleased with this toy. It is easy to clean so our daughter rides it around the house as easily as outdoors--a real sanity saver due to the 50 plus inches of rain we get each year. I would definitley recommend to a friend.

Ordered this for my 3-yr old son for Christmas, and waited to assemble it until Christmas Eve.

The wood laminate was of such poor quality, I feared for my son's safety while playing on it. My neighbor and I spent two hours re-gluing and clamping the front fork so my kid would at least be able to sit on it Christmas morning.

We called customer support Christmas Eve, and received a call-back from a U.S. based, English speaking person ( ;-)) on Christmas Day - quite remarkable. Anyway, no questions asked, they sent a new bike out without even getting a proof of purchase, so excellent customer support.

New bike arrived, and it wasn't much better than the first, but at least he could ride it. He loves it too, and now in March, he's ready to move up to a real bike WITHOUT training wheels. Great concept, really.

So yesterday, as expected, while riding the old (repaired) Skuut down a slight grade (Woohoo, look I'm doing it!) Wham. Faceplant on the concrete when the front fork splintered into three pieces. Since he was wearing helmet and pads, nothing but a sad kid, but hey! We've got a spare in the garage!

What I've noticed with this toy, as well as his Schwinn tricycle (oh, don't get me started on that one, we've replaced literally every piece of that bike at least once) is that the companies selling this junk know it's junk and would much rather repair or replace at the drop of a hat than actually invest that money loss in developing and producing a decent product.

Think about your kids safety, be reasonable in how you let your kid use this toy, and have them wear at least a helmet.

We purcheased this bike for my son about a month ago. He will be three in December, and it literally took him a week to "bomb" hills on it. He loves it, and rides it every day. He rode the $300.00 German model in a store, so I started searching for one on Amazon...and found one the same quality, for $200 less. This is a great find!!!

The idea of a glider bike for kids learning balance is brilliant. I bought this Scuut bike. It is made out of the cheapest materials. The tires and tubes were defective. There was NO response from the Scuut customer service number which I called many times. You buy this product and you are on your own. Next I bought a Strider. There is no comparison. For effectively the same price you get a bike that is metal and made to last and has all the range of movement of a larger bike (with infinite seat and handlebar adjustments). The Skuut is just bad design and over priced for what you get (limited adjustments, cheap materials, bad design) with no support to boot.

The Skuut is an inexpensive, decent, made in China, knockoff of a truly exceptional product -- the Likeabike. Unfortunately, the quality and workmanship on the Skuut is about twenty-five percent what you'd get with the Likeabike (and the Skuut costs about twenty-five percent, too, so I guess it's fair). The Skuut goes right in providing a great little balance bike at a good price. It's cool, and your kid will probably love it. It goes wrong on workmanship, quality of materials, and overall finish. Where the Likeabike -- the original -- has a beautiful wood finish, the Skuut has a poorly finished, roughly sawn, cheaply made wood finish. Where the Likeabike wood is perfect (at least until your child crashes), the Skuut comes factory-assembled with dings, scratches, and other blemishes. It almost seems like they finished the wood first, then cut it for the Skuut. Little finish details on the Skuut are also lacking. The felt around the forks on our Skuut came "loose" from the factory, and the wood craftsmanship was a little shoddy (gaps, etc.). The Skuut isn't terrible, and I should have expected that it would be something less than its four-times-as-expensive cousin. However, I'm returning the Skuut for the real deal. Four times as much, in this case, is worth it.

We bought Skuut bikes for our two daughters, ages two and four, about two months ago and they are a huge hit. Both girls mastered balancing, coasting, turning and propelling themselves on the Skuuts in a short period. They have learned balance far better than they did on their "big girl" bikes with training wheels. As a bonus, the wipe-outs on the Skuut bikes are far less frequent and much less consequencial (when they feel themselves tipping over, they just put a foot down and they stop). The result is that girls are developing their skills faster and having more fun. This is a great, safe way to teach your child to ride and a fun toy as well.