Customer Reviews

Wishbone Bike

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this bike for my 15 month old after a test drive in a local toy store. The first time he sat on the bike, he zipped past us out the door and down the hallway in the mall. He LOVED IT SO MUCH. His height is average and his motor skills development are slightly above average. While there was a learning curve, he's figured out how to steer and back up to get around tight corners. The only trouble he's had with the bike was hitting his heels on the back bar that supports the wheels in the three wheel configuration. The bar catches the back of his shoes and pulls them off of his feet or makes the bike unstable. We solved the problem by having him wear Skidders (http://www.amazon.com/Pre-Walk-Skidders-Skull-Pattern-Shoes/dp/B002ECW7TO/ref=pd_sbs_shoe_7a) while riding. Since the walking surface joins smoothly to the sock top, it doesn't catch on the bar. Shortly after that, he developed enough skill to adjust his stride so that his feet stopped hitting the bar. We haven't had problems with the hardware other than his enthusiasm for tearing off the black foam seat cover. If you have the option, I'd recommend buying the additional seat cover with the bike to protect the padding from enthusiastic little fingers. The seat cover isn't available in the US as a separate purchase for another couple of months. I had to contact the manufacturer in New Zeland to order one. Although international shipping is a pain in the butt, they were wonderfully friendly and helpful.

We bought this bike (actually the pretty Koru version) for our son for Christmas. At 3.5 he still isn't very coordinated and I thought that the trike to balance bike option would help. He is too physically big (42 inches high, 43 pounds) to ride the trike so we won't be using that option. (Okay, though, we have another younger child who will use it eventually.) I was concerned however because a weight limit is printed on the bike and our son is two pounds shy of it. Well, mostly annoyed, because I did look at the website pretty closely. I contacted the manufacturer and got the following response, which I've included here because the weight limit is hard to find:

Our bike has been tested and approved to a weight limit of 30 kg (66lbs) . We have 20 kg (44lbs) printed on the bike because the European toy safety standard allows for two weight benchmarks, 20kg and 50kg. We sell a large number of our wishbone bikes in Europe. What this means is that you can be confident that the bike is recommended for children weighing up to 66lbs at least."

At his weight and height, we are using the larger setting for the balance bike with seat adjusted at a lower point. Off to the park.

I initially learned about this product on the mothering.com forums and put the purchase off for awhile. Recently I happened to go to a boutique store and my daughter, 2.5, jumped right on the tricycle and started moving it right away. Anything my daughter loves, I love, so I ordered it right away and I am confident it will last much longer than any other balance bike.

My 17 month old loves the bike, would like to use it more often but has some flaws; for starters no matter what I do the seat keeps dropping back. The turning radius of the bike is wide -- The rest is up to your child's ability and your encouragement. Happy riding.

Also this bike can be purchased for a bit less on redenvelope.com... Currently there is a promotian going on (additional 15% off of the lowest price) so with the promotion the bike is only $150 and shipping is no more than $10

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I got this for my son about one year ago when he was 18 months old. He was able to sit on it and roll around the house right away. Now that he is 2 ½ Y/O he uses it outside and loves wheeling around the yard. I do agree with some other reviewers that their feet do sometimes hit the rear bar when in the three wheel configuration but my son has learned to avoid hitting the bar by shortening his stride. He's gotten really good at steering and by next summer I think he'll be ready for the two wheel experiment. My boy is tall so the multiple configurations are helpful. I would recommend keeping it out of the rain if you want to be sure it lasts several years; since it is constructed of wood I imagine leaving it outside exposed to the elements would not be good for it. I'd recommend this highly.

I bought this bike for my 12-months old boy after he managed to ride it out of the store himself, on his first try!!! With his age ofcourse only a few minutes per ride, but he is learning quickly. What a perfect bike, very stable, easy to steer. My boy is now 13 months old and he now races this bike through our livingroom/kitchen as well as outdoors, never falls and has lots of fun!

We received this as a gift for my 20 month old son for Christmas and it is by far his favorite thing ever. He doesn't walk anywhere anymore. We have had a series of trikes for him already and this is by far the best; quite stable, easy to steer, and balanced. One of the first things he did was take it down a large ramp with a lip at the bottom of it....thought he'd topple over but he didn't. I read a few reviews about it being unbalanced, but I think some of that depends on your kid's developement (ours toppled over a lot on his other trikes and is now good at correcting himself if he begins to go too far in one direction, so we haven't noticed a problem). He did get the back wheel stuck on things for the first day or so because it is a longer trike than his others but he problem solved his way around it and now allows for that wheel space (I personally think it's good for them to work some of those things out, especially spacial recognition). I haven't noticed him kicking the back bar either but perhaps he does and it just doesn't bother him? Either way, it has brought a lot of joy into our household and we would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quality, well-designed trike their kid can grow with. I'll add the video of him going down a hill on it if I have time...

Our 11 month old son LOVES his Wishbone bike. He isn't walking yet, but already has this bike moving! It was easy to put together and we anticipate stress free adaptations to the other configurations (3-wheeler > 2-wheeler).
No negative feedback.

We LOVE this bike! Our 18 month old son is so good at doing the tricycle version. He loves riding in the street with his big sister. This bike is actually really cool looking. Our son figured out to push with his feet and pick up his feet in 8 seconds on this bike. Amazing! Yes, they hit their feet on the bar in trike mode but it doesn't bother him and he will adapt. It's fine. This bike is FAST! so be warned it is a little hairy watching your son go that fast so young. I recommend this bike ten times over! I really do. I got the bike on sale and it is more than worth the money I spent. If I were to pay full price for this bike I would still be overjoyed. He is over the moon and this bike has made me a believer in the balance bike hype. Love it!

The Wishbone trike / bike is beautifully designed, of high quality and extremely safe for a child to use. I am delighted and my granddaughter loves it.