Puky bikes for toddlers and pre-schoolers

For his first Christmas, Freddie received a Puky tricycle (model?). We wanted something that we could use on a daily basis, to and from the shops, to the park and for our walks through the woods, so it had to be a bike that was robust and with a handle. After much research the Puky Tricyle caught my eye and proved a fantastic buy. The Puky Tricycle is fitted with straps so he was enjoying the ride at a very young age! Through the year he grew with the bike and it handled the rough terrain of the woods brilliantly...

For his second Christmas (so when he was about 20 months old) we bought him a Puky Balance bike, (LR1 Br Learner Bike)  I remember his excitement on Christmas day as he mastered it over the park, from then on there was no stopping him and his little friend Finlay (who also had a Puky balance bike). This bike is very well made and looks great too, the one we bought has a brake and stand and is extremely robust.

Now we are Puky lovers!! However they are not cheap, check out eBay as there are always some listed and not many people have heard of them.

we removed the stabilisers

Freddie was now ready for a pedal bike but as we had fallen in love with the Puky brand we were a little loathed to go for any other make. The bike we wanted is just under £150 (Z2 Model)– which is just a bit too much for our wallets to take, however uncharacteristically I was patient and kept an eye out on the internet for a second-hand one. Luckily within a few weeks I found one on a cycling website for £50 – and it looks brand spanking new! It is very similar to the Puky Balance Bike and so the transition was almost seamless. Again it is well made, has two brakes, one handle brake and one on the pedals when you pedal backwards, and comes in a variety of colours.

Freddie is now hooked on cycling and an outing is a must every day! We have a BMX area in our park that he has started eyeing up, he’s only 3!
Now there is no stopping him...

If you want more details on the Puky bikes visit their website here: http://www.pukybikes.co.uk

If you need any help choosing feel free to get in touch.

Balance Bikes for Toddlers – a new invention? Most definitely not!

When my 3 year old cycles around the park on his pedal bike we get stopped by a lot of people commenting how young he is to be riding a two wheeler, and how fantastic his balance is. Well it is all thanks to the ‘balance bike’...

We used to get stopped when he was on his balance bike too, people would watch him glide around the park and fly down hills and be amazed at his skill and balance, but most had never seen one before. I was asked if they were a new invention and so I decided to do a little research and actually they originate from the 18oo’s: the first balance bike was the Dandy Horse which was a pre-pedal bike.

If you are weighing up a balance bike vs pedal bike with stabilisers my vote defiantly falls in favour of the balance bike. It allows more freedom for off-roading, we walk in the woods a lot and there is no way Freddie would have been able to ride over the rough terrain we encounter with stabilisers. The obvious advantage is that it has taught him to balance and - as soon as he had mastered that he got straight on a pedal bike.

In our experience if you get a balance bike make sure that your toddlers feet are flat on the floor when he sits on the seat and if you can muster up the cash get one with a break, it means the transition to pedal bike is a little easier as he will have learnt how to break with his hands as well as his feet.

We used a Puky balance bike and have moved on to the Puky pedal bike

You can read our review of Puky bikes here with videos (coming soon)