Hi Michael, I have a 3 year old that rides a Woom 2 (and yes, the balance bike is definitely a great way to learn. He was on his own after a few days of trying. I used the advice from this video to help him learn: few https://www.islabikes.co.uk/blogs/riding-advice/teach-your-child-to-ride).
I would say that for most kids and their "first bikes", an important factor in mastering how to ride is good bike design. Weight is maybe the biggest factor (for a 30 lb kid, the Woom which is pretty much the lightest bike on the market at 11 lb, is 30% of their weight!) but also the bikes' geometry and Q factor. I have seen other kids on big box store bikes that weigh almost the same as they do, trying to learn and struggling, and it doesn't look like much fun. Using handlebars designed for adult-sized bikes may throw the little bike's handling off significantly (and the promenades are almost a pound all by themselves). I would also put forward that the promenade is a swept back bar, and most kid's bikes are designed around flat bars. He'd likely be cramped and have a hard time turning the bars (unless you put a long stem on the bike - more weight - but even then, I think the bars would take up a lot of space). I mention all of this, because I've thought about the same thing as you for my kid. I want him on a bike that has the same aesthetic that I love in bikes... but yeah, between a bike that weighs 11 lbs rather than a bike that looks pretty cool but weighs closer to 18 lbs (Veloretti kids bikes, for example) - I'll take the trade off that my kid enjoys riding and takes pride in mastering something. He's 3 years and a few months and is already riding very independently (we did 10 km to a local watering hole last week) - that's what's been the most important thing for me. I'd also say that comfort (swept back vs. flat bars) is less of an issue for a young rider doing a few km at most. I'd say when you get to 5-8 year old bike sizes, you might be able to Riv it out a bit more. best of luck either way and cheers, John On Monday, August 21, 2023 at 4:40:48 AM UTC+2 Matthew Williams wrote: > These have been on CraigsList for a while: > > [image: 00J0J_eiwKm7570xu_0t20t2_600x450.jpg] > > Nitto Choco Handlebar B357AAF - bicycle parts - by owner - bike sale > <https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/bop/d/south-pasadena-nitto-choco-handlebar/7656648259.html> > losangeles.craigslist.org > <https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/bop/d/south-pasadena-nitto-choco-handlebar/7656648259.html> > > <https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/bop/d/south-pasadena-nitto-choco-handlebar/7656648259.html> > > > > On Aug 20, 2023, at 3:50 PM, Michael Baquerizo <mbaqu...@gmail.com> wrote: > > or maybe just to talk about it? > > my son is due to upgrade from a balance bike to a pedal bike and because > i'm me I want to switch things up a bit on whatever frame I end up buying > him. I was intrigued that the bosco is just a bigger promenade bar so was > wondering if anyone has experience with it and if it might be too much for > a 4 year old. > > and if its cheap enough (they're already one of the cheaper nitto > offerings) i'd love to take a pair of someones hands. > > thoughts? > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e5efc93b-e68d-4ac5-8a01-97155248ce08n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e5efc93b-e68d-4ac5-8a01-97155248ce08n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7b6768ca-e962-4f90-8f98-a8df7bbac665n%40googlegroups.com.
