Hi Nick and list, I don't have personal experience with the Woom brand but I can direct you to this site, which has a great list of "better" kids' bikes in different sizes and types, along with (crucially) the weight of each: https://thebikedads.com/
The site's authors have a mountain-biking background, so there's some emphasis on bikes that can handle trails, but they have a pretty comprehensive listing of kids bikes in different categories. My own experience having put three kids on bikes is that, if you have more than one kid, just invest up front in good bikes and hand them down. You will come out even or ahead, money-wise, and they'll enjoy riding more. The biggest downside to this approach is that the younger kids don't get to enjoy that new bike feeling, but the oldest sibling does. That can be a difficult situation to deal with. You can compensate a bit by letting them customize their bikes as they inherit them with bells, grips, bags, stickers, etc. My kids love that stuff. As to transitioning from a balance bike to a pedal bike, my advice is to introduce the pedal bike as soon as they can physically fit on it (with the saddle at the same height from the ground as on their balance bike), but let the child decide what they want to ride. My youngest daughter took at least six months before she wanted to try to ride "the big bike" over "the little bike" (her balance bike). The larger wheelbase, higher handlebar, and extra weight made it unfamiliar and a little bit cumbersome at first. We always encouraged her to try the big bike, but the choice was hers as to what she wanted to ride. The most important thing is to make sure they have fun! On Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 3:55:09 PM UTC-5 fiddl...@gmail.com wrote: > Since RBW regrettably doesn't make kids hillibikes, I'm going to have to > go a bit outside of my comfort zone to pick out a first pedal bike for my > son. He's ~3.5yo, and more than ready to move up from his 12" balance bike. > > Any tips from other parents who have recently gone through the switch from > balance to pedals? I'm leaning toward something like a Woom 3 (16"), since > they seem to be very well regarded, and I'm afraid he would outgrow a 14" > bike too soon at this point to justify the expense. (am I wrong?) Probably > also worth noting that a lot of his riding is currently on trails, so I'm > definitely looking for something that will work well off-pavement, too. > Anyhow, I'll take any advice the group is willing to throw at me - thanks > in advance for your help! > > Nick > -- 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/b7f599af-aa13-4594-8759-aac876bbf7ebn%40googlegroups.com.
