He also pointed out that such a bike will also sell on Craigslist for a pretty good percentage of what was paid for it, provided it was taken care of, making it a more digestible investment. We spent more than 15 hours researching, and more than 20 huffy mountain bike hours assembling, dissecting, and testing 13 balance bikes. A few years ago, when my son was 2 and way too excited to ride his too-big pedal bike, I fashioned it into a balance bike by unscrewing the pedals and duct-taping the seat to the top tube.
Additionally, the bike is available (ST/step-thru and huffy mountain bike XR/step-over) frame styles. The Strider 12 Sport comes without a rear linear-pull hand brake—the ideal kind for a balance bike. Most kids can indeed stop a balance bike even on moderate hills with nothing more than their feet or simply step off the back of the bike, but a good squeeze of a hand brake can stop them faster. Strider does sell a $20 simple add-on foot-operated brake, which can also help teach coaster braking skills. This is an important safety feature for hilly terrain, but we’d love to see a hand brake option.
These Fred Flintstone-powered criteriums were, not surprisingly, the brainchild of Strider founder and avid motocrosser Ryan McFarland. The zeitgeist of these races is nicely captured in this story and video by The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay, “The End of Training Wheels,” who describes a cross between Sesame Street and Mad Max. For this great Outside story, “Inside the Cut-Throat World of Toddler Bike Racing,” writer Ian Dille’s son actually competed in the race Gay was covering. Slightly bigger with easy-to-install pedals, the Strider 14x Sport can also be used as your kid’s first pedal bike, making this an all-in-one solid investment. Cannondale’s $225 Trail Balance bike (it comes in boys’ and girls’ versions, which are identical apart from the colors) is unique, with its single-sided lefty-style fork, made famous on Cannondale’s big mountain bikes. Return your Woom 1 (shipping prepaid) to the company within two years of purchase, and Woom will put 40% of the returned bike’s original purchase price toward the next bike, one size up.
The best feature of these Huffy Cranbrook cruiser bikes is the Perfect Fit frame. This frame design allows you to plant both feet on the ground for additional control for better leg extension. If you are looking for aesthetically pleasing cruiser bikes, then you can get one from Huffy. This bike brand has been around for a long time and is known for its traditional bike style and design for quality cruiser bicycles. The handlebar bar height itself is not adjustable via the stem—only by rotating the bar. While its air tires, alloy wheels, and standard (and very strong) ball-bearing headset make it slightly heavier than the Strider 12 Sport at 9 pounds, the REV 12 is still acceptably light.
Additional accessories are available at reasonable prices to enhance this bike’s utility. Extending your leg fully helps eliminate some of the fatigue and discomfort that come with regular cycling. Cruiser bikes are well-known for their comfort to make commuting and leisure rides more enjoyable. The design also features high cruiser handlebars to better posture when riding.