Finding an acceptable balance bike

Christina — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:27:29 +0000

Balance bikes are very popular in Europe and I’ve read that they’re starting to catch on in North America now as well. They’re great because kids learn to balance on the bike without having to worry about learning to pedal at the same time, letting them bike at an earlier age (2 years old is the start age typically given by the balance bike manufacturers).

Last summer, the German consumer testing magazine Stiftung Warentest tested kids’ balance bikes (Kinderlaufräder). I was really surprised by their findings: that 11 out of 15 were unacceptable due to harmful chemicals found in the handles, tires and seat, and 4 of those were found to have illegal chemicals (those four, marked by an asterisk below, are now off the market and if you bought one, you should take it back to the store immediately). They also suggested that any bike purchased should have an adjustable seat that can be changed without tools. For small children, a lightweight bike with a low frame that’s easy to mount was suggested. Here’s their ratings of the tested bikes:

Good:

Satisfactory:

Kokua Likeabike Jumper

Acceptable:

California Products CP-Twister

Unacceptable:

I went to each of the manufacturer websites to add the links above. I was expecting, now that it’s 6 months out from the test, to find “New and improved” versions of the above products, or completely new replacements, for the models judged unacceptable. I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised that instead, I found many of the manufacturers had notes up that although they had received an unacceptable rating, there was no proof that, for example, phthalates are bad or chemical X is harmful. I guess we should at least be thankful that they acknowledged the rating.

Still, this is a little frightening. If even many of the wooden balance bikes, which I would have thought of as safer, have harmful chemicals in their plastic and rubber parts, what the heck are we as parents to do?

Since Oliver is approaching 2 years, and I do want to get him a balance bike, I did some checking. In addition to the Kettler and Kokua bikes which rated well, I added to consideration two untested bikes, the Skuut wooden balance bike and the Wishbone bike ultimate pre-bike, two eco-friendly companies.

The CEO of Skuut left us a comment after I posted this review, stating:

The Skuut has been designed with all safety precautions in mind. It has passed EVERY available test and has received every certificate necessary. There are NO harmful chemicals (including phthalates, lead, etc) in any of the parts. We are equally concerned about the environment, and childrens´health, so we are committed to absolute safety. Furthermore, to help protect the environment, we plant a tree for every Skuut sold, to have a net positive impact on the environment. Plus, The Skuut is substantially more affordable than any of our competitors.

I love the tree planting, and the US price is hard to beat, at $99 ordered direct off their website, however, I’m in Europe, and the only European distibutor listed is in Denmark and I can’t read Danish (although I can see that it’s marked down DKK100 to DKK599,00 right now). I did a Google.de search and was unable to find any German retailers as of February 19, 2009.

So I checked out the Wishbone. According to the Wishbone website:

Every Wishbone Bike has 60% post-consumer recycled plastic wheels, is made from sustainably managed woods and is bonded and finished with eco-friendly products. The Bike box and all printed material inside is recycled and printed with non-toxic inks.

This, and the fact that it starts as a trike, then can be transformed to a small balance bike, then later to a taller bike, making it usable for kids aged 1–5, has made up my mind. As soon as spring arrives, I’ll be ordering a Wishbone pre-bike for Oliver. It goes for €189 in Germany from Babydeluxe.de or $249.99 from the SkipHop website in the US. Wishbone is a New Zealand company selling worldwide. International distributors are listed on the Wishbone website.

Mamas Worldwide » Bikes

Finding an acceptable balance bike

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