REI Co-op Cycles REV 12 Kids' Balance Bike vs Strider 14x Sport Balance Bike

It has held up beautifully and she is never set back by a stick in the trail or a bump where pavement meets up.

5 he outgrew the smaller one so I figured I’d upgrade to this one….mistake. I will list the pros and cons below Pros: •Easy assembly- If you are initially using as a balance bike, assembly is like 3 steps. As a parent who loathes putting together kids items with 5K pieces, that was great! Adding the pedals is also very simple with clear instructions •Made well (construction/sturdiness)- handle bars, frame are constructed nicely and very sturdy

A little early to give it 5 stars. Our 3 1/2 year old seems to enjoy it but has only had the opportunity to use it a few times.

We have lots of room for adjustments in height but to me it seems like the handlebar is too far to reach. I know it may take getting used to longer and I don't want to push her too hard but this wasn't cheap so I am quite bummed. So I am more or less giving my kid 4 instead of 5 stars rather than the bike but it's just not a fit for every single kid. I will update if it changes

Make sure you include helmet and gloves in her “kit”. Within one week, the improvements in ability are exponential. The design could use more handlebar height adjustment, but she’ll be onto a larger pedal bike before it makes a difference to us. Daughter loves to explore and accomplish goals going up and down curbs and search for puddles

However, it didn’t work well (maybe we couldn’t get the seat low enough, maybe the seat is not as far back as it is on the actual balance bike). We were hesitant to buy 2 new balance bikes because we thought they were for younger kids and that we missed the opportunity/time window for our kids. We were looking into getting a pole/stick to put it on the back of a bike but it didn’t seem like the bikes we had were designed for that. Then we found then that Strider has a larger size of bikes and purchased two of these balance bikes

I was told the models are exactly the same other than color. Don't know if that's true because I didn't compare them once received, but the bike looks good, and appears sturdy and safe. I chose this bike over other brands because REI products have proven trustworthy over the years, and I believe that air filled tires are more versatile than the foam filled found on many other brands. Had it delivered to store because my understanding was that REI assembled bikes when delivered to the store

This will NOT transfer the balance bike to a real bike. First, because there is no hand break, it has to use “rotate back break”. This is extremely confusing and my kid will just suddenly being stopped because he accidentally hit the pad in reverse direction. Second, because it kind of still want to keep the balance bike mode, the pads are really small, and the kid’s foot will slip from pad from time to time

We have an extra large 2 year old. While researching balance bikes we decided that she needed something more sturdy than the strider bike and this co-op bike is worth the money. We have had it for a little over a month now and while our toddler is not fully cruising yet she is gaining speed every day and most importantly loves her bike.

I bought the pedal conversion kit and love that we will get many years’ use. It’s built very well and should also last as a hand-me-down. If your kid doesn’t care for the tricycle or fears training wheels, a “strider“ balance bike is exactly what you need (I obviously can’t speak to other brands as I’ve never owned them). I guarantee you won’t regret this purchase!