Balance bikes were originally a type of classical bicycle but have recently seen a resurgence as a means to teach children how to ride a bike. They are now more associated with young children’s learning bikes. Balance bikes were seen as an ideal way of getting young children into riding their first bike after major manufacturers like PUKY and LikeABike realised that stabilisers actually stop children from learning how to properly balance on a pedal bike. A balance bike on the other hand relies on a child’s own legs to keep them upright but they can easily bring their legs up to “balance” ride along.
This freedom for the child to control their own learning rate meant these new balance bikes were found to be far better at teaching young children how to ride than the usual stabilisers which is why many people also call them learner bikes or training bikes.
Although initially made for young children (2-3 years) a number of manufacturers began to release larger versions of their usual models to cater for slightly older children (3-6 years) due to their huge success.
When learner bikes were first being made they came in two key flavours: wooden and plastic. The plastic variety were made as a budget offering while the wooden learner bikes were made for solid quality and reliability. Unfortunately the wooden bikes did have their problems and so the German manufacturer PUKY decided to start engineering metal and rubber bikes built to exacting technical standards that would tax even the most stringent German car makers.
PUKY’s legendary learner bikes became famous worldwide and soon others began to copy their idea by offering plastic/metal hybrid and all metal bikes. However, PUKY continue to innovate and still offer some of the highest quality training bikes in the world.
