We got a Puky balance bike for my son with a brake on it. He has had it for over a year but it still looks like new despite quite a bit of rough and tumble wear. He progressed easily onto a proper bike without needing stabilisers. I would say 2 or 2.5 is a good age for a small a balance bike or you can get a bigger one with a brake which will work well from about 2.5 or 3 years.

Hi I brought a strider bike for my little boy last Christmas and he was 1 and 1/2. He is very coordinated and can climb anything and use scooter. Very hard to keep up with ahh! he he!
It took him a a couple of weeks to get it but was soon zooming through the common where i can't keep up! these are great little bikes totally recommend them really light frame so much easier to balance than the wooden versions.You can move the seat up and down as well so will get a few years use out of it. This is a link with a video.
I would totally get one if your little one is very coordinated otherwise maybe for 2nd birthday? Good luck
http://www.striderbikesuk.com

our daughter is just 4yrs and she's making the transistion from a balance bike to bike without pedals. she's doing really well and would recommend the balance bike route. Our 2yr is a sports billy and she's doing well on the balance bike too.

1.5yrs might be a tad young and maybe the scooter route is a better option as they develop their balance or you'll end up carrying them and the bike - a lot!

We got a cheap balance bike and maybe the Isla or Puky brand would have been better.

http://www.islabikes.co.uk/

We have an Isla Bike Balance Bike which our 2 daughters both used and went straight on to riding an Isla Bike with pedals and no stabilisers. One of our daughters was riding the pedal bike by the time she was 3..... all down to the balance bike (and wanting to be able to do what her older sister was doing).

I don't know much about bikes but I can't recommend Isla Bikes highly enough. Check out the website to get all the technical info on why/how they work and what age and height is recommended to start using them. My brother works in the mountain bike industry and says they are the business.

We own 3 so far and plan to get the next size up when we need it.

Hi - I would agree with the previous poster that 1.5 might be a bit young for a balance bike and that the micro scooter is great but then my sons did not walk until they were 15 months so they were not ready for a balance bike at that stage.

I bought my son a wooden balance bike when he was 2 and he had great fun with it. Sadly it fell apart even though it hadn't been used outside so I was recommend a metal one now as they are much stronger. We then bought him a Puky balance bike instead which also had a brake on it. He absolutely loved this bike and I would really recommend it. He then moved onto a proper bike when he was 3 and we just put him straight on the bike with pedals and missed the stabaliser stage which was great as he had learnt to balance on a bike with the Puky.

I would suggest not getting a wooden one as they can be so bulky and heavy! Try and make it as easy as possible for you!!

I loved the MICRO (same as scooter make) one but can't find it online. It was so easy to carry and fitted really well on top of a buggy too!
I found this one though that is very similar...
http://www.fun4kids.co.uk/flipbike-balance-bike.html

Good Afternoon,

I apologise for raising the C-word (!), but I am thinking about buying my son a Stride pre bike for Christmas. He will be almost 1 1/2 then and they say that they can be used from 1 - 5 years. Has anyone used these bikes for such a young age and would you recommend them or are there others out there which are better? I also believe the steel frames are lighter than the wooden ones - is this right?

I am looking into these because my older daughter can then also have one and it will stop little fights over the bike! It is all about fairness...

Thank you in advance for any help,

D