Kidvelo Rookie 14 Balance / Pedal Bike
The Kidvelo Rookie 14 is a great choice if your child is likely to want to start pedalling at some point soon. The Rookie 14 starts out as a balance bike but comes with a simple-to-fit pedal conversion kit, meaning you get two bikes for the price of one.
If you decide to try your child with pedals and they’re not quite ready you can quickly revert to the balance bike for a while longer.
The Rookie 14 has been designed with the learning to ride phase in mind, with an upright riding position, lightweight frame and child sized components.
We’ve not reviewed this particular bike, but we were very impressed with the smaller Kidvelo Rookie 12 – you can read our review here.
Kidvelo Rookie 18 Balance / Pedal Bike
The Kidvelo Rookie 18 is a great bike for slightly older children who may not have learnt to ride yet and will likely start pedalling soon.
It is aimed at ages 5 to 8 years old and starts off as a large balance bike and then if and when your child is ready to try out pedals the Rookie 18 then easily converts to a pedal bike, with a simple-to-fit pedal conversion kit. So you essentially get 2 bikes for the price of one.
You can convert easily if your child needs to try pedals for a short time and then revert back to a balance bike for a while longer. It’s designed to work effortlessly in either balance bike or pedal bike mode.
The Rookie 18 balance-to-pedal bike is also a popular choice for children with additional needs who may want to learn their balance using the balance bike mode and then have the opportunity to progress to using pedals.
We’ve reviewed the Kidvelo Rookie 12, which was the first bike in their range, and were very impressed.
Black Mountain SKØG
The Black Mountain SKØG is a really clever bike designed to grow with your child.
It’s got 16″ wheels and an innovative “growing frame” designed for smaller riders, so you can skip the hassle and the expense of buying two bikes.
The SKØG is fitted with a maintenance and oil free belt drive rather than a traditional chain, to keep things easy and clean.
Age wise it’s designed for about 4.5 years up (102cm to 121cm height range) which could be until 7 years old (depending on growth rate.)
The SKØG can also be used as a balance bike if your child hasn’t quite mastered that stage of learning to ride yet, which will help speed up the “learning to ride” phase.
Our reviewer hadn’t started pedalling when she got the SKØG – you can read our review of how quickly she became a confident cyclist here.