Too cool for school on her new Zippizap balance bike

I wish we were one of those cool bike riding families.  You know the ones – you see them at the park, the parents on bikes with their amazingly proficient bike riding offspring zooming along behind them.  Cooler still, one of those families that ride down mountains on bikes together, or that head off on biking-camping road trips together.  Alas that is not us.  Both my husband and I came from non bike riding families and were the last kids in our respective classes to learn to ride a bike.  It has been a source of mummy guilt that my eldest son now in grade 2 has been heading for a similar fate.

I don’t do many product reviews on this site but when the people at Zippizap asked me if I’d like to review one of their balance bikes as a means to introducing my youngest kid (aged 2) to bike riding I jumped at the chance.  What I am hoping is that by starting her early on a balance bike will help her learn to ride a bike early (or at least at a younger age, please oh please, than her family members).  That is the theory behind balance bikes anyway, that having 2 feet on the ground facilitates concentration on balance and steering minus the confusion of pedalling.  Also, by keeping two feet on the ground it builds confidence allowing kids to master two wheels without fear.

So how did we go?  Well, my little miss loves her Zippizap balance bike.  She loves its pink colour, she loves that the powder coated pain and steel frame makes her bike look just like her brothers and not a “baby bike”.  Zippizap balance bikes are made for kids aged 18 months to 5 years with a minimum seat height of 29cm and maximum of 49cm.  My kids are shorties so my daughter is only just tall enough to ride her Zippizap balance bike.

What I like is that if the kids leave the Zippizap out in the rain (and let’s face it they will) it won’t rust.  I like the padded handlebar for extra safety and that the bike can grow with my daughter as she does.

What I liked most of all about the Zippizap though is that by having my daughter ride it a miracle occurred.  She was so happy about having her own bike and riding it independently that it freed up her favourite place to be, my arms.  Consequently they were free to help my seven year old learn to ride his by pushing him along running until he was stable.  In this family with three young kids having my youngest ride the Zippizap gave this mum enough space to help my oldest son learn to ride his bike.  I can now officially say he wasn’t the last child in the class to learn to ride a bike.  Who knows, maybe the family curse is broken and my daughter by starting early on her Zippizap will be the first in her class to learn to ride a bike.  We might become one of those cool bike riding families after all.

If you are interested in purchasing a Zippizap balance bike for your own little one head to the Zippizap balance bike website.   They retail for $129.95.

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