Make a Wooden Balance Bike

build a balance bike

  

  In Europe balance/glide bikes are fairly popular.  These bikes allow a child to develop their balance  early on.  I've seen this sort of bike being used by two year old  children.  My Grand daughter in Sweden started out on a balance bike and graduated to a proper two wheeler without training wheels by her third birthday.  Her balance was well enough developed that she didn't need training wheels.  My Grand children in Canada didn't begin on a balance bike and so spent a season with training wheels before moving to two wheel pedal bikes.

wooden balance bike

    These two videos show some ideas for making your own bike.  This would be a wood working project that somebody would love. If you have a large enough play room a balance bike can make a good Christmas present for a little person.

   Bikes are on my mind lately.  I was able to get away for a couple of days bike riding and today my wife rode her bike 100 km. That is pretty good for a member of the Ancaster Senior Achievement Centre or anybody else for that matter.  She took up riding about 15 years ago and has written thousands of miles.  

 

  cheers, ianw