written by lorna1 on 29/05/2008
Good Points
This bike is a pedal - less bike that teaches very young children to ride a bike without stabilisers, and as much cabling, hubs and anything that might trap little fingers as possible has been routed inside the bike. It's a very durable construction, near indestructable by the child. The handlebars even come with damped grips on each end for that inevitable moment when the child dumps the bike on the floor.
Bad Points
As children's first bikes go, it is quite expensive at £70 to £80, this price would surely put off the passively interested in cycling family, which is a great shame, as both my children, still aged 3 and 4, very much love riding their bikes, and I'm sure it is because neither of them had to struggle unproductively on stabilisers falling off on corners and off cambers. Having said that, I don't think they are overpriced as they are very good quality.
Puky bikes tend not to be available in main stream places like Halfords or JJB sports.
General Comments
My daughter was given the Puky Learner bike in yellow with the 12" wheels and back brake for her 2nd birthday. At this age it was a bit beyond her, but by 2 and a half she had learned to coast across car parks without putting her feet down. The brakes are internal hub brakes which can't be interfered with by the child. By three she was attracting worried looks from people in the park as she happily bombed down embankments and banked at speed around corners. The other, older little boys in the street were still on stabilisers, and that summer, they had badgered their parents to remove them so they could ride without them too! By shortly before four years old, she moved onto a 16" wheel Specialized mountain bike without stabilizers, but with pedals, and it took one afternoon to learn to pedal and balance at the same time. My son rides the Puky now, and I reccomend the little bike to all my friends with small children.