I was completely ignorant as to what balance bikes actually were until I had a baby. The concept of a bike without pedals didn’t make sense to me. It wasn’t until I saw a toddler scooting about on one, to then move gracefully (and easily) to a bike without stabilisers that I realised balance bikes were the way forward.

I’ve always been a big fan of wooden toys so, initially, when looking at potential balance bikes for my three year old, I was drawn to the wooden ones. But then I saw this review of a Boomer Bike at Not Another Mummy Blog.

The Boomer Bike from Paul’s Yard comes with removable pedals. So, once your tot learns to whizz around and gets the hang of the balancing part of riding a bike, you simply add the pedals and (the idea is) they’re away. No stabilisers, just straight to the pedals.

It’s no secret that Frog is a bit behind when it comes to physical stuff. Her recent development appraisal noted that while she’s advanced in areas like speech and language, her locomotive skills are around the 18 month mark. Her hypermobile joints mean she has problems balancing, gets sore joints if she has to walk too far and is, generally, a lot more wobbly than her peers.

She has only recently mastered the confidence and ability to start scooting, which is a joy to see, so I thought she may be ready to try wheels of a different variety. When Frog was having physiotherapy we were told there were two activities we needed to encourage. Swimming and cycling are a great way to build strength without putting stress on the joints.

Enter the Boomer Bike.

The Boomer comes in red, pink, green or blue. We opted for red because it’s vibrant, dashing and rather beautiful. It’s practical, with a brake, proper rubber tyres and a hardy metal frame. It’s also lightweight enough for a three year old to manoeuvre.

At nearly three and a half and with a dad who is 6ft 5″, Frog is not on the short side. But the seat on the Boomer Bike is still that tiny bit too high for her to comfortably sit on and reach the floor. That said, in the beginning it’s all about getting used to the concept of walking with the bike. By the time she is confident enough to scoot along and pick her feet up from the floor it’s likely she’ll have a few month’s growth in her anyway.

I love the fact that, once she does get used to cruising around, we won’t have to invest in a brand new bike with pedals. Bikes don’t come cheap, so to have a balance bike with removable pedals is a very clever (and economical) idea.

If you want to see the Boomer Bike in action then check out the video below. Frog and the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine had some Daddy – daughter bonding time getting to grips with the bike earlier today. You can totally tell from the NLM’s face that he wishes he was 4 ft shorter so could have a go on it himself…

You can buy a Boomer 2 in 1 Balance Bike online from Paul’s Yard, for £130. In my humble opinion, it will be money well spent.

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Disclosure: We were sent a Boomer 2 in 1 Balance Bike for the purpose of this review. All opinions remain my own, as ever. They really are as good as they look. 

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