Brakes and Balance Bikes

Lately we have been getting a lot of customers commenting about why they buy our Gliders.  The thing I keep hearing over and over again is the brakes. When they do a search on google for balance bikes with brakes Glide Bikes comes up.

They just don't understand why other balance bike companies don't include brakes or think they are important. At Glide Bikes our Balance bikes have always included a brake. See we test our bikes here in Wilmington NC with kids of all ages. In doing so we see that braking is an important part of the learning process. By developing the skill to stop and put you feet down we are readying kids to be able to transition from balance bikes with brakes to a standard bicycle with pedals and brakes. Other balance bikes companies (Skuut™, Strider™, Kazam™, FirstBIKE™,Early Rider™) expect kids to just drag their feet and don’t include brakes on their balance bikes as a standard feature.  Kids that ride balance bikes with out brakes are missing out on learning a crucial skill.  Unlearning bad habits at a young age is hard to do, dragging feet on a traditional bike is dangerous, feet can get caught under pedals and cause injury or loss of control. 

Parents sometimes worry that kids are going to stop the bike to quick and fall.  The brakes we use on our balance bikes are band brakes and stop in a very controlled manner not locking up (originally used in 1902 on Star Cycles bicycles they have a proven track record ).  The reason we use them is that they are easier for kids to pull and safely mounted in a contained housing with nothing for kids to get hung up on like a caliper brake mounted to the frame and exposed. Both our Mini Glider and Go Glider use this type of brake. They last a long time with out needing service and are simple to adjust. We also stock all of the parts in case they are ever needed.  So if you want your kids to have a safe fun learning transition from a balance bike with brakes to a bicycle get them a Glide Bike.