Crafting the ultimate balance bike: The Early Rider way

The truth is you don’t need a balance bike to be exceptional if you just want your kid to commute from A to B on a flat sidewalk. There are plenty of average balance bikes out there that do that. But that’s not what we’re about at Early Rider, and we can’t imagine that’s what you’re looking for, because as parents we want our kids to build a sense of adventure as they develop their cognition, coordination and confidence. This means taking our children to places where we get to share experiences as a family, peppered with uphills, downhills, and obstacles in a huge array of inspiring places.

So to build a balance bike that makes these sorts of experiences possible, that’s when the kid-specific bike geometry* and build quality needs to be really good. However, now we need to throw in another key ingredient to up the stakes. Inspiration. That’s when you move into the realm of pursuing exceptional standards as a bike maker.

See, we want our balance bikes to inspire you as a parent. If you’re fired up by the engineering, build quality, looks, and level of consideration that has gone into every detail of your child’s balance bike, that’s when your enthusiasm will become infectious and help forge their love for riding and sharing adventures with you over the years to come. Our founder, Andy Loveland, explains it best “Ever since we started making balance bikes back in 2005 I’ve never seen any reason why we need to compromise. We start with the very best solution, lay out exactly what we want to do, and get to work.” 

*Psst, what is bike geometry?

Bike geometry refers to the shape and size of a bike's frame, which affects how it feels and handles. Key elements in balance bike geometry include the riding position, handlebar height, wheel size, and tire width. These elements determine how comfortable the bike is, how easy it is to control, and how well it performs on different terrains.

Fit for adults, tailored for kids

Our approach is always to make excellent kids bikes that are fit for adults, but we tailor the geometries to suit the requirements for a child learning to ride on a balance bike. Both in terms of how the bike will fit their body, but also how it can be designed to give them the comfort and reassurance they need as they develop their motor skills in those crucial early years. That focus has been the heart of Early Rider from the outset, as Andy explains “Early Rider has got to where it is because, fundamentally, it wasn't about making money. What we're trying to do is develop a business that allows us to spend time with our kids and our family, and doing that by making the best possible bikes to inspire adventure, a better connection with the world around them, and ultimately a more fulfilled life”.

So, crafting the ultimate balance bike calls for an obsessive approach to every detail that will improve your child’s experience and enjoyment, whether that means designing an optimal riding position shaped to help them maintain a low center of gravity, or ensuring the rear tire is chunky enough to guarantee comfort and confidence when they hit a bump.

Geometry class: Balance bikes designed the right way

As anyone into mountain biking or road cycling knows, the geometry of a bike is every bit as important as the quality and construction of the components it’s made of. Or perhaps even more important. But across the broader landscape of balance bikes for kids, not nearly enough focus is given to fine-tuning kid-specific geometries… which is a big mistake. We dedicate a huge amount of research and development into working the best frame geometry into all of our balance bikes, because it really does make a huge difference to how it feels when your child is riding. If poorly designed, your child will likely be uncomfortable, limited in what they can do, leading to frustration and boredom.

On the contrary, if a balance bike has brilliant geometry, your kid will feel confident and comfortable and far more likely to enjoy every family adventure. Andy explains “geometry makes a huge difference if you’re going downhill, or going uphill for that matter”.

Let’s take a quick look at the Early Rider Charger, and we’ll walk you through a few small examples of some of the geometry decisions we took to help make it the ultimate balance bike ride for your kid.

We believe all balance bikes should be engineered to improve stability when your child is going downhill, for obvious reasons. Part of the answer in achieving this comes by designing shorter chainstays (see fig.1), connecting the rear wheel to the seat tube. By making these shorter, your child’s weight is placed more over the rear wheel, which improves their overall control. Plus it gives them more traction and maneuverability, particularly when paired with a wide air-filled rubber tire for added grip and comfort.

Getting the geometry right has a direct impact on a child's confidence on the bike, as Andy highlights “the more stable you feel, the more confident you’re gonna feel, and the better you’re gonna ride.”

Wider bars give kids better leverage going uphill and more control going downhill. Chunky tires add comfort and stability.

Wide and low handlebars are another key ingredient. A little extra width and having them pretty low adds more control. Plus, having them low is also particularly important on a kid’s balance bike because it gives your child more leverage to use the muscles in their little legs to propel themselves forward. Imagine, on a pedal bike, when you’re pedaling you’re essentially pulling up on the handlebars as you push down on the pedals. As Andy likes to say, it's all about leverage: “the lower you have the handlebars the more leverage you have, which means that their little muscles can do more, go for longer, and they get more fun out of the bike, and hopefully feel inspired to use the bike even more. So geometry is really important.”

This principle applies as much to balance bikes as it does to pedal bikes, but instead of pushing on pedals they’re able to push along on the ground better with their feet. High handlebars equals zero leverage, and nobody wants that.

Lightweight balance bikes… but not with compromises

Our balance bikes are really light. Are they the absolute lightest on the market? No they’re not, and for good reason. Our bikes are designed to have the best geometry paired with the highest quality components, and our commitment in both of these areas helps us make balance bikes that give your child the best riding experience out there.

To achieve this we make kid-first choices, like putting wider air-filled rubber tires and more spokes on our wheels. This design decision adds a tiny bit of weight, but the comfort, added grip and control they bring massively outweighs the alternative. Yes, skinny cheap tires are lighter, but they’re garbage. And they’d be a poor choice on a balance bike that you want your kid to enjoy in all sorts of interesting environments, so it’s not something we’d ever entertain doing, because your kids deserve way better.

Quality balance bikes: From better bolts to brushed frames

Attention to the finer details makes a big difference when it comes crafting a durable balance bike that’ll seriously stand the test of time and age well. Selecting the right components, made of the best materials and fabricated to the highest standards, bakes toughness and longevity into a bike. Every component, big or small, visible or hidden from sight, gets the same level of scrutiny before it makes it into one of our balance bikes. Andy oversees every component decision: “all the components, materials, everything, are as good as you can put on a bike, within reason.”

Every humble little bolt plays a vital role in a balance bike, which is why we choose to use corrosion-proof stainless steel bolts. Another component that rarely makes it into the spotlight is the wheel hub. Ours are made of high grade CNC’d aluminum. Grades of aluminum are given catchy numbers, and the one we use is called 6061-T6. But what’s important is that this particular grade is incredibly strong, rust-proof, lightweight and is considered the cat’s pajamas when it comes to wheel-hub material. Particularly when paired with steel cartridge bearings, which bring additional strength and ride smoothness to the party.

When it comes to frames, our wooden balance bikes have been refined over the years and are made with multi-layered, glue-laminated Grade A birch veneers which are super robust, but still flexible enough to withstand all the bumps a balance bike might encounter. Our Charger and Bigfoot bikes both have brushed aluminum frames. Alongside a ‘raw’ finish, we also introduced two gender neutral painted versions.

Balance bikes: The best tools for a life of adventure

Behind the scenes at Early Rider there’s a simple philosophy that underpins how we design our balance bikes: Give kids the best tools to build physical and mental confidence. To meet this goal there’s a long list of non-negotiables when it comes to developing the quality of the parts we use, refining bike geometry, and exploring how we can always make heirloom-standard products using manufacturing methods that minimize impact on our environment. Crafting the ultimate balance bike isn’t really the goal, it’s a happy byproduct of the standards we hold ourselves to, so our kids can get out there with the best tool to explore and enjoy the world around them.