Kickstarter: The Jyrobike, An Auto Balance Bike For Kids

Nice idea, but it doesn’t teach the child how to ride, since it’s doing most of one of the essentials for them.
Learning to stay upright is a very important thing to learn. If most of the work’s being done for you, then what are you learning? OK, you can gradually reduce the child’s need for it, but why bother in the first place? It’s not like it takes years to acquire the skills needed to stay upright is it? Falling off is not only a good teacher but it prepares you for the inevitable.
Why not use stabilisers instead? They’re a lot cheaper, don’t have to be invented and no one has to give their cash to fund their fund-raising activities.

@ Gunnstein: +1

Two big of a wheel size, most kids learn at a younger age

According to Wiki, the reason some of you have seen this idea before is because it is the SAME COMPANY! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyrobike Doh!

I think its a good idea to give kjds the confidence on the bike and then gradually ease off on the gyro as they learn to balance. Having taught 3 kids to ride, it is the lack of confidence that holds them back initially – then one day off they go.
What would bother me is that you should only really use this device as a very short term measure during the training and therefore the cost may be excessive unless you can sell it on.
Maybe it also has application for people with physical disability/balance problems/potential unicyclists?

+1 for mike getting the real picture.

I understand how some kids starting at older age would benefit from this rather than training wheels (those things are the mere reason a whole generation is bike-crippled down here and should be banned). However, I’ve found a balance bike is the best way to introduce a kid to cycling. Three years ago, me and my wife gave a Strider to my 3 years old nephew, and he was riding it down the block in less than 20 minutes. Fast-forward three years, we got my 22-month kid his Strider two months ago. Within 20 minutes he learned the basics. In less than a month he was dropping down a small step we have between the kitchen and the dining room. Watching the “Jackson Goldstone Goes to Kindergarten” video really gave him a boost, and now he’s sending some stairs and even doing some sort of barspins. Hell, he even did his first run down the local BMX track!

OK, I have to stop typing to wipe the drooling from the keyboard, but I guess I made my point clear enough.

Give your tint tots a scooter LONG BEFORE they’re ready for a bike. They’ll figure it out on their own, before they’re ready to master pedaling. Keep them off trikes.

Most adults hamper their kids’ ability to master balancing.

The Jyrobike is a great bike to learn on, even with the fact that it has auto balance. I think it all comes down to what the parents prefer and what the child will find easier to learn on. The main thing you want to teach your child is balance, but with auto balance the child can gain their confidence first, before trying to balance on their own. The child might develop a fear if they fall, but auto balance will make them use to riding a bike first. After they get the idea, you can which them over to a balance bike so they can learn the rest. You go with whatever your child finds easier. That the only way they will learn and have fun while doing it.