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Review: Strider 14x makes it easy to switch from balance bike to pedal bike

Strider 14x balance bike converts to pedal bike as your kid growsStrider 14x balance bike converts to pedal bike as your kid grows
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New to Strider’s lineup for the 3-7 year old crowd making the transition from striding to pedaling, the 14x is a unique machine that morphs from one stage to the next with your child. It starts life as a Strider scoot bike when your child is learning balance and can become a pedal bike when your child is ready, with the drivetrain and all parts included.

Opening the box, the strider 14x comes with a set of easy-to-follow assembly instructions. The basic buildup took me a matter of minutes, and since my son had already been balancing with his “regular” Strider, I opted to bolt on the included drivetrain right away.

We presented my son with the strider 14x on his 4th birthday, he was thrilled to have a “big kid bike with pedals and a chain.” While the 14x is a “big kid” bike indeed, its design is specifically suited to the transitioning strider/rider with narrow pedals and super low standover clearance, both features help preserve the striding confidence a beginning rider needs to get going. The narrow pedals allow him to “stride” his feet on the ground to get going and feel out his balance, and also provide good cornering clearance as he pedals through turns. Likewise, the low bottom bracket allows the child to “flat foot” the ground, even with the seat set high enough for good pedaling.

Strider 14x balance bike converts to pedal bike as your kid grows

Other features for the transitioning rider include pneumatic tires, which grip the ground better for the higher speeds of pedaling, and quick release skewers on the seat and handlebars so parents can make adjustments on the fly. (Also nice for packing into a small car)

Strider 14x balance bike converts to pedal bike as your kid grows

In the field, I was amazed to see my son start pedaling on our first outing. Bear in mind he’d been striding for about a year by this time, and it took some practice to show him the directions to move his feet for pedaling, and braking. After a few practice sessions at our favorite park, which has long stretches of flat concrete path and a nearby playground for pit stops and break time, he got the hang of it. Very quickly, my 4 year old became proficient enough with his 14x to ride “like a big kid” and was snapping at the heels of his 8 year old big brother. We’re a pedaling family!

Strider 14x balance bike converts to pedal bike as your kid grows

Editor’s note: Check out the full tech specs and features list for the Strider 14x here, and listen to our interview with Strider’s founder on The Build Cycle podcast!

StriderBikes.com

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VazzedUp
VazzedUp
6 years ago

big issue I see is the use of a pedal back brake. requires learning and then later unlearning, would have been better if supplied with a hand activated back brake.

Chewbika (@Chewbika)
6 years ago
Reply to  VazzedUp

While I agree with you that it does take learning and unlearning for the coaster brake, most kids don’t have the reach or the hand strength for a traditional brake lever until they are closer to the age of 10. That was certainly the case for my kids and for most of the children’s bikes I’ve sold over the last 12 years. It would be awesome to see someone develop a hand brake for younger riders, but for now it seems like it’s a rite of passage to have to learn on a coaster brake.

danv1
6 years ago

TIny levers have been on the market for a while. VazzedUp has it right. Look up Stampede, Frog, Islabikes, Spawn, these bikes don’t have coaster brakes. My 5 yo has a Stampede and brakes just fine.

JBikes
JBikes
6 years ago
Reply to  danv1

My kid started riding two-wheels, no training wheels and pedaling at 2.
Initially she did’t use brakes (even though she had a coaster). She’d just use her feet, which for her speed was fine.
At about 30 months, she asked for “hand brakes” like daddy. I put her child specific rear one on. That all she uses. She doesn’t have big hands and is on the smaller side according to charts. She is now asking for the other one (the front…which is on hold till she gets a little more modulation control

The coaster has only served to make it hard for her to arrange her pedals to self-start and adds a ton of weight to her bike (a real problem as her bike weight nearly as much as she does). She never got the “pedal backwards” to brake.

Very young kids can learn hand brakes and there are models that fit them. It should at least be an option.

Walt Wehner
6 years ago

This is untrue. I’ve sold a ton of kids bike and taught several kids to ride at ~2-4 years old – if levers are sized properly, they have both the hand strength and the coordination to use a hand brake.

Coaster brakes are cheap. That’s about the only good thing you can say about them. I’d never put a kid on a coaster brake bike if I could help it.

Lana
Lana
6 years ago
Reply to  VazzedUp

If you’d like handbrakes in the US, talk to your legislators. If the bike is under a certain size, US requirements are coaster brakes. The 14x in international markets has handbrakes as their component requirements are less restrictive.

Kent Jacobs
Kent Jacobs
6 years ago
Reply to  Lana

This is absolutely correct. The Strider 14x meets US CPSC 1512 regulations that require a coaster brake for bikes with maximum seat heights under 25″ 🙂

dl
dl
6 years ago

I was so hoping 14x meant some lucky children were getting a Rohloff in their upgrade.

Gillis
Gillis
6 years ago

Just wanted to note the helmet fit on the kid. Looks loose and falling off the back of his head. I don’t have any kids, so correct me if I’m wrong.

Tom
Tom
6 years ago

You can get it with handle bar brakes on the Australian website… but I had heaps of fun with a coaster brake as a kid

JBikes
JBikes
6 years ago
Reply to  Tom

As did I, but I was able to do the same with a handbrake…same being sweet skids

Jon
Jon
6 years ago

I think “VazzedUp” is correct – my three year old son is using a Cleary balance bike w/ front and back “hand brakes” and it’s a game changer and much safer than any alternative. We rides mild (kid friendly) single track together and live in a subdivision with steep streets and elevation changes in CO .

Mecanico do paladar
Mecanico do paladar
6 years ago

Best brake lever for small hands o found is the formula r1(newer models), my 5 years old daughter loves them!
Yes, it’s a powerful brake, so only one finger is needed to actuate it.
Instaled on a Pinnacle Kotto 16er adapted to have disc brakes.

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