When D was little we bought him the original Toddlebike. He loved it (full review here in an old blog post) but now he's a bit too big for it and has moved onto his scooter and balance bike. Then a few months ago Iz was offered the chance to test ride the new, revamped Toddlebike2 (RRP around £24). I wasn't sure how Iz would respond as she'd never really tried to ride D's, but showed her a picture online and wow, that was that! Immediate cries of " MYYYYY TODDLEBIKEEEEEE!".
When it arrived she was so excited she tried to climb in the box and as soon as it was out of its packaging, she was on it and riding. Don't want to stereotype her but she was definitely won over by the all over pinkness of it :) (it does come in other colours though if pink is not your thing!!)
And since then it's been an instant love affair. I can't get her off it!!
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| At the park |
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| Chilling in the kitchen... |
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| Having a snack |
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| Watching TV! |
So how is it different to the original Toddlebike?
This picture from their website sums it up best.
Little tweaks have perfected the earlier model but it still has all the good aspects of the original model. It's still super light and easy to hang over your buggy handlebars but best of all the new design made for super easy light-pimping (see end of the post!).
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| The new large under-seat space makes it even easier for toddlers to hold |
And if you're wondering what weight it will hold... we tested the original one to over 75kg :) (Iz wasn't going to share her bike with anyone!! Lol)
Using it outside
Although Iz is pretty much attached to it 24/7, the times it is really put through its paces are outside in the park.
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| Yes, it even gets it's own swing sometimes! |
Probably because Iz was slightly older when she started using it (just over 2 versus D being 18 months) she immediately sat on the seat properly (rather than straddling the bar) and seemed to instantly know what to do. On its first outing she was scouting up and down ramps in the park and going faster than I could keep up with!
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| High speed Iz! |
Since then the Toddlebike has been everywhere with us, and Iz is so confident riding it. Love watching the kids race together!!
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| Ready steady go! |
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| Iz can also keep up with D when he's on his bike |
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| Or sometimes speed past him :) |
Summary
Overall you may be able to tell we loved our original Toddlebike and are now massive fans of the new Toddlebike2. Simple to use, easily portable and pretty stylish - what's not to love?! And D is now confident on his balance bike, definitely helped by his Toddlebiking background. So if you are looking for a last minute present for a toddler in your life, look no further!!
Pimping your Toddlebike
So now you've got your Toddlebike2, what are you going to do next? Make it look even more awesome!! I bought 2 strands of battery-powered fairy lights from Poundland and taped them round the plastic frame - not very technical but Iz loved it!
She couldn't wait for it to get dark and was the total envy of all the other kids in the playground! It also meant it was really simple for me to keep an eye on her, she could see better in the dark and was easily visible to everyone else. The fairy lights are now a permanent feature and next I'm going to pimp D's bike and scooter!
