Review and Reader Discount! - Toot Scoot Bike

I have a very vivid memory of the first time that I rode my bike without training wheels. I was 6 years old and we had just moved to a new house. On my first trip down the sidewalk, I lost control and crashed into our new neighbors’ garage. We didn’t know the neighbors, but did know another very grumpy couple with the same last name who lived just a few houses down from our old house. I was very nervous and embarrassed when I had to go knock on their door to tell them what happened. Luckily, Arnie and Betty turned out to be like a third set of grandparents to us, and everyone lived happily ever after. I want a less nerve-wracking first bike experience for my kids. There are several companies who make first bikes for your little ones. When I stumbled across the Toot Scoot bike during my search for a balance bike for Nadia, I was immediately impressed and very excited when they offered to send us one to try out. We have not been disappointed.

The Toot Scoot is essentially a training bike without the wheels. Your child simply learns to balance on the seat and push himself around using his feet. Sort of Fred Flintstone style. Eventually, your child will learn how to coast around with their feet off the ground while still remaining balanced on the seat. This allows your child to then be able to more easily transition to a bike without training wheels because they’ve already learned the difficult art of balancing.

We received the Toot Scoot while Dad was at work, but I was super excited for Nadia to give it a try, so, I tackled the assembly on my own. I had the whole bike put together in a matter of minutes. The bike is designed for children from ages 2-, so, the seat is fully adjustable. The tires are extra-wide to help your child learn to balance and made of rubber to protect your floors. This is very important for us Chicagoans who will be relying on this bike to get us through the long winter months indoors. I also like that the bike is made of aluminum, so, it looks like an actual bike. Nadia is very much like me and not big on change. It will be easier to convince her to transition to another bike if it actually looks similar. Another bonus of the aluminum frame is that it doesn’t weigh a ton when I have to drag it home from the park because Nadia has decided she’d rather “explore.” In fact, it weighs just 7 pounds.

As for the ease of use, I was impressed by how quickly Nadia caught on. At first she struggled a little with the mount and dismount, but she soon figured it out. I wouldn’t say that she coasts around the house yet, but she does choose to ride it around quite often and is always proud to show us how well she can do it. I love that it’s a toy that’s going to grow with her and will be sturdy enough to also be shared with her brother.

One final bonus, the Toot Scoot is made less than 60 miles from where I first learned how to ride my bike. The bikes are made in Wichita, Kansas. A nice little shout-out to my home state.

Here’s my official review based on a four-star scale:

Functionality *** ½ - The Toot Scoot was easy to assemble, adjusts easily, and is actually designed to fit the ages that it says it will fit. Nadia is an average two-year old, and she can easily ride the bike. Not all of the ride-on toys that we’ve come across have been able to fit her.

Style *** ½ - Again, I like that the Toot Scoot looks like a real bike. You have four color choices. So, there’s no pink, but I don’t necessarily want her riding around on a pink bike anyway. We’ll definitely be able to pass the Toot Scoot down to her brother.

Cost **½ - While the Toot Scoot is not inexpensive at $80, it's priced similar to some and substantially lower than other balance bikes on the market. I will have to update the review in a few years when we can evaluate whether or not it really does save Nadia from having to learn to ride a big bike with training wheels. If it does, then the cost will be worth it.

Overall Rating *** - A fun, well thought out product which will definitely be seeing years of use in our house. I love that it looks like a real bike and can't wait until Nadia learns to apply the motor skills she's learning from it to riding a real big girl bike someday!

The good people at Toot Scoot would like to offer all Kid Buy Product readers free shipping on their purchase of a Toot Scoot. All that you have to do to recieve the discount is simply leave a note in the comment box saying that you heard about the Toot Scoot from the review on Kid Buy Products. Thanks Toot Scoot!