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Skuut Balance Bike |  | Brand: Skuut
Category: Toy
List Price: $94.99
Buy New: $91.99
as of 7/29/2010 12:35 CDT details
You Save: $3.00 (3%)
New (2) from $91.99
Seller: Zerbert
Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 4913
Batteries Included: No
Maximum Weight Recommendation (lbs): 70
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0.2
UPC: 649241843221
EAN: 0649241843221
ASIN: B000O8OUUY
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Its an ingeniously simple concept used in Europe for years | | • | A chainless push bike that moves by foot power ("Flinstone" style) | | • | Your child will first walk and then will begin to run with the bike | | • | It's effective because it gives your child control over the learning process | | • | Most important, the Skuut is designed with safety in mind |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Built for kids ages 2-5, the Skuut is a pedal-less, chainless push bike that moves by foot power ("Flinstone" style). Its the perfect introduction to cycling because its specifically designed to complement the motor skills of young children, teaching balance and control at a much earlier age than traditional cycles with training wheels. The Skuut is a great confidence booster. From the very beginning your child can make independent progress, pushing along to discover how it works. In a short while he will lift his feet and begin moving forward, balancing and reveling in their new found mobility! They will NEVER need a bike with stabilizers, which prevent the development of balance. Your child will take to riding a bicycle instantly and naturally.All parts are extremely robust and the body is made of heat-treated softwood and hardwood, coated with non-toxic lacquer. The saddle can be adjusted for height as your child grows. The steering is specially made so that kids cant turn to fast and tip over. Other safety features include Euro-styled wheels and no spokes (to prevent shoelace tangles). The Skuut come with a one-year guarantee - exceptional for a product aimed at young children! A first bike invariably becomes a child's favorite toy. Children have an urge for movement and discovery and the Skuut enables them to playfully acquire coordination skills, foresight and agility. The feeling of riding alone is an exhilarating experience which helps to build self-confidence and safety. Whether they imagine it to be a copy of Dad's mountain bike or a pretend horse, the Skuut will play an important role as your child develops. And when it's outgrown, it becomes not just another old toy, but a lifelong reminder of childhood dreams...
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 68
 Great item, even as young as 2 can ride on two-wheels December 9, 2007
Jeffrey Stanley (Wichita, KS United States)
147 out of 149 found this review helpful
I bought this bike 6 months ago for my girlfriend's son. He was just over two at the time (27 months). He didn't like trikes or toy-training-wheel bikes. His legs were too short for the pedals on his trike or bike in reality anyhow.
I bought this based on reviews on a bike forum site. A lot of people take 10-12" wheeled metal pedal bikes, remove the cranks, and cover the bike with padding to recreate this idea. The bike is simply two wheels, a saddle, frame, fork, and bars. The idea of modifying a pedal bike is good, this thing is great.
The problem with stripping down a metal pedal bike is the weight and the potential danger in a crash. The Skuut bike is feather-light and it won't cause bruises and bumps after a fall like a metal bike. There are no spokes to bruise or break little hands or feet. The bars wont turn sharply (they will only sweep about 40-50 degrees), so a wipeout is pretty difficult. Even the ends of the bars are brilliantly designed to prevent harm to tender little bodies.
Another plus is how adjustable it is. When lowered all the way down, it is still a little big for a young two year old. If you flip the frame (just move the fork and saddle to the other side of the frame) it changes the "head tube" angle and saddle height so that it is low-slung enough for even the shortest legs. There is a ton of adjustability, so I imagine it could fit a tall 20-month old up to a 4-5 year old.
The build quality is just OK. It is a Chinese item, which is why it doesn't cost as much as the German Like-A-Bikes made with non-slave wage labor. It isn't as strong as the $250 Like-A-Bike, but it costs 1/3 as much. It does what it was designed to do well, and is a good value for the $$$. The weak spot is the pin that connects the fork to the frame. The pin is supported by 1/2" plywood. I think a rough, heavy older kid could easily break it, but a kid like that is ready for a real bike anyhow. Just keep the older siblings off of it. The wheels wobble a bit, but they are fine for what they are designed for, you can't really expect a wooden wheel to be perfectly true anyhow. The fat pneumatic tires are great for smoothing out the road once the little guy or gal gets the hang of it and gains speed, or likes to crawl over obstacles. The saddle is wood covered by thin padding and fabric, but the little guy never complained of a sore bottom, and he spends hours on it (I imagine diapers help to smooth the bumps too, how cool is it that there is a bike where kids can balance on two wheels before they can remember to use the toilet regularly).
I can only speak to the learning curve of one kid, but it was incredible to watch him learn to ride it. Again, he was 27 months, a bigger kid would probably pick it up a little quicker. He was instantly drawn to it. I had him help me put it together and he was all smiles. I cycle a lot and he goes along at times, so he knew very well what it was for.
First thing, I took him out to the sidewalk, and he walked along with his feet. He took it as his own pace to get a feel for it. I had to show him a few times how to steer, at first he would come to a bend in the sidewalk and wait for me to aim him in a different direction, or he would just lift the front wheel to maneuver it (it is very very light so it's easy for him to move it around). Steering took him about an hour to figure out, a couple days to get good at it. It doesn't steer very sharply, which helps him learn to lean and turn, plus helps prevent falls. He loved it from day one.
Within a week of daily play on it, he began to add a bit more speed and the balance idea began to grow in his mind. His steering was expert and he was good at stopping. He also liked to try to crawl over low curbs and stones. I'm more of a roadie, but I think he's going to be a mountain biker. I could just see in his eyes that he was imagining himself on rough technical singletrack.
By the end of two weeks, he had mastered balance. Yes. I said mastered balance at 27 months. He could build speed by skuuting and lift his legs to coast til he slowed enough that he needed to kick his legs to get back to speed. His mom isn't terribly athletic and she needed a scooter or her bike to keep up with us (she hates to run/jog). He Skuuts at about 5 MPH (so get a helmet and pads). He learned to stop himself with his feet as he learned balance, so he was pretty good at stopping himself, even at full speed. He instinctually keeps his speed reasonable on hills, but he loves those hills too. Just make sure you are nearby once this confidence kicks in, kids have no fear. He's two so he's easily distracted by flowers, birds and butterflies, so he stops quite a bit; but when he's going he's really going strong. There is no question that when he is big enough for a pedal bike that he won't need training wheels at all. He easily can keep up with the 4 year old neighbor girl on her pedal-bike with training wheels.
When we take it to the park everyone stares in amazement and wants to know where we bought it.
There is good video on the manufacturer web site if you want to see it in action.
I highly recommend it. I wrote this review because I returned to this page to buy another one for my nephew for Christmas. You won't regret buying this thing.
Skuuts are now made with more durable birchwood, just like the Like-a-Bike October 14, 2008
Laura Hamilton (Saratoga CA USA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
The Skuut wood quality used to be questionable, but now they are all made of birchwood, which is the same wood that is used for the Like-a-Bike.
I have both a Like-a-Bike and a Skuut, and the new Skuut is of comparable quality for 1/4 the price. My kids ride either one interchangeably.
One advantage to the Skuut is the tire valves. The Like-a-Bike has German valves on it that will only accept ball-type air pump nozzles, not the longer ones that are found on typical household bike pumps and gas station air pumps. I have to take my Like-a-Bike to a local bike shop when I need to put a little air in the tires. I can just pump up the tires at home on the Skuut.
Perfect Bike November 3, 2007
Monica Urick (San Francisco)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
We purcheased this bike for my son about a month ago. He will be three in December, and it literally took him a week to "bomb" hills on it. He loves it, and rides it every day. He rode the $300.00 German model in a store, so I started searching for one on Amazon...and found one the same quality, for $200 less. This is a great find!!!
Wonderful toy for toddler October 25, 2007
Beach Bound (South East, USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
We were considering the Air Happy trike for my 2 1/2 year old daughter. After visiting a friend with the Skuut, we quickly reconsidered. Not only was the Skuut popular with our daughter, a 3 & 5 year old could hardly wait there turn to use it. What I liked about it was how the toy adapted to the skill of each child. Our 2 year old did not get frustrated by pedals and was able to manuever the bike from an obstacle without getting off of it and dragging it away from a corner as she did with conventional bikes. The 3 year old enjoyed gliding around in circles and the 5 year old was confident riding down slight hills (although it would have been easier for him if the seat was adjusted to his height). Although adjusting the seat height is easy enough, it requires a tool and would not be ideal in switching back and forth between two kids of a big height difference. Overall we are really pleased with this toy. It is easy to clean so our daughter rides it around the house as easily as outdoors--a real sanity saver due to the 50 plus inches of rain we get each year. I would definitley recommend to a friend.
The Skuut Bike Delivers September 23, 2007
Sparticus (USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
We bought Skuut bikes for our two daughters, ages two and four, about two months ago and they are a huge hit. Both girls mastered balancing, coasting, turning and propelling themselves on the Skuuts in a short period. They have learned balance far better than they did on their "big girl" bikes with training wheels. As a bonus, the wipe-outs on the Skuut bikes are far less frequent and much less consequencial (when they feel themselves tipping over, they just put a foot down and they stop). The result is that girls are developing their skills faster and having more fun. This is a great, safe way to teach your child to ride and a fun toy as well.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 68
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