Those of you looking to pass your cycling habit onto your children might want to check out the Toddlebike, a plastic balance bike that puts kids as young as one on the road towards cycling.
It's been designed to help develop balance and motor skills, with four wheels that provide more stability than a two-wheeled bike but are close enough together that it can still topple over, helping to prepare the rider for the real thing.
Its low weight (under 1kg) and durability mean it can be used by children as soon as they're able to walk, indoor and out. Coming with a three-year guarantee, it’s available from the Toddlebike website for £19.95.
“Children approach them differently depending on their age," said the company's Joe Hockley. "Aged one, the concept of turning using handles and even moving at speed will be a stretch, so instead they tend to climb on, move in one direction, climb off, turn it around and climb on again. If you put a three-year-old on one you won’t see them for dust.
"Some love it from aged one (mine were 14 and 15 months), some don’t get it until they’re closer to two, but either way there’s no pressure as they learn themselves in their own environment. The balance element means it’s entirely possible to fall off but that’s how they learn.”
