g-bike
By Lil • Category: ACTIVE TOYS
Price Tag: $139.90
Age Range: 2-4 (or 2-5)
Maximum Rider Weight: 44lbs
Official URL: http://www.kickboardusa.com/g-bike.html
Rating: 
Give-Away has ended. We’ll be announcing the winners and contacting them via email shortly.
After my son started showing tremendous interest in the bicycles at the park, I knew that it was only a matter of time before we would have to bring a bicycle into our tiny apartment. I set out with several goals in mind: 1- It must be small. 2- It must be easy to clean. 3- It must be easy to cart to the park with us every day under or on top of our stroller.
I very quickly settled on two options, one of which was the G-Bike by Mini Micro, the same company that makes the awesome Mini Micro scooter that Emma reviewed last year. It weighs less than 4lbs and is compact enough to fit in the back of any umbrella stroller that has a cargo basket. I’ve declared it the “best balance bike for city kids”.
FEATURES
In addition to meeting my three criteria, this little bike has some other awesome features: Adjustable steering column height, tool-free adjustment of seat height for on-the-fly adjustments, and a limited steering angle for safety.
AESTHETIC & DESIGN
Most balance bikes either look like miniature versions of pedal bikes, or they are retro wooden contraptions. The G-Bike has a unique modern feel with sleek lines, transparent wheels, and an aluminum body. The rubber hand grips and the ridged rubber cover of the center-weight combine slick with sporty. It’s definitely a “different” sort of bicycle!
WHY A BALANCE BIKE?
The theory behind balance bikes is that tricycles and training wheels encourage children to use the bike’s center of gravity instead of their own- often rattling back and forth on the training wheels with no concern for balance. Balance bikes have no training wheels and no pedals. They encourage children to move gradually from walking while straddling the bike, to walking while sitting on the bike, to pushing off with their feet and balancing for short amounts of time, to going almost as fast a pedal bike allows. Children move more quickly from balance bikes to traditional bikes (with no training wheels) with less anxiety and with better balance. Balance bikes also don’t go quite as fast as pedal bikes, and tend to be lower to the ground. Braking and motion are both done with the child’s feet in close contact to the ground, which means that the child is much more in control of the bike and less of a passenger. This translates to much greater safety.
SPECS
Body: This bike is made of polished aluminum and it weighs in at just about 3.85lbs, is 26″ long, and is about 19″-21″ tall (depending on the adjustment of the handlebars which go from 17.7-20.5″ and which rise slightly above that in the center). Its seat adjusts from 11.8-15.75″.
Seat and Handlebars: The seat surface is a sturdy foam, and the handle grips are a rugged textured rubber with a no-slip ribbed “ball” at the outer edges to keep your child’s hands on the grips.
Wheels: The wheels are “PU 78 Shore A”, and are 120mm extra large “scooter” style wheels that are 1″ wide and that offer a little bit under an inch of wear. Speaking in the language of inline skaters, “78″ provides a good grip and smooth roll with a decent amount of wear. Speaking in parentese, the wheels cost $7.99 each, and should last through quite a few months of frequent daily use on hard pavement. If your child has a scooter that makes use of these wheels, it’s great because you can stock up on a few and replace them as needed without having to keep multiple brands around. The wheels have precision bearings. These wheels don’t leave scuff marks, and so they turn this little bike into something that can be used indoors on gym floors or anywhere where there is a large enough space.
ASSEMBLY
This bike arrives fully assembled except for the handlebars. To assemble the handlebars, simply use the smaller of two included Allen wrenches to remove the two screws on the front of the steering column. Pop the handlebar into the notch, and replace the front cover. Make sure that the handlebars are centered, and tighten the two screws.
One thing we noticed is that the handlebars were a bit cockeyed. Use the larger wrench to unscrew the screw at the top of the steering column, and align everything properly and tighten it back into place.
The adjustment of the seat is absurdly easy. You simply release a clamp, slide the seat to its desired position, and close the clamp.
REPLACEMENT PARTS
Replacement wheels are available from kickboardusa.com. The hand grips and seat pad do not seem to be replaceable.
BOTTOM LINE
The small size and slick look of this little balance bike make it our city favorite. The small hard wheels don’t work great for off-road, but as long as you live near sidewalks and playgrounds with asphalt, you’re good to go. Kids tend to find this bike a bit more accessible than some more complex bikes, and the light weight makes it easy for them to handle and turn. It’s one of the most unique balance bikes on the market. This is probably the best balance bike for parents who live in the city or the suburbs.
GIVEAWAY
We’re giving away a G-Bike to one lucky winner that will be announced April 10, 2009. You can enter this give-away in three different ways:
1- Leave a comment below with a story about the first bike you had as a kid.
2- Tweet about your first bike as a kid- make sure to include @gruntlings in the tweet so that we can count your entry!
3- Blog about this contest and link to this page. If you do this make sure you pingback or leave a comment letting us know you blogged about it!
You can enter once per method listed above. Winners must be in the United States.
After you’re done entering this give-away don’t forget to check out our other April Give-Aways for awesome give-aways from Yoplait, Lubies, KickboardUSA and more! http://gruntlings.com/give-aways Details of give-aways subject to change w/o notice.
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My first bike I had was yellow with white flowers that my dad painted on it. It was a used bike and I was so proud of it. It had a really large seat and was uncomfortable but I was happy with it. I know my son would love to win this bike. He doesn’t have one yet. He just turned 3. Thanks for the chance to win this for him,
My first bike was a girls Pink huffy. I just love that bike. Pink with the square seat and nice handle bars. Unfortunately I rode it out of a alley and got hit by a car in a funeral procession. They totaled the bike and I went to the hospital.
http://twitter.com/Nightowlmama
Tweet tweet
I blogged http://nightowlmama.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-giveaways.html
My first bike was pink with a banana seat and streamers on the handle bars. I loved it and it got stolen.
what an interesting concept. Looks like alot of fun
My first bike was purple and had the banana seat. I luved that bike and rode it daily
Thanks for an Awesome Giveaway!
my first bike was a yellow and pink flowered bicycle with one of those long banana seats…i remember always wanting to invite a friend to ride with me on the seat but my mom used to tell me that it was unsafe…
I’ll never forget my first bike — It was blue with a white seat. My Dad brought it on a camping trip and I earned how to ride it on an empty baseball field.
My bike was blue sparkly and had daisies on the seat. I loved the basket and streamers. I sure skinned my knees plenty of times before learning how to balance.
My first bike was a red dirt bike hand-me-down from my brother. Our family didn’t have much money, so I didn’t get a new bike, but my dad helped me paint the bike purple, so it was new to me. I rode that thing until I just couldn’t fit on it anymore. Great memory, thanks for reminding me.
My first bike was a hand me down banana seat bike with streamers!
I don’t ever recall my first bike or how I even learned. Our childhood wasn’t the greatest in the world, but I do know that my kids are 15, 7 and 5 and only 1 knows how to ride a bike. I’d love to teach them but it’s so hard to have a big bike in a small apartment. This bike looks like it could easily fit comfortably in our home and quick to take outside when we need it.
Please count me in, My youngest will be turning 6 on the 18th and this would be the perfect gift for her since she’s been begging for a bike to learn how to ride.
-barbarabaker
My first bike was actually a Hot Wheels. Pink and yellow, I think. LOVED it!
I didn’t get my first bike until I was 10 and a new arrival from southern China to Los Angeles, CA. It was a 2nd hand bike from a kind neighbor of my aunt who was cleaning out her garage and found the bike hidden behind years of boxes; she thought my brother and I would enjoy learning to ride the bike and exploring our new neighborhood country. Being the oldest, I was the first to ride the bike, that my father lovingly oiled and made useable again. I remember my father holding onto the back of the seat the entire time as I tried to balance and ride around the driveway, trying desperately to keep to the flat part and avoiding the downhill part of the driveway. My brother ultimately became the better rider and toke ownership of our first bike, while I moved on to roller skates, which I believe is still in my parent’s garage.
Thank you for the opportunity. It looks like an awesome bike and something to start saving for when my son is ready to get on his very first bike.
my first bike was pink with the little tassles on the side. I grew up on a gravel road so riding my bike was a chore, but was very worth it… especially all the bruises and scrapes on my knees from the gravel.
My first bike had a flowered banana-seat and a squirrel bell that I rang incessantly! We lived in a town with no sidewalks so I didn’t get to ride it often.
Thanks! foxsquirrelrabbit at gmail dot com
When I first learned to ride a bike I didn’t know how to use the brakes. I went full throttle into my family’s fence. I was fine, the bike was fine. The fence was not. Oops.
I remember getting a pink bike with purple splattered paint when I was little for Easter from the Easter Bunny. I loved that bike!
My first bike was yellow and white, and it was a bit too big for me, so I kept falling off and hurting myself. One time, I even fell elbow first in dog poop! Yuck!
My first bike was a pink and purple bike with a banana seat. I loved to ride it in the alley beside our house until a doberman decided to chase me. Then I was too afraid to ride it because of the dog. Thanks!
I’ve seen pictures of a bike that I had when I was really little, but the very first bike that I remember was white with pink flowers and pink words all over it. It had a pink seat too, and I put stickers all over it! I always wanted a basket, but I never got one.
But it DID have a little tooty horn!
One time I rode it down a large hill right by our house, and I pulled my sister on her bike behind me (attached with a jump rope!) Obviously, that didn’t turn out so well!!
My brother encouraged me to take a jump on my first two wheeler. I did, and broke my front teeth and permanently fattened my lip. I stopped taking my brothers advice then and there.
BTW-this would make a great bike for physical therapy for my little guy.
When I was younger, my mom would have to drive to work and my sister and I would bike about a mile down the road to my grandparents’ house. For the longest time I had training wheels on my bike, because I was afraid of falling if I took them off. So one particular morning, I biked all the way down to my grandparents and my mom pulled in the driveway shortly after I got there holding one of the training wheels. It had fallen off without me even knowing. That night my dad took the other training wheel off and I never needed them again.
My first bike was a blue schwinn with a banana seat and sissy bar. I loved that bike……
My first bike was pink with those streamer things on the handles – so much fun. Thanks for the chance!
This is such a clever idea, I’d never seen these before. I had an old spiderman bicycle that I rode around the neighborhood with my friends. Of course, I had the coolest bike (at least I thought so).
I was in first grade when I got my first bike. It had some awesome streamers flowing from the handlebars so I could tell how fast I was going. I had to prove to my dad I could follow all the safety rules and pass his test before I was allowed to use it without his supervision. I rode it to school nearly every day during second and third grade.
My first bike was pink and purple with flower decals and pink streamers.
I have so many scars on my knees from my first bike! I rode every single day!
I had a bicentennial Schwinn with red, white and blue streamers and a banana seat.
I had a red tricycle! I loved it a lot. I would ride it for hours on end and my mom would have to literally pull me into the house.
My First Bike was a strawberry shortcake bike with streamers on it. My dad bugged me and bugged me to take the training wheels off so that he could teach me how to ride without them. I remember the day we took the wheels off I kept falling off and crying…I remember he kept putting me back on the bike and I would get so mad! Finally with his persistence I rode my bike without the training wheels!
I tweeted!
cherryblossbaby
the first bike swinn-sting ray; it was purple italic with high handle bars. it had a long purple banana seat
because of the way it was shaped it popped great wheeles. I had the coolest bike in my neighborhood
beverlygmorse1@gmail.com
My first bike was a hand-me-down from my big sister. I can still visualikze it….pink, white, and streamers coming out of the handlebars! My parents spent hours teaching me to balance myself, as I had difficulty with that.
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/cdziuba/status/1476288410
My first bike was pink with the tassel stringy things on the handle bars! I also remember my 2nd bigger bike b/c it had a basket on it!! Thanks for letting me play along!
My first bike was a pink Barbie bike with pink and white tassels coming from the handles. It even had a basket on the front and training wheels
Would love to win this….my son gets upset when he can’t get on the big boy bikes.
Tweet
http://twitter.com/copperbrickroad/statuses/1476674458
I blogged about it
http://www.copperbrickroad.com/2009/04/g-bike-giveaway-from-gruntlings.html
Honestly, I don’t even remember what my first bike was – but I do remember that I loved riding my bikes and was really bummed when my bike fell off a trailer and was lost
http://twitter.com/Aleksija/status/1476723611
My Tweet For my first bike
http://twitter.com/copperbrickroad/statuses/1476768875
Ohh, pink Schwinn, complete with banana seat and pink streamers. I had to keep up with the boys in the neighborhood, so I clipped baseball cards on the spokes to make cool clicking sounds. That and we took turns pulling each other on skateboards with our bikes.
My first bike was blue in color with read wheels. I loved to ride it on the street and around the back yard.
My first bike was a Care Bears bike with training wheels, i have pictures of it still, its so cute!
My first bike was my sister’s old bike. I remember it was blue and I loved it. I used to like to do various ‘tricks’ like sticking my feet on the handlebars, death defying I know!
My first bike was pink with streamers coming out of the handles! I loved riding it then, but honestly haven’t ridden a “grown up” bike in years!
My first bike as a kid was my older sister’s hand-me-down with training wheels. It was way too big for me and it took me forever to learn to ride.
Twittered about my bike here: http://twitter.com/JustForMeAndYou/status/1478138761
Blogged about bike contest here: http://justformeandyou2.blogspot.com/2009/04/win-g-bike-from-gruntlings.html
my first bike was a very cool yellow bananna seat bike with streamers on the handles….i loved that bike!!!
My first bike was a red white and blue “Free Spirit” bike from Sears. I loved that bike. That was the first one I had that wasn’t a hand-me-down from my sister. I used to wash it every week. I had it for about 7 years and then I traded it when I was in the 8th grade for a 10 speed that was yellow. Boy did I think I was cool. Those were the days. Thanks for making me think of something I hadn’t thought about in a long time.
What?! How come all of these other commenters had bikes? I didn’t have a bike! Oh… how sad… that is my childhood story!
My first bike that I remember was purple and white with a banana seat that had a purple butterfly and a rainbow on it. There were also sparkly streamers on the handle bars. It was a great bike. Wish I still had it.
Just tweeted:
http://twitter.com/fingerscrossed/status/1479593129
Here’s my blog post:
http://me-lace.blogspot.com/2009/04/gruntlings-g-bike.html
i remember having a pink bike with a rainbow seat.
I probably can’t remember the tricycle I had, but I do remember my bike with a banana seat. I’m pretty sure it was yellow and had streamers coming off the handle bars. I had a basket hanging in between the bars that I used to fill with my treasures and ride around the neighborhood. I had such great times on it.
My first bike was red and great. I learned to ride on a dirt road. We lived in the country. Needless to say it was not easy but I was determined to master it. Finally succeeding and today still love to ride.
I can’t remember having anything before I was about 8 or 9. It was a blue 26 in. cruiser. It lasted for years.
My first real bike that I can recall was a blue bike with a banana sit and it had those cool reflectors in the tires and they also had sparkly tassles from the handabars. Thanks for the giveaway
sharr1226 at yahoo dot com
My first bike was blue with training wheels on them I had so much fun on it!!!
My first bike was a red Schwinn with a red and white basket, bell, and big orange flag on the back. The seat was banana-shaped with a big handle at the back of the seat (maybe for a parent to grab onto to help a child learning how to ride?).
My first bike was a blue hand-me-down that was way too big for me! I loved that bike and my cousin Casey taught me how to ride it in the front yard of my house while our dads set up my first swingset!
My first bike was pink and has streamers coming out of the handlebars plus training wheels that I really didn’t like and wanted off, so I learned quickly how to balance.
My first bike was awesome! I remember learning to ride a 2 wheeler and I thought my mom was still holding on, yet she was standing in front of me. I was so excited! I hope I win because my little girl would love this
The bike i remember was a banana bike pink and white with a pink seat and streamers coming out the of the handle bars. My little brother would ride on the back while i would ride around.
I don’t remember my kind of bike was my first, but I vividly remember riding without training wheels for the first time… I went all the way down our neighborhood road, was able to make a turn in the cul-de-sac, come back down the road, but I forgot how to break (by pedaling backwards). Hope to win this for my daughter, a future cyclist if my husband has anything to do with it.
My first bike had a banana seat and tassels on the handlebars
I remember vividly walking into my bedroom and seeing a bike there. My mom had purchased it and put it in my room as a surprise. It was bright red and beautiful!
smchester at gmail dot com
I blogged about you.
r give a way http://cygonzal1.blogspot.com/2009/04/gruntlings-is-giving-way-g-bike-way.html
I don’t remember a lot about my first bike. I do remember the banana seat I think it had a rainbow on it. I also remember the training wheels and teetering back and forth because they were not even. Oh and the horn I can’t believe I almost forgot the horn. I loved it. It made this really loud annoying noise. Thanks so much for the memories!
http://twitter.com/breasmommy/status/1487296102
tweeted!
What I remember most about my first bike was that it had red and white plastic streamers coming out of the ends of the handles. That, and that I lost control of it while going down our steep, curved driveway, and crashed into a large pine tree in the middle of our cul-de-sac.
I don’t remember my first bike, but I had alot of them throughout my life and they were all fun. My fav. was my ten-speeds
My first bike was a leftover from my brother. I had a black Huffy bike & loved it so much, I named my favorite stuffed bear Huffy!
My first bike was baby blue with a flower basket. My sister & I used to ride our bikes and have picnics in people’s front yards with our stuffed animals.
The first bike I can really remember was a little pink huffy bike…now in hindsight I’m like really I picked out pink!!??? I hate pink…it had a water bottle and a fanny pack on the front and the little bar foam protectors…I learned to ride it two wheeled (without training wheels) in the backyard of my childhood home…how did I learn to ride on such a bumpy surface LOL.
my first bike i got on xmas from “santa” and he left it on the roof since we lived in a apartment with no chimney i was starting to think there was no santa so this is how they tried to prove he was real lol
my first bike –bright yellow with a white banana seat!
my first bike was blue, but my grandfather painted it red because that was my fav color. thanks for the giveaway.
My dad tried to help me learn how to ride my first bike, but, having seen my older brother do it, I was convinced it couldn’t be that hard. I yelled at him, “Daddy, let go! I can do it myself.” I wouldn’t be reasoned with.
So he let go. And I fell right over. After that I let him help
I remember riding up and down the street at this rental house (we were living there while my parents built a house) right after I learned, and being fascinated by the puddle-mirages on the road (mmmm, Florida summer heat.)
I hope I’m not too late because this looks like the perfect bike for my 2-year-old! As I’m the second child, my first bike as a kid was a hand-me-down from my older brother that he had saved money to buy. It was small and blue and I can remember being more afraid of damaging the bike than myself when my dad was trying to teach me to ride without training wheels. When I would start to tip over I did some sort of bending and twisting so that I could hit my hands, feet, or knees to the ground before the bike fell and my dad thought I was crazy… but I didn’t want to disappoint my brother and hurt the bike!
I got my first bike for my 5th birthday. We lived on a big farm then, and there were no paved roads – just stone and dirt. So I just road around the wrap around porch again and again. I didn’t know any different, so I just loved it!! thanks for the giveaway!!
My first bike was a kermit the frog big wheel, loved that thing!
My first bike was actually my sisters… I had to ride it when she wasn’t paying attention because she was really particular about her Strawberry Shortcake covered red bicycle. When my parents saw us fighting over it one day, they took me down to the GW and bought me the biggest, ugliest, banana-seatest atrocity you can imagine (*shudder*). Oh, how I coveted that Strawberry bike with its red and white tassels and white woven basket!
my first bike had a banana seat and a plastic snoopy basket on the front. I got it for Christmas when I was 6.
Here are my tweets, I didn’t follow the directions the first time so i did a second: http://twitter.com/MomMostTraveled/status/1494658749
http://twitter.com/MomMostTraveled/status/1494672372
I loved learning to ride my bright red 10 speed! My dad taught me on the back roads of Oklahoma. Lots of spills and tumbles, but I had the best time ever! And, I remember riding soooo fast that I felt like I was flying! : )))
Thanks so much for this fabulous give~away! : )))
leahita[at]gmail[dot]com
And, I TWITTERED about my first bike as a kid…….username: mamaleahita.
http://twitter.com/mamaleahita/status/1495138345
leahita[at]gmail[dot]com
I had a pink, princess themed bike with training wheels as a child. I remember my dad teaching me how to ride my bike by holding onto the back. He then took off the training wheels and walked/jogged after me until he finally let go when I was ready. I’d love a bike for my son
It was yellow and white and had a white banana seat and those U shaped handlebars. I learned to ride it without training wheels by riding down the hill until I got the hang of the balance.
dearandrea
at sbcglobal. net
My first bike was purple and white. i don’t remember it too well, but I remember my grandfather teaching me to ride it as he ran along side me up and down the street.
Thanks!