Tag Archives: WOOM Bikes

Going Super Fast On The WOOM 1 Balance Bike

Having never used training wheels, our little girl has quickly progressed her bike riding skills on the WOOM 1 Balance Bike. It’s been two months since Avery started riding on her new balance bike called the WOOM 1. Riding might be a little far-fetched, she mostly sat on and scooted with it at first. But she had a cool hat and Soft Star Shoes!

balance bike, kids, bike riding, learning, no training wheels

But only a month later,  she built up her confidence to rockstar riding status.

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

She had gone from a slow scoot, feet always on the ground, and many falls to acquiring balance and rolling down our driveway with feet in the air. There were still plenty of falls, but not from just standing there, it was from working on her newfound speeds.

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding
Feet up and hair in the air!

She’s been riding for just over two months now, and Going Mom and I can’t believe how far she’s come. We made it a point to get her outside almost every day to ride “Rocket” around a small loop in our neighborhood or up and down the driveway. Since she was pretty slow at first, we never put a helmet on her, but as the speeds increased, the need for head protection was obvious.

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Ha ha, just kidding, but isn’t that a cute pic? Thanks to Mathias from WOOM Bikes, we were sent an awesome helmet from Melon Helmets. We were worried she may not like having a large helmet to wear, but on the contrary…..

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Yeah, she loves wearing her helmet and knows to ask for it before riding on her WOOM 1 Balance Bike.

She’s proud of her “Rocket” and it shows by how overprotective she is when anyone else (kid or adult) so much as looks at it. Riding on two wheels is one thing, but sharing is a completely different lesson. Right now the focus is on riding and potty training (more on that later), so we just have to pick our battles.

Now that Avery has learned to ride so well, the next step is learning to use the hand brake to slow herself down. Her new shoes are already getting a nice sized hole from acting as her only brakes, so hopefully she learns soon. As you can see, she can go “super fast”, just like Rocket on Little Einsteins.

One of the features I loved most about the WOOM 1 is the fact that it has a brake while many other balance bikes lack this important feature. I’ve seen how fast kids can go on this bike, and stopping with just shoes is not the best option. Just like we’ve been doing, we’ll continue getting her outdoors and working with her on the brake. I have no doubt she will be squeezing the handle to slow down from her super speeds in less than another month!

My wife and I are extremely grateful to WOOM Bikes for providing their WOOM 1 Balance Bike to us at no charge in exchange for an honest review. We can’t get over how well she does when riding, and never using training wheels will make the transition to a bike with pedals much easier to manage. When the time comes, I have no doubt we’ll choose a WOOM 2 Bike, the next step, as the looks and quality are all A-Class in my book.

woom 2 balance bike

Disclaimer: I was provided a WOOM 1 Balance Bike free of charge in exchange for my honest, unbiased review and was not compensated any other way. All thoughts are 100% my own. Seriously, love this bike!

Gaining Confidence with the WOOM 1 Balance Bike

We’ve had the WOOM 1 Balance Bike for only a month, and our little girl has already improved so much! Her coordination, speed, balance, and most importantly, happiness on the bike all increase every time she gets on her Rocket.

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

I’d say that’s the look of one proud and confident kid if you ask me. Pretty darn cute too!

Going Mom and I have been spending a lot time watching and encouraging her as she practices gliding down our driveway. Not always with both feet in the air, but building her balance a little more each time.

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

Here she is with both feet up as her hair apparently follows suit. She’s loving her new Soft Star Shoes when she walks, runs, or rides too. Aren’t they cute?

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

There are times, however, when a car will pass, a bug will fly by, or she sees “money” (it’s just a dead leaf) that distracts her just enough to lose focus. Consequently, her balance is lost too.

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

But, no biggie, we’ve never had a quick knee-jerk reaction when she falls so as to not foster her into thinking she can be a drama queen. Instead, we just shake it off and do a little shaky dance. Followed by picking up her crashed WOOM 1 Balance Bike.

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

The bike is made of lightweight aluminum alloy and weighs in at just 7.7lbs, which is no problem for our strong little girl to pick back up and get back to riding. Sometimes daddy likes to make Rocket fly by lifting up the front wheel and “taking off” with her in the cockpit/seat.

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

I think I enjoy doing that more than her, she just want to ride……on her own! She usually makes it quite clear, so I make sure to keep my distance for our confident daughter. Notice that poor rejected dad in the background?

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

Guess I can understand though, she’s already turning into Little Miss Independent. I’ll just have to keep an eye out for the neighborhood boys.

So, in just over a month, our initial impression is a very pleased one. Getting the WOOM 1 for her to ride was a great choice, and we’re extremely happy to cut out the need for training wheels.

With her first downhill session looking like she was impersonating the Flintstones driving their cars to learning to lift her feet up and glide down somewhat smoothly, we couldn’t be more proud of how far she’s come.

We still have lots of biking adventures to come. The next thing to work on is riding on flat ground at a pace faster than the Mayflies blowing backwards in the wind. All in due time, check back for updates on her progress soon!

WOOM 1 Balance Bike, kids, bikes, riding

Disclaimer: I was provided a WOOM 1 Balance Bike free of charge in exchange for my honest, unbiased review and was not compensated any other way. All thoughts are 100% my own. Seriously, love this bike!

WOOM 1 Balance Bike: Learning to Ride

Have you heard of a balance bike? It’s a bike without pedals meant to allow 1.5 to 3 year olds get comfortable riding a bike. As they get older and ready to use pedals, they can learn to ride a pedal bike without training wheels.

I was not aware of this type of bike until I saw a couple neighborhood boys riding around on their balance bikes as Avery and I went for our daily walk. I could see Avery’s eyes locked in with awe (okay, mine were too), which made her trike pale in comparison. Although she didn’t exactly say it, her actions made it clear enough with her awkward stance….

balance bike, trike, bikes, kids

Yeah, I’m not a big fan of the pink trike either.

Luckily, after speaking with Mathias from WOOM Bikes, he graciously agreed to send me their WOOM 1 Balance Bike to use and review.  Just 2 days later, after going on our walk, Avery and I returned home to a glorious site waiting in our garage, the WOOM 1 all boxed up. Avery’s excitement was obvious…

Hugging WOOM 1 Balance Bike Box

We immediately opened the box to reveal a safely wrapped shiny red WOOM 1 Balance Bike. I think someone was ready to go right away as evidenced by those little grabby hands.

WOOM 1 Balance Bike

After working to fight my surprisingly strong toddler off as if she were a zombie after my exposed brains (Yes, I’m a guilty fan of The Walking Dead), I removed the foam and adjusted the bike for Avery to test. We were even sent cool blue hats that she had to wear and would not let me take it off!

WOOM 1 balance bike, trike, bikes, kids,

Poor pink trike in the background, it’s glory days are long gone. This girl looks born to ride with her pink Soft Star Shoes and blue WOOM Bikes hat. Once on the sidewalk, she slowly started out just trying to get a feel of having only 2 wheels.

Riding WOOM 1 Balance Bike

She took very tiny steps, made a little progress, then fell. After shaking off her boo boo, she tried again and stumbled over again. More crying and boo boo shaking/kissing ensued. We gave her a little confidence boosting pep talk and got her to sit back on her new bike. That’s about it, she was content with just hanging for the day.

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Hanging and looking cute as all getout! So, we were off to a rough start for the first day, but practice makes perfect, right?

Okay, maybe not perfect, but the next day she actually covered ground on her balance bike hog. We just need to work on her sitting on the seat and, well, we need to work on a lot. Either way, progress was made and she had fun in the process.

Patience is a mandatory prerequisite in parenting, and I had to keep reminding myself that being on a bike is something completely new to Avery. Just like rolling over, crawling, walking, etc, for the first time, it takes time, and we need to keep that in mind when our miniatures are learning.

We’ll be spending plenty of time practicing this weekend and I’m confident she’ll be riding circles around those neighborhood boys in no time!

I’ll post updates here, on Facebook, and Instagram to monitor her progress on the WOOM 1 Balance Bike. Now we just need to find a good nickname for her bike. Lately, she enjoys watching Little Einsteins and loves the character Rocket. Since Rocket is also red, I’m thinking Rocket is a perfect fit. Yay or nay?

Learn more about WOOM Bikes and find the perfect fit for any age on their website. They have bikes for little kids just starting to walk all the way up to teens.

Have you heard of WOOM Bikes or tried a balance bike before?

Any tips on getting started riding a balance bike?