Comments on: Gyroscopic Wheel Replaces Training Wheels on Bicycles

By: led screen

led screen — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:58:11 +0000

Fair enough

By: Carol

Carol — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:20:34 +0000

I need two sets of these. I have twins who need to learn to ride at age 5. Kind of late maybe but better late than never

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:47:53 +0000

I would love to have an adult size model for peddling home from the pub.

By: astrodex

astrodex — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:23:25 +0000

Training wheels only make it harder to learn how to ride a bike. If kids start on a “kick bike” they learn to balance naturally and can transition to a regular bike earlier and easier. You can make a kick bike by simply removing the pedals from a regular bike. When they are coasting with their feet up for a good percentage of the time they are ready for pedals.

By: peggyp

peggyp — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:44:05 +0000

I saw the gyro-wheel at Interbike last week. Two immediate things stand out: First, while the wheel stands up on its own, it seems as soon as a child is put on the bike it will begin to tilt to one side. The gyro wheel will not keep a child from falling. Secondly, the presenters said it is designed for kids 4-8 years. Unfortunately, they’ve already missed the market. Balance bikes in Europe (and now in the US) allow children as young as 2 years to learn balance, coordination and agility…..the three hardest things about riding a bike. The pedaling is the easy part. So, the inventors of the gyro wheel seemed to have missed the world progressing around them (young children learning the skills at age 2) while they worked on their product. It is a cool concept. I just think it has a very limited audience given the success of balance trainers.

By: 2cents

2cents — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:13:52 +0000

@Skipweasel
I got one of those pedal-less bikes from Germany. They really work great for teaching balance. My 2 year old zips around all over the place on it with both feet off the ground at once about half the time. I think it’s called a Puki.

By: Morris

Morris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:30:13 +0000

I am not impressed. Gyroscopes have been around for millinia. I think the old-style training wheels are better training aids, because they only assit the child when the bike is leaning. Otherwise they are not contacting the ground. The child learns how to NOT need any assitance from the training wheels.

This gyroscope wheel is always on, and makes the child learn to ride in a diffent way than they will encounter when they take it off. They will have to relearn their balance on a bike once the gyroscope is removed. I find it interesting that they don’t show any kids trying to ride the bikes. They just roll the bikes and watch them fall over, proving they wouldn’t prevent a child from doing so.

P.S. It might work better in the back, but that is not practicle, because it would need to accomodate the chain and brake elements of the bike.

I give them a thumbs up for perhaps starting a new craze in bike enthusiasm. Kids in the US don’t ride bikes very much anymore. So, the gyroscope wheel does have some mertis.

By: supertsaar

supertsaar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:19:05 +0000

Pretty cool, but also very very much a solution looking for a problem.

Disclaimer : I was also born with a bike between my legs

By: Big Bad Guy

Big Bad Guy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:59:01 +0000

After a few of them freeze up run the kid out into traffic these will be history

By: Karl

Karl — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:16:30 +0000

1. Putting it on the front wheel will make it hard for the kid to steer. It would better in the back.
2. The bike in the video falls over after about ten feet. Is this really string enough to hold up a kid?

By: K!P

K!P — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:44:28 +0000

but what if the wheel is out of power after 3 hours but the kid stil has some sugarrush left? Seems like a complicated solution to a simple problem.

And about bad habits: traning wheels are not supposed to touch the ground when there in advanced mode (bend up)

By: Skipweasel

Skipweasel — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:10:08 +0000

In some countries kids learn on bikes with no pedals – they scoot along and learn balancing – pedalling follows later.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:21:29 +0000

Obviously this is an alien plot to wimpify our kids for easier planet-wide take over in the future …

By: Foreigner1

Foreigner1 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:12:54 +0000

How do you mean “all of us learned that way” (training wheels)…? I had a training-dad who guided and pushed me over and oever again and I fell and fell untill I was tired of falling and finally got the hang of it. And that was how most kids in my age learnt it. …Okay I admit- This is the Netherlands I speak of where children are born with a bike between their legs…

By: Chad

Chad — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:55:55 +0000

How are rear mounted training wheels, a “bad habit”? All of us learned that way, right?

By: FishBottleT

FishBottleT — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:21:00 +0000

Yea a unicycle one would be kinda taking all skill out of riding a unicycle. The different settings are a great idea.

By: pyroger101

pyroger101 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:04:20 +0000

savage! a unicycle one of them would be cheatin wouldnt it…

By: aver154

aver154 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:55:58 +0000

Fair enough, but what about unicycles?