BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Early Rider has secured a deal with US outdoor cooperative REI to supply balance bikes to 100 stores and on the REI website.
The Early Rider Lite will be available for $160.
Andy Loveland, co-founder of Early Rider, said:
"This is a great endorsement of our brand. REI is exactly the type of trusted and respected retail partner we want selling our products. The outdoor lifestyle market is huge in the US and working with REI will help us to secure our place in that space."
The balance bike category is a small but growing category in the bike market. The earliest, commercially-available balance bike from children was the Like-a-Bike from Germany. Of course, the earliest balance bike was the adult version by Baron Karl Von Drais. His Laufmaschine – "running machine" – produced in 1819 was the forerunner to the modern bicycle. It had no pedals; users would run with it.
Children as young as 18 months can learn to ride bicycles with balance bikes, a tried and tested technique described in great detail in an online extract in this family cycling book.
