Treehaus Wood Balance Bike

I bought this bike a month ago for my 2 1/2-year old daughter, she loves it. I know the negative reviews cite two major problems with the bike, I can see why. First, there are a lot of comments about the bearings in the rear wheel, I think both wheels suffer from the same problem, but the rear wheel is most likely to fail because of the leverage from the rear axle. The cause of the problem is not the bearings themselves, but the fact that there is not anything bracing the bearing on the interior of the wheel hub, this allows for the inner bearing race to be pushed in, thus causing the bearing to fail. If they had provided a plastic tube fitted between the two bearings, it would have solved the problem. I haven't seen any problems on my particular bike, but even if they do fail I can replace them and fit them the proper way. As for the second issue, it is too tall for the size of child that should be using this bike, there is an easy fix for this too. My daughter is 38" tall, way too short for this bike if put together the way the instructions direct. How I solved this problem is to flip the frame upside-down. I secured the seat by the bottom bolt, then used the upper bolt holes as guides to drill into the seat post to put the seat at the correct angle. Easy, much lower, and she loves it. The main reason to go with a wooden balance bike as opposed to a steel Trek or Schwinn is because they can be picked up by a tiny girl and dragged across a lawn or just turned around on the sidewalk. This thing is super light, and easy to modify to fit whatever size child is using it.

i bought two of these and had not put them together yet. it really is a bad design because tightening the nut and bolt of the axle puts pressure on the bearings to destroy them. the writer who suggested putting a spacer between the bearings is exactly correct. if you still have the box, the wood handle is the perfect solution. untie the string that secures the handle. carefully pry out one bearing from each wheel using the axle bolt. measure the distance in the wheel from the bearing to the flange of the bearing mount shoulder where you remove the bearing. cut the wood handle to that length. insert the bushing you made into the wheel and reinstall the bearing leaving enough looseness to shake the wheel around during assembly to align the bushing you made so the axle bolt will go through it. now tighten the axle bolt and nut and the pressure is on the inner bearing races and the spacer, not working to destroy the bearings. on my bikes the bushinngs are 1 9/16 inches long. all wheels went together fine.

I picked one of these up a few months ago for my nephew's 3rd birthday. He was quite excited about this bike, (I always bike to over to visit, and he seems to notice my bike more than me when I arrive), and within 5 minutes had figured this bike out. We accidentally put it together assuming his legs were longer, but then we just moved the seat down to the lowest position, and he was off scooting around the yard.My nephew since then has been on it almost every day, definitely one of his favorite toys. We even taught him to wear a helmet when he scoots it around. I was also impressed with the durability of this toy, good solid wheels and frame. Can't ask for much more. I am sure I am going to have to get one for my niece (his younger sister) in a year, as she is starting to notice it more. Probably going to stick with this brand as they are mostly inexpensive, and so far, very reliable.

After reading "CRM" review , I came up with this solution for the bearing problem. Just knock out a bearing on each wheel install 2 flat washers and a piece of 1/2" PVC 1 1/2" long between bearings on each wheel. One flat washer goes against the bearing that's left in rim, then a piece of PVC, then one flat washer, then replace removed bearing.Total space is 1 9/16" of solid axle sleeve.I used the axle through the bearing in rim to help line everything up. Repeat on the other wheel. You have now created a solid piece so inner bearing sleeve can't come apart when the bike is in use. Good luck ! The web site wouldn't let me post a photo.

I bought one of these off of woot 2 1/2 years ago. My oldest kid (5 at the time) was able to learn how to ride a pedal bike very quickly with this bike so we passed it on to our 3 year old. She has been using it for an entire year and she uses it a lot. The only issue I have had with it is that the front bolt has had problems coming loose so I put another bolt on it and it has held better but there is a tiny bit of wobble in the front wheel now. All in all our 2 kids that have used it LOVE it. I would recommend this to other based on what I've personally experienced.

I got this bike via Woot for 30 shipped, so I figured even if it only lasted through one kid's pre-two wheeler training, I'd get my money's worth. My daughter is just over 3 and is of average height, but I was disappointed that even on its smallest setting, this bike is too big for her. While the instructions say that the child's feet should be flat on the ground and their knees slightly bent, her toes barely touch the ground. Consequently, it's not proving to be a very useful bike, even though she's the perfect age for it.I did notice after my purchase that the seat-to-ground height was posted on Woot, so I should have checked it out before. My daughter does still enjoy riding it, though, at least to some extent (she tires quickly), and we haven't had any issues with durability of the bike or bearings breaking down. Based on my experience, I'd rate this as a decent balance bike IF the dimensions work for your child.

We purchased this bike for our 3 year old. His 5 year old sister liked it so much that we purchased a second one for her and a third one for the 2 year old. We have only had the first bike a couple months, but with 2 children riding it and putting a lot of use on it, it has held up well. Our children ride outside up and down our paved road and sidewalk. We have been very pleased, it was simple to put together, has been durable and easy to use. Even our 7 year old has tried it out and had a blast on it. Not only have we now purchased 3, we have friends that have purchased 2 after seeing ours in use.