Balance Bike Set-Up Guide

If you have recently made the decision to purchase a kids balance bike for yours or a friend’s child then we congratulate you on making a great choice of gift that will provide wonderful benefits to their growth and development.

A balance bike is a developmental powerhouse.

A little toy in which we here at ilovetoridemybike.com are extremely passionate about promoting to parents and carers as the go-to gift that will provide amazing physical, social, emotional and cognitive benefits for your child.

Quite simply, we love our bikes, and our goal is to bring you practical, contemporary and engaging information so that you can learn all there is to know about balance bikes for kids.

In this, our latest post we wish to provide you with a simple 3-step model that we call our Balance Bike Set-Up Guide.

You have already purchased the bike, but how do you correctly fit the bike to your little rider?

Well, in this article we wish to provide you with a simple model to follow that provides you with answers to that question. In our balance bike set-up guide, we will bring you the following information;

1. Balance bike seat height adjustment
2. Balance bike handlebar adjustment
3. Balance bike support
4. A word on safety and conclusion

As is our custom, we now invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy our latest post that provides you with a balance bike set-up guide that we hope you will find simple to follow and implement for your little riding champion.

*** Affiliate disclosure time: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click on those links and make a purchase within a time frame, we earn a small commission. Rest assured, the commission is paid by the retailers, not by you.

This commission helps keep ilovetoridemybike.com riding and writing. We thank you for your generous support. You are helping us continue doing what we love and that’s providing our customers with all the information they need to know about kids balance bikes.

First up, let’s look at the correct method to adjust a balance bikes seat height.

Balance Bike Seat Height Adjustment Guide

This is first in our balance bike set-up guide for good reason.

Correct seat height is numero uno when it comes to safe and fun riding. Your little rider will benefit with greater enjoyment, endurance, comfort and safety all by simply making sure their seat height is spot on.

By mastering this skill now and teaching your child this same skill as they grow, you are investing in helping to make their overall balance bike experiences rich with knowledge and fun.

But why is the balance bike seat height important for riders?

As we have already touched upon, seat height is #1 when it comes to rider safety and comfort.

But added to this is functionality. 

Your little rider, if riding a balance bike with the correct seat height, should be able to walk sitting in the saddle, feet resting flat on the ground with a slight (30 degree) bend at the knee.

They can then progress to walking faster or running with small glides, then longer glides and eventually extended glides with their feet positioned onto the bikes footrests as their balance, coordination and skill develops.

The key is to position their seat 1″ – 1 1/2″ below their inseam length.

Here’s a groovy way to do it.

Finding Your Child’s Correct Seat Height

First, we measure your child’s inseam. Yes, this sounds a little tricky, but we promise to keep this both unscientific and free from technical data 🙂

• have your child stand against a wall with their riding shoes on, feet slightly apart
• using a hardback book (you may wish for them to choose one of their favorites to join in on the bike fun), raise this with the spine facing upwards until it firmly touches the crutch
• keeping the book in this position, now measure from the ground to the top of the book’s spine
• this is your child’s inseam length

Nicely done!

The correct saddle height is now determined by subtracting one, to one and a half inches from this height. For example, if their inseam is 12″, the correct seat height would be between 11″ and 10 1/2″

The last step is to measure the seat height on the balance bike and adjust accordingly.

Do this by simply using a tape measure, then measure the distance vertically from the ground straight up to the top of the mid-point of the saddle, so that this matches the correct seat height for your child.

You’re all done! Now it’s time to adjust the balance bike seat height.

Correct Seat Height Adjustment

The hard work has all been done. So now it’s time to adjust your little rider’s balance bike seat height to the correct height you have just found.

Adjusting your balance bike seat height is usually very quick and simple, depending on your child’s bike design and model.

Adjusting Wooden Balance Bike Seat Heights

The trickiest of products will require a tool, such as an Allen Key to loosen and tighten the seats bolts.

These are usually found on wooden balance bikes such as;

• Kinderfeets (see Amazon USA or Amazon AUS)
• Wishbone 3-in-1
• rybike (see Amazon AUS)
• LifeSpan Kids Scout (see Amazon AUS)
• ANNADA (see Amazon USA or Amazon AUS), and
• Janod (see Amazon USA or AUS) balance bikes

If you’re unsure how to do this, please check with your bikes assembly instructions so that you can understand perfectly what you need to do.

This won’t take long, but we do recommend that you spend a little extra time and care now to ensure your fully aware of how to perfect and complete this masterpiece of bicycle mechanictry.

Quick Release Clamp Seat Adjustment

If your balance bike has a quick release seat clamp it will take you a matter of seconds to adjust your child’s balance bike seat height.

This list is not extensive, but some examples of balance bikes with this handy feature include;

•  Cruzee
• Schwinn (USA) or (AUS)
• Strider (USA) or (AUS)
• Banana Bike (USA) or (AUS)
• GOMO (USA) or (AUS)
• Forgotten Rascal (AUS)
• KRIDDO (USA) or (AUS), and
• JOYSTAR (USA) or (AUS)

Using this clamp, unlock and simply move the seat up or down to your correctly found height. Then close the clamp to lock into position.

You are now a seasoned professional at the following bike mechanics.

• finding the correct inseam height
• calculating the correct seat height, and
• making the magical adjustments to your child’s balance bike

Next up, let’s look at handlebar adjustments.

Balance Bike Handlebar Adjustment Guide

This is the second most easily adjustable component of a kids balance bike and another that falls under (like seat height) a category that we call balance bike geometry. That being said, not all balance bikes have adjustable handlebars, such as that found on the Cruzee balance bike for example.

“great balance bike geometry matches the rider’s unique geometry”

We will not delve into the technical detail in this article, but essentially balance bike geometry covers the following elements: the bike frame, wheelbase, handlebars, seat position/height and fork angle.

The bike’s overall functionality, or rideability is governed by a combination of these elements working in harmony with a rider’s unique traits.

Basically, great balance bike geometry matches the rider’s unique geometry.

To keep things simple, let’s assume your balance bike’s geometry is pretty much spot-on for your child.

You have adjusted the seat height beautifully after measuring their inseam height and now all we need to do is adjust the handlebar height to finish our bike fit.

We just mentioned that not all balance bikes will have adjustable handlebars. Many wooden balance bikes and/or cheaper designs will have fixed handlebar heights (see example image below).

For designs that do have this very useful adjustment, you may again require an Allen Key tool to adjust one or more bolts, but hopefully your model comes with a quick-release clamp, such as those on the Cruzee, Strider, GOMO, Cub Toddler, Banana Bike, Kriddo Toddler, Trikestar and Schwinn balance bikes to name but a few.

Most models with a quick release clamp can be easily opened without tools, simply using your hands to open the clamp, adjust the height of the handlebars and then close the clamp again to lock into place.

Before attempting this adjustment, we always recommend that you check the bike’s assembly instructions so that your fully aware of the bike’s unique features and requirements so that you are following these correctly.

A little extra care and time taken now will reward you and your child significantly in future as they will gain greater enjoyment and safety with a correctly adjusted handlebar height.

So What Is The Optimal Handlebar Height?

If your child’s bike has this handy adjustment, the simple answer is this;

When seated, if you could draw a horizontal line from their hand position towards their body, this horizontal line should cross at their lower mid-section. Basically, 2-3cm above their belly button.

You will see that if their hand position is optimal, that is, in line with or lower than the child’s lower mid-section of their body, it provides the rider with the following benefits;

• their hand position is further from their body
• the riding position is less crowded as their arms are lowered and extended, and
• it allows for a more natural upper body forward tilt

Essentially, an optimal handlebar height makes for a more comfortable and enjoyable bike riding experience for the little rider.

Balance Bike Support

Luckily for us most balance bike manufacturers’ have simple, practical and easily accessible support available online.

By going to your balance bike manufacturers website, locate one of either the Support, FAQ, Instructions or Service and Information tabs (or similar) where you can find everything from FAQ, spare parts, assembly instructions, maintenance and fitting videos or warranty information.

Each manufacturer generally has done a great deal with regard to providing you with wonderful self-help manuals and videos so that you can confidently become a balance bike mechanical expert in your own garage using their resources.

We encourage you to absolutely check-out the manufacturers’ website first and foremost before attempting any bicycle maintenance or assembly on your own.

Essentially, they know their products. Their resources help you to become an expert in their products too!

If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for, be sure to contact us at ilovetoridemybike.com and we will happily help you and/or point you in the right direction so that your well covered. We just love to help our customers in any way we can.

A Word On Safety

As you have just made some brilliant adjustments to two very important components that make up a balance bike, we just want for you to be extra vigilant and encourage you to make the following checks before your child rides off into the sunset.

• check the seat and handlebar clamps or bolts are correctly fastened before riding
• check that the seat and handlebar height is not beyond the recommended maximum or minimum position. These are usually clearly indicated with markings on the seat and handlebar posts and are provided to ensure the rider is always riding in a position that provides optimal strength and comfort
• before any ride, it’s a great habit to get into re-checking these clamps and bolts for correct tightness / fitting and of course, always ensure a helmet is being worn when riding!

Overall Conclusion

If you have read this far, we congratulate you on your due diligence.

Yes, really!

By engaging with our article you have now completed the following practical balance bike mechanics and have become more of an expert in balance bike geometry and fit for your child’s little bike. In essence, you have covered the following’

1. you know why correct seat height is important
2. you can confidently find your child’s inseam height
3. you can confidently find your child’s optimal seat height
4. you can adjust your child’s balance bike seat height accordingly
5. you are aware of why correct handlebar height is optimal for riding and how to find it
6. you can adjust your child’s handlebar height accordingly
7. you are aware of where to find great balance bike support, and
8. you are aware of some simple techniques to improve the safety of your child’s balance bike

Wow! We have covered a lot with you in this article and truly hope that you have found this simple to follow, informative and overall useful.

If you have any further questions related to this post or anything to do with all things bike we encourage you to leave your comments or questions below. We truly love to hear from you at ilovetoridemybike.com.

Happy and safe riding 🙂