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The Ultimate Balance Bike
Duncan's Mini CG
My son has been ripping the Production Privee Mini CG since Spring of 2015. He jumped on it when he was 2.5 years, he did start on a smaller wheeled, lower standover bike than this at approx 1.5 years. I find he's progressing so much better than the kids on the solid rubber tires and hard plastic seats. He's really comfortable going fast and learning to stop has been a huge upside to having disc brakes. I'd honestly say I think learning to brake is far better than learning to pedal in terms of knowing how to slow down or stop once coasting. Also standing up is an essential mountain bike skill, my kid has that on lock.
![DunX]()
So Much Fun
For the real mountain bike dads out there, there's really no better choice. He weighs 31 lbs, I put about 5psi in the tires. I can see when he hits a rock on the trail, rather than ping off of it and crash he maintains traction and control. Pneumatic tires make such a difference in comfort and control. The standing platform is big enough for my feet, my son has no problem standing and coasting on this balance bike. The bars are at a comfortable and controllable position. The geometry is really good, I see so many bikes with short wheelbases and either too slack or too steep head tube angles. You can see when the other kids stride the bars row back and forth and when they let up on the steering the bars turn. This is especially the case on the wooden bikes, those are not only really flexy but they are slack.
![Brake Lever]()
The Details
I've wired the grips so they stay put even in the rain. I've also put aluminum end caps on the bars to put up with the abuse of dropping the bike when he gets off or spills. I donated the front brake off my dirt jumper, re-bent the lever to make it closer and scored it to give it some more grip. It's actually a little silly having a SAINT brake on his bike, the stopping power is beyond what is needed, I call it his "Skid Switch". We practice skidding in the gravel, he always does the look back to see what he laid down. We also skid a lot on pavement and while standing. I know we're wearing the tire out, but it's pure entertainment and he pretty mush stops on command now. Pretty handy when I need him to stop for safety reasons.
![Brake Caliper]()
Summary
I've heard a lot of comments about the disc brake and little fingers. It is eye catching and cool for sure, people are blown away when they see a disc on his bike. I can understand parents concerns about the discs and here's what I know: 1) His fingers are wrapped around the grips 99% of the time we are playing. 2) When we do turn the bike upside down to work on it or clean it, we don't spin the tires and he's not allowed to touch any moving parts. I use it as a parenting lesson, it's like the stove or the electric socket, no finger zone. My son has been shadowing me in the garage since he could walk, maybe I take for granted all the early lessons of letting him work with me. I've encouraged him to play with tools and I've been very conscious of setting boundaries around being nearby when the wheels are spinning (on my bike or his) and touching the chain or drivetrain. Maybe this isn;t the case for every kid but I've enjoyed having a little helper who knows the difference between a phillips and a flat head at age 3 and has respect for the equipment.
The braking is really an important skill, I can't emphasize that enough. I think it's more important than pedaling, truly. Pedaling = more speed and if you can't slow it down that's out of control. Unless you've tried and it and taught the skill to your little one, it's hard to comprehend how important it it. But when my wife takes the boy out around the neighborhood and yells "stop" and he lays down a mean skid and looks back at her, I know were on the right track.
I've had my son on singletrack before he's three. I can't tell you how exciting it is to watch them progress and it's all dependent on having the right equipment.
Thanks for reading, check out the more here: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/mini-cg-balance-bike-2015.html
Check out the Steller Story:
https://steller.co/s/4nxUJVTsMuj
My son has been ripping the Production Privee Mini CG since Spring of 2015. He jumped on it when he was 2.5 years, he did start on a smaller wheeled, lower standover bike than this at approx 1.5 years. I find he's progressing so much better than the kids on the solid rubber tires and hard plastic seats. He's really comfortable going fast and learning to stop has been a huge upside to having disc brakes. I'd honestly say I think learning to brake is far better than learning to pedal in terms of knowing how to slow down or stop once coasting. Also standing up is an essential mountain bike skill, my kid has that on lock.
So Much Fun
For the real mountain bike dads out there, there's really no better choice. He weighs 31 lbs, I put about 5psi in the tires. I can see when he hits a rock on the trail, rather than ping off of it and crash he maintains traction and control. Pneumatic tires make such a difference in comfort and control. The standing platform is big enough for my feet, my son has no problem standing and coasting on this balance bike. The bars are at a comfortable and controllable position. The geometry is really good, I see so many bikes with short wheelbases and either too slack or too steep head tube angles. You can see when the other kids stride the bars row back and forth and when they let up on the steering the bars turn. This is especially the case on the wooden bikes, those are not only really flexy but they are slack.
The Details
I've wired the grips so they stay put even in the rain. I've also put aluminum end caps on the bars to put up with the abuse of dropping the bike when he gets off or spills. I donated the front brake off my dirt jumper, re-bent the lever to make it closer and scored it to give it some more grip. It's actually a little silly having a SAINT brake on his bike, the stopping power is beyond what is needed, I call it his "Skid Switch". We practice skidding in the gravel, he always does the look back to see what he laid down. We also skid a lot on pavement and while standing. I know we're wearing the tire out, but it's pure entertainment and he pretty mush stops on command now. Pretty handy when I need him to stop for safety reasons.
Summary
I've heard a lot of comments about the disc brake and little fingers. It is eye catching and cool for sure, people are blown away when they see a disc on his bike. I can understand parents concerns about the discs and here's what I know: 1) His fingers are wrapped around the grips 99% of the time we are playing. 2) When we do turn the bike upside down to work on it or clean it, we don't spin the tires and he's not allowed to touch any moving parts. I use it as a parenting lesson, it's like the stove or the electric socket, no finger zone. My son has been shadowing me in the garage since he could walk, maybe I take for granted all the early lessons of letting him work with me. I've encouraged him to play with tools and I've been very conscious of setting boundaries around being nearby when the wheels are spinning (on my bike or his) and touching the chain or drivetrain. Maybe this isn;t the case for every kid but I've enjoyed having a little helper who knows the difference between a phillips and a flat head at age 3 and has respect for the equipment.
The braking is really an important skill, I can't emphasize that enough. I think it's more important than pedaling, truly. Pedaling = more speed and if you can't slow it down that's out of control. Unless you've tried and it and taught the skill to your little one, it's hard to comprehend how important it it. But when my wife takes the boy out around the neighborhood and yells "stop" and he lays down a mean skid and looks back at her, I know were on the right track.
I've had my son on singletrack before he's three. I can't tell you how exciting it is to watch them progress and it's all dependent on having the right equipment.
Thanks for reading, check out the more here: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/mini-cg-balance-bike-2015.html
Check out the Steller Story:
https://steller.co/s/4nxUJVTsMuj
Author Info:
Member since Sep 15, 2010
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