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First bike competition! Win a cool balance bike for your child from StarterBikes.co.uk [closed]

first BIKE fro Starter Bikes - 1Choosing your child’s first bike can be a tricky business indeed. Having learned to ride a bike first with a shiny red tricycle and then with a giant banana-seated bicycle with stabilisers (and ridiculous streamers), I’ve never known what to make of the huge assortment of balance bikes and running bikes I’ve seen in the playground.

Ollie from StarterBikes.co.uk is a dad himself, and has seen for himself how much difference the right first bike can make to a child. Learning to ride a bike with stabilisers makes for plenty of frustration down the line, and the bikes are usually heavy, clunky and difficult for a young child to manage comfortably.

first BIKE fro Starter Bikes - 2“Running bikes”, or “balance bikes” on the other hand are light weight  yet sturdy, and give your child the best opportunity to learn the concepts of steering and balance from a very young age. In fact, children as young as two can get started on a balance bike, as you know from seeing those little ones zipping confidently around the park. When the time comes to graduate to something with pedals, they’ll be off like a shot.

Well, we’re sure you’re looking forward to teaching your child to ride their first bike this Spring, so to help get you started, StarterBikes.co.uk are giving away two of their award winning balance bikes from the firstBIKE range.

firstBIKE Cross with brake from Starter Bikes - red firstBIKE Street with brake from Starter Bikes - blue firstBIKE Street with brake from Starter Bikes - green firstBIKE Street with brake from Starter Bikes - pink

These beautifully engineered bikes boast revolutionary GFR frame construction in a stylish and innovative design. Very easy to assemble, requiring only an allen key (which of course is provided). The height adjustable saddle and optional lowering kit means kids from 2 to 5 can start riding today! Certified to TUV safety standards and comes with a full two year guarantee against defects.

[button link=http://www.starterbikes.co.uk/?sbid=rkf]Visit the StarterBikes.co.uk website[/button]

Your chance to win a firstBIKE balance bike

starter bikes logoFor your chance to win one of two firstBIKE balance bikes, leave a comment below telling us about your first bike, or about learning to ride a bike!

Please also share the competition on Facebook and Twitter (#winfirstbike), and pin those lovely photos from StarterBikes.co.uk to your Pinterest boards!

Many thanks to StarterBikes.co.uk for providing these fantastic prizes!

Terms and conditions

  • Competition closes at 11 pm on Sunday April 15th 2012
  • Limit of 1 entry per person
  • Competition open to UK residents only
  • Offer is not-transferable and no cash equivalent will be given
  • Two winners will be chosen at random by Really Kid Friendly from all of the entries, and our decision is final.
  • Winners will be notified by email, so please double-check your email address when you leave a comment.

 


							

Written by Janis P.

204 Comments

  1. I remember my first bike was a Big Wheel-shame they don’t have those anymore but this one looks great for my boys!

  2. Spring has sprung and celebrated by taking stabilisers off for the first time!! Limited success so have put one back on. The promise of a dolls seat for the bike has given renewed enthusiasm to keep on trying.

  3. My first bike was bright yellow and nicknamed the Battle Wagon. It was only 20 years later that I discovered my grandparents had salvaged it from a skip and lovingly restored it for me for my birthday. I loved that bike!O

  4. I never had a bike until I was a young lad for my paper route but
    this bike looks lovely for my 3 year old.

  5. Mine is of my papa who had a found a sparkly red and white girls bike tucked in the back of the shed of teh house my grandparents had just bought. He lovingly restored it for me and I can remember being pushed round the garden till he let go most of the summer!

  6. My first bike was given to my sister as it was way too big for me 🙁 !! wish balance bikes were about when I was little they look fantastic x

  7. My first bike belong to a boy called Guy Durkin who let me ride it, big mistake as when he did I would take off with it for the day. He was lovely as it always happened and everday he let me have it, so soon learned how to balance and speed came naturally. He did do well at athletics, think it was all that running after me that helped.

  8. Well my first bike wasn’t mine exactly, it was my older sisters. Me trying to be cool I sat on the bike which was way too big for me. I was about 7 and my sister was 16 (you can imagine how big it was) I raised myself onto the seat and was happily showing off by riding around, until it came for me to stop and get off. I slipped and ended up in hospital. Put me off bikes for about 18 years!

  9. I remember my first bike being a yellow bmx that i had off my neighbours son. I got on it span round in circles because it was too big and fell off.

  10. this woyuld be perfect for my son! I remember my dad taking me down the park to teach me to learn to ride a bike!

  11. Me and my friend went for a ride down the woods on hers and her sisters bike. The handle bars came off her sisters bike and i was late for picking up my sister. I ran back through the woods whist my friend struggled with both bikes. I was still late to pick my sister up and was banned from riding bikes.

  12. My first bike was brown and I was gifted it after returning from the Brownie Camp from hell, which my parents wouldn’t take me home from on parents day.
    Apparently I had changed. I was a lovely girl before but said ‘did I say I wanted a bike?’ and stormed off.
    It took me three years to ride the bike or stay over anywhere, apparently out of principle!
    What a little…….LOL

  13. i managed to learn to ride very quickly and removed my stabilizers within a few hours,guess i just got good sense of balance.

  14. like most people l remember the shock / horror when l realised my dad was no longer running with me and holding the bike steady

  15. We lived in a small village and I was primary school age when I first started. There must have been stabilisers on the bike as all I can remember is forever daydreaming as I went along and bumping into kerbs, walls and the odd parked car…. Not sure if that put me off or the subsequent move to a very hilly area. I did not really get to grips with cycling again til I was about 11 and I would go off on day long adventures with my friends. The sense of freedom was incredible.

  16. I don’t remember owning a bike when I was young. Then, in Sweden, we were on holiday and had borrowed some bikes and I remember learning then – cycling across beautiful countryside!

  17. I still have the scars from learning to ride my first bike….. and vivid images of not one but TWO trips to A&E in one day after falling off twice. Back then I remember being told if you dont give it one more try you will be scared forever, so after my first visit to have stitches on my forehead, i gave it another go to come off again and ended up having stitches on my knee. I wish we had balance bikes back then!! maybe it would of saved my having to tell my funny yet embarrassing story to those who ask – “Laura, how did you get that scar on your head”.

  18. while learning to ride my bike i fell off into a rose bush ouch !!!! my bike was a red and white raleigh which was from a second hand shop in 1985

  19. I remember i was about 8 and i got a chippy ( girlie equivalent for a chopper ), for christmas. I was so scared and wobbly but after a couple of hours practice i could do it. I was so proud of myself and i had many a happy summer riding my bike after that.

  20. My first bike was ‘found’ at the local tip when I was ‘helping’ my Dad take the rubbish one Sat morning, it was a bit pre-enjoyed but I loved it….fat white chunky tread tyres & mostly red paint….took me a while to master riding it, but it was lovingly washed whenever my Dad was washing his car…. ;D

    (As a Mum I now get the same five minutes peace by sending my two girls off to ‘help’ their Dad too!)

  21. I got my first bike when I was about 6 from Father Christmas – it was a pretty pink one. I was so excited and as soon as I could I went outside on it. I remember within 5 minutes I had a flat tyre and had to come in. My Dad found a drawing pin in the tyre and I couldn’t ride it again til he went and bought a repair kit. I was so disappointed.

  22. i remember my first bike….It was bright pink and i loved it. i used to take it to my grandparents each weekend and they taught me to ride without stabilisers ( after i crushed all of their daffodils at the side of their house, from both the wheels and me falling on to them. Any way one of these bikes would be ideal for my little girl so she is able to build fond memories too.

  23. My first bike was Christmas present a Raligh Beancor (glittery purple in colour)
    I was about 7 & very excited,& i couldn’t wait to show my friend across the road.
    When we finally met (on about boxing day) We had both got matching bikes!
    Which we spent many fun years on with our new found independence.
    Neither me or my friend had stabilisers …. For a start,lots of tumbling off (on the grass)
    But that’s all part of the fun!

  24. My first memory of learning to ride a bike was my dad picking me up from school with my bike, he usually held on to the back all the way home, but one day I turned around to check he was still there and he had let go, I was riding it all by myself!

  25. I had a blue bike that Mum and Dad picked up second hand from somewhere and I loved it. I remember taking my cycling proficiency at school and knowing that one of the requirements was that it had a bell on it. I went outside all nervous because I knew it did not have one, only to see one on the handlebar. My Dad had returned to school and fitted it without me knowing – I passed 🙂

  26. My first bike was an anciet butchers bike without the basket on! My parents painted it cherry red and I had it for many years. I loved it as much as if it was brand new!!!

  27. I remember my dad holding on, letting go without telling me and then I looked back and saw him and then crashed!

  28. A boy who used to live opposite me as a child decided he’d ‘borrow’ his Mum’s bike. Only problem was he couldn’t reach the ground and was riding up and down the cul-de-sac screaming for help because he couldn’t stop without falling off. Nobody could help as children and parents alike were crying with laughter. Nice boy but not the most intelligent!

  29. Oh my first bike was pink with tassels hanging from the handles and a basket on the front for my dolly he he. I loved it.

  30. I remember riding my bike all the time as a young child, but in my teenage years I moved to a hilly area where cycling was difficult. I heard the saying time and time again, “It’s like riding a bike”, meaning it’s one of those things that once you’ve done once the skill comes back easily even years later. Well in my twenties I had the chance to cycle around in the country, and I realized that saying was very misleading! I hopped on the bicycle, expecting to zip off down the road, only to wobble a bit and promptly tip over. How embarrassing to fall off a bike less than a few meters from my starting point in my adult years! Sounds like I could use one of these fab balance bikes as much as my pre-schooler.

  31. the first bike i remember is a burgandy raleigh. I was given it for my 7th birthday from my dad, he was more excited than me! It took me years to get the hang of cycling (im still not that confident) and to make it worse all three of my boy cousins, on my dad’s side, could ride before they could walk. They were my inspiration or bought out my competitive side at least. What I would like is for my boys to be confident as riders and in other areas of their lives too. I think balance bikes are great fun yet allow a child to build confidence and awareness of their bodies and surroundings untill they are big enough to move on to the real thing. I wish I’d had one!

  32. I remember learning to ride my bike with my Dad running alongside. I expect this is pretty typical for many of us. (And my Dad took me out to learn to drive a car too). Happy memories

  33. i dont remember my first bike although i remember my bike been pinched when i was about 7 out of our shed ive never cryed so much in my life and they never caught who did it 🙁 x

  34. I really could have used a blance bike when I was a kid! I was still riding a bike with stabilisers at 9 years old! My son hasnt got the grips of peddling yet and I hope he doesnt take after me!!!

  35. My first bike u had to pedal backwards for the breaks, it had the smallest wheels in the world and the most uncomfortable seat ever lol

  36. OK, I admit it, I was and still am rubbish at riding a bicycle – I suspect I could really have done with a balance bike as a kid… My first time without stabilisers I was 12!! Please help my lovely 2 year old boy do better than me 😉

  37. I had an old purple rusty bike. My dad pushed me down the road, before letting go. Well this was ok until I got to the end of the road and couldn’t stop-that was when I ended up head first in a pond. Not sure who was most shocked; me, the fish, my dad or the old lady who was pruning her roses at the time!

    Balance bikes appear to be the new rage – what an awesome idea. My little man would be in his element with one of these.

    As they say ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it’ – so here goes!

  38. I don’t remember my first bike but i remember riding my big brothers bike, i couldn’t touch the pedals if i sat on the seat so had to ride around standing up!!!

  39. I loved my first bike, my Dad has a great picture of me receiving it on christmas day, the smile on my face says it all. It was a red apple bike and had a lovely big white basket on the front, I rode around like I was Queen Bee. I looked after so well it was spotless my pride and joy. The freedom it brought was amazing I could cycle for miles, but i was always back for lunch. Those were the days.

  40. my first bike was pink with ribbons i remember my mum tried her hardest to buy it for me i loved it so much i know my 3yr old son would love this has he cant get the hang of riding a bike yet

  41. I remember learning to ride my bike with my Mum holding the back of the seat shouting ‘peddle peddle peddle’

  42. My first bike! It was my 8th birthday, and I came downstairs and opened all my presents! When I had finished, my mum told me we needed to go in the garage?! So off we went… in there was a gorgeous red metallic Raleigh Bike with yellow rubber foot pedals on the back wheel! All my friends were so jealous, and begging me to let them stand on them whilst I rode my bike!!!! I loved that bike!!!

  43. Learned to ride on my brothers bike, no stabilizers and a cross bar. Until I could bike on my own to the shops and back to get something for mum I wasn’t allowed my own bike. Oh those were the days of safe roads and no worries. Long gone now.

  44. My Nanna taught me to ride a bike. She told me the bike was magic and I wouldnt fall off. I believed her and could ride it perfectly.

  45. I remember being proud as punch of my first proper bike it was just “like my big cousins” a red raleigh bike.
    My dad walked down to the local police station with me to get it security marked and I played out on the street with it every night for weeks!!
    Those were the days!

  46. I remember being pushed down a huge hill and falling off. I went back to the area and realise it was never even a hill lol

  47. I remember having the training wheels on my first bike and watching my brother that was a year older riding without it. I wanted to be like him so I got onto his bike and fell. My mother decided to give it a go and held onto the back of the seat while I peddled. She let go and off I was on my own. My extra wheels came off my bike.

  48. I taught myself to ride using my brothers oversized racing bike! My feet didn’t touch the ground, so I got on by climbing onto the raised flowerbeds and pushing myself off till I managed not to fall over sideways. I think i was quite a determined kid as it didn’t take long to master it LOL!!

  49. My legs were a bit twisted and the hospital suggested that my parents bought me a bike which they could not afford. My dad went out and bought the bike and walked to work for many months afterwards to save the bus fare

  50. I got my first bike when I was about 8 years old for Christmas. It was a pink Raleigh bike and was definitely a big girls bike, no stabilizers!! My Grandad taught me to ride my bike over the Christmas holiday, and after many grazed knees and elbows I was was free and peddling everywhere I could!

  51. I rememeber when i was trying to learn to ride my bike. We had a big apple tree in the garden and dad kept pushing me round it. x

  52. My first bike should have been condemned!!! It was a handmedown, gone through 3 families, by the time it got to me, mum had to make a seat for it… not that that was a problem for a while, as it was so big ( or I was so short!!) that I needed a step to reach the seat, and then the crossbar meant I couldnt reach the pedals.
    Then to top it all off, when my older brother was riding it, it fell in half the handlebars and front wheel seperated from the seat, pedals and rearwheel…..needless to say in true recycling style, it was welded back together and still functioned…however the brakes werent very good after that. Just as well we lived in the country

  53. My first bike was a Christmas present from my Grandparents, it was gorgeous,pink and white,it looked quite grown up but had the safety net of stabilizers. With my dad holding on to the back of my seat off I set off down the street ringing the bell,hoping not to fall off and I didn’t 🙂

  54. My first bike was a little, red three wheeler trike with streamers on the handlebars and I loved it but we didn’t have any path for me to play on so I would throw it over the garden fence into next door’s garden because my gate was locked, climb over the fence and then ride it right down the middle of the steep road I lived on stopping all the cars and buses. The bus driver would pick me up, shove me below one arm, have the little trike in the other and shout on my mum, “Jean, she has escaped again”.

  55. Straight to the hard stuff, no 3rd and 4th wheels for me. Accounts for the scarred knees. TeHe

  56. A BMX hand-me-down from my cousin. No gears. But man did i customise it well with spokes from cereal boxes

  57. As my family were quite poor growing up, I leart to ride my first bike on a friends My Little Pony Bike!, It was the first time without stabilisers and I just let myself go from the top of a hill.It felt really liberating, until the girl’s dad came over demanding her bike back, I’d forgot to ask :(.And that’s why I’ll never forget my 30th Birthday.(that bit was a joke).

  58. I actually can’t ride a bike 🙁 I never had the opportunity as a kid, but I would like to learn one day. However now I have a son of my own who’s now 3 i definitely want him to grow up being able to ride a bike, it’s part and parcel of being a kids isn’t it?

  59. My first ‘grown-up’ bike was shiny and glittery lilac. It had a customised bell and had lots of glittery streamers on the handlebars! I can remember riding up and down the road with my dad holding the back of my seat. What I hadn’t realised was that at one point dad was jogging behind me and reassuring me that he was holding my seat when he wasn’t and when I realised I was cycling all on my own I felt like a fairy who could fly!!
    I have also shared the competition on facebook and pinned a picture on my pinterest board!

  60. there is only a year between me and my sister, so we learnt to ride together, at christmas we always got the same present, if i got a dolls pram then so did she, so when I got a bike she got a bike, so she always did things when she was younger than me

  61. I was 22 when i first learnt to ride a bike my parents never really bothered with all that, its a shame really because i still dont feel comfortable riding a bike today

  62. As the youngest in a family of 3 I always got hand me downs so my first bike was one that both my brother and sister had used before me 🙂 It was far too big for my little legs and I couldn’t touch the ground. The stabilizers had long since been discarded so I was very, very wobbly.

    I was so scared of that bike that I eventually refused to even try to ride it. So I didn’t actually learn to ride a bike until a few years ago when hubby promised that he would buy me a new bike if I was willing to learn.

    Now I love my bike – although to be fair I’m still not the most confident rider, but on a sunny day I love to get the bike out and go to the park.

    I’m determined that both Piper and Daisy will have bikes that fit them so they aren’t put off riding like I was!

  63. My first bike was blue and had a little white basket on the front in which little teddy sat.

  64. My first bike was red and I loved it so much that I rode it until I was too big for it so my knees were bruised touching the handlebars!

  65. I first rode a bike when I was about 7 it was a red chopper my Grandad bought me, he taught me to ride it in back garden was never that confident on it.

  66. My first bike was a little black BMX – I loved it, my grandad spent ages teaching me how to ride it without stabilisers. I didnt realise at first he had let go as I went down the garden, but i have never forgotten the feeling, totally amazing and my grandad was so proud.

  67. Have shared the competition on twitter for you @bumbag 🙂
    I would love this bike for my gorgeous pudding Ted
    My first memory of riding a bike was with my Dad and he just let go so I had to get on with it!! I also remember I had a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and two pairs of jeans on to counter act any scuffs! What a look!!

  68. When I was about 9, my mum walked 3 miles through the snow to get me a new bike for my birthday, she carried it almost all the way home – and I loved that bike so much xx

  69. My first bike was a white one with a basket in the front and tassels on the handle bars. It also had a baby seat on the back and I used to take my tiny tears doll on the back!

  70. I’d love to win one of these for my little girl.

    I seem to remember my first bike being a white ‘Rainbow’ one with a red, plastic, squeaky horn and stabilisers. I remember I much preferred my small, black, plastic motorbike at the time because it was easier to push myself along with my feet than trying to learn to balance on my bike (a bit like these balance bikes I suppose). Having said that, once I had mastered the art of cycling, I loved it and would always be out and about on my bike. It was something my Dad and I enjoyed doing together.

  71. My first bike was a three wheeler complete with a little box thing on the back, which let me take all my toys round with me at the same time, I finally got a red chopper bike which all my friends were jealous of.

  72. Mine was pink with tassels from the handles. I remember going down hill and using my shoes instead of the brakes and taking the ends out of my shoes. my mum went mad cos they were newish!!!!!
    simontink@aol.com

  73. I remember I had a purple bike with stabilisers – it was a called a budgie I think and me and my brother would play on our bikes all the time. We had an alleyway next to our house and we’d ride up and down all day. We went to school by coach and we would pretend we were coaches and their coach drivers – I had a vivid imagination then!

  74. My first bike was purple with whiter handlebars and I was so excited because it had a basket and a seat on the back for my teddy !!! I don’t think we ever forget our first bike !! x

  75. I remember how lucky we were as there was a private estate behind our house and we had permission to ride around it, and it was completely safe. As soon as I could ride me and my sister went exploring every day!

  76. I don’t actually remember my first bike as I was brought up in a family of cyclists and so was on a bike before I could hardly walk [if only balance bikes were around then]. My dad still cycles every single day and I am sure would love to see his youngest grand daughter on one of these.

  77. I’ll never forget learning to ride my bike. We were at the local park, and I remember getting soooo frustrated, as I kept falling off over and over again. I must have finally got the hang of it, but boy was I in a bad mood! I remember the bike too, the tyres were so wide it should have been impossible not to balance….

  78. My first bike was shared with my sister and did not only have a set of panniers on the back but also a basket on the front which she often put her soft toy bunny rabbit in. I was not phased however in riding a ‘girl’s bike’ as I had discovered a new found freedom peddling all around the neighborhood without a care in the world & at a frightening speed.

  79. My first bike was a red 3 wheeler with a little metal box on the back which I carried my dolls around in. Later I had a red chopper which was my pride and joy

  80. Mu first bike was a hand me down from my cousin when I was 4 but I didn’t care because I loved it so much. It was pretty plain and a little boyish so i used to jazz it up by tying ribbons on the handlebars. I thought I was the coolest person ever on that bike lol

  81. My Dad got my first bike off a skip on the way home from work one night, sanded it down and painted it purple with house paint. The kids in the road laughed at me – but I loved my bike and the freedom it gave me to head off to the park or shops with my friends.

  82. I can’t remember much about my first bike as I learned to ride very young. I do remember feeling so grown up when I went from two stabilisers to just one; and trying so hard not to let it touch the ground.

  83. I remember those infernal stablisers that actually made the whole experience rather wonky and of course my poor father running behind me clinging onto the back of the saddle for dear life. Tears, tantrums and jubilation in that order!

  84. My first bike was a second hand shopper type bike that my dad picked up from a friend, he was actually throwing it as it wasn’t in the best condition but my dad asked for it as both parents were self employed and money was quite tight. I remember spending hours painting it and sticking flower decals on. I was quite embarrassed by it if i’m honest. All my friends had bmx’s and here was my bike with a basket and giant wheels and not very cool looking. I remember i had to read the highway code for weeks before i was allowed out on it and even then i waited till my friends had gone in for dinner. I have noticed that they now seem to be quite fashionable. If only i had kept hold of “harriet” my old battered bright orange shopper bike.

    • My mum and dad said they couldn’t afford a bike for me and really didn’t want me to have one. Then one of my friends was selling hers as she was emigrating and only wanted half a crown for it ( 12.5p in todays money) and dad agreed that I could have it. It was a big ugly black thing but was my pride and joy I loved it and remember that summer riding it everyday and going all over the area. I’m 60 now and still remember that bike with fondness and would love to win one of these bikes for my grandson so he too can ride his first bike with love. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

  85. I can’t remember what my first bike looked like but I Remeber learning to ride it without stabalisers on wekends away on a campsite in Bala, North Wales, very nervous but happy times.

  86. I remember learning to ride on our road with Dad running beside holding on until he let go & I was riding on own without knowing!!!

  87. I remember borrowing my friends and what seemed ginormous bike (probably her sister’s at the time) and learning to ride on it, after a couple of days I was self taught and so pleased with myself.

  88. The first bike i remember having was a chopper bike :o) it was given to me by my friends mum as they were moving away! I loved that bike and had it until i was about 15!

  89. My first bike was a red chopper, I was SO proud! And I can actually remember my dad teaching me to ride it 🙂

  90. My first bike, that i can remember was a Chipper (younger brother or a Chopper) it was a hand me down from my older brother who had progressed onto a full blown Chopper.

    I remember my dad shoving me down a big hill in order for me to get too know how to ride, it must have worked as i obviously picked it up.

    Looking up how to do this with my daughter, dont think she will be quite so accepting of being shoved down a hill 🙂

  91. I had a tricycle, I still remember running a poor girl over with it as I was going soooooo fast I cudnt stop

  92. The first bike I had wasn’t really mine it was a friends bike as my parents would not let me have one. I remember borrowing it for a afternoon and the freedom that it gave me. Unfortunately I borrowed it for too long that they thought I was hurt or lost.

  93. My older brother decided he would jump onto my bike which had stabilisers on and ride off, thinking I couldn’t catch him, without realising, I hopped onto his bike and rode after him! The look on his face was priceless!

  94. Mine was……..I don’t know what it was meant to be! I was bout 7 years old and it was about five times too big. It had some big, white plastic spokes. I remember my Nana got me it. I was gutted because two weeks later when playing hide and seek I’d left my bike near to where we were playing and someone stole it.

    I “learned” to ride it without any stabilizers. My dad would run with me up the street pushing the back of my seat! Bit of an unorthodox way to ride a bike but I picked it up pretty quickly.

  95. I vaguely remember having a 2nd hand raleigh chopper which I loved but my boldest memory was my very 1st big new bike waking up on Christmas morning to a bright pink racer bike wow the best thing ever but I should have had learner plates bit of a wobbler but I lasted an hour out on it before I hit a curb and came a cropper that was me grazed and bruised and bike twisted and buckled where were these awesome balance bikes in my day, these are great my little boys would love one 🙂

  96. My parents promised me to buy me a bike when we came back to England as my father worked in Africa & it wasn’t very easy to get hold of anything while we were out there. I had to be patient, but when we finally came home. I remember my parents buying me a blue bike with white tyres. I never had any stabilisers & remember falling off a few times but I was determined to actually ride it so kept on going until I got the hang of it! I loved that bike!

  97. A second hand rusty bike with a ricketty basket at the front, I stuck badges,stickers and ribbons round the handles to hide the rust and dints, but I loved it just the same!

  98. My first bike was at the grand old age of 11! .. It was a battered number and when I took it to school I got teased as it was so old! .. Me and my dad went to the paint shop to see if we could spruce it up… I ended up with a badly painted white and pink striped bike.. I loved it !

  99. I remember receiving my first bike for christmas when I was about 7 years old. It was second hand but my mum had painted it red. All my friends bikes were second hand so it didn’t matter that it wasn’t “new”, I remember being so thrilled.

  100. My first bike was a very old black bike that had been passed down through the family after being used by several cousins!

  101. I was really late getting my first bike. I was 10 years ago before I started to learn to ride and it took me a while to get confident but then I loved it. I had a nice little bike. but because I took so long, I’m adamant my kids will learn early! Great comp thank you 😉

  102. My first bike was a three wheeler with a ‘Boot’ on the back that opened to carry kid’s stuff in. My best memory of it was starting at the top of a very big hill with two friends standing in the boot holding on to my shoulders. I remember the thrill of getting to the bottom in one piece although I don’t remember any disasters although I’m sure we were all hurt at some point. Fantastic days!

  103. I got my first bike for my 7th birthday, it was a second hand chopper, that my dad hand painted pink, I thought it was wonderful, had pink ribbons on the flag pole bit, and pink floaty ribbons on the end of the handle bars xxx

  104. i dont remember learning to ride a bike but i do remember trying to teach my mum to ride one when i was about 10/11 years old. she managed to pedal across our street & then into the curb & then onto the floor lol
    @emmav6

  105. My first bike was a ‘Budgie’!!!! And I remember my dad teaching me how to ride in the garden. I think it took a good few nights after school of riding round and round on the garden without my stabilisers to get me riding without them. Once I could ride though it was great and me and my older brother would go on bike rides each weekend to the town centre to buy little net bags of marbles!!!! The only thing I never liked doing was ‘bumping up the curbs’! I always had to find a ramp!

    Shared on Facebook as Tracy K Nixon

  106. I remember my raleigh lizard bike, it was amazing, i loved it so much, bright green with a black lizard painted on it, spent every school holidays glued to it!!!

    Shared on fb katherine norrisluvsmary grieve

  107. I have a big confession to make – I’ve never, ever owned a bike or learned to ride one. My parents thought I was too clumsy to ride one safely so they never allowed me to have one. I’d hate the same to happen to my granddaughter

  108. My first bike was a blue bmx. God i loved my bike.
    My dad taught me to ride my bike, He was away all week working but when he came home one weekend before my birthday he had this shiny bmx in the back of his car.
    I remember trying it out in the back garden and falling off once or twice and i remember the feeling I had once I had managed to do it all by myself…… Good times x

  109. I learned to ride a bike aged approximately six years old, in my parent’s garden in about 1976, on my father’s childhood bike which was at least 40 years old, rusty and with shredded tires. Many falls, thankfully onto grass!

    Thanks for the opportunity – my two year old daughter would love this prize 🙂

  110. My first bike I remember was a sky blue BSM bike???? It was up against the garage door with a ribbon round it!!!! Those were the days! Knee high socks and pigtails geared up to ride my new bike!!! Have to say I think my brother and sister were a tad jealous! Forget my brothers Chopper my bike was the one!!! I would love to see the look on my childs face if they received a new bike!!! They would be wheely happy 😉

  111. I remember my first bike was painted gold by my Dad, he had got it from the skip as we had very little money but he spent ages doing it all fancy. We lived on a bank, known locally as the slopes and I remember him running up and down the street next to me. I was filled with both fear and excitement. I must of been 6 or 7 at the time. I loved that bike. This is a great competition as it has made me start to remember some prescious moments in my life that i had stored away in the little cupboard in my head. xxxx

  112. My first bike was a red chopper, I loved riding my bike everywhere. My brother and I used to cycle from our house to our Granny’s house. It used to take us all day, we would get there have a drink and it was then time to come home. We had those bikes untill our shed burnt down

  113. I was so surprised when I got my first bike. I had been pleased with all my Christmas presents and the bike was hidden outside. I just thought my dad was hiding outside to take a photo and didn’t even see the bike. It was such a lovely surprise.

  114. I don’t remember what it was but i still have a vivid memory of learning to ride without stabilizers which happened one day on a friend’s bike and my parents weren’t there to see it. I was so proud of myself.

  115. My first bike was blue and yellow, I had hours of fun with it and used to pretend it was really a pony – that was ok until I decided to teach “pony” to jump. We tackled the garden wall, I jumped it ok but my blike stayed on the other side and I still have a scar on my upper lip to this day!

  116. My first bike was a distinctly uncool pale blue secondhand thing, I loved it though and spent many happy hours cycling over the moors where we lived.

  117. Thinking back all my bikes have been sensible in that theyve always had a carry rack although maybe thats just reflective of my personality as my little sister always had neon printed horrific looking things! lol

    My first bike was half pink, half green with a carry rack which use to annoy me as it would clang and rattle every time I bumped a curb. I did have to ride back and forthto school though so it was practical as well as my toy. All my friends thought that it meant if I had a rack I could give them backies all the time.

    In fairness I loved that bike though. =) until the rack collapsed, jamming the wheel and I had to use my mums mountain bike back and forth to school.

  118. I remember getting my first bike for Christmas. I was so excited. It was beautiful, bright red with a red and white wicker basket and a horn instead of a bell. I loved it and spent all Christmas day riding up and down the hallway because it was too wet to go outside.

  119. I learned to ride on my brothers BMX, even though he was younger than me he would hold the handlebars and help me. I wasn’t allowed to ride it on the road though incase i scratched it so i just had to learn to ride n the grass!!! I remember riding my friends chopper bike – it looked fantastic with sparkly things in the spokes- never could get used to the gears though!

    Happy days 🙂

  120. MY FIRST BIKE WAS A BLUE ONE WITH A BASKET ON THE FRONT IT WAS THE BEST LOVED IT ALL MY DOLLS WENT IN THE BASKET WENT EVERY WHERE WITH IT

  121. DONT KNOW THE NAME OF MY FIRST BIKE BUT MY MUM TAUGHT ME TO RIDE AND COUDNT EVEN RIDE A BIKE HERSELF AND EVEN NOW SHES 82 YEARS OF AGE AND CANT RIDE,BUT I DO REMEMBER ME FALLING OFF AND SHE KEPT SAYING GET BACK ON REGARDLESS OF ALL MY CUTS AND BRUISES LOL

  122. My first bike was a hand me down from my cousins when I was about 7, it was painted yellow and blue with gloss paint to make it look a bit better, and I remember falling off alot! I didnt get a new bike till I saved up for one age 13.

  123. my first bike was a gold second hand affair. I was slightly embarrassed by it until I became popular as it was great for ‘croggies’

  124. I can remember my first bike and it was a Grifter. I really really loved that bike and I have such fond memories of my childhood with it.

  125. I first learned to ride a bike while on a caravan holiday in Wales and it was a rental bike that had seen lots of better riders before me. Had lots of knocks and bruises to show for my experience but it was one of the best holidays I remember as a child.

  126. As a child I had a dream – I wanted to have my own bicycle. When I got the bike I must have been the happiest boy in world, maybe the world. I lived for that bike. Most kids left their bike in the back garden at night. Not me. I insisted on taking mine indoors and the first night I even slept with it in bed.

  127. I have an old Claude Butler CBR (the Silver and sick green one) with full suspension. I bought it off a friend 4 or 5 years ago and never really used it that much. However, due to the so called credit crunch I decided to cycle to work and back everyday.

    The work route is only 2 miles and fairly flat with 2 good descents and a climb down some steps..:) the return journey is uphill and after a 11-12 hour shift on my feet and walking around all day the journey home can get very hard.

    I have been doing this for 4 weeks now and I am feeling the benefits of the uphill sections. They are getting easier and I am also using harder gears or whatever they are called (big front and small back).

    After doing this for the 4 weeks I decided to have a blast and do some mileage. I have a friend who has brought a new MTB for work and he goes out most Saturdays on a 20 mile loop around Derby. So I thought I would do the same or something similar.

    I had a think on where I should go and thought about some counrty lanes not far from the center of Derby that I have been up and down in a car. So I planned the route on Google Maps and printed it off. Inputted it into my iPhone map application and stocked up on water.

    Off I went. The route was 30miles. By the time I got to the main road of the route, Long Lane I already did 5 miles. That was just from home and through the center of Derby. The miles certainly went by.

    Long Lane is long. Very. It had some good flat sections and some really good downhills and monster climbs to boot. I thought “this is a bad idea” I actually thought I wouldn’t do the route and nearly turned back as I wondered, did I set myself to higher target. I carried on and looked at my computer and found out I was near the end of Long Lane 12 miles or so plus the 5 through Derby. I was half way there. I carreid on and the climbs got better as I used the right gears. I upped my flat speed to 17mph or there abouts for as long as I could in short bursts. Rested plenty.

    I made it home. 2hours and 30 mins , 31 miles, two litres of water and two chocolate bars later. Lay on the bed and fell asleep.

    I was fine. My heart had a good strong speedy pulse to it. Legs ached a little and were warm. My bum started to get tender in the last 8 miles or so. Its a new seat I have and its comfy, just need to work those certain muscles.

    I really enjoyed the run out and am looking into getting a new bike soon too.

  128. I can remember my first go on a bike….I was only 5 years old and thought i could just do it on my own without any help…My dad was holding the back and i kept saying let go let go, i can do it…I couldn’t do it and ended up in a bush feeling very sad that i couldn’t do it….but lots of practice and 2 weeks later i was off up and down the park with my mum and dad and my little brother in tow

  129. L learnt to ride when I was around 9, my sister would run up the street holding onto my seat with me screaming to her “Don’t let go!!!” She could be 400 yards behind me but as soon as I realised I would fall off. Loved my bike when I got the hang of it though 🙂

  130. My first bike was an orange “Chipper” which was the little brother of the iconic “Chopper”. I remember coming down our street and doing big skids in the dirt that used to gather at the strreet corner( Probably from our mud bomb fights with the newly turned soil). I do remember on a few occaisions I would pull the wrong brake which would result in me flying over the handle bars and crashing down on the street. This was all long before cycling helmets became the norm. Happy days:)

  131. My first Bike was a tricycle (well it was 1958) The first ‘grown up bike I got was a Raleigh and my dad used to run around holding the seat so I wouldnt fall over and every time he let go I fell over. I did eventually get the hang of it though and spent many years riding bicycles. I would love this new one for my youngest grandson he comes to me sometimes when his parents are at work so It would be great.

  132. The first bike I remember having was a Tomahawk, I loved it so much, sadly it was stolen from our garden and was replaced by a more normal bike!
    My 3 year old would love one of these bikes, he has a 2nd hand balance bike which is very pink from his cousin, would be nice to have a boys one!!

  133. my first experience when i was about 10 riding a friends bike. we had gone to clumber park bikes on the back of car and for some reason one wheels were off. when we got there her dad put all the wheels back on. i took to riding it quite easy tho i felt like i had been in the gym for a week. only when he checked the bike he had put the wheel on wrong it was very stiff. now i make sure i look after my own bike and so will the kids.

  134. The first time I rode a bike I was around 6 years old. I use the word ‘rode’ loosely, as that implies some kind of control .. and I certainly had none of that!

    I was at a friends house, and his big sister decided to teach me how to ride a bike. I use the word ‘teach’ loosely too, as this effectively involved putting me on the bike (which was so big I couldn’t reach the peddles) and pushing me down a very steep street!

    A couple of scraped knees and a few scraped cars later, I was huddled behind the sofa of my friends house, convinced that I was going to be arrested, and have to go to prison!

    Luckily, I didn’t have to go to prison (at the tender age of 6!) and I am pleased to report that this scarring event didn’t have any long term impact on my love of cycling today!

    I think it is fair to say that there are probably safer ways to learn to ride a bike though!

  135. I learned to ride a bike at the age of about 5, round a bandstand in the local park. I took my son there when he was little too and it won’t be too long before he is taking his kids there too! There is a black and white photo of me and my bike there at the bandstand and I love it!

  136. my fist bike was a little black one and the first time i rode it without stabalisers i rode into a tree because i was waving at my mum!

  137. i can remember choosing my first bike,It had a blue plastic seat similar to the seat on a chopper bike,the plastic split and kept “pinching” my legs
    My mum said It was because I was “too old” for stabeilisers ???
    Any way,she took them off and guess what? I rode my bike without them
    I was 5 years of age.
    Remember teaching my children how to ride a bike, can still remember their first times
    they could ride but couldn’t pull the brakes at the same time,got there In the end though

  138. My first bike was a very small yellow BMX. I remember looking out the window and watching my mum wheeling it accross the road from a friends garage late one xmas eve. I was really excited but it was a mixed blessing as thats how I found out the truth about father christmas.

  139. the first bike i learned to ride was a chopper. I was about 7 and my gran had bought it for me. I remember i had alot of difficulty due to the size. Im still pretty useless at riding a bike now! These bikes look brilliant and makes riding a bike easy to learn

  140. my first bike i was learning to ride, can’t remember much about it apart from it being blue , i lost control and went over the handle bars !

  141. My first bike was new to me but preloved. It was pink with stabalisers that were slightly wonky. The handlebars had shiny, glittery tasels and I had a white plastic basket on the front that my Dad had attached with black cable ties. I was allowed to ride on the road at the front of the house (it was a cul-de-sac with next to no cars ) I had a slight incident during the long school holidays when my Dad was looking after me and my sister that he will never forget, I ran over my sister and broker her leg. As if that wasn’t bad enough she had just had the plaster cast removed from both legs after an operation. My bike was banned for the rest of the holidays.

  142. I remember being pushed along by my Dad on my little red & yellow bike with stabilizers, & screaming the place down.

  143. i was always given my brothers hand me downs and i remember i had a black bike which had a voice box on it which use to say things, it was called an ‘air wolf’ bike i think. I learnt really quickly and loved going out on my bike with my big brother, now i can still ride a bike but its my little boys turn to learn to ride his bike so this prize would just be incredible as its perfect for learning and i wish i had had one when i was younger.

  144. I can’t actually ride a bike! When I was younger, about 10 years old I had a go at learning to ride a bike using my friends BMX bike. I managed to ride the bike up the road, but then as I was coming down the road again, I fell off and ever since then I’ve been too scared to get back onto a bike! I don’t want my daughter to not be able to ride a bike, so I’d love to win one of these to help her get started on her learning to ride a bike journey. Thanks for the competition.

  145. my first bike was a chopper which my dad put stablizers on but within a few laps of the street i asked him to take them off and luckily managed to be able to ride it straight away,with a few wobbles and stops but after that was easily capable of riding any bike,even to this day.guess everyone is good at something so you got to keep trying different activites as you may turn out to be a world champion at that certain thing,so give it a go.

  146. I got my first bike at 9 and never reaaly learned to ride it. I do not seem to have a good sense of balance

  147. My earliest memory of a bike was being strapped onto the back of my mum’s bike in my black fold up child’s seat – there was no safety strap so she strapped me into it with an old belt!! There weren’t cycle helmets and I remember drinking Tizer out of a can……all 3 things that I would now never allow my children to do!!!

  148. i only learned to ride a bike about 5 years ago when i was 40 – my kids taught me in a car park 🙂

  149. My first bike was a family bike! My grand had it, my mum had it, all my cousins (in total 7) and then I had it and you wouldn’t believe it. This bike still exists.

  150. my first bike was called a tommahawk it was a smaller version of the chopper i thought i was so cool : )

  151. My first bike was my chopper and I felt soo cool…I still think about every now and then even though i ma in my 30’s and supposed to be all grown up

  152. My first introduction to cycling was a royal blue tricycle with a picture of an elephant on the seat. My first proper bike was a Raleigh Chico. Boys rode choppers back in the seventies but for a girl this was a really cool bike. Happy days! Thanks Mum and Dad! 🙂

  153. My first bike ‘ride’ was a bike with no brakes – to stop you had to drag your foot on the floor, I did this with sandals on & consequently took a chunk out of my big toe – I was 6 years old & thought the bleeding would never stop, o the joys!

  154. My first bike was a hand me down down down as I have 3 siblings Boohoo! I still loved it and went everywhere on it!!

  155. My First bike was a bright red tomahawk (baby chopper) so cool and not the normal girls bike of the time showed off my tomboy roots i loved it with and without the stablisers

  156. I am struggling to remember much about my first ever bike 🙁 However I have just been on the phone to my Mum to see if she remembers it….apparently it was pink and had a little basket on the front and I rode it at 3 years old without stablisers (personally quite impressed at that, my son has just turned 3 and can’t ride with them!)
    My earliest memory of a bike is when I got it stuck in a drain grate and wiggled it so much to get it out that I actually bent the wheel – whoops! Wasn’t popular that day!!

    I have tweeted @WendyCollard and shared on facebook too. Many Thanks.

  157. My first experience on a bike was my brothers and not the most comfortable either considering I’m a girl !! But I eventually got the hang of it after a LOT of practice !!

  158. I definitely remember by biking days!!! learnt to ride on my brothers green raleigh bike and landing in the rose bush in our garden but kept going and remember ditching my 3 wheeler trike ,,remember the big wheel trikes …!!! and taking to biking big time and trying out any of my friends bikes plus my moms huge bike and having to jump off quickly when i stopped as i couldnt reach the ground..plus reckless cycling onmy friends chopper off road and coming off a cropper with bashed front teeth plus very grazed knees but just got told off by my parents for riding a bike that was too big!!! but still carried on trying any bike possible and now have a lovely dutch style bike to ride with my kids…ahhh the memories
    i only hope my kids have as good memories as myself….

  159. My first bike was a gold/yellow colour and my dad rescued it from the tip! he put a new bell on and some new wheels and then taught me to ride basically by just letting me go and crash a few times … worked in the end! @MummyFever

  160. I didn’t have a bike of my own until I was in my teens but I can vividly remember that much earlier maybe I was 7 or 8 my Gran and Grandad borrowed some garden toys when we stayed with them once. This was my first attempt at riding a bike. I careered down their very long garden – thinking that my Dad was still holding on- looked round, and seeing he wasn’t there ploughed straight into the veg patch!

  161. I can’t remember learning to ride myself – my Dad was an unforgiving sort so I’ve probably wiped my inadequacies from my memory banks. I do however remember helping my little sister to learn. We used to have an old dirt track at the back of our terraced house and I can remember running along behind her “holding on” to her bike while she picked up speed and managed to do it! Then her panic stricken face as she turned round to see me standing a good ten metres behind, wobble, fall. She outdid herself later that year when she came screaming round the corner of the street and rode straight up a telegraph pole. It was like something from a Charlie Chaplin movie. Classic!

  162. my first bike was a budgi i was very lucky as that was the only time i got a brand new bike all bikes after that were 2nd hand. my dad was determined for me to learn to ride my bike and every day for 3 weeks he would come home from work and help me learn. he used to get so frustrated but finally i got the hang of it and i rode down the garden on it – thankgod as i was getting fed up with watching him show me how to do it lol

  163. I had a rickety green bike with stabilisers on, I fell over the handle bars so many times. These balance bikes are a fab idea.

  164. I had a pink bike with purple tassles on the handles, and I thought it was brilliant, a real barbie bike- until my brother got hold of my dad’s wood paint and painted it a not-so girly army green! I refused to ride it after that.and had to wait till the next christmas to get a new one.x

  165. My first bike was a ‘bluebird’ with a box on the back which i used to put my dolly in to ride around and it had a little bit of metal that you kicked down so it stood your bik up when not in use so you didn’t have to lie it on the floor so dolly wouldn’t fall out. I also had lots of kellogs bird reflectors in different colours on the wheel spokes which i collected as they were a free gift in every box of kellogs cornflakes at the time. I loved it!

  166. I had a little blue bike that was a hand me down from a cousin. We lived in a flat and I remember my dad making me ride round and round the car park until I could ride it properly and then the next week for my birthday I got a brand new shiny pink bike with a Dolls seat, I was the happiest girl ever!

  167. My first bike was a red one, I learnt with stabilisers, and was small enough for long anough to ride the same bike without the stabilisers for a good while. I use to love going on that bike with it being nice and bright.

  168. I remember my first bike. It was a Coventry Eagle and was red and blue. Once I learnt to ride it I used to ride it every day to my school with my Nan. I had the bike for a couple of years and then it was stolen – I remember being very upset.

  169. My first bike was a red raleigh tomahawk the best thing i ever got as a child, i remember one summer evening in the 70’s after having our bath and in my night clothes my mum outside the front talking to the nextdoor neighbour and while they where chatting her children and me and my sister coming out and started playing in the late evening and i was riding my bike round the square in my pj’s, and i was so excited because i was playing out on my new bike, in my pyjama’s after my bed time. Breaking all the rules!!!

  170. i did have a chopper bike but i remember when i was about 10 my great Aunt left us all £200. i decided to buy a racing bike. first ride out i went into the back of a parked white van and over crushed the bike around me. i only had bruises but the bike was it such a state. i was gutted 🙁 never been on a racer bike again

  171. My first bike was a yellow small 2 wheel bike that had stablisers on it , it was my big sisters bike first and i remember it so well as it broke while i was riding to the shop … i was gutted!
    It was quite old though

  172. My nephew is 2 years old so just about the right age for this bike! 🙂
    My first bike was a Bob the Builder bike and I got it for my 6th birthday! I still have it in my garage so I’m going to give it to my nephew in the future!
    I can’t remember learning to ride it at all though which is a pity! 🙂

BRAVE – Sneak peek at the new animated kids’ film by Disney-Pixar

Ideas for all the family this Mother’s Day