This is going to be a bit long because I rely on longer reviews by others to make buying decisions, especially reviews by parents. We needed a larger balance bike because my 4-year-old is tall for his age and we foolishly tried a pedal bike with training wheels first. (He loved training wheels, so much so that it was clear he might never want to give them up. He's not very athletic and tends to learn new physical skills slowly). So his height, the late start at balancing, and his inherited lack of athletic ability all suggest he's probably going to be on a balance bike for awhile.
So. We ordered the Bixe and a Strider 14x Sport. The Strider is a better built bike. There's no two ways around it. It would be a good choice if you have multiple kids and plan to hand the bike down a few times as older sibs outgrow it because it just seems a little more heavy-duty. Other than that, it's negotiable whether the higher sticker price is worth it. You can add pedals to the Sport (for an additional $50), but the small tires and footrest make it look a bit like a little kid bike, so I would not be surprised if my child starts asking for a "big kid" bike when it's finally time to put the pedals on. When I was looking at bikes, I thought the footrest on the Strider would be important (as opposed to just grippy strips on the body of the Bixe), but my child never rests his feet on either bike anyway. He just lifts his feet up when he wants to coast.
For less than half the price of the Strider, the Bixe is a great choice. I don't know how to articulate the difference in build between this and the Strider--the metal the Bixe is made of seems slightly less heavy-duty and when you're assembling the front steering wheel things fit together more loosely (which has zero impact on how the bike functions after you get everything put together). One nice feature the Bixe lacks is the ability to adjust the seat height without any tools. I've had to adjust the strider's seat height a few times while we were out riding, and it's really easy to do. You need the allen wrench to adjust the Bixe's seat. (That said, my child has never asked for the Bixe seat to be adjusted, which he has, a few times, on the Strider). However, I would not have noticed these differences if I hadn't compared the bikes side-by-side. In fact, we ended up keeping both bikes so one could stay at the grandparents.'
On its own, the Bixe feels solid and can definitely handle anything a kid could throw at it. I am 100% confident it will hold up until my kid is ready to upgrade to pedals and will likely be in good enough shape to pass on to another family. My kid actually prefers the Bixe a little, maybe because it looks more grown up? He's too young to describe what difference--if any--there is in how they feel to ride. I just know riding it is one of the things he looks forward to when he goes to his grandparents' house. To sum up: My kid is thrilled with this bike and I am thrilled with the price compared to the Strider.
Customer service: There was a minor problem with the Bixe bike I received that made it hard to put together. Bixe customer service went above and beyond to address the issue. Their response was fast and they resolved the issue way beyond what I would have expected. Bottom line, you don't have to shell out $250 for a bike. You and your kid will be happy with the Bixe.
If you're still reading, hope this review helps you make a decision.
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