# Hotwalk Vs. Strider



## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

My Lbs just started carrying the Spec Hotwalk. But I've been looking @ Striders on line for a while. Does anyone have any experence with the "Hotwalk"? I see lots of praise for "Strider" brand ones. Let Me Know!!!


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## nickboers (Sep 26, 2009)

I got my daughter a strider last year. I was disappointed with the construction and the quality of the hardware. Several of the nuts stripped and had to be replaced. The fork lacks any rake and the handlebar was dead on at the steering axis. Just pushing it around myself I found it felt twitchy and lacked on center stability. The foam tires are very firm, and small steps on the sidewalk as well as small pebbles had a noticeable impact on forward momentum and steering.

I recently got her a Norco Air run bike. It appears to be very similar to the Hotwalk. Comparing the two it was easy to see that one is made by a company that makes and understands bikes, and the other is made by a company with perhaps good intentions but a lack of understanding. It has an Aluminum frame, proper steering geometry and pneumatic tires. I dropped the pressure to about just about nothing. I can nearly squeeze the tire together in my hand, but it's enough for her 30lb weight to give a reasonable sized contact patch and absorb a rough surface. It goes over expansion joints, small steps in the surface and pebbles like they are hardly even there when compared to the strider.

I did find that the wheel bearings were poorly adjusted from the factory (tons of preload) and had a lot of drag. Once adjusted properly, this thing just rolls and rolls.

She has made more progress in her balance and confidence in a few weeks on the Norco than she did in all her time on the Strider.

I totally recommend the Hotwalk or the Norco, or equivalent over the Strider.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Yeah I guess you get what you pay for! I was not aware of the foam tires and I guess thats why those Striders use those centering springs on the steering. I gotta look @ the norco one also. Cool thanks for the fast response! I still have a few more months before I need to get anything cause my twins are only 6 months old! 

Any other opinions out there?


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## nickboers (Sep 26, 2009)

Something else I just remembered that was one of the things I really didn't like on the strider. It had plastic bushings for a headset. It had a lot of friction. If you've ever ridden with a notchy or sticky headset you'll know how frustrating it can be when you already know how to ride a bike. It can only make learning to ride harder. The Norco (the Spec. probably also) has a real ball bearing 1" threaded headset.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

A few years ago, my wife bought our son a 16" wheel Schwinn Gremlin that weighed about 40 pounds. It had training wheels and that's how she wanted him to ride. One day, while she was alseep, I removed the chain and crankset and put the seat at the perfect height for him to walk the bike. Within 30 minutes, he was coasting around with his feet up, so I reinstalled the crankset and chain and set the boy loose. He was riding two wheels in a single afternoon. I'll be damned if I was going to drop 100 bucks on a balance bike for one day's use.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

NYrr496 said:


> A few years ago, my wife bought our son a 16" wheel Schwinn Gremlin that weighed about 40 pounds. It had training wheels and that's how she wanted him to ride. One day, while she was alseep, I removed the chain and crankset and put the seat at the perfect height for him to walk the bike. Within 30 minutes, he was coasting around with his feet up, so I reinstalled the crankset and chain and set the boy loose. He was riding two wheels in a single afternoon. I'll be damned if I was going to drop 100 bucks on a balance bike for one day's use.


I looked @ that senario just getting 12" kids bikes and removing the crank and chain but the stand over height is too tall on most of those crank equiped bikes. A "Running,Strider Ect" bike has a really really low stand over. I'm planning to give them to my son and daughter as soon as they can walk well (maybe around 12 months or so) I'm not expecting them to actually be able to ride them yet but they can push them around and get used to the things. I found a pretty new 12" bike @ the local dump and I took out the crank and chain and with the seat all the way down is still to tall for my 4 yo niece to scoot around on. (she's still kinda small for a 4yo but you get my point)


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## nickboers (Sep 26, 2009)

NYrr496 said:


> A few years ago, my wife bought our son a 16" wheel Schwinn Gremlin that weighed about 40 pounds. It had training wheels and that's how she wanted him to ride. One day, while she was alseep, I removed the chain and crankset and put the seat at the perfect height for him to walk the bike. Within 30 minutes, he was coasting around with his feet up, so I reinstalled the crankset and chain and set the boy loose. He was riding two wheels in a single afternoon. I'll be damned if I was going to drop 100 bucks on a balance bike for one day's use.


I think you did the right thing. I'd have done the same except for the size issue. My daughter started on her run bike at 2 years old. She was a small 2 year old too. Most of the run bikes had too high a stand over height for her at the time.


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## CHUM (Aug 30, 2004)

my son rode a strider for from 16.5 months to 24 months - then moved onto a 12" Hotrock.

I chose the strider for 2 reasons:
1. standover height...i think the strider is the 'smallest' at 11"
2. weight...those foam tires weigh less....and i'm pretty sure the strider weighs significantly less than the spesh hotwalk

as far as the plastic bushing that is stiff - it worked in my kids favor as he got used to the bike the steering loosened up....like it was supposed to...

he now uses the strider as his 'trick' bike.....pretty funny to watch him jump it


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

CHUM said:


> my son rode a strider for from 16.5 months to 24 months - then moved onto a 12" Hotrock.
> he now uses the strider as his 'trick' bike.....pretty funny to watch him jump it


Lol:thumbsup:.... good point about the weight. How was he with the "Head tube twitchyness" ?


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## traffic002 (Dec 16, 2008)

nickboers said:


> Something else I just remembered that was one of the things I really didn't like on the strider. It had plastic bushings for a headset. It had a lot of friction. If you've ever ridden with a notchy or sticky headset you'll know how frustrating it can be when you already know how to ride a bike. It can only make learning to ride harder. The Norco (the Spec. probably also) has a real ball bearing 1" threaded headset.


I think my neighbor bought a Strider at my suggestion. When I saw it in person, I was dissappointed with the construction. And yeah, there was a lot of stiction in the steering. Probably due to bushings. But that would slow the steering and the counter when tipping into a turn.

My son and now my daughter rode/ride a Like A Bike. I think there are better options now that many other companies have joined in. But at the time, LAB was the only game in town. Another feature of the LAB were cartridge bearings and the geometry. It had a very steep steering angle for very responsive handling. Basically as soon as you tip into a turn, the steering would turn to counter the affect and upright the bike. There was also a very limited lock to lock so that you wouldn't flip over the bars if you grabbed too much steering angle. My daughter has on occassion come flying down a hill and tried to avoid something and would actually slide the front and rear tires making the turn!!

I'd go with the Hotwalk if I had to do it over again. LAB if it were a bit cheaper is still my vote.

Speaking of weight, I think the LAB weighs like 8#. We used to carry it around when my daughter got tired of riding it on our walks. Or when at the park.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

nickboers said:


> I think you did the right thing. I'd have done the same except for the size issue. My daughter started on her run bike at 2 years old. She was a small 2 year old too. Most of the run bikes had too high a stand over height for her at the time.


Yeah... Didn't think of that. My son's real big, so that wasn't an issue.


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## nickboers (Sep 26, 2009)

CHUM said:


> my son rode a strider for from 16.5 months to 24 months - then moved onto a 12" Hotrock.
> 
> I chose the strider for 2 reasons:
> 1. standover height...i think the strider is the 'smallest' at 11"
> ...


The Strider has or is very close to having the shortest standover. That was the reason we got it in the first place since our girl was so small.

The Norco we replaced it with weighs about the same. The Strider was steel, the Norco (and the Spec.) are aluminum.


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## Wolfjon (Mar 19, 2011)

On my son who is a big 4 yr old I took the cranks off and within a week of playing around I had him back on the bike with cranks and pedaling. Now 2 months later He turns 5 next week and he has already stepped up to a trek MT60.. heavy but he is loving it and we have done a few local trails and he has managed almost 2 miles with stops.

My daughter however at 2 still tall but no were near tall enough to reach the ground on a regular bike minus crank. So I kept myeye on CR and managed to scoop up a used Skuut for $25. She can still barly reach the ground and that has a standover of 12". She is starting to reach well enough now to walk around with it and I am sure by the end of summer she will be cruzing around. Any balance bike is so worth not dealing with kids relying on training wheels.

So keep your eyes on CL at 6 months old you have plenty of time to scoop up a good deal. Plus when you get something like a good balance bike or even regular LBS bike used when your kids are done you can get most of your money back to put towards the next size up...


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

Wolfjon, not to hijack, but I got my son a Gary Fisher Precaliber and my nephew has the Trek MT60. I replaced the rear hubs on both bikes with cassette hubs and gave them both 11-32 clusters with Sinz cranksets and 34 tooth ring gears. They both ride pretty good beginner trails and can both climb now, when before, they couldn't.


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## CHUM (Aug 30, 2004)

ae111black said:


> Lol:thumbsup:.... good point about the weight. How was he with the "Head tube twitchyness" ?


the steering starts out 'stiff'...which worked in my son's favor...a little resistance is good in the beginning...

the steering loosened up over a period of time/riding that allowed for him to get used to the feel....

currently there is absolutely no 'stiffness' in the steering...

the bugger is i will have to replace the plastic bushing when my daughter learns to ride so it will be 'stiff' again....and the tires because they are worn...


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

I was looking @ these and since I need to get two of everything.... 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

They look cheap but if they are gonna use them for only a year or so.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ _After reading the reviews I'm gonna pass!!! _^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


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## CHUM (Aug 30, 2004)

ae111black said:


> I was looking @ these and since I need to get two of everything....
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846
> 
> They look cheap but if they are gonna use them for only a year or so.


a 15" standover is high...really high...

your kiddos will need to be around 4 years old before they can ride one....


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

CHUM said:


> a 15" standover is high...really high...
> 
> your kiddos will need to be around 4 years old before they can ride one....


I wish amazon had more tech specs... Thanks!! Anyway after reading the reviews it looks to be a real turd.


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## northernblades (Jul 22, 2011)

the kinderbike Also has a 11 inch standover, has real wheels and tires.
and prices in at 99$ right now.

apears to be much better than the strider,

but if your looking at a hotwalk.
the giant prebike looks even better.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

northernblades said:


> the kinderbike Also has a 11 inch standover, has real wheels and tires.
> and prices in at 99$ right now.
> 
> apears to be much better than the strider,
> ...


wow thanks! cool looking can't wait to see what their "morph" looks like! 
http://www.kinderbikeusa.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=54


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## sxr-racer (Nov 17, 2005)

nickboers said:


> I got my daughter a strider last year. I was disappointed with the construction and the quality of the hardware. Several of the nuts stripped and had to be replaced. The fork lacks any rake and the handlebar was dead on at the steering axis. Just pushing it around myself I found it felt twitchy and lacked on center stability. The foam tires are very firm, and small steps on the sidewalk as well as small pebbles had a noticeable impact on forward momentum and steering.
> 
> I recently got her a Norco Air run bike. It appears to be very similar to the Hotwalk. Comparing the two it was easy to see that one is made by a company that makes and understands bikes,* and the other is made by a company with perhaps good intentions but a lack of understanding.* It has an Aluminum frame, proper steering geometry and pneumatic tires. I dropped the pressure to about just about nothing. I can nearly squeeze the tire together in my hand, but it's enough for her 30lb weight to give a reasonable sized contact patch and absorb a rough surface. It goes over expansion joints, small steps in the surface and pebbles like they are hardly even there when compared to the strider.
> 
> ...


My Daughter started riding her strider when she was 3. She is 4+ now and the Strider is still going strong. Have had no issues with the Strider. A neighbors kid hopped on it and broke the seat, he was a little too big for it. Contacted Strider to order a new seat, he asked (Yes, He, the owner) for a picture. I sent him one, he send me a new seat free of charge. That is customer service. As far as your comment about the company having a lack of understanding........ Why dont you research the THUDBUSTER Seatpost. Same guy. So, I would say he does have an understanding about bikes.

A little background:

Ryan McFarland, Inventor of the Strider™ PREbike

Born into a mechanical family, Ryan McFarland's grandfather was a race car engineer and competed against racing legend Al Unser. And Ryan's father, Joe, owned a motorcycle dealership. This early exposure to vehicles and all things mechanical influenced Ryan -- at the age of five -- to ride dirt bikes. And later in life, he added mountain bike, dirt bike and stock car racing as a hobby.

With these experiences under his belt -- in addition to a natural inclination to tinker -- Ryan invented the world-renowned and U.S. Patented Thudbuster suspension seat-post for bicycles. The Thudbuster is widely recognized as the premier suspension seat-post design in the biking industry. And the inventions continued when Ryan also developed a U.S. Patented suspension system for wheel chairs.


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## karstman1 (Jun 28, 2012)

What CHUM says is on the money.

The strider was a much better choice for us and it only cost me $160 to figure that out. We picked up a hotwalk for our 20 mo old and the seat was a bit too high for him. This seems to be exacerbated by the wide frame of the hotwalk, were the footrest platform thing is. The smooth headset bearings make the steering twitchy for him. He could hold it up, but that is about it. Once he got going the handlebars would turn it would flop over.

I decided to get him a stryder and as soon as he got on it, he sat down, started walking and took off. The steering being stiff kept him going and when he needed to turn, he did so with no problem.

The hotwalk will be a cool scooter for him once he gets taller and has more skills, but the strider is the ticket for a first cycle.


ETA... I resurrected this thread because it influenced my purchase of both the hotwalk and the stider and I hope to help someone else in this decision.


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## northernblades (Jul 22, 2011)

someone needs to make one with a breaking system the kids can actually use at this age.

striders foot leaver Idea might be useable except it kills the tires.

the Mini Glider looks like an awesome solution hub style breaks, and a smaller lever for the little hands.

Honestly
Rubber tires, a working break, and the ability to have a foot rest IF desired. eventually someone till get it right.

Also, the slower/ stiffer steering of the strider, might help prevent a death wobble as well? maybe?

Oh yeah and this is an option as well check this baby out
Found: Another Carbon Balance Bike ? This One?s Affordable, Sort Of

under $600


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## Jordan300 (Jul 26, 2008)

The Striders have a brake attachment.


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## northernblades (Jul 22, 2011)

yeh, using that break on a foam tire seems like a really poor Idea.


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