Stampede Bikes Sprinter 16 Blue Pedal Bike, Blue

This is supposed to be a bike for kid from about 4 years of age which is lighter and better built than the average kids bike from supermarkets and which is supposedly designed to make the learning process of mounting a "real bike" easier. Unfortunately I found the product really disappointing. As soon as I opened the package I noticed that the bike is not really that light. The frame has a large "6061" sticker on it, which suggests that the tubing is from 6061 Aluminium Alloy, which is one of the common types used for bicycle frames, but the weight is not really that low. In other reviews it was reported that the frame is made in the US but all I could find is a "Designed in California" label. Fine, it was my fault that I did not read correctly the label. From what I can tell this is just another cheap Far East frame. Not that I have anything against Chinese or Taiwanese frames, and I am not even from the US but the fact that someone put a unclear and possibly misleading sticker on something does not look right. I'd rather buy a "Proudly Taiwanese" bike rather than this. Once I pulled out the frame from its box I realized that what I got was a bunch of cheap Chinese parts partially arranged in the shape of a bike. Again nothing against Chinese product per se, but the collection found here is really of the lowest quality and the way it was assembled was really odd. At this point I considered returning the product but my wife insisted in fixing it in order to meet the deadline of my kid's birthday (I don't live in the US, the import fee had been paid and a freighter was involved so returning would have been a rather complex business). Both wheels were not true, they had been only laced but the spokes were not tight. Both brakes were badly assembled with all registration screws tight as they can be. The back wheel had been forced into the frame with several washer on one side of it (like if someone had placed the washers there in order not to loose them and later someone else had tried to place the wheel in the frame anyhow) , the chain was crazy tight and the nuts of the back wheel also had been tightened insanely. The seat post was too long in order to put the saddle to the lowest height, despite this someone had tried and it had been clearly forced into the frame with force. Anything which could possibly be too tight or too loose or out of alignment was. The bottom bracket needed to be tightened (something for which I have all the necessary keys but which in general cannot be done with simple home tools). Once adjusted the bike become sort of ok, my son liked a lot and is having a lot of fun with it, but really not worth the money and the time. If you read other negative review mentioning flat tyres or unusable brakes it can just be that they were like that because the "rebuild" was not done, but than again we shouldn't really need it in a new bike. Ah, I almost forgot: was it any easier for my son to learn? I cannot answer because while I was busy reading all the "dos" and "don't" on kids bike he passed from his balance bike to a real bike using a friend's toy bike...

This is a very nice, good quality kids bike. Way above anything in Walmart. Check the reviews outside of the bikes sold direct by amazon. These one star ratings seem based on individual problems and not universal issues with the bike itself. Currently using the bike without the pedals as a balance bike because younger brother outgrew a smaller balance bike. I will update once we get the pedals on. Made in the USA, lightweight, and great quality.

This bike is amazing. Our 4 year old learned on a strider and was riding a 2 wheeler by 2.5 years old. Hand breaks are a must for balance bike kids. They have such great balance they pedal backwards when coasting! This bike is perfect!!!

The package came with broken parts and flat tire.

This is a great bike. I just bought a second one for my 5 year old who taught himself to ride on his brothers 16" sprinter. he previously used his 12" balance bike from this company. The directions are great and include how to close the brake grip so they fit the kids hands. I read the previous reviews, and was hesitant but the Stampede/Tykesbykes customer service is awesome ( when their bike saved my sons feet when a running riding mower backed over him and the quality of the build of the balance bike was strong enough to kill the mower and stop the blades before my sons feet/legs were harmed, he wouldn't let me buy a new tire, he sent me one for free). a Facebook message is returned nearly instantly, and they are extremely helpful. This is my 3rd purchase from their company and I will keep buying from them. I read a full review on two wheeling tots dot com before I made my first purchase and its a wonderful high end bike for under $300 which is very hard to find.Pros:Great quality- nothing compared to Department store bikeshand brakes- my kids HATE coaster breaksquick change seat height- they can change it themselves when sharing the bikeGREAT customer serviceCons:standover height is a problem for my 42 inch tall 5 year old- FIXABLE- we have been using the balance bike seat which has a lower profile and allows my little guy to be able to reach. I bought him a new balance bike seat to go on his new Yellow Sprinter16 on their website.No kickstand- FIXABLE you can buy one and put it on yourself, not like your kid will use it anyways ;)

We bought this bike in yellow, which looks awesome, but note that it is a flat yellow, and not gloss yellow. Overall, the quality seems pretty good, but there were two issues that prompted a quick decision to return it. 1) the brakes are not very good. Both brake handles were very difficult to squeeze for small hands, with the rear brake being the worse and virtually unusable as a result. Even with adult hands, the brakes are unusable as the brake pads really didn't grab the wheel enough to stop the bike (I wasn't riding it, but I tried squeezed the brake handle while my child sat on it); 2) the crank had issues. With each rotation of the peddles, the crank had a sticky spot that prevented the peddles from rotating smoothly. I thought this might correct itself with a little use, but after holding the wheel up and turning the pedals for a while, there was no change.These two issues could have been specific to the bike that we received; who knows. But, we found them both unacceptable and returned the bike.

My 5 year old son tried several different bikes and he chose this one. He said it was "the fastest and easiest to turn with." He rode it for hours almost every day in the summer. I think it was also recommended on twowheelingtots.com