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The risk of falling is not the greatest health risk with many balance bikes
Photo: Josep Rovirosa / Westend61 / IMAGO
For small children from the age of two and a half, they are often the first means of transport: balance bikes train motor skills, balance, coordination skills and also help to keep up with parents.
"There are many good reasons for a balance bike," says Renate Ehrnsperger from Stiftung Warentest, "unfortunately there are hardly any good models".
Ehrnsperger and her team examined 13 wheels from popular brands - ten of them failed the test and received a bad grade.
But that was not due to the driving characteristics.
The reason: pollutants such as flame retardants, phthalate plasticizers or so-called PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) were found in saddles, handles or tires.
"The quantities found are not acutely toxic, but can damage the organism in the long term," says Stiftung Warentest.
Some of the substances could be carcinogenic, others have a long-term reproductive harm.
What they all have in common is that small children in particular should not come into contact with them as much as possible.
Only three wheels got the green light from the testers. The
Puky LR Light
and
Early Rider Superply Bonsai 12 "
did the best. Both cost around 170 euros and offer" great handling on both asphalt and rough slopes, "they say. The
Bandits & Angels Starter
is cheaper
, which is" conditionally recommended " and costs EUR 56. Here, the pollutant content of the tires is still tolerable compared to the failed models.
"Most manufacturers have to step up and invest in the production quality of the tires, for example," says test manager Ehrnsperger. Critical substances such as PAHs in the tires are not deliberately added, but can be contained as impurities in the dyes or plasticizer oils used. Critical phthalate plasticizers found in the saddles are used, for example, to make the material soft and elastic.
Compared to a test in 2018, there has been progress, for example the handles are less polluted than at that time.
However, many providers have not yet found a good solution for PAH in rubber tires.
But the test winners showed that this is possible under the appropriate production conditions.
Back then, only three models got a "good"
rating
:
Puky LR 1
(80 euros),
BTwin Runride 100
(35 euros), and
Kettler Speedy 10 "
(64 euros).
Manufacturers stop selling and offer exchanges
In the current study, the Stiftung Warentest sometimes applied stricter criteria than the legislator.
"We rate balance bikes as toys for toddlers, ie for children under three, since most of them are suitable for children from two and a half years of age," said Ehrnsperger.
"The precautionary principle should apply, especially for small children, that the pollutant levels in children's products should be as low as possible."
In some cases, the manufacturers are now offering the exchange of saddles and tires that have been damaged, for example, and in some cases they are now carrying out their own tests.
The sale of some batches of affected models has been stopped, manufacturers told Stiftung Warentest.
Small parts on impellers such as valve flaps that small children could swallow in the worst case also cause criticism from the testers.
It is advisable to remove this to be on the safe side.
On the other hand, there was little to complain about in terms of driving characteristics and ergonomics of most of the models.
In general, a child can use a balance bike if they can sit on the saddle and put their feet flat on the ground.
The lowest height that can be set is decisive.
Most models survived an endurance test with high loads.
When loaded with 35 kilograms, the wheels bumped over 72,000 sleepers on a treadmill.
The handlebars broke on two models;
these had already disqualified themselves due to the pollution.
In the study, Stiftung Warentest only considered running bikes without brakes because they are not recommended for small children.
Three-year-olds could not use the brakes properly yet; when it comes to affect, "feet on the ground" are more intuitive anyway.
On the other hand, sturdy shoes are indispensable on the balance bike - and a helmet on your head.
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