LittleBig 3-in-1 bike

The LittleBig bike is a brilliant concept that will see your child travel from the early stages of balance through to learning how to pedal and beyond. It's light, well made and above all so exciting to ride that you'll struggle to get them off it.

My four-year-old son, Charlie, has been through the whole balance bike thing and is pretty confident on two wheels – until there are pedals involved. Push him off and fine, he'd cruise along, but as soon as the speed dropped and he needed to pedal, things would go a little pear shaped. He just wasn't interested. With his sister's school being just under a mile away and the route taking in some busy roads and lots of crossings, it was easier and safer for me just to stick the stabilisers back on for the twice-daily school run.

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I brought the LittleBig back from the road.cc office in 'big' balance bike mode (more about the setup options in a minute), hoping to get him back balancing before adding the crankset and starting all over again.

Within minutes of him seeing it and whizzing around the garden he wanted the pedals added, something I did while he popped out with his mum. On his return he was straight back out in the garden, and while I watched from the french windows he taught himself to ride in five minutes. Twenty minutes later we were out on the footpath with him whizzing around like a nutter.

Obviously the initial excitement of having a new bike (he hasn't quite grasped the concept that it has to be returned yet) was a major player in the motivation, but the fact that the LittleBig is so light and controllable means once he was aboard it the whole experience felt like second nature.

A lot of bikes in the kids' market use cheap hi-tensile frames which makes them cumbersome to control for children and can easily affect balance. In contrast, the LittleBig's main frame is made in two sections of 6061 grade aluminium which, when fully built up with the steel fork, wheels and other bits and bobs, weighs in at just 5.8kg (12.78lb).

This means that even a little lad can confidently get out of the saddle to ride on a hill or lean it over in the bends without the bike becoming difficult for them to hold in position. It's massively confidence inspiring and has seen him become an impressive bike handler in a matter of weeks.

It's not just the weight, or lack of it, that makes the bike so good, though, the riding position has been well thought out, and Charlie just looked a natural on it.

Compared with his own bike, the position is a little more stretched out from bar to saddle, with the wheelbase a good 7in longer, bringing loads of stability. With a larger trail figure on the LittleBig (trail is the distance between the point where the steering axis, if extended, would meet the ground and the point where the tyre actually contacts the ground), the handling is also less twitchy, which gives him – and myself when I'm riding with him – loads more confidence in his ability to control it and his overall safety.

As well as the 'go', the 'slow' is also pretty impressive too, with dual V-brakes on machined rims which he became rather addicted to. His own bike, like many others, has token cheap cantilevers on painted rims, so braking is practically non-existent. Once he realised that he could stop quickly it gave him loads of confidence to start riding faster and taking a few more risks. Okay, not every parent's idea of fun, but it was great to see him pushing himself on the bike and take on more challenging terrain because he knew he was in control of the bike.

3-in-1

I mentioned the various setup options earlier, so let's take a look. LittleBig Bikes calls it a three-in-one. Mini balance bike, larger balance bike and full pedal bike, which covers an age range from two to six or seven years of age, depending on how quickly your child grows.

Starting with the bike in mini balance bike mode, the saddle can be slammed, and while the front end can be higher than most bikes of its type, the extended wheelbase keeps things stable. My two-year-old daughter, Isla, has a BTwin balance bike which she is a confident little rider on, so the switch to the larger LittleBig looked like it could be a challenge. No such concerns, though, as she adapted in about 30 seconds with the shout of, "I'm going super-fast!", with her feet coming up as she cruised for about 10 metres.

As the child grows, the rear painted part of the frame can be spun around, and because of the length of the seat tube this extends the reach from saddle to handlebar. It can then be used as a slighty larger balance bike.

But the real highlight is the crankset assembly that can be added. The 28-tooth chainring and 89mm long cranks are attached to an aluminium setup which is inserted into the frame from underneath, with a couple of bolts and a clamp keeping everything secure.

Everything is really easy to set up. The dropouts are rear facing, like any other singlespeed, so it's just a matter of dropping the wheel out to attach the chain and off you go.

As far as the spec list goes, it's very much a proper bike. Up front you get a riser bar with an Aheadset stem, which allows you to tweak things for size should you need to.

The brakes are decent, as I've mentioned, including the alloy levers, and so are the seatpost and saddle.

The wheels are 14-inch, 20-spoked alloy with sealed cartridge bearings that are solid in operation. Smashing down kerbs and the odd crash thrown in did little to damage them or knock them out of true. The tyres seem pretty puncture resistant too.

> Read our buyer's guide to kids' bikes

As far as value goes, £220 may seem steep at first glance, but less so when you look in a bit more depth. Charlie has had a balance bike (£40), a second bike that he's grown out of in about nine months (£50), and by the time he's six he will have been through another one at least, which I'd say would be, what, £100 for a basic cheap option.

The LittleBig isn't just comparable in value, though, it's so much better as it's well made from excellent materials and so much lighter. The spec is decent too, with upgradable and swappable parts if necessary. And the fact that it's so robust means it should stand the test of time as it passes down through the siblings – if there is a big enough age gap.

Verdict

An awesome piece of engineering and design that will set your children up for life on two wheels