For this review of the Little Tikes 3 in 1 Trike I have a confession to make! Our neighbour, in fact (not me) bought it for their newly turned one year old. In other words, this is not a first hand purchase as with other recommended ride-on toys reviews here.
Buy The Little Tikes 3 in 1 Trike
I was curious to see how this 3 in 1 would actually perform so observed the trike in action and spent a great deal of time with it to thoroughly check it out.
It is recommended for children aged 9 months through to their early years, this is designed to grow with your child, hence the 3 in 1 name and functions
The 3-in-1 trike starts as a parent push trike
It can then be changed into a parent guided trike, before its final stage as a independent child powered trike. It also has lots of features including a removable shade canopy, durable tyres, 5 point safety harness and a storage bucket.
At first glance this is a very well-thought out, sturdy ride-on toy which is really quite an achievement in design as it is very hard to make a solid product with this many uses.
Although we show the old blue model here, the 3-in-1 trike is now only available in the multicolored red version shown below.
The little compartment at the back is handy for storing drinks, toys or other "treasures" such as leaves, sticks or stones on outings and the backpack mounted at the top of the parent push handle is also handy for carrying those essential baby items. It is possible to go out without carrying your usual "baby pack" when your child is riding this trike.
The adjustable shade canopy can be useful in all types of weather too – whether it’s shading your little one from the sun or if it starts to rain it can also be helpful in protecting them from getting wet.
Assembly
This is where my neighbour expressed the most frustration. When they first got the bike there were parts missing but that got quite quickly resolved.
It was quite tricky to put together
the instructions were not that clear especially and the end stages. Also you need to be warned that there are about fifty pieces to assemble in all, so set aside a good 30 to 45 mins. But once all was assembled they were quite impressed at how solid it actually was.
Steering and wheels
Now this is where this product has pulled up short. The push handle isn’t especially accurate when steering and it feels like its loose and when you are steering over a curb make sure you go head on and not at an angle because its not so steady, but that should be common sense anyway.
The wheels are plastic and lordy are they loud on the sidewalk!
I could hear my neighbour pushing their little one half way down the block, that said they never seemed to notice it at all. Being hard plastic has its disadvantages in that they do show signs of wear very quickly especially when they are being pushed exclusively on sidewalks.
However my neighbours little girl has gone from being pushed to graduating to peddling away like crazy up and down the sidewalk and the wheels have not worn through. They just look used, so that might be me just being overly fussy. The plastic on these wheels is extremely solid and hard-wearing and it would clearly take a lot to wear them out entirely.
One year olds will love feeling grown up going out on this ‘bike’, and once children are big enough to reach the pedals they enjoy the independence of getting around by themselves.
It’s especially useful for little ones who dislike their pushchair or buggy. Going on a trike for an outing seems much more fun and they feel more in control being in the ‘driving seat’. It really is a possible alternative to a buggy in that regard. The safety rails either side of the seat do make you feel comfortable that it will securely hold the child over bumps in the sidewalk.
The seat is adjustable and can be moved into four positions which is great to fit almost any child.
Although we show the old red model here, the 3-in-1 trike is now only available in the multicolored red version shown above.
Great for boys and girls alike, it’s available to buy in a variety of colours.
One thing to bear in mind when buying the girls version, the promotional pictures show a purple bike but the colour is closer to pink/lilac.
My neighbour reiterated that fact to me a few times!
The trike will provide years of pre-school fun and is well made enough to be passed down to siblings
If you ignore the scuffed wheels everything else will still look as good as the day it was bought. Of course, being tough plastic the trike is easy to clean with a wipe or damp cloth.
The curious thing is that I asked my neighbours if they would recommend it, they said no! I then asked their daughter and she said it was the best bike ever...So sometimes you just have accept that the end user knows best!
Buy The Little Tikes 3 in 1 Trike
Here is a great instruction video on how to assemble the Little Tikes 3-in-1 Trike out of the box. Alittle work but worth it when you see the smile on their face!
How To Assemble the Little Tikes 3-in-1 Trike