I'd like to build a wooden bike/trike for my toddlers

[Vince Lok]

Has anyone made a wooden "balance bike?"

My wife likes the "Skuut" which is a wooden bike that they sit on and scoot with, so it has no peddles. A scooting trike would work too.

Has anyone made a toy like this or can direct me to some plans? I think the hard part is the steering head (or the "triple tree" in biker parlance!)

Thanks! I'm really enjoying making stuff for my little girls (even though it costs more to make than to buy! Ha ha!)

Thanks!

Vince

[Jim King]

The steering head on this was nothing but a bloodwood dowel thru the frame with a couple of washers both top and bottom.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=56045

[Josh Reet]

I wouldn't over think the whole steering thing. Those skuut push bikes aren't exactly high tech pieces of machinery nor are they really experiencing that much stress. If you wanted to be really clever, you could scavenge some headtube parts from a kids bike at the junk store or something. Otherwise something home build would probably be fine.

[Andrew Schlosser]

you might consider heading over to atomiczombie.com and seeing all kinds of crazy bike creations. most are out of metal/old bike parts, but there are the occaisional wooden ones. definitely lots of crazy ideas at any rate. Definitely hit the Gallery up.

[Vince Lok]

Actually, I think the toughest part would be finding some wheels!

I had considered making wooden wheels (a simple 12" plywood disk) but riding on the edge of a piece of plywood wouldn't be very comfortable, and I have no idea how you might fit rubber onto it as a tire, like the Skuut.

So I'm looking for wheel/tires but can't seem to find any! Any ideas?

Vince