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Monday, July 27, 2009

Italtrike review: The coolest ride at the park

The folks at All Modern Baby were kind enough (brave enough?) to ask if we'd like to review a product from their company. I traded a few emails with them saying that the girls are rough, tough, twin destructo machines, and they kept reassuring me that they really, really did want to hear what we thought. Alrighty...

So I let the girls browse through the online catalog of furniture (which includes those incredible rounded modern cribs in the Stokke Sleepi collection), fun toys that you wouldn't find in standard toy stores, strollers from Maclaren and Bugaboo, and beautiful bedding and decor. After much deliberation, the girls picked this neato ergonomic trike called the Italtrike. Cool! The package arrived a few days later. Can you even guess how excited the girls were?
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TubaDad had LOTS of help assembling the bike (you can feel my sarcasm, right?). He persevered despite the hundreds of darting little fingers, and in pretty short order the bike was ready to roll. Setup was actually really easy, in part because TubaDad is a whiz at that type of thing, but also because the bike was made very well and assembly was quite intuitive. (TubaDad is one of those folks who won't read directions unless he has too. Sigh...)

Both girls were dying for a shot at the trike, but somehow little Ree got first crack at it. Doesn't she look proud?
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Ro was next, and, of course, wanted her seatbelt firmly fastened. That girl is a nut about safety. (No idea who she learned that from.)
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She went round and round—so fast! Until her pesky sister grabbed hold and demanded a turn.
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The girls have been riding the heck out of that trike ever since, and we even took it to the park this weekend. Ro immediately commandeered "the good bike" and left her sister in the dust:
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She loved the speed, the smooth ride, and of course dropping her sister on the open road.
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Ree was actually pretty happy to let Ro have the Italtrike. I think she likes the security of being a little lower and slower on her old bike right now (she hasn't been super brave lately).
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It was cute to see how many looks and smiles our intrepid riders got when they parked against a little tree.
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And the brake on the Italtrike came in very handy quite a few times. This picture was taken just as Ro jammed on the brake and stopped while Ree flew into the side of my car. Oops.
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Which brings me to the things I like about the Italtrike:
The brake is perfect for preventing head-on sister crashes (well most of them, anyways), the bike is eye catching and just plain fun to look at (it comes in orange too), the wheels are nice and big and give a really smooth ride, the pedals power the back wheels via a chain so the bike is pushed rather than pulled (nice boost of power), and the sunshade knocks out the worst of the rays.

And the things that could be improved:
DSC_1524The black squishy seat cover shrank in the sun so it left a small, gluey rim around the seat (because of this, Ro said the seat needs to be softer and it sticks to her skin when she's riding in just a bathing suit). The sunshade could be a little tougher—I know, I know, this is probably a twinado thing, but our girls reach out and try to use it as a handle when one twin is riding by, and it whips back and forth and is going to either hit one of them in the face or be ripped off.

My conclusion: Love it. Fun, really well-made, and twinado-tough. Wish I had another one in orange to stave off the to-the-death sister fights that will eventually come.

Ro's conclusion: Um, I yike it. It goes fast. Cause the pedals are easier. I yike how it has a seatbelt that goes all the way 'round you, cause I don't fall off. The brake is good. Cause it makes me slow if I'm going to crash into the wall. I wish it was pink.

Ree's conclusion: Um, it's kind of weird that it gots a attached seat belt. And how did Daddy make it? I don't yike going really fast, I just yike going a yittle bit fast. I yike da sunshade and I yike da brake. I wish it could be yellow.

27 comments:

TubaDad said...

Hey, I read the directions. I just don't have to read them for very long!

One other benefit to the wheels is the big, fat tires work well off-road. It keeps traction in the dirt pretty well.

I like the trike. The frame is well-made, and it's very sturdy. It also has a good chain guard to protect the kiddos.

TubaDad

Mary Grace said...

Looks like an awesome trike! I'll have to keep this in the back of my mind, for when I finally have kiddos.

Dawn said...

Interesting bike! To bad Courtney is to big for it already! Would have been so much easier for her to ride with.

Melissa said...

Do you get any credit if we buy it based on your review? I love it and am thinking of purchasing for my little one. Great review, thank you!

Jamie said...

I was wondering what the seatbelt was for, but in reading your post I figured it out. It makes it harder for your sister to get it away from you.

Sandra said...

Cool bikes!

a Tonggu Momma said...

Good thing it was YOUR car instead of someone else's.

Lori Lynn said...

What a great product review! Now you will probably have to bar the doors as every child product manufacturer will be headed your way.

Wish my girls were just a wee bit younger. I would get them one, or two, of those trikes.

Brendakit said...

Well I yike it too! Methinks the twinados need uno mas!

Wanda said...

Keeeyute!!!

Yeah, they have to make them in pink and yellow.

:)

Shannon (CA) said...

Looks like two twinado thumbs up!

Teresa said...

A way-cool bike, for sure! Good review. I'm sure it will not only boost sales for the company, but the review offered improvements, which companies love to hear so that they understand their target market.

Good job M3!

Colleen said...

What an awesome trike!!!! I have never seen it before. Too bad mine are too big for it now : (

Diana said...

I havde to say I clicked on the link and think the price is great..I was expecting it to be much more.

Annie said...

Cool ride!!!!

Kayce said...

Very cool bike, I mean trike! I'm off to check out the site...

Lydia said...

i like the twins' conclusion and how one likes the safety belt and the other not, haha! I agree about the colour, they should make more colours choices for kiddos products, like pink and yellow ;)

Catherine said...

What a great trike!

Heh...before I read the post I went to their site to see if I could guess what the twinadoes would choose. Perfect for them...wish there were two! Hope you get to keep the one you test drove/rode or else you'll have two sad girlies on your hands.

The sunshade is a neat idea.

Fun, fun, fun!

Haitian-American Family of Three said...

What a weird and hip bike! It would be a hit in Seattle I bet with that cool curved shape.

Michele said...

I'm heading over to their site to check this out. It just might be what we need to get Jammer.

Robin G. said...

Dude, I want one of those in adult-size. Awesome.

Melissa said...

I did it, I bought one! THANKS Michela will have a ball, can't wait till we get it!

Melissa

M3 said...

Hey Melissa, that is cool!! Let me know how you guys like it. We don't get a kickback, but we love to hear back from folks who try stuff we like.

Melissa said...

M3,

We value your site here more than you know. I have learned a ton from you - and greatly appreciate it all. I will let you know how the trike is, wish you could at least get some credit (didn't think they'd give you a kickback - but wanted them to know your blog is well followed and valued!)

Thanks again,
Melissa

Daphne said...

such lucky girls!

Kiy said...

Not sure if you guys will see this, at this late date but I have a quick question. We are dying to buy this bike for our little gal, but we drive an ultra small car. No way is this thing going to fit for taking it to the park. You said you took yours to the park, but in your van you probably didn't need to fold it up. However, does it fold up for those of us with little cars? (I could not find the info on their web site.)

Probably one of the coolest bikes I've ever seen, thanks for the review!

Kiy

M3 said...

Hi Kiy, it doesn't fold up. Sorry! We did take ours in the van, so we just wheeled it into the back. It's not overly huge though, so if you didn't install the umbrella shade part, it might fit in a trunk, depending on your trunk dimensions.

Cheers,
M3