Kinderfeets: A Revolutionary Balance Bike for Kids

Oscar Mulder's Award-Winning Design Fuses Fun and Functionality

Oscar Mulder's Kinderfeets is not your average balance bike. It's a wooden toy that serves as a starting point for children preparing to ride a "normal" two-wheeled bicycle with pedals. What sets Kinderfeets apart from other balance bikes are its unique features. These include six chalkboard finish color options, allowing children to customize their bike with chalk, foot pegs for cruising, a low step-through frame for easy on-and-off, forever-air-tires for minimum maintenance, and a washable seat cover.

The design of Kinderfeets was inspired by Mulder's son and vintage Dutch "granny" bicycles. The challenge was to create a balance bike that addressed the issues Mulder observed with existing wooden balance bikes. His son, at 2 years old, didn't fit on them, and when he finally did, he had nowhere to put his feet when cruising. He also wanted to draw on them but couldn't due to the material. As a professional designer for 20 years, Mulder saw this as a great design challenge.

Produced from formaldehyde-free birch plywood, Kinderfeets measures 38mm X 81mm X 58mm and weighs 4 kilos. The project design started in January 2010, finished in January 2011, and hit the stores in September 2011. The design objectives were met, and a patent was received for them.

Kinderfeets is not just a balance bike; it's a clever alternative to training wheels and is considered a superior form of learning to balance on two wheels. It's designed for ages 2 and older and can carry a maximum load of 70 lbs. The key features of Kinderfeets, such as footpegs for cruising, low step-through frame, forever-air-tires, washable seat cover, and chalkboard finish colors, make it stand out among other push bikes.

For its innovative design and functionality, Kinderfeets was awarded the Golden A' Toys, Games, and Hobby Products Design Award in 2013. The Golden A' Design Award is granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. They are venerated products and bright ideas that advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.

In conclusion, Oscar Mulder's Kinderfeets is a testament to the power of design in transforming simple objects into innovative, functional, and fun tools for learning. It's a balance bike that not only addresses the practical needs of its young users but also engages their creativity and imagination, making the transition to pedals an enjoyable journey.