The GyroWheel takes a child's wobbly center of gravity out of the equation.
When my son learned to ride his bike, it was a traumatic experience. Try though he may, patient as I was, it only took a handful of times falling over before he simply wanted to give up. We figured out it was largely due to bad habits trying to foil his progress, but if we had had the Gyrowheel, those bad habits not only wouldn’t have mattered, they wouldn’t have arrived in the first place. And our son wouldn’t have fallen at all. At least that’s the claim … and the science.
Gyrobike, the makers of Gyrowheel, claim that bad habits occur due to kids over relying on training wheels to keep their balance while they first ride their bikes. Without balance, it actually becomes harder to learn to ride without the training wheels. But a GyroWheel keeps the bike balanced thanks to “gyroscopic precession,” the force which uses centrifugal force to stabilize a two wheel bike. It works so well that the wheel can stand on edge without help. But the Gyrowheel also helps teach better riding techniques as the gyroscopic precession also gently applies correcting force as the rider begins to wobble. And as the child improves his technique, the easier the GyroWheel maintains it’s center of gravity.
The Gyrowheel has multiple speeds and is powered by a rechargeable battery. The 12 inch will be out in time for Christmas, while a 16 inch version will be available by Spring.
Check out this video of the GyroWheel in action:
That’s the tech-talk, but if it keeps kids from falling over and learning the freedom of riding a bike, I’m all for it.
Hat Tip – Oh Gizmo