Thomas & Friends Trike

Thomas the Tank Engine has been a firm favourite with little boys (and girls!) for generations and my youngest son is another firm fan, singing along to the TV theme tune and possessing a range of books, toys and other merchandise emblazoned with images of Thomas and his friends. It seemed a natural choice to treat him to a Thomas trike for his second birthday, combining his love of all things Thomas related with his desire to be on wheels and keep ...
...handlebars and features the familiar Thomas image and logo. My two year had no doubt that this was a Thomas toy and he was absolutely delighted when he woke up on his birthday to discover his first trike waiting for him.

The trike is deemed to be suitable for children over two years, although my little boy's feet can't quite reach the pedals as yet and don't quite reach the footrest yet either. For that reason, the trike comes supplied ... more

Thomas the Tank Engine has been a firm favourite with little boys (and girls!) for generations and my youngest son is another firm fan, singing along to the TV theme tune and possessing a range of books, toys and other merchandise emblazoned with images of Thomas and his friends. It seemed a natural choice to treat him to a Thomas trike for his second birthday, combining his love of all things Thomas related with his desire to be on wheels and keep up with his big brother!

This particular trike is manufactured by MV Sports and seems to be of very good quality and not too badly priced. Prices vary from around the £40-£50 but I found the cheapest method was to purchase it from Littlewoods online and take advantage of a rather generous new customer discount code which knocked £25 off the price.

The trike comes boxed and in pieces ready to be assembled. I normally assess ease of assembly based on how many swear words my other half utters whilst trying to put something together, but this time he put it up whilst I was work so I missed out on all the fun! He did manage to put it together singlehanded and didn't make too much of a fuss about it afterwards so it can't have been too difficult. Once assembled, the trike seems pretty much like another trike marketed at this sort of age group. The only things that mark this out as a 'Thomas' trike are several stickers which need to be attached onto the frame and handle by the owner and a removable plastic plaque which clips onto the handlebars and features the familiar Thomas image and logo. My two year had no doubt that this was a Thomas toy and he was absolutely delighted when he woke up on his birthday to discover his first trike waiting for him.

The trike is deemed to be suitable for children over two years, although my little boy's feet can't quite reach the pedals as yet and don't quite reach the footrest yet either. For that reason, the trike comes supplied with a removable parent handle which saves Mum and Dad's back when pushing it around. For storage purposes, we tend to remove the handle which justs slots easily in and out of a hole at the back of the trike. It can be separated into two pieces, which again slot easily back together so storage (providing you've got the room for the main body of the trike) isn't an issue. The handle can be removed altogether once the rider is old enough to pedal themselves and both the seat and the handle height can be adjusted to adapt to a growing child, which makes this trike a pretty versatile and long-lasting gift.

Attached to the back of the trike there is a tippable 'bucket' attachment, supposedly for storage. I tend to use it just to pop in a pack of wipes and his cup as anything too heavy just makes the bucket tip, ejecting all of its contents. The plastic it's made with is fairly strong, but not quite strong enough to withstand a six year old brother crashing into the back of it with his bike! Yes, our trike was sporting a small crack in the rear bucket just a few days after it was first used. Never mind.

Our little boy really loves riding on his trike and will often go to the storage box outside where his trike lives, asking for Thomas. The seat is made of strong plastic which seems comfy enough. There are no straps or other safety harnesses supplied with the trike but this seems fairly standard for a trike aimed at this age group. I've only seen trikes marketed at younger children that come with harnesses and I'm confident that this is safe enough, given appropriate supervision. At two, my son is able to stay seated on this and holds on to the handles without any problems. The trike is easy to push along and the three wheels are chunky enough to make the ride seem relatively smooth for its little passenger. The only issue that I find when using this is that there is a little bit of 'give' within the parent handle which means that I have to apply quite a lot of pressure on it in order for it to keep going in the direction I want it to! It's a shame that the handlebars can't be fixed into position for the first stage of use. My son inevitably tilts the handle bars slightly which means I have to lean even harder to counteract the angle and keep us on track. The parent handle has a rubberised grip which can make my hand quite sore after a long trip because of the pressure that I need to apply. We've also had to remove the Thomas plaque from the front of the bike as my son kept banging his nose on it whenever we needed to go up a pavement! This is a pity as the plaque is the main feature that distinguishes this as a 'Thomas' trike but the trike is still colourful and attractive, even without the plaque.

Despite these little criticisms, I would still recommend this trike for any little Thomas fans. It is bright, colourful and seems sturdy and adaptable enough to last any child until they are ready to move on to their first bike.

 

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