AKO Balance Bike has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in Baby, Kids' and Children's Products Design Category by the International Design Academy, the grand jury panel of the A' Design Award & Competition which consists of influential press members, established designers, leading academics and prominent entrepreneurs worldwide.
We designed a bottle holder that kids can also use to carry the "treasures" they find in the park.
Another feature is the Gopro mount located on the handlebar so parents can capture the first reactions of their child on the bike.
To make a better use of the perforated frame, we integrated the safety lights and reflectors as customization elements so kids can make their bike unique.
Kids hands are small and the proportions are also different from adult hands.
This is the reason why it is not easy to reach the brake levers, especially when they are still not familiar with balance and speed.
Our idea is to integrate the brake levers in the handles so kids simply squeeze the handles to brake.
The intention is to give the feeling to the kids more than really braking, to teach them the gesture so they know it before they go for a pedal bike later.
Both the levers are linked to a drum brake located on the rear wheel.
To avoid squeezing the handles by mistake or because of the stress at the beginning,
the parents can lock or unlock the brakes whenever they feel the kid is ready.
