wheeli kids bike handle review

Ever find yourself juggling children and bicycles? I know I do!

If you're fed up with carrying bikes around then maybe the wheeli is the solution you've been looking for.

It's a great new product that was designed during the difficult time in 2020 when parents Lisa and Simon were no longer able to leave their son's bike in the school bike shed. This made doing the nursery run afterwards really difficult.

After lots of attempts using scraps of wood they came up with a design for a handle that allowed them to push the bike alongside them on the way to the nursery, and back home again.

They quickly got other parents asking for one too.

Thus the wheeli was born, with the great philosophy of "wheeli it, don’t carry it!"

They've kindly sent us one to review so we've been having a play with it to see how it performs...

The wheeli is a wooden handle system that allows small bikes to be pushed along easily whilst you walk comfortably without bending over.

Composed of a fancy cut out section of plywood and a metal pole, it attaches to the handlebars of the bike so you can push and steer the bike.

When not in use the pole stashes away in the wooden handle and can be easily dropped into a bag.

It's not for use while the child is riding, the wheeli is purely for transporting your child's bike when it's not being ridden.

I'm sure there's loads of reasons as to why you'd want a handle to push your child's bike along. Here's a few that spring to mind:

• If you do a school run with a bike but can't leave it there for the day. The wheeli gives an option to push the bike home without having to carry it.
• If your child likes to mix walking and cycling when out and about
• If you need to wheel the bike to where you're meeting your child
• When your child decides they want to walk back from the park having cycled all the way there!
• Those times when you are juggling a child and a bike, or just a bike and don't want to carry the bike
• If you've got a bad back or other health issues that mean you can't carry and / or bend over to push a bike

Fitting the wheeli is easy. Simply remove the straps and you can quickly strap thread the wooden handle onto the pole and strap it to the handlebars.

It works best with narrow handlebars with a rise in them, which are common on smaller wheeled bikes.  This means the pole can be strapped onto the grips, and that there is space for the wooden handle to rotate around the pole in the middle.

To see if your child's bike works with the wheeli check out the section on compatibility on their website.

I found a flat bar still worked ok as there is enough give in the rubber where it straps on to allow the handle to move, although it does rub on the handlebar.

The only bike it wouldn't work on was a 20 inch kids bike with wide bars which meant there was nowhere easy to clamp the pole onto.

How you would use the wheeli depends greatly on your situation and how you use bikes with the kids.

For me, although it works on balance bikes, I find they are so light, that there was little advantage to be using the wheeli, and my child gets on and off so much it would be more hassle.

It certainly makes more sense when using a heavier and bigger bike, although the handlebar width limited this on my larger child's bike.

The handle is very secure, comfortable and sits at a good height. I'm well past 6 feet tall and I could push a balance bike around without stooping which is great.

The way the handle rotates means it works for a big range of heights and bike sizes.

The handle is comfortable and the straps are robust. Essentially, if you find yourself regularly carrying a kids bike around for whatever reason, the wheeli is worth a look!

Karen and Ewen sat down and had a chat about the wheeli, how it might be used and what we liked about this innovative product.

Hit the play button, have a listen, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Have you used one?

Do you need one in your life?

We're really pleased to see that the wheeli frame has been made using wood rather than plastic.

Care instructions are easy to follow and can be found on the wheeli website:

The wheeli is made from wood, so like most wooden items it needs protection from the elements. We have treated the handle with natural exterior Osmo UV Protection-Oil to get you started.

This will protect the wheeli from occasional exposure to wet weather or rain shower by providing a water repellent surface finish. Exterior Osmo UV Protection-Oil should should have a one coat reapplication whenever signs of wear become visible.

After being exposed to wet weather during normal use, the wheeli should be dried soon after. Like any similar wooden product the wheeli should be stored inside away from damp.

Other articles to check out:

• Is my kids bike the right size for them?
• Is your child’s bike helmet fitted correctly?
• Woom 3 bike review: 16" wheel bike for ages 4 to 6 years
• Myklops Bicycle Rear View Mirror Review
• ETC Tow Buddy Review
  • How to turn a pedal bike into a balance bike