Kettler Kettrike Air Navigator Trike

Nice trike, but poorly engineered.
We got this tricycle for our three-year-old daughter and she had a lot of trouble figuring out the coaster-style peddling system. One would think that spending so much for a trike would pretty much guarantee hassle-free use and maintenance. Wrong! The biggest hassle was when we needed to pump up the rear tire. There is no easy way to do this and Kettler's description of how to do this is really a joke. If you ever get a flat on on one of the tires, be prepared for a pain in the butt process to get it inflated again. This just isn't very well thought out. We gave it away to our neighbor and got our daughter a regular trike and she's a happy camper.

Excellent choice!
After extensive online and offline research and product trying my wife and I opted for this, the Kettler Air Navigator, and we couldn't be more pleased. The tricycle is strong, well built, greatly designed and easy to assemble (once you have carefully read the instructions). It is a somehow expensive choice but if you can afford it, the safety it provides is priceless and the strength and durability well above all other options we found. Our 2 year old son is quite tall and very active so we needed something 100% reliable to use either in the city (we live in NYC) or the country, and we feel we found just that on this item.

In terms of cons, I'd say that the handler and seat belt are somehow flimsy compared to the actual tricycle. They are of good quality but the way the are attached to the frame of the toy isn't robust enough for a strong child that pulls in every direction all the time. Maybe these two accessories are more useful when your child is either younger or smaller/lighter than ours.

Overall a great product. Good luck.
V

Two thumbs up from the birthday girl who just turned one!
Being from Germany I knew that Kettler had some of the best products out there. I reviewed all the different types of Kettrike available by Kettle and found the "Air Navigator" to be the best overall. My one year old little girl just loves being pushed around already. We also made sure to purchase the seatbelt extra and thankgoodness we did. She holds onto the handle's just fine and her feet almost reach the petals with the seat furthest in. When we play outside she puts all kinds of treasures in the rear bucket. I can easily navigate down the street or sidewalk with the pushbar. The wheels turn so easily with just a slight turn of the wrist. The tires seem to just float right along with little effort while pushing. I love the fact the petals don't spin out of control when I am pushing her along. I sampled other trikes like the radio flyer's and they were much more difficult to push and navigate down the road and you could not lock the petals in place. We now have an official bike bell from her Oma in Germany and the trike is complete. I know this one will last for years to come and we will definately get our money's worth!

Overpriced and poorly designed
Unfortunately, this trike falls well below expectations when it comes to a toddler using this to learn to ride a wheeled toy. The front pedal's circumference is too small for a toddler to generate adequate leverage to propel the trike forward, so, like another poster stated, the cheap plastic tricycles are a better option. Another flaw is that the pedals are too small, and my daughter's feet consistently slide off of them. Kettler developed a fix for this; they are happy to sell a set of toe clips to you for an additional . I would choose a different product.

Suit big toddlers, good for pushing, not easy to pedal.
It is a sturdy tricycle for above average sized toddlers. My Daughter was 28 pds and tall at 1 year old, so the seat is a good size for her. I have the bike shop to assemble it, it is great for me to push her to park and shopping mall. But it is not easy to pedal, she started pedal it on her own at 2 year and 2 months ,but it was not a smooth ride. I hear a "Click" sound' every once in a while from the wheel. Since it was assembled professionally, I think it is the way it is. Still, I like it overall. Now my son is tiny one, he won't be able to reach the foot pedal for a while.