Kettler Kettrike Air Navigator Trike

Do you find it frustrating when your kids think they are too big for a stroller, but having them walk takes triple the travel time? This is the perfect product for you!! Pre-schoolers think they are BIG stuff on this tricycle!! The great part about it is that you can be pushing them with the handle (to increase travel speed) and they think that they are just really fast at peddling ;) The bonus of this Trike is the handle is removed with a push of a button when your kids are old enough to ride solo. I can't think of one bad thing to say about this product. There is even a little trunk space big enough for a few sand toys and a sippy cup! Awesome!

We bought this tricylce when my son was two with the understanding that he'd be about three before being able to pedal it. Our son is a tall child (38" tall and 38 pounds) and has trouble pedaling this tricylce. I think the problem is that the trike is too low and too heavy. He rides the more typically designed trikes with ease (trikes with a higher seat that allows the child to pedal down rather than out). This trike is more like a recumbent exercise bike which is a lot harder to pedal. We've also been very disappointed with the handle bar. It constantly twists out of alignment and has to be readjusted and the pedals skip which might have to do with the auto free wheel. Kettler USA, however, has been very easy to work with and their customer service has been excellent. They replaced the handle bar with no problems and questions asked. But, we are going to sell this very expensive trike and look for something that's easier for our son to ride (and probably cheaper!).

The whole time I was researching this product, I thought that the rear wheel steering was linked to the front wheel - countersteering to provide a reduced turning radius. And I couldn't see from any of the photos or the owner's manual how that was supposed to happen.

Since neither Amazon's nor the manufacturer's description makes this clear, here's how it works:

The rear wheel steering is only used when the parent is pushing with the pushbar. You lock the front wheel, unlock the rear wheels, insert the pushbar, and you can steer it from behind. When it's the kids turn to drive, you remove the pushbar, lock the rear wheels, and unlock the front wheel.

Maybe it's just me, but this certainly wasn't clear from anything I'd read online.

This trike is awesome. It has real tires (not plastic) and is a very smooth ride. The steering is easy and convenient with an adjustable height control. If you have a young one, the seat belt is a necessary addition. My one year old son LOVES this, even though he always hated strollers!

We bought this trike for our son two years ago. He loves it, and we do too. The handle is nice and long, so that even my husband at 6'2" can push it easily. We love the tires because they are air filled, they have good traction and we have not had to refill the air in two years. There is a little bucket behind the seat which our son uses for his sippy cup and small sticks, rocks etc..
The trike is pretty stable when riding wider circles and on flat ground, but he has tipped over on uneven ground, which is to be expected on any tricycle.
Best of all is the feature where you can lock the steering wheel, and the back tires start swiveling. It is sooooo easy to go for walks with your child even if he doesn't know how to steer yet. Our son had a blast when he was smaller.
The reason why we didn't give five stars is that there is no handbrake like a lot of the other Kettler tricycles have. When our son rides a little faster he has no way of stopping. So he has to put his feet on the ground which slide along until he comes to a stop, or he ends up colliding with something. Also the blue front wheel cover will not stay where it is supposed to be and creates some friction between the tire and the cover. It is possible that there was a piece missing to hold it in place or that we put it together wrong after we brought it home. In any case my son gets frustrated with it.

These two issues however are still quite minor, and so I would recommend it to anyone interested in buying this trike. It WILL outlast many children.