Kettler Kettrike Happy Navigator Tricycle Reviews

• Best Trike for Toddlers

  
  By A344C3GQE0S6P2 on 2005-01-09
  My 14 month old son can not get enough of this trike. The 3 in 1 freewheel is what makes this trike stand out. The nearly identical version of this trike by Kiddo does not have freewheel, so the pedals continue to move and hit your child's feet when an adult is pushing. The pedals on the Navigator stay in place, making it a much more enjoyable ride for youngsters who can not pedal on thier own. The Navigator is also more sturdy and easier to assemble. I highly recomend this model over other, less expensive versions.
  
  

• This isn't your Daddy's German Engineering...

  
  By A1VKARFANQ2TXM on 2007-04-02
  My son has had his Kettler Navigator for a while and I'm still baffled over the "big deal." We purchased this trike because everyone raved about how great it was, but truthfully, I wish we'd spent the money elsewhere.
  
  Here's the skinny:
  
  Pros:
  - Rear steering is great! This really helps you and keeps you from having to bend over. But, this is a feature on other trikes now too.
  - Yeah, that's pretty much it.
  
  Cons:
  - The basket won't stay on.
  - The pedals have almost no grippy-ness to them. When you're dealing with toddler/infants learning to pedal, having their feet constantly slipping off the pedals only frustrates them.
  - Seat Belt...Why? What infant is going fast enough to need a seat belt?
  - The Seat...even fully pushed forward isn't close enough for small children.
  - The cheap plastic tires. At this price, I expect rubber, not the same cheap plastic stuff you find on low-end big wheels.
  - The entire pedal structure is terribly cheap. The pedals have so much back and forth give in them (designed this way on purpose?) that my son ends up going backwards when he's trying to go forwards (and vice versa).
  
  My list goes on. Basically, for the money you spend, this is definately not worth it. AND, since many of the features I listed here are applicable on all Kettler models (the same plastic pedals, the same basket), you should seriously look at other products before purchasing a Kettler.
  
  

• Great bike with some minor issues

  
  By A298RAEHZ9M3HB on 2006-03-18
  I'll start off my saying I really like this bike and my 12 month old can't get enough of it! It's durable and I love the colors. Having the stationary pedals is great. Also, the ability to either lock the front steering and/or the real wheel's turing ability is a nice bonus. Assembly is a bit of a pain. Also, for the price I really wished it came with the seatbelt. If you are planning on installing the seatbelt make sure you do it DURING regular assembly as it is a hassle to get the seat off so you can get the seatbelt on. The steering doesn't work as well as some of the others that I have tried, but it's still easy enough.
  
  

• Free Spin pedals make independent pedaling difficult to learn

  
  By A1A58CGCG2J1U on 2007-07-31
  The Kettler worked just fine for my son when we first bought it. At that time, he was too little to pedal on his own. He liked being pushed around, but not for extended periods of time. Rear-wheel steering was good, and the construction was sturdy. But after owning this trike for a year and a half, I've had a few frustrating issues.
  
  Most importantly, the "free spin" pedals made it difficult for my normally active and quick-to-learn child to catch on to pedaling independently. We have tried for months to teach him how to push the pedals with his feet, but since the pedals don't spin when the trike rolls, no amount of coaching and encouraging seemed to help him make the connection between turning the pedals and moving the trike. My suspicions were confirmed this afternoon when I took him to a park and asked another mom if my son could try her child's trike. He hopped on, and within two minutes he was pedaling happily down the track. I have to wonder if there's any way the company can devise a mechanism to turn the free spin on and off, similar to the steering mechanism which you can turn on and off. That would be great, but I have no idea if that's asking the impossible in terms of engineering.
  
  I also have to say that the pedals are too slick and the basket is too loose--ours is continually flopping down to the ground, even when nothing is in it. I thought I was buying the perfect trike, but for us, it's been disappointing.
  
  

• Best Trike Ever

  
  By A22WGV1UMS1NB8 on 2006-01-15
  My girls are 12 months old and are thrilled to sit on their new toys. These trikes are sturdy and with the seatbelt and a helmet I would imagein very safe. Made in Germany not China and every piece if guarenteed by Kettler. Just what you would expect from a german engineered trike! Very happy we spent the extra money on something that will last for our next set of twins!!!
  
  
• Over two years old and still love it
  By A1KTYTKI376QRC on 2006-12-17
  We bought this for our son when he was two (he is now four) and absolutely love it and have now passed it on to his little brother who also just loves it. I put it together myself in about 30 minutes with no issues but like all toys, read all the instructions first.
  
  I love the ability to lock the steering so you can steer with the push bar and the pivoting wheels in the back. Both our boys love the little yellow bin in the back, something I really didn't think they would notice but they always fill it with leaves or such and play "dump truck" with it.
  
  If you have little ones, I would suggest purchasing the optional seat belt just to keep smaller kids secure.
  
  Quality is excellent and worth the money. Highly recommend it.
  
  
• One of the worst instruction manuals ever
  By A3U6RDCO2JKQ2I on 2006-12-25
  I purchased this tricycle on the recommendation of several parents. They told me their children loved riding it, and the parents loved that they could lock the wheels and control the tricycle during early ages.
  
  What they didn't tell me is that they all purchased the tricycle already built at a toy store.
  
  So I bought one online, and much to my chagrin, I just spent over two hours putting it together. The manual was the worst I've ever read (or not read, since there are no translations), there were parts left over and items (like the red plastic piece that's supposed to snap into the front wheel fender) that didn't sit properly into place or were poorly calibrated to fit together.
  
  If Kettler is going to tout themselves as the "happy" tricycle they need to consider the happiness of the parent who decides to purchase this product unassembled.
  
  
• Pleased overall
  By AB2K59XCDHTA8 on 2007-01-09
  I bought the Happy Navigator trike for my 2 year old daughter. We're quite pleased with it overall. My daughter loves to ride in it although she cant quite pedal it herself right now. The rear navigation is a little tricky, especially on uneven sidewalks. Takes a little getting used to and even then it wont always go in a straight line. Installation was not too bad - the drawings can be better. Would recommend it.
  
  
• expensive but worth it!
  By A2ULWUAX7ZAWRY on 2007-04-30
  The happy navigator really fits the needs of my 18 month old. Although she can't reach the pedals, she's close. She truely loves being pushed around and I'm sure can't wait till she's in control. I added the seatbelt to it since my angel likes to jump off things while still in motion:) The instruction can be a little tricky, but just be patient and read them all first so you don't have to go back and undo things. Also if you add the seatbelt make sure to pre-drill the holes in the seat. Way to hard to do by hand.
  
  
• Safe and sturdy: two years old...and still going strong.
  By A1TO5EGEZ9I2IO on 2007-06-08
  We bought this for our son at age 2 and he's 4 now. He's really tough on toys but this trike still looks almost new and there isn't a wobble or loose part. It's VERY stable -- he's a dare-devil speed-demon who loves to go zooming down our driveway and turn sharply onto the sidewalk. Despite his shinannegans, he's only managed to tip it over once.
  
  I loved the freewheeling because he could just rest his feet (we never needed footrests or a seat belt). Before he learned to pedal, I pushed him in it. While he was learning to pedal, I pushed him when he got tired or he was just going too slowly.
  
  It has grown with him. The adjustable size feature is great -- no tools are needed. YOu just turn the knob, release the latch, and you can change the distance from the seat to the pedal in less than a minute. And you know it's safe and secure. While he was learning, we could adjust it to match his growth spurts. It always fit him properly because it was so easy to adjust. He learned to pedal and steer easily. -- we can adjust it in under 60 seconds when other kids come over to visit.
  
  The non-air tires work fine on concrete, grass, gravel. The metal hasn't rusted and the plastic parts haven't faded in our California sun, even though it gets left outside most of the time.
  
  We have a cheaper trike that has rusted, faded, etc, and is much tippier that he received as a gift. I was keeping it as a spare for friends for a few months, but I threw it away after it rusted, the seat came loose and he managed to tip it over twice in one day.
  
  I love Kettler stuff. It's sturdy and well designed. I've never been hassled by Kettler products breaking.
  
  I put it together in about 30 minutes. I didn't have any trouble like some of the other reviewers.
  
  Kettler has excellent customer service and you can always get replacement parts should you ever need them: the Kettler Kettcar Grand Prix Pedal Car we recently bought unfortunately arrived damaged in shipping three days before his Chirstmas. We called kettler and they sent a replacement part via overnight UPS.
  
  BTW, his Kettler peddlecar is the most popular toy on the block.Even the 10 year olds love it. The boys are beating the c**p out of that car, but it's tough enough to take it.
  
  
• A great tricycle, but tricky instructions
  By AIG4C7XL07GFT on 2007-04-12
  Love the trike, although I didn't realize I was buying the "Happy Navigator" and not the "Air Navigator" that has the air tires. This one has the hard plastic ones and while it's not a huge difference they should be air for the price.
  
  This is one solidly built tricycle but like the other reviewers have mentioned, the instructions are tricky. Several stesp are packed into each step and you really have to look at the pictures closely to understand. That said, the instructions are not "bad" per se and they do show you the correct way to put it together. Having read about the instruction problem ahead of time, I made sure I had enough time set aside to assemble it and I had no problems. This is not something you want to put together with your two year old impatiently standing over you.
  
  Is it worth the price? That's a tough one. I'd say it's worth about a hundred bucks but not much more. Quality is hard to come by these days and you'll definitely be paying a premium for it.
  
  
• great bike, terrible directions
  By A2O175WFC0CWYT on 2007-10-05
  Really terrible directions! And I never have problems with directions. I've put together every kid toy & ikea shelf without pause. But these were inexplicable. At one point I got so frustrated I walked away and told my husband to finish it. He got so frustrated he ended up pushing something the wrong way, it got stuck and broke and we had to wait an extra ten days to get up and running because we had to buy recplacement parts. I love the bike of course - it's great. I write this review in hopes that someone at the company will take a realistic look at those directions... or maybe they just want to sell replacement parts. I don't know.
  One last thing - I thought this was the one with the bigger seat, but it's not. That was a disappointment. I don't know who writes the descriptions, but they make it kind of hard to tell the many bikes apart. I'm really glad I got the seat-belt because otherwise my daughter would slide right off the small seat.
  
  
• Solid product
  By A2NVWM6RK0U9ZF on 2007-02-17
  My son is 18 mos. old and has been riding on his for several months (with the pedals) locked. We also purchased the seat belt. It's quality-made and will last for a long time. Very pleased.
  
  
• Great bike!!!
  By A37906Z3A9IKLZ on 2007-09-04
  This item has been a BIG hit in the family for my 2 year old and my 3 1/2 year old. They both fight over it. I love that I can navigate from the back and set the pace and place of our destination. The adjustments from parent propelled to child propelled are quick and easy, very nice for the impatient child(I have two of them). My only beef is the instructions, no words, and pictures that even my maginifying glass could not help with, lots of parts; but once it was together, I loved it. We use it every day!!!
  
  
• Usual issues with German Engineering
  By A2R9XIBX8JLORA on 2006-09-09
  Just spent 2 hours putting this thing together. I might not be a handyman, but with 2 toddlers in the house, we put things together for kids based on instructions weekly. These were by far, by a huge margin, the absolute worst.
  
  Plus a few small problems. The screws for the seat were wrong size, so the seat is unacceptably loose. The front wheel lock does lock the steering but not the pedals as described. Have to spend more time to disassemble, send it back, and get a new. The kid did love it in the story asseblied. Reminds me of all the issues I used to have with my Mersedes. That explains why I drive Acura now.
  
  

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