Schwinn Grit (Petunia)

Bottom Line

The Schwinn Grit (or Petunia, which is the girls version) is perfect for your child if he or she is timid about learning to ride a bike. It comes equipped with a removable steering handle and training wheels to help ease the learning process.

Performance

Parents help steer. The Schwinn Grit and Petunia, the girls' version, come with a removable handle that allows an adult to steer the bike from behind. This is to help encourage children to develop the confidence to ride by themselves. Coupled with training wheels, this bike is a great learning model for more timid riders.

One customer at ToysRUs.com says of the handle, "I can use it to help him get the bike started if he is having trouble and … I can quickly/easily grab him if he should start driving into the street or needs to be steered another direction."

Many customers complain about complications with assembly. The bike comes with a set of instructions, but they don't appear to be very helpful. While this is a fairly common complaint, there are still those who have found assembly to be fairly easy and straightforward.

Durability

Some complications. While many customers are satisfied with the quality of their Schwinn Grit or Petunia, there seem to be almost as many who experience issues with durability. One Amazon.com customer complains, "The pedals keep coming off." He is not alone, as many have had the same problem.

Some however say that Schwinn bikes are high quality and very durable. Another user says, "The bike is sturdy and does not topple easily." It is possible the standard of quality is not consistent.

Customer Service

Little to go by. Despite the high number of complaints about customers receiving broken or faulty bikes, there are surprisingly few reviews regarding the quality of customer service received from Schwinn. The company has a decent reputation for fast and responsive customer service, and it should be no different with the Grit or Petunia bikes.