It’s summertime and the weather is hot – perfect for riding bikes, and for competitive racing, too. Now, even toddlers can get in on the action at the Strider Cup balance bike races.
The Strider Cup is a series of four races, ending with a World Championship event. The festival also includes adventure zones for playing and test riding the balance bikes. It is focused on positive aspects of sports competitions for toddlers, and more importantly, teaches them how to easily learn to ride a bike.
In case you are not familiar with Strider and balance bikes, the company started when the founder wanted to share his love of adventure and riding with his 2-year old son. But, traditional tricycles and training wheel bikes didn’t offer the same adventure and off-road riding ability. What resulted was a kid’s bike without pedals or chains. Essentially, it is a light-weight, simple to ride bike where riders can keep their feet on the ground as they learn to balance and glide.
Strider is the leader in balance bikes, selling more than 1.6 million bikes in 70 different countries since 2007. There are several models of bikes, ranging from classic ($99.99) to pro ($169.99), and also offers special needs bikes for all abilities (up to $219.99).
Come on – let’s go for a ride!
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Pricing is a complex topic. Discuss the six steps for pricing (determining objectives, estimating demand, determining cost/profit relationships, select price level, set list price, and make adjustments).
- Discuss the various pricing models in class: demand-oriented, cost-oriented, profit-oriented, and competition-oriented.
- Show Strider balance bikes Web site: https://www.striderbikes.com/
- Videos of the Strider Cup and the cute toddler racers: https://youtu.be/nwyDKv_v0P0
- For balance bikes, divide students into groups and have each group work on any/all of the six steps.
- When setting the price level, assign each team a different model to use (demand-oriented, cost- oriented, etc.).
- Debrief the exercise. Compare the various pricing models and discuss advantages/disadvantages of each.
Source: Outside magazine
