I love the balance bikes. We've had both our boys on the Strider brand ones (can find them used often) since they were one. I personally like the Striders as the seats can go super low, and the handlebars can run much lower than some of the others. They start out just walking straddling it, then eventually sit on the seat and walk it, and eventually start running and gliding. Both of our boys (once tall enough) went from walking to coasting within a couple weeks.
I can't let the 2-year old out the door these days without him bee-lining for the bike - makes getting in the car a head-ache, and seems like I end up with two balance bikes strapped to the back of my bike trailer often.
The major selling point for me was we got my 4-yr old a pedal bike a couple months ago, and I literally held onto his seat for 3 strides and he was biking on his own (no training wheels). I left the pedal bike seat low enough to put his feet down, and the next day he figured out starts and stops on his own, and has been a machine since, and could then run his seat up into a more normal height for pedaling. He still likes the balance bike though, especially at the skate park and on dirt trails.
The best part about the balance bikes, imo, is how light the good ones are, as the kids can lift and throw them around pretty easily. For whatever reason, pedal bikes (even 10-inch ones) are insanely heavy for a little kid in comparison to the balance bikes, so they end up with a lot more control over the balance bike between the lighter bike and low center of gravity. I'll have to see if I can dig up some skate park or trail footage.
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