Are balance bikes common where you live?

When I was growing up in the 80s, I learned to ride a bike with training wheels, which I eventually took off when I was about 7.Now, living in northern Germany, I hardly see any bikes with training wheels anymore. Instead (based on a completely unscientific sampling of our neighbours) children seem to start on balance bikes when they're about 2-3, and move on to a "real" bicycle (with no training wheels) when they're about 4. It seems that they have no trouble balancing (as they've learned from the balance bike), but sometimes lack the leg strength to get going (or to cycle up a shallow incline).I'm curious: are balance bikes common where you live? Or is it a local phenomenon? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2nwk51C