Little kid bike

[rcnute]

My 3-year old has outgrown his Burley balance bike. He never quite got the hang of it. What's in-between a toddler balance bike and big boy bike?

Ryan

[joosttx]

Really impressed with Cleary Bikes. Both my kids have them.

https://www.clearybikes.com


My 3-year old has outgrown his Burley balance bike. He never quite got the hang of it. What's in-between a toddler balance bike and big boy bike?

Ryan

[DRZRM]

Yeah, +1 for Cleary. Heard good things about Wooms too.

[acorn_user]

Islabikes Cnoc. You can get them in a couple of sizes, and they are lightweight and very well sized. My children have done wonderfully well with them.

[oldpotatoe]

My 3-year old has outgrown his Burley balance bike. He never quite got the hang of it. What's in-between a toddler balance bike and big boy bike?

Ryan

I got my 4.5 year old this..really nice.

https://www.linusbike.com/products/lil-dutchi-16

[Davist]

We had good luck with a '70s Schwinn pixie. it's unisex design, with a really low bb, which my son took to very quickly. I found it in a garbage can, a quick polish and it was good to go. Coincidentally, I picked it up because it was the bike I learned on from a neighbor at 4 or 5. In about a month he was teaching the neighborhood kids how to ride using it.

Good copies available on ebay all the time under $100 and the quality is really good with "real" headsets and bb's and coaster brakes from bendix. Yes they're heavy, yes they will outgrow fairly quickly, but if you have a couple kids or share around the neighborhood it'll last forever, as it already has.

[vqdriver]

thanks for that cleary bikes reminder. i'd seen them mentioned here before and forgot to shop them now that i'm looking to move my own kids to 24"
that meerkat looks great but wish they had stock of the suspended versions.
fwiw, i'm hedging on the diamond back line 24 only because it seems to have a really high bb.

[nmrt]

Got a Cleary bike for my 3 yr old. He loves it! But i wish I would have gotten him this instead:
https://earlyrider.com/collections/bikes/products/belter-16



My 3-year old has outgrown his Burley balance bike. He never quite got the hang of it. What's in-between a toddler balance bike and big boy bike?

Ryan

[kurto]

I was able to find a nearly new Specialized Hotrock on my local Craigslist for $70, and it's been great (on its second kid now). I wouldn't pay retail for one (probably opt for the Cleary or something similar), but if you can get a deal it's a nice bike. The parts are legit and it's reasonably light and well-made.

[marsh]

My 6 yo has been riding his Trek Lion for 3 years. Got it for $35 on CL.

[boomforeal]

best little-big-boy/girl bike i know of

https://spawncycles.com/furi-14

https://spawncycles.com/media/catalog/product/f/u/furi_slide_1_1.jpg

my niece has been on hers since her fourth birthday

[einreb]

Got a Cleary bike for my 3 yr old. He loves it! But i wish I would have gotten him this instead:
https://earlyrider.com/collections/bikes/products/belter-16

I've seen several of these in person. They are fantastic little bikes and amazingly lightweight.

[kgreene10]

Both Cleary and Woom are awesome. We have a Cleary and Woom is local to us, so my son tried them as well. They both have easy to pull handbrakes and the geo works well for kids. You certainly pay a premium, but if you and your kid are into bikes, it's a nice way to go. We previously had a tiny Trek kids bike with a coaster brake and it was ok but didn't inspire as much confidence.

[jruhlen1980]

I recommended Cleary on another forum -- despite not having children nor personal experience with the brand. The guy bought one for his kid and was really, really happy with it - both him and his kid.

My recommendation was based on a couple articles I'd read about the company; the founder's philosophy is basically that kid's bikes shouldn't suck and they should also be able to grow with the kid.

[benb]

How tall is your kid?

My son is stupid tall, he turns 5 in November and is about 45" tall already.

We got rid of his balance bike this spring, but he could still ride it. He can ride on two wheels now very well now though. He's good for rides up to about 5 miles, handles dirt pretty well at this point, can stop/start, do figure eights, starting to learn how to stand up. (He learned pretty soon after we sold the BB)

If your kid is not able to master the balance bike they're probably not ready for a new bike with pedals... maybe look for a balance bike that is larger. We had a Giant Pre... seemed like it was plenty big enough for a kid up to about 40" in height at least.

Most of the non-balance bikes have the center of gravity quite a bit higher, they don't help in that initial learning phase... I was frustrated teaching my son cause his learning bike was actually MTB/BMX styled, the big tires raise the BB height and make the standover height higher (which is critical with respect to learning to start/stop), then you try to compensate by lowering the seat and it makes it harder for them to pedal. The bike we had was a hand me down, next year he's getting something quality like a Trek or Specialized, probably 20" size. Partly for my sanity as at least the Trek/Specialized have more standard sized parts, axles, etc.. The bike given to us requires carrying 4 full size wrenches to get the wheels off if he got a flat as the front and rear axles use different size bolts. :(

But hey we got lucky.. he can ride quite well and has never had so much of an injury as to even need a bandage.

[alembical]

Both my kids are riding Clearly, an Owl and a Hedgehog. There next bikes will be Isla, but as of right now, I like them not having gears to worry about. They are 6 and 5.