Kids bike?

[huck*this]

I know there has been a topic about this before but the Search feature doesn't seem to be working. My wife and I wanted to get my 5 year old daughter a bicycle for Christmas this year. She has had a balance bike to date and is ready for a pedal bike with brakes. Any info and links is very helpful.

Cheers!

https://scontent.fzty1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22450154_10214633180091441_158430449652062611_n.jp g?oh=855028f122de151d8222a71916227deb&oe=5A63CEDD

[boomforeal]

kid looks stoked!

lots of good options these days. where do you envision her riding most often, and how tall is she?

spawn makes great kids bike for trails.

isla bikes still seems like the best option for tiny comuters

but just about every brand seems to make a good 20", if not smaller. might just be worth checking what your lbs carries?

[Mustangski]

I was looking for a good bike to upgrade my son from a balance bike, I ended up going with a Cleary Hedgehog. Its a great bike and the company was easy to deal with even with shipping to Japan. The bike is very light for a kids bike as well, my son took off easily on it. Recommend checking them out.

https://www.clearybikes.com/

[Dirtdiggler]

These are cool.. Rocker Bikes.. Basically a tiny fatbike (wheelbarrow wheels).
Tons of videos of these things.

[nmrt]

I bought my 3 yr old son a Clearly Gecko bike. He loves it. But I do not. simply for one reason. Cleary says that the Gecko weighs 13 lb for a freehwheel version, which my son has. But it weight almost 16.5 lbs. A difference of 3.5 lbs is a LOT for a 3 yr old! I feel that it is false advertising. I will never buy Cleary again.

Also, it may be light compared to some walmart bikes or even some specializedgiantrek bikes. But it is not light compared to the following bikes which I think you should look at. I have seen them is person and they are way lighter than the Cleary:

1) https://earlyrider.com/collections/bikes/products/belter-16
2) https://www.islabikes.com/product-category/kids-bikes/
3) https://us.woombikes.com/


I was looking for a good bike to upgrade my son from a balance bike, I ended up going with a Cleary Hedgehog. Its a great bike and the company was easy to deal with even with shipping to Japan. The bike is very light for a kids bike as well, my son took off easily on it. Recommend checking them out.

https://www.clearybikes.com/

[etu]

https://www.islabikes.com

[false_Aest]

Is it early enough in the calendar to just bring your daughter to a bike store and see what she wants/likes? In other words is there enough time to have her forget about it and then really be surprised for xmas?

When I worked at the LBS (and now when I deal with my niece or friend's 6 year old) the most important part of the bike is color.

If the bike is in good order working when you get it (in other words, buy it from a LBS), it'll last 2-3 years and then they'll out grow it.

FWIW, last year I had to do a survey of the kids bikes offered by the top 10 non-big-box brands. At that time Specialized had the most offerings. The big 3 all started at a similar price point ($169 IIRC). The biggest variation between brands wasn't at the lower price point, it was when you started getting into "specialized" kids bikes - e.g. Specialized makes a $1000 24" bike. I don't remember too many 16" bikes coming with hand brakes. If they did, it was also pared with a coaster -- which you'll see a lot of with 20" bikes.

[tommyrod74]

First - awesome pic. So great to see kids stoked on bikes.

Second - I (and several friends) have had great success buying used BMX mini race bikes for kids 4-8 years of age - 20" wheels, freewheel, rear brake, and crazy-light with no silly nonfunctional suspension or anything like that. Durable. Fun. Cheap. Handle great.

[huck*this]

Going to bump this.

Any of my fellow forumites have one kicking around in good condition they want to unload? Drop me a PM please.

[pdmtong]

adjust her helmet so she has better frontal lobe protection

regarding the bike...20 or 24" given her height? I would get the biggest bike you can off CL and lower the seat/cut the post so she can ride it and flat foot to the ground if needed.

[quehill]

I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old and have spent a lot of time sussing out the better kids bike options. My 4 year old is on a Spawn pedal bike, which is more like a MTB in geo/riding position/general burliness. It's sweet. If you're looking for something more road focused you can't go wrong with an Isla or a Woom. My littlest is on a Woom push bike- also super nice.

Cheers!

[jimcav]

i echo the weight advice: buy the lightest bike you can find if possible--it makes it much easier for them to deal with it getting on/off and should you do any trail riding that extra weight leads to the bike falling on them or them letting go of the bike as they try to walk it up/down a hill. for me, and this info is now 5+ years old, the lightest thing we could find was the specialized kids hardrock series. for non-geared I would get something like a used redline mini bmx bike--they are very, very light and you can even find them with tubular tires
jim

[zank]

We got some Commencal bikes for our guys (16" wheels for the 5 year old and 14" wheels for the 4 year old). I liked them because they have a threaded BB, regular 1 1/8 headsets, and 2.25" tires for riding trails. They are great bikes. Both bikes were over geared a bit out of the box. I put freewheels with one more tooth on each and it made it a lot easier for the boys. They only had to walk a few sections of the putney cross course this year in the mud.

[vqdriver]

we just took advantage of some black friday deals to move up our boys' bikes from 20" to 24". percentage off kids bikes with free helmets and blanket discount on accessories if we buy at the same time so we loaded up on stuff that had worn out. worth checking out local shops this time of year.
stuck with c'dale, went from the trail 20 to trail 24. they love em and for me, easy enough to work with.

fwiw, kids bikes aren't worth enough used to justify the cost of shipping these things. i'll list my old ones on craigs, and they tend to move fairly quick

[sun]

I’ve bought 3 Specialized Hotrocks on Craigslist. They were each $75 and under. Size 16.20 and 24. They have all worked well.

[huck*this]

Found a bike. Thank you for all the input. Went with a Spec HotRock. Well built and should last her the year or two until she out grows it.

Thanks again for all the PM and notes in the thread.

[dookie]

Ha! Good choice.

I saw the title and was ready to chime in, until I saw Xmas. And I was going to recommend the Hotrock, because weight. Ain't none of them light, but the alloy frame and rims definitely help. Mine outgrew his 16" and is now on an alloy 20" Haro 1x9.