Picking a kid's bike

[FastforaSlowGuy]

My daughter is well past graduating from her 14 inch balance bike, and I'll be picking up a 20" bike soon. (She outgrew her 14" last winter, so we are skipping right over the 16" size.) I've heard that a number of folks that skipping the coaster brakes and going to hand brakes makes things easier, but it's hard to find a 20" bike without coaster brakes unless I step up from the $200 bikes (Specialized, Trek, C-Dale, etc.) to specialty kid brands (Woom, Cleary, etc.). Those bikes run around $400, which seems steep for something that will last 2 years, and finding a used one is basically impossible. Further complicating things, I'm late to the party and a lot of bikes are on very long backorder. So here's my choices for what I can get in a reasonable timeframe, and I'll appreciate the collective's view on making the additional expenditure:

1. Buy a Specialized Riprock 20, which I can get from my LBS for $270 or possibly find used, but it's quite a bit heavier for her to lug around and it has coaster brakes.
2. Spend more and get a Cleary Owl 20, which I might be able to get from the LBS but can definitely get online, for $425. It looks perfect for fit, features and colors, but it's a big price jump.

[dookie]

They are impossible to find used for a reason. Spend it without fear now, and know that yours will get snapped up at little loss when you sell.

[soupless]

We just got the Cleary and I couldn't be happier.

I got very lucky and found a used one. I drove an hour, got it for $275 and it needed new cables, the grips were kinda shot, and the levers are scratched and bent. Basically anything you'd expect from a kids bike.


It's so much nicer than almost all of the kids bikes I've seen, and I spent years in bike retail. It's a lot lighter than most kids bikes, and it's got good quality brakes (coasters make learning harder imho), nice wheels, a chainring that's round, good cranks, etc etc.

My daughter took to it like nothing else and I think it's at least partially attributable to it being a nice bike. I goof around on it and it's fun. Makes me want a Surly 1x1 or something.

Also, expect to get at least half your original purchase price or more if you sell.

Great bikes. I'd happily pay full retail if we need another one.

[hokoman]

I had 2 Specialized balance bikes that weighed a ton. My kids hated them. I bought them a 14" Isla Cnoc that is no longer sold in the states, but pretty sure the bikes weighed less than the balance bikes. Then they just sized up to the 20" versions I ordered right before Isla closed down in the US.

Long story short, I would say it is 100% worth spending the money on a high quality kids bike. Woom is great because for a small upcharge, it allows you to upgrade to a freewheel.

I found an almost brand new Isla for my friend for $100 on FB marketplace.

[dbh]

Having just gotten my youngest riding a two wheeler unassisted and having my oldest riding on her own now for a couple of years, I'm very much in the buy the better kids' bike category. We started our daughter on a crappy department store bike and was shocked by how much it weighed. The coaster brake and cheap cranks were absolute junk. No surprise she hated it. Ended up going with a Woom 3, and she took to it instantly. Such a well thought out bike. My son just graduated from a Strider balance bike this spring, but finding a Woom 2 (which is appropriate for his size) was impossible. We tried him on a few coaster brake hand me down bikes from family and neighbors, and he just hated them. Found a Cleary Gecko here on PL, and he took off like a rocket.

From a financial perspective, you'll get back most of what you paid for it (Wooms are going for more than retail used on ebay now). As a parent, it was hard seeing how the machine was holding back my kids, and so heartening to watch them connect it all together once we got them the right tool. I can't speak from first hand experience, but before we pulled the trigger on the used Cleary, we were looking at some kids bikes from the UK on Chain Reaction Cycles. There seem to be a number of 20 inch freewheel options in the $200-300 range as well as free shipping.

[vincenz]

I don’t see a problem with coaster brakes. Unless you have some special reason or need to have hand brakes, I’d go for the specialized. These bikes last a short time anyway. My kid loves his 16” riprock and he rides circles around kids his age on department store bikes. Loves the thing.

[FastforaSlowGuy]

Yet again, PL comes through. I swallowed hard and went for the Cleary. Lots of great options out there. She has a hand brake on her balance bike now, and she's been getting really good at using it. So between continuing that learning process and the weight difference (she's tall but young, so a few pounds matters), I spent the extra dough. In the scheme of things, the price difference is about the price of a set of good tires, and hopefully this thing will last longer and have more residual value.

[acorn_user]

I'm glad you tried the Cleary. I have friends with one that love it. My kids got Islabikes until they stopped importing them :(

Fwiw, Islabikes is a very decent company. I've been to their company HQ, and one of their mechanics helped me out when I flatted on a ride.

[soupless]

Which color? Ours is the sky blue. It’s my favorite bike.

[FastforaSlowGuy]

Which color? Ours is the sky blue. It’s my favorite bike.


Pink. Pink helmet. Pink scooter. Pink balance bike. Now a pink pedal bike. My wife hates pink but I love it and have 3 pink bikes myself, so I guess we know where she gets her taste. I’m hopeful she likes the bike and I can be posting proud dad video on here in a few weeks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[oldpotatoe]

My daughter is well past graduating from her 14 inch balance bike, and I'll be picking up a 20" bike soon. (She outgrew her 14" last winter, so we are skipping right over the 16" size.) I've heard that a number of folks that skipping the coaster brakes and going to hand brakes makes things easier, but it's hard to find a 20" bike without coaster brakes unless I step up from the $200 bikes (Specialized, Trek, C-Dale, etc.) to specialty kid brands (Woom, Cleary, etc.). Those bikes run around $400, which seems steep for something that will last 2 years, and finding a used one is basically impossible. Further complicating things, I'm late to the party and a lot of bikes are on very long backorder. So here's my choices for what I can get in a reasonable timeframe, and I'll appreciate the collective's view on making the additional expenditure:

1. Buy a Specialized Riprock 20, which I can get from my LBS for $270 or possibly find used, but it's quite a bit heavier for her to lug around and it has coaster brakes.
2. Spend more and get a Cleary Owl 20, which I might be able to get from the LBS but can definitely get online, for $425. It looks perfect for fit, features and colors, but it's a big price jump.

My grand daughters are on their 3rd set of Cleary bikes..a 20 inch(Owl), then a 24inch(Meercat) and now a 26 inch(Scout) and I HIGHLY recommend them.

See you got the Cleary..really love their bikes...

[charliedid]

Just a bit of advice: I've sold quite a few kids bikes off and on over the years and one thing almost always makes thing easier and better in the end.

Let your kid pick out their own new bike.

And yes, Cleary makes excellent bikes IMO.

[Likes2ridefar]

We just got the Cleary and I couldn't be happier.

I got very lucky and found a used one. I drove an hour, got it for $275 and it needed new cables, the grips were kinda shot, and the levers are scratched and bent. Basically anything you'd expect from a kids bike.


It's so much nicer than almost all of the kids bikes I've seen, and I spent years in bike retail. It's a lot lighter than most kids bikes, and it's got good quality brakes (coasters make learning harder imho), nice wheels, a chainring that's round, good cranks, etc etc.

My daughter took to it like nothing else and I think it's at least partially attributable to it being a nice bike. I goof around on it and it's fun. Makes me want a Surly 1x1 or something.

Also, expect to get at least half your original purchase price or more if you sell.

Great bikes. I'd happily pay full retail if we need another one.

Reading this made me search Cleary on my local craigslist. Looks like I’ll be driving to Flagstaff in a bit :banana:

[old fat man]

Very happy with Woom here. Most of them are sold out but there is a FB page selling used Wooms. Best features of the Woom is how light and maintenance free they are.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Been following these threads closely. My daughter is now 7 and learned on a Public Bikes 16" model. She never took to the balance bike. My son, who is now 3.5, finally did take to the Strider and is always looking for a grade to bomb and put his feet in the air. I don't want to see him struggle with a heavy bike and counterproductive coaster brake*. Anyone who is into bikes and has watched a small kid on a bike recently can simply see that these bikes (Woom, Cleary, Prevelo) have a better design/geometry for kids. $400 for a 16" bike is comparably significant, but it should be easier to swallow knowing I can recoup much of that when he outgrows it. I'm pre-ordering a Prevelo Alpha Two 16" for him today.


*I agree that coaster brakes are dumb for kids bikes. They're heavier. They don't let kids back pedal, which helps them keep their balance. It's a harder concept for them to incorporate into riding than squeezing a lever. The concept of learning how to use hand brakes before pedaling makes sense to me. My son gets going fast on a Strider and needs brakes already. They're going to be using hand brakes, not coaster brakes the rest of their lives.

[CDollarsign]

I went with the Cleary Owl 3 speed. I wanted a 20" bike with hand brakes and not a ton of speeds and it fit the bill perfectly. Build quality is top notch with some fun little details. You can tell they really thought about what a kids bike should be and implemented it well.

I will say, I wish I had gone with a 24" bike as I think my 5 year old will grow out of the Owl quickly. I don't think I am sold on the meerkat though. Not really sure why a kid would need disk brakes and its pretty heavy...

[FastforaSlowGuy]

Been following these threads closely. My daughter is now 7 and learned on a Public Bikes 16" model. She never took to the balance bike. My son, who is now 3.5, finally did take to the Strider and is always looking for a grade to bomb and put his feet in the air. I don't want to see him struggle with a heavy bike and counterproductive coaster brake*. Anyone who is into bikes and has watched a small kid on a bike recently can simply see that these bikes (Woom, Cleary, Prevelo) have a better design/geometry for kids. $400 for a 16" bike is comparably significant, but it should be easier to swallow knowing I can recoup much of that when he outgrows it. I'm pre-ordering a Prevelo Alpha Two 16" for him today.


*I agree that coaster brakes are dumb for kids bikes. They're heavier. They don't let kids back pedal, which helps them keep their balance. It's a harder concept for them to incorporate into riding than squeezing a lever. The concept of learning how to use hand brakes before pedaling makes sense to me. My son gets going fast on a Strider and needs brakes already. They're going to be using hand brakes, not coaster brakes the rest of their lives.

Part of my reason for avoiding coaster brakes is that she's finally getting the hang of the hand brake on her balance bike. She's been doing the same as your kid: finding any grade she can and bombs down it. It seems counterproductive to re-teach her to brake with her feet, and then re-re-teach her to brake with her hands when she sizes up in 24 months. The weight also makes a big difference. She has a Frog balance bike, and the ease of moving it around just makes things more fun for her.

Someone mentioned letting her pick out the bike, and I generally agree. In this instance, she's been bike shopping with me for a while, so I knew what she liked. And I finally wore my wife doen so she'd let me pull the trigger on the $400 Cleary in the evening after 2 glasses of wine and some fairly annoying pestering, so I wasn't going to let her regroup overnight.

[CDollarsign]

I forgot to mention - Cleary had a huge sale and luckly a forumite tipped me off to it. Get on their email list, maybe it will happen again soon?

[beantownjjj]

Another vote for Woom bikes. We have a Woom 3 which my now 8 yo daughter used and 5 yo son is currently using. We went straight from balance bike to Woom without skipping a beat. I really think the lightness factor was important for early learning. The hand brakes were a bit of a challenge but worth the effort in the end. My daughter is currently on a geared big-box bike, and my son can zip right past her on the local hills. We're thinking of going back to Woom for my daughter …

[trener1]

This is taking to another level, but if anyone is thinking about getting their kid a Mt. Bike, this just came across my facebook feed.
A live event tonight.
https://reebcycles.com/new-kids-bikes-online-live-event-may-13th-8pm-est/

[radsmd]

Reminds me to list our IslaBike Bienn 26 for sale. Son grew out of it, but we loved it while it fit.

Too bad they don't import into the US anymore.

[oldpotatoe]

I went with the Cleary Owl 3 speed. I wanted a 20" bike with hand brakes and not a ton of speeds and it fit the bill perfectly. Build quality is top notch with some fun little details. You can tell they really thought about what a kids bike should be and implemented it well.

I will say, I wish I had gone with a 24" bike as I think my 5 year old will grow out of the Owl quickly. I don't think I am sold on the meerkat though. Not really sure why a kid would need disk brakes and its pretty heavy...

My 7 YO grand daughter had the 24inch Meerkat with discs and it has passed to her younger sister. I was a little leary of the hydros for this bike but after about 18 months of the kids beating it..they have been trouble free..

Just got a 26inch Scout for 9yo..it too has discs but really well made(Tektros)

[trener1]

I am wondering what you guys think of this bike?
https://www.rei.com/product/143168/co-op-cycles-rev-20-6-speed-plus-kids-bike

[trener1]

I have a question for you folks and a comment.

My question is regarding sizing, my 6yo needs a new bike and based on the measurements he should be on a 20, but I see some people mention that they have 7yo on 24's, it would be great if I could get him on a 24 as that would last for a good 4-5 years, and I know that if I get a 20 I will likely need to buy him a 24 next year, however I don't want him to be on a bike that is to big, so for those that have their 7 year olds on 24's does it seem ok?.

My comment:
Some of you have mentioned Isla bikes no longer being available, check out Frog bikes, they are another kids only brand that along with Cleary and Woom make great kids bikes and are nor sold in the US.

[CNY rider]

I have a question for you folks and a comment.

My question is regarding sizing, my 6yo needs a new bike and based on the measurements he should be on a 20, but I see some people mention that they have 7yo on 24's, it would be great if I could get him on a 24 as that would last for a good 4-5 years, and I know that if I get a 20 I will likely need to buy him a 24 next year, however I don't want him to be on a bike that is to big, so for those that have their 7 year olds on 24's does it seem ok?.

My comment:
Some of you have mentioned Isla bikes no longer being available, check out Frog bikes, they are another kids only brand that along with Cleary and Woom make great kids bikes and are nor sold in the US.

It's all sort of a crapshoot...depends on how big they are and how quickly they grow.
Our 10 year old just went from 20" to 24", but we are all on the shorter side and YMMV.
We have a Frog, very happy with it as we have been with Islabikes and the Cannondale 24 inch, non-suspension bike we got a couple of years ago.

[CNY rider]

I am wondering what you guys think of this bike?
https://www.rei.com/product/143168/co-op-cycles-rev-20-6-speed-plus-kids-bike

It depends if you're really taking them mountain biking.
24 pounds is heavy and those tires are a lot of rolling resistance if you're going to ride on the road or dirt roads and trails that don't really require a mountain bike.
Reviews seem positive.

[trener1]

Yeah i am starting to take him on some easy trails.
But at the same time we live in the city and I want a bike that he will be happy using to ride to places around town, so this might not be that great for that.

[FastforaSlowGuy]

Two Wheeling Tots has a lot of really great reviews. I think they reviewed the REI bike.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gpmrntz]

I'd go cheap. She's likely to damage it, whether just leaning it up against a tree, leaning it on the ground, or having a few "ouchie" moments.

Even if she doesn't damage it, she's going to out grow it. Just get her something solid and dependable that she will enjoy.

At 6 years age, she isn't likely to go on big, long rides, no matter the bike, certainly the bike isn't the difference between 1-2 mi and her suddenly being able to do 5+

Trust me. I wanted to buy my daughter some rare, super cool, Ti litespeed (or similar) I saw in a local shop. It's the bike I wanted that's for sure. My daughter could have cared less. She just wanted a bike. We'd go about a mile before she was wiped. We usually made it to the cafe. Sat, enjoyed. Made it back. Nap time.