Picking a kid's bike

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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-bike...-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]

Originally Posted by 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...

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/c...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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by trener1

I am wondering what you guys think of this bike?
https://www.rei.com/product/143168/c...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.