Bike for a 4 year old

letape

Just looking to buy a bike for a 4 year old boy and wondering if anyone had any advice on what to buy or what models to avoid.

quozl

I got a pair of ridgeback mx14s from think bike in Rathmines about a month ago for twin boys who just turned 4.

Aluminium frame, steel fork, real adult v-brakes but kid sized brake levers.

I'm delighted with them as are the boys. I also saw a cute video of a 5 year old doing gentle mtb trails on one. My lads are still on stabilizers :-)

fat bloke

Balance bike if he's learning.

Buchaill_Mor

Totally agree with my large friend there. I got my young fella a balance bike, and when I got him his first bike he did not use stabilisers.

Mycroft H

I didnt have a balance bike when I was a young fella. I'm none the worse. What's the big deal about them?

martyc5674

Islabike if u can stretch to it.
Bought one for my 5 year old about 2 months ago. A cnoc 16(he is small)
First day he was off the stabilizers and literally bombing around the place... Within a week my 3 year old had mastered it so I got him an isla Beinn 20 and gave her the cnoc.
They are fabulous bikes and made a huge difference to their progression.
There is a guy in Wicklow who sells frog bikes... I believe they are the same as isla but a chunk cheaper.
Marty.

letape

I should have said he has had a balance bike (Strider) for two years now but I think it's time to move to a bike with pedals.

I plan on trying that bike without stabilisers from the start so he's never dependent on them.

letape

quozl wrote: »

I got a pair of ridgeback mx14s from think bike in Rathmines about a month ago for twin boys who just turned 4.

Aluminium frame, steel fork, real adult v-brakes but kid sized brake levers.

I'm delighted with them as are the boys. I also saw a cute video of a 5 year old doing gentle mtb trails on one. My lads are still on stabilizers :-)

I might take a look at that bike.

The bike we were looking at is the one below in Symths:

http://www.smythstoys.com/ie/en-ie/outdoor/bikes/c-638/14-bikes-4-6yrs-/p-1243/14-dinosaur/

Wondering if anyone has experience of this.

Lumen

Mycroft H wrote: »

I didnt have a balance bike when I was a young fella. I'm none the worse. What's the big deal about them?

They enable faster progression to proper cycling than a pedal bike with stabilisers.

You can achieve the same thing by just taking the pedals off a regular bike provided that the seat goes low enough to scoot.

flatface

+1 for the ridgeback. I got a 14" for my 4 year old, good kit. He may stretch to the mx16 if his toes can touch the ground. We got ours in Hollingsworth dundrum - just as cheap in the end as online.

bambergbike

Lumen wrote: »

They enable faster progression to proper cycling than a pedal bike with stabilisers.

For me it's not so much about getting little people cycling earlier, but about not having to walk agonizingly slowly with pre-cycling children or transport them around in a buggy or as passive passengers on an adult's bike or in a car. With a balance bike, you can amble along at normal adult walking pace and little people can keep up without too much trouble. So you get some minimal amount of exercise yourself, and the little people get nice and tired out before bed, but not usually in a weepy-whingy-"want a carry" over-tired way.

It's a bit like always carrying a camping stool or a potty: whenever the small person with short little legs needs a rest, they already have something to sit on and can just take one. So they can be out and about for a few hours at a time without getting completely exhausted.

paulgs

Buy something mid priced isla bikes or similar are over priced and at the low end smyths is probably not the best, go to a LBS, ridgeback, cuda, raleigh, the main thing to be concerned with is that the bike is properly assembled and has brakes that work. Kids grow so quickly the bikes don't last long my 7 year old is needing her 4th bike now a 24" wheel, she has a Cuda mayhem 20" wheel which I found to be pretty decent for the money.

beauf

letape wrote: »

I might take a look at that bike.

The bike we were looking at is the one below in Symths:

http://www.smythstoys.com/ie/en-ie/outdoor/bikes/c-638/14-bikes-4-6yrs-/p-1243/14-dinosaur/

Wondering if anyone has experience of this.

Its like a cheap (and heavy) bike from the 1980's.

jayjbe

paulgs wrote: »

Buy something mid priced isla bikes or similar are over priced and at the low end smyths is probably not the best, go to a LBS, ridgeback, cuda, raleigh, the main thing to be concerned with is that the bike is properly assembled and has brakes that work. Kids grow so quickly the bikes don't last long my 7 year old is needing her 4th bike now a 24" wheel, she has a Cuda mayhem 20" wheel which I found to be pretty decent for the money.

Islabikes are not overpriced. Great quality and will encourage a fast learning and hold value if looked after. No comparison to smyths/halfords.

beauf

Missed paulgs point entirely there.

His point was avoid the low end, Smyths. There's good bikes in the middle, without having to pay the high price of the Isabike. Also there are good brands in Halfords. Carrera, Boardman etc. So you're sweeping generalisation about halfords is not helpful. Isabikes are the top end of kids bikes. Not everyone wants to pay that.

The Smyths bikes in general are very low end bikes. Steel parts, old designs, heavy. Its like buying a bad 80's bike. Thats ok if people are aware thats what they are buying. But the price should tell you you're not getting the same bike as the better brands.

Myksyk

Balance bikes are brilliant and not surprisingly nurture the key skill of cycling that young brains need to acquire ...balancing. They allow the kid to choose how long they balance on two wheels from a millisecond up to whatever. My girl had it and was flying around the house and downhills within a couple of weeks knowing she just had to put her feet down if she needed. When we bought her a pedal bike we took it out of the boot, gave it to her and she jumped on and cycled away immediately.

MadDogGreener

My little guy got an Early Rider Belter a few months before his 4th birthday. Its a lovely bike and super light. Even lighter than the Cnoc 16.
A few shops sell them in Ireland so you buy locally which is another plus. On the downside its a bit pricey, but then my guy uses it almost every day.



[EDIT]
I should add that the Belter is only suitable for kids who dont need stabilisers as there is no way to attach them.

martyc5674

If you can get a secondhand Islabike you will be able to sel it again in 2 years time for practically the same price you paid for it.
I got 2 recently..both 2nd hand...and I could possibly get all my money back for them both in 2 years time.
Marty.

bullvine

This is what I did.

Get him one of these, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kettler-Speedy-12-5-Inch-Balance-Bike/dp/B002UXQM34/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1411463763&sr=8-4&keywords=balance+bike they are a great price and very light, weight is everything at that age. I sold my lads after a year and almost made my money back on Adverts.

Buy a cheap Smyths one(12inch wheels) on Adverts for around 20 quid just to get him pedaling while keeping the balance bike. Then get him a proper one when hes pedaling, you get what you pay for, my lad has a Giant Animator(not cheap though).

My lad has been cycling on his own nearly a year and its purely down to the Balance bike.

letape

MadDogGreener wrote: »

My little guy got an Early Rider Belter a few months before his 4th birthday. Its a lovely bike and super light. Even lighter than the Cnoc 16.
A few shops sell them in Ireland so you buy locally which is another plus. On the downside its a bit pricey, but then my guy uses it almost every day.

[EDIT]
I should add that the Belter is only suitable for kids who dont need stabilisers as there is no way to attach them.

Now that looks like a great bike. My problem is that my son had already seen the Smyths bike with my wife and he really likes it (courtesy of the dinosaur decals)...

paulgs

letape wrote: »

Now that looks like a great bike. My problem is that my son had already seen the Smyths bike with my wife and he really likes it (courtesy of the dinosaur decals)...

If you don't get them something they like it doesn't how much or how little it cost they may just not use it.

paulgs

jayjbe wrote: »

Islabikes are not overpriced. Great quality and will encourage a fast learning and hold value if looked after. No comparison to smyths/halfords.

That's not really my point plenty of good middle of the road brands to be bought including halfords ones and just to clear I am not a particular advocate of the chain.

A well assembled 150 e bike will give a child as much fun as a 300 e one and lets face it, the children themselves have no concept of the value, they may like the fact it has a bell or the color. High end children's bikes are probably aimed more at satisfying a parent's ego than the child's needs.

Sasso

Half price sale on kids bikes in argos at mo. check out argos.ie, cant add link.
hope helps

slideshow bob

paulgs wrote: »

A well assembled 150 e bike will give a child as much fun as a 300 e one.

This for sure. Buy a bike that is well set up and you can maintain easily. For me that means buying in an LBS.

I've had them all: Cheap toy bike to properly made child bike to decent full size bikes. The toy bikes are difficult to keep working well, especially the brake systems. I was relieved when I finally copped on and started acquiring better made bikes.

I still get the odd neighbours youngster showing up at the door looking to get their bikes fixed. When I see cheap resin V brakes, or brutally soft calipers I become the archetypal grumpy old fart. No amount of time is going to sort those darn things out. If I lived near a river I'd chuck the bikes straight into it.

jayjbe

paulgs wrote: »

That's not really my point plenty of good middle of the road brands to be bought including halfords ones and just to clear I am not a particular advocate of the chain.

A well assembled 150 e bike will give a child as much fun as a 300 e one and lets face it, the children themselves have no concept of the value, they may like the fact it has a bell or the color. High end children's bikes are probably aimed more at satisfying a parent's ego than the child's needs.

I got and agree with your point. You get what you pay for, going mid will get a good bike (same as any adult bikes). But to say Islabikes are overpriced is not correct. Weight, quality and resale are value additions. Yes, a 4yr old will not care, wheels and a nice color are enough for them. Mam and Dad tho want a bike that will last 2+ kids and then sell. That may or may not be a factor for the OP.

bullvine

jayjbe wrote: »

I got and agree with your point. You get what you pay for, going mid will get a good bike (same as any adult bikes). But to say Islabikes are overpriced is not correct. Weight, quality and resale are value additions. Yes, a 4yr old will not care, wheels and a nice color are enough for them. Mam and Dad tho want a bike that will last 2+ kids and then sell. That may or may not be a factor for the OP.

Is it 298 euro for a Islabike? That's what Google tells me? I am not a cheap skate but that is way too much for a 4 year old's bike personally even with a resale, you'd be doing well to get even half that.

letape

bullvine wrote: »

Is it 298 euro for a Islabike? That's what Google tells me? I am not a cheap skate but that is way too much for a 4 year old's bike personally even with a resale, you'd be doing well to get even half that.

Agreed - no matter how good they are I think that's too much to spend on a bike that he will more than likely grow out of quickly.

RebelButtMunch

The biggest gripe in my experience of buying kids bikes is that the brakes are quite often too hard for their little fingers to manage. Look out for that when buying.

beauf

letape wrote: »

Agreed - no matter how good they are I think that's too much to spend on a bike that he will more than likely grow out of quickly.

If you have other kids following its makes more sense. But yeah they are the high end of kids bikes.

We've two cuda's which I think are good. and one cheap BSO (bike shaped object) from Smyths which isn't great, (bought for the colour) but regardless of its faults, the child still managed to learn to cycle on it. Thankfully they are moving up to the older kids cuda now.

One things to consider is colour. If you buy a bike that specifically a girl or boys bike, it might be difficult to pass down to the next kid if they are the opposite gender. Neutral colours and styles are something to consider.

bullvine

The weight it a huge issue, we have gone on 10-12lm spins with our 4 year old on his bike, when it comes to the hills I just put my hand on his back and push him and he pedals a long beside me, great craic.

I can't imagine how hard it would be with a heavy bike for both him and me.

MadDogGreener

bullvine wrote: »

The weight it a huge issue, we have gone on 10-12lm spins with our 4 year old on his bike, when it comes to the hills I just put my hand on his back and push him and he pedals a long beside me, great craic.

I can't imagine how hard it would be with a heavy bike for both him and me.

Weight was a big issue when I looking around. Particular in the smaller 12" to 16" range. Most of them are substantially more than the kids body weight! Imagine as an adult trying to pick up and cycle a 70-100kg bike. Even spending more money isn't a guarantee. I've seen a good few expensive bikes that weighed a tonne also.

I think its definitely worth spending a little bit more. Could make the difference between seeing the bike used and sitting in the shed rusting away.

MadDogGreener

Just spotted good value in an Irish bike shop for a ridgeback mx12. €128

Good buy for a 3 year old(ish).

bullvine

MadDogGreener wrote: »

Just spotted good value in an Irish bike shop for a ridgeback mx12. €128

Good buy for a 3 year old(ish).

That looks ideal, probably get at least half that back on Adverts in 6 months time.

letape

In the end I managed to find and buy a second hand Islabike Cnoc 14. The little fella is nearly 4 so is probably between this and the Cnoc 16 so I think this is a good choice.

I just need to find some Dinosaur stickers now to keep everyone happy :-)

Mec-a-nic

In case anyone is referring to this thread for their own kids' bikes, the brand new, Irish designed LittleBig bike just announced today that they are taking orders.
It's a balance/pedal bike that's designed to grow with the child, and should cover 2 to 7 years of age. I'm not affiliated with them, I just thought it was a cool idea.

https://littlebigbikes.com/shop/

martyc5674

letape wrote: »

In the end I managed to find and buy a second hand Islabike Cnoc 14. The little fella is nearly 4 so is probably between this and the Cnoc 16 so I think this is a good choice.

I just need to find some Dinosaur stickers now to keep everyone happy :-)

You made the right decision ... U won't regret it!!
Marty.