Bike for 5-year-old

g0g

Apologies if I've missed one, but I've looked over the past couple of months and can't find a thread on this. Our eldest boy is about to turn 6 and we're looking at bikes. I don't think there's much point spending mad money based on the rate kids grow at! Any recommendations on best places to look? Would <€ 100 be enough for a decent bike? <€ 50? Not looking for mountain/road bike, just a normal everyday bike that will last more than a few weeks. Is it a simple case that Halfords is best bet or do Smyth's normally have good stuff?

positron

I would suggest spending more.

When my daughter was moving up from her balance bike, grand parents gifted her a Argos type bike (Huffy something I believe). It was probably a size too big for her, but also many times too heavy for her to handle, and she totally hated cycling. In the end, based on multiple threads here and positive reviews online etc, I bought her a brand new Islabike 20 - again it was tad bit too big for her, but she took to it like duck to water. She was riding on her own (no stablisers) within minutes (no exaggeration) and she loves it so much, I can barely get her off it (and all kids in the neighourhood are constantly at her to have a go ). I hope to get most value out of it by passing it on to her sister (whos not four but currently on a used Islabike that I sourced from Cycling Adverts here).

Islabikes (and similar decent bikes) are definitly not cheap - but they are really good, and given how desirable they are in used market, you might get 30-50% back when you sell it on (if it in good nick).

Sniipe

Not really what you are asking but my 2 cent is to look for a good second hand bike. My daughter 5 has a 125euro Raleigh, my 3year old son has a frog (http://www.kearneycycles.com/products/frog-43.html). The difference is night and day, my daughter will be upgrading in the summer, I'll be on the look out for a good second hand lightweight bike like the frog.

Also, they both started with balance bikes. Never touched stabilizers.

John_Rambo

I'd be looking at €200 + for a
Five year old. It really needs to have an aluminium frame if you want him to be comfortable, nippy, and not slogging around. It won't break down either. Specialized Hotrock is good.

Sniipe

yup, light aluminium over steel for a youngster starting off, and try not to get a bike they will "grow into"

uck51js9zml2yt

Son had a steel frame which he never used during to it weighing more than him.
I got it a frog and he doesn't know himself.

The croaking does my head in

Gets my coat!

g0g

How did i ever think a thread on the cycling forum wouldn't suggest multiplying a budget! To be honest i don't know how much use this will get so not sure if with a big investment as we live on a busy enough road. If i don't want to spend 200+ on a bike where then is the next best bet? Argos / LBS / Halfords / Smyth's? Also,i need it by the weekend ideally

Thank you all for the quick replies by the way

Chuchote

Saw a kid yesterday struggling with a bike that was obviously too heavy; the lollipop lady was womansplaining to her mother that she should have stabilisers…

Ryath

This halfords 16" Carrera actually looks pretty decent @ €190. Their cheaper bikes are no better than smyths and argos stuff but Carrera's are pretty decent entry level bikes. Some of the wiggins brand bikes seem ok too going on spec. It's worth paying a little more they can nearly be half the weight of some of the cheap stuff that's made out of pig iron. Can nearly work out cheaper in the long run too buying the better brands, they will last better and will still be worth half what you paid selling on if kept in good nick. Isla bikes often go for more than this! Where as the cheap bike isn't worth much more than it's scrap metal value.

Frog is another good brand my daughter had the 20" wheel version at 6 she's gone on to a 24" Orbea since last year at 8

g0g

Ok so doing more research I see the difference in weights is a big thing, and every single review talks about the importance of it. The idea of buying a kid a bike heavier than my own road bike sounds mad! That Halford's one does look nice enough. Had a look on Adverts/Donedeal for second hand and I don'r see any Islabike or Frog up there. Thanks again all.

Chuchote

Carolina Clean Self-control wrote: »

Son had a steel frame which he never used during to it weighing more than him.
I got it a frog and he doesn't know himself.

The croaking does my head in

Gets my coat!

'swhat happens when you have spawn.

spyderski

This kind of amazes me. I have 3 kids under 10. A kids Hurley is €20-30. A kids hurling helmet is €50. A pair of runners which last between 3 weeks and 6 months is €30-50. Kids soccer club membership is €275 per year.

Yet people expect to buy a fully functioning mechanical object with scores of moving parts for €50-100? Maybe I'm immune from years of spending a fortune on bikes..

positron

g0g wrote: »

Ok so doing more research I see the difference in weights is a big thing, and every single review talks about the importance of it. The idea of buying a kid a bike heavier than my own road bike sounds mad! That Halford's one does look nice enough. Had a look on Adverts/Donedeal for second hand and I don'r see any Islabike or Frog up there. Thanks again all.

Sounds like we have a convert.

This route is well travelled.. You might spend next couple of days or weeks looking for a used Frog/Islabike/Hotrod, reading more reviews all along... and then you will get sick of looking for a used one, and you will buy a new one. Everyone happy, except your wallet!

kenmc

My 4 year old has an islabike which she loves to cycle on. It's a beautifully made bike, a far far cry from what I learned on as a nipper.

She is already able to cycle over 5km loops on it, and isn't in a heap at the end. Can't remember exactly but the weight is something in the region of 6 or 7 kg.

Highly recommended.

Powerforsport

Got my last two kids bikes from Decathlon.ie seems good value v argos/halfords n bikes have nice kids features such as easy pull brakes etc and weight not too bad.
Lasted ok so far.

g0g

Ok so we went hunting yesterday for "the bike" but a fruitless initial mission. Really liked the look of the good Halfords one and it seemed like a great bike but a bit on the small side at 16". He already needed the saddle up a good bit plus the handlebars aren't adjustable, so it didn't seem like the right choice. Next size up of light bikes was 20" which was both too big and complicated (i.e. gears on a first bike). Their 18" option wasn't great and (as expected) the Smyth's 18" option was very heavy and very wide handlebars. So these Frog/Islabikes - would they come in 18" size? Is it the case that any € 200+ kids bikes in bike shops are likely to be decent?

Chuchote

You can always a) take the gears off and fix the chain to one sprocket wheel for the moment (or get the shop to do so - keep the extra bit of chain), or b) just tell the kid not to touch the gears until confident.

If you do a), be careful about which sprocket wheel you choose; I once took a bike to Spain and the derailler was broken on the plane. There was then no bike shop in or near Malaga; the motorcycle shop I brought the bike to fixed it to one gear, but they must have thought I was Arnold Schwarzennegger (there is a resemblance, admittedly) because the gear they set it in was high and not designed for anything more than an amble on the flat.

kenmc

g0g wrote: »

Ok so we went hunting yesterday for "the bike" but a fruitless initial mission. Really liked the look of the good Halfords one and it seemed like a great bike but a bit on the small side at 16". He already needed the saddle up a good bit plus the handlebars aren't adjustable, so it didn't seem like the right choice. Next size up of light bikes was 20" which was both too big and complicated (i.e. gears on a first bike). Their 18" option wasn't great and (as expected) the Smyth's 18" option was very heavy and very wide handlebars. So these Frog/Islabikes - would they come in 18" size? Is it the case that any € 200+ kids bikes in bike shops are likely to be decent?

I don't see an 18" isla option, but their size guide might help : http://www.islabikes.co.uk/sizing-advice

My 4yo has the cnoc 16. A work colleague has the same for his 5yo, and he's even been mountain biking in France and ballyhoura with it!

positron

Similar situation when my daughter was five and we ended up buying islabike beinn (spelling?) 20 small for her. She was probably half a centimeter too small for it, and even with the seat at its lowest setting she was on her tippy toes but that didnt stop her from pedalling away on her own within about five minutes of getting on it. She is six now and I have raised the seat by about an inch, with plenty more room to grow. Having said all that, she's perfectly happy with her sisters cnoc 16 as well. Like suggested above, see their size guide. Also consider cnoc 16 if there is a sibling who would want to start biking soon.

g0g

Thanks all again! Anywhere south Dublin or North Wicklow sell Islabike or Frog bikes? Any other "good" brands to consider?

NamelessPhil

g0g wrote: »

Thanks all again! Anywhere south Dublin or North Wicklow sell Islabike or Frog bikes? Any other "good" brands to consider?

Joe Daly's in Dundrum sell Frog bikes. We had an Islabike Cnoc 16 and then bought a Frog 20 when she was 6 which she's still using at nearly 8.

Ryath

g0g wrote: »

Thanks all again! Anywhere south Dublin or North Wicklow sell Islabike or Frog bikes? Any other "good" brands to consider?

Islabikes are online only. Stockist locator on Frog site isn't working I cut and paste this table from it on another post before.


Altitude Cycle & Outdoor (Barbut Ltd), Waterford Tel: 051 870356
Buckley Cycles Ltd (Athlone), Athlone Tel: 00353(0)906478989
Cycleways, 185 Parnell Street, Dublin 1 Tel: 0873 4748
Garys Cycles, Sligo,Co. Sligo Tel: 071 913 8060
Grassroutes, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal Tel: 074 911 9988
Hopfield Cycles Ltd (T/A Toms Bike Shop), Blessington, Co Wicklow Tel: 00353 86 8100397
Joe Daly Cycles, Dundrum, Dublin 14 Tel: 01 298 1485
Kearney Cycles, Galway Tel: 091 563 356
Little Sport, Fairview, Dublin 3 Tel: 01 833 2405
O'Sullivan's Cycles, Killarney, Co. Kerry Tel: 064 663 1282
Pi Cycles, Mallow, Co Cork Tel:022 31717
Race Right Cycles, Portlaoise, Co. Laoise Tel: 087 968 2945
Velo.ie Birr, Co. Offaly. Tel: 057 912 0080
Victoria Cross Cycles Ltd Cork Tel: 00353214342240

18" Bikes really aren't that common Dawes is only one I found I considered before. Single speed too. Dawes do a dearer academy range academy range that are as pricey as Islabikes and don't seem quite as well speced.

At 5 your son probably isn't far of being able to ride a 20" and probably would get 3 years out of it. Imagine he'd get about 2 out of an 18".

20" bikes pretty much all have gears. My daughter never really got the hang of using the grip shifter on her frog. Newer frog bikes have thumb shifters now. She can manage the thumb shifter on her new Orbea much better. Just let him leave it one gear to start with.

Like the look of this Orbea @ €279 rrp a nice bit cheaper than the frog you should be able to get €20 of that in the shop. It does have a steel fork so will be a little heavier. They have a version with an alloy fork and 8 speed vs 7 but it's €349. I'm very happy with the 24" version I bought. We've done up to 20km spins now should get a lot further this summer!

Fitzcycles in Stillorgan are listed as dealers.

Beasty

g0g wrote: »

Apologies if I've missed one, but I've looked over the past couple of months and can't find a thread on this.

Do you want me to move it to the items for exchange thread in Cycling Adverts?

:pac:

John_Rambo

There seems to be a big jump in size for the 5 year old bracket. 16 is getting a bit small for my Lance and the 20 is a bit big and complicated for him. I'll give him a few more months on the 16 with the saddle up high. I can't seem to bring the handle bars up at all.

g0g

Coming back to this thread as I never got sorted. My LBS (who I'd love to give business to) mentioned the Dawes Squish as another option. Think it was just over the € 300 mark. Anyone ever come across this? I think he said 6.8kg approx which sounded good. I'm not familiar with kid bike specs - does this sound good?

BIKE YEAR 2017
FRAME Lightweight Triple butted aluminium
FORK Alloy
HEADSET 1 Aheadset
HANDLEBAR 460mm Wide Riser Bar
H STEM Alloy Aheadset Stem, 30mm Reach
HUB FRONT 16H nutted alloy
HUB REAR 16H nutted alloy
CHAIN KMC HV-410 1/2 x 1/8
CASSETTE Single Speed 16T Freewheel
RIMS 16H Alloy with CNC braking Surface
GRIPS Black Mushroom Grips
STEM Alloy Aheadset Stem, 30mm Reach
BOTTOM BRACKET Sealed cartridge Bearings
CATEGORY Kids Bike

fat bloke

I'm a big fan of the Wiggins range in Halfords. Very nice bikes and they have a full range from balance to hybrids to road bikes. 20% off sale at the moment too.

g0g

fat bloke wrote: »

I'm a big fan of the Wiggins range in Halfords. Very nice bikes and they have a full range from balance to hybrids to road bikes. 20% off sale at the moment too.

Thanks yeah we tried and liked them but he was a bit big on the 16" and next size was 20" which was way too big! The one i just linked has an 18" option which seems rare enough?

letape

g0g wrote: »

Thanks yeah we tried and liked them but he was a bit big on the 16" and next size was 20" which was way too big! The one i just linked has an 18" option which seems rare enough?

Islabike have a "Beinn 20 small" model that seems to fit in well between most 16 and 20 inch wheel models. Certainly in the Islabike range it is the model that overlaps slightly with the Cnoc 16 and Beinn 20 large.