First bike with pedals

[dasgeh]

@jrenaut 62021 wrote:

My tall five year old is ready to graduate from her balance bike to a bike with pedals. Anyone have recommendations? So many that I’ve seen appear to be complete junk. I’d rather buy a nicer one that she can pass on to her little sister and then we can sell when they’re both too big.

Just to pile on, our almost-three-year old is literally begging us to get a pedal bike. She’s tall for her age, but not Tim-Kelly’s-kid tall. I’d love some advice on the smaller end too.

[hozn]

My now-three-year-old has the Islabikes Cnoc 14 (see other thread, too much work to link with mobile app). He still mostly prefers his balance bike, but is starting to warm to the idea of pedals — whatever works for him! We went out the other day to practice and he can go a little ways on his own before he pedals backwards and applies the brakes

Anyway, I remain *very* I impressed with Islabikes. I love the quality of the components, the frame finish, all the hex bolts for everything, etc. Customer service was fantastic. I fully expect to buy his next bike from them too. (Probably skipping the 16″ in his case since the 14″ and 20″ overlap in rider inseam size).

[jrenaut]

Islabikes looks great. The price is a bit of a shock, though when you think about what you’re getting, it’s probably reasonable.

[mstone]

@jrenaut 62021 wrote:

My tall five year old is ready to graduate from her balance bike to a bike with pedals. Anyone have recommendations? So many that I’ve seen appear to be complete junk. I’d rather buy a nicer one that she can pass on to her little sister and then we can sell when they’re both too big.

Ugh, you’re about to find out how lousy the kid bike market is. What is your target bike size? At 16 inches, I don’t know of any really great choices, and the kid probably (hopefully) won’t stay that size for long. Go for a cheap department store bike, much as it pains me to say it. At 20 inches you have a better selection, and can decide what kind of riding you’re looking to do. (MTB, street, etc.) Our most recent bike in that size is a Specialized Hotrock Street, which is currently kitted out with a rack & fenders and recently completed a short bike camping tour. Two thumbs up. At 24 inches you’ve got a comparatively wide selection, but they are still expensive compared to equivalent adult bikes. (Presumably because of the limited volume.) Eventually they’ll be able to fit a small adult bike, then you’re golden.

For those who mentioned the islabikes, are you importing them yourself or is there a dealer somewhere around here?

[jrenaut]

Not sure the size – she’s 5 in September, and has always been 90th or higher percentile in height, but I haven’t measured her yet. She’ll be using it mostly just to ride up and down our sidewalk, but I’d love to do a little Beach Drive ride on a weekend sometime if she’s up for it.

[jopamora]

Give Phoenix bikes a call. Last time I was there, I saw a bunch of kids bikes on the racks.

[hozn]

@mstone 62171 wrote:

For those who mentioned the islabikes, are you importing them yourself or is there a dealer somewhere around here?

There is a dealer here (in Portland). This is the US site: http://islabikes.com/us/index.html

I almost imported a used one off of ebay.co.uk (most sellers won’t ship, though) since then I wouldn’t have to have a coaster brake, but it’s probably not that big a deal. (I am shocked by the amount of drag in those coaster-brake hubs.)

Yeah, they’re not cheap, though I think the cost is comparable to Specialized (maybe a bit more). The quality seems good, though, and in this case I’d rather pay more to support a smaller shop like that.

Or, you could go crazy and import this: http://www.earlyrider.net.au/shop/products/belter

[Greenbelt]

@jrenaut 62021 wrote:

My tall five year old is ready to graduate from her balance bike to a bike with pedals. Anyone have recommendations? So many that I’ve seen appear to be complete junk. I’d rather buy a nicer one that she can pass on to her little sister and then we can sell when they’re both too big.

My only recommendation would be to consider aluminum frame kids bikes. Lighter and easier for kids to maneuver and more rust resistant if the bike lives in the back yard or on the balcony.

[mstone]

@hozn 62430 wrote:

There is a dealer here (in Portland). This is the US site: http://islabikes.com/us/index.html…Yeah, they’re not cheap, though I think the cost is comparable to Specialized (maybe a bit more). The quality seems good, though

I’d never noticed the .us site before. I am now really pondering the next bike choice. It’s definitely more money, and I suspect it’s harder to get a discount. So maybe $150 more for a flat-bar street bike after shipping? Some things I like better, some things I like less, but they’ve definitely got some nice products. The luath is probably the nicest kids’ drop-bar bike I’ve ever seen for the money, I’m just not sure I’m ready to go there. (I fear trying to get the fit dialed in for someone who grows constantly.)

[Andrew Mitry]

@jrenaut 62183 wrote:

Not sure the size – she’s 5 in September, and has always been 90th or higher percentile in height, but I haven’t measured her yet. She’ll be using it mostly just to ride up and down our sidewalk, but I’d love to do a little Beach Drive ride on a weekend sometime if she’s up for it.

My son will turn 5 in September and is also 90th or higher percentile for height (although probably different for boys). He has been riding a 16″ Specialized Hotrock and is about to outgrow it. Looking to get him a 6-speed 20″ Hotrock for his birthday.

[dasgeh]

@Andrew Mitry 62443 wrote:

My son will turn 5 in September and is also 90th or higher percentile for height (although probably different for boys). He has been riding a 16″ Specialized Hotrock and is about to outgrow it. Looking to get him a 6-speed 20″ Hotrock for his birthday.

He’s going to tear it up on a geared bike.

[Andrew Mitry]

@dasgeh 62450 wrote:

He’s going to tear it up on a geared bike.

That is my hope, his number one complaint on longer rides is the hills. Hopefully the 6-speed will solve that

[mstone]

@Andrew Mitry 62452 wrote:

That is my hope, his number one complaint on longer rides is the hills. Hopefully the 6-speed will solve that

Yeah, downshift on the hills is great. There’s also a lot of fun upshifting on the way down; my son used to look like a cartoon character spinning out the single speed.

[GuyContinental]

Oh boy- an ex-pat buddy in Austria just bought a Eraly Rider Belter 16″ for his 4yo… thing o’ beauty:

http://www.ethicalshoppingforbabies.co.uk/2012/11/early-rider-belter-the-best-first-pedal-bike/

I’d love to grab one of these or a CNOC 16″ for my 4.5yo but pocketbook reality suggests the most stripped down big box store 16″ I can find.

[eminva]

All right, excuse the dumb question, but so much has changed since my now 12-year-old was going through this rite of passage:

How do you know when a kid is ready to graduate from the balance bike to the pedal bike? Just gave my friend’s kid a balance bike for his third birthday. I went over yesterday to check out how he is doing and he looks to be a master after only one week. He seems to be able to coast indefinitely with his feet off the ground, balanced perfectly. He understood and carried out instructions about how to stop, pick up speed, slow down, turn, etc. Plus he was having a blast. When does one up the ante with the pedal bike? I don’t want to rush it. His parents aren’t super bike geeks. But I don’t know how long they keep having fun with the balance bike. Thanks.

Liz

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