Looking for 16" child’s bike

[rcannon100]

Go check Phoenix Bikes. They tend to have a lot of kids bikes that do not move as fast as the adult bikes.

[oldbikechick]

@rcannon100 109712 wrote:

Go check Phoenix Bikes. They tend to have a lot of kids bikes that do not move as fast as the adult bikes.

Good idea! I will check them out.

[baiskeli]

Must be hard to find a bike for a 16 inch child.

[APKhaos]

CL is also a good source. Look for Al frame (Jamis, Trek, probably others). The box store kids bikes are made from recycled black steel gas pipe and they are HEAVY. Lighter is much better for little guys confidence.

[hozn]

This may not be helpful, but depending on size of child you might also consider a small 20″. For example, I’m planning to buy this for my son this summer, since he’s outgrown his CNOC 14: http://islabikes.com/us/bike_pages/beinn20.html . They have a sizing guide that shows inseam ranges for their models.

(I may get the larger model instead, depending on how tall / inseam measurements.)

The 20″ doesn’t come with a coaster brake. I wish that the CNOC-14 had a “no coaster” option, since I don’t see any value in coaster brakes when you have levers that are made for tiny hands. They just add weight and wheel resistance and make it hard for the kids to position pedals for starting off. But alas, in the US kids bikes of a certain size (max seatpost length, I believe) have to have a coaster brake.

Isla bikes are not inexpensive, but they are worth it IMO. And it helps that we have two kids, so they’ll get double the use. (The CNOC-14 has served kid #1 from 3-5; so 4 years total isn’t too bad.)

[oldbikechick]

Thanks for the feedback. Those Isla bikes look very nice. Unfortunately, my poor daughter is the youngest and therefore we can’t justify getting a fancy bike that multiple kids will use. We got my older daughter a 20″ bike at 5 years old and it was too big for her. So, that one is waiting for my daughter to grow into, but we just need a smaller one in the interim. I ended up taking a garage sale special 16″ bike to Phoenix Bikes and they put a hand brake on it for me. Now we just need the snow to melt

[APKhaos]

Good to hear you are all set for some spring riding. I put my b/g twins on 20s a little bit early. They were right a on the hairy edge for height. Being barely able to put a foot down while on the saddle sapped their confidence for a while.
If you’re looking for a family adventure ride try the C & O canal towpath. At 5 my daughter found the mups dead scary, but loved the towpath. We did a 19 mile ride early last summer, and they kept wanting to ride there deep into the fall.

[Author]

Posts