Hi All,

Have you got any recommendations, or words of warning, for a first proper bike for my 4.5 year old?

A quick google has shown I should be looking for a 16" jobbie (wheel diameter) for a 5 to 7 year old. He's quite a big lad so something slightly larger would suit. Stabilisers are not required.

Cheers.

Have a look at Islabikes. They have a range for most ages, and proper nice bikes.

Won't go wrong with an Islabike, my youngest is on her second.

Thanks folks – just had a quick google and they look to be just the thing.

By the way Filthy, I hope you don't mind me asking a cheeky question, have you still got your youngests first Isla and would you be interested in selling it (if it's the right size, that is)?

Many thanks.

Decathlon have some nice kids bikes, reasonably priced too.

I sold it to one of the girls she races with sorry, that was the 16" version. She's on the large 20" wheel model now although she's just turned 6 and is unusually tall for her age.

If you ring Isla they will run through the sizes with you based on height and inside leg measurment.

You can't go wrong with Islabikes. At 5 my son is on his 2nd one, a Benin 20. He still has his original Cnoc 14, although that is used as his 'commuting' bike for going to and from school – his sister is looking forward to inheriting that one in a year or twos time.

I have found the sizing table on the Islabike page pretty accurate. My son is fairly small for a five year old and is fine on the Benin 20. The 20" wheels make it a lot easier for him to ride over roots and stuff.

Okay, thanks Filthy.

Jason, thanks for posting; I was about to bid on a CNOC 16 on eBay, I don't think I'll bother now. The 20" sounds like it might be a better size.

I think I'll follow Filthy's advice and give them a call too. I was going to get a 2nd hand bike, bit might wait until Christmas and get him a new one instead.

Islabikes are expensive for what they are IMHO and the colours are so drab.
spesh and ridgeback do decent alternatives.

Had our Islabike Rothan delivered today. Time to unpack it then wrap it somehow for our little boys birthday!

It's bright red so not all that drab.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mongoose/moto-micro-16-2009-bmx-bike-16-inch-wheel–ec016167

Got one of these for my 5 year old and he loves it , I even had to take him out in the rain tonight.

It's not the lightest bike and the original tyres are a whopping 2.4 section so I got him some smaller more street tyres to replace them till he's a bit stronger.

Islabikes are absolute quality. Fantastic bits of kit. For my little'uns first proper bike (she's 5) I went for one of these

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_categoryId_165602_productId_729003_langId_-1?cm_mmc=Shopping-_-Google%20Product%20Search-_-Kids+Bikes%2FBoys+Bikes-_-Carrera+Blast+20%22+Boys+Mountain+Bike+2010&source=shopping&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=lwmttm&istBid=t

In pink. Obviously. She loves it. She's got to grips with the gears and is flying around on it. Its a decent spec for the money

Actually. I've just noticed the price that its now reduced too. Thats an absolute bargain at that price!!!

My little lad has the Specialized Hotrock and it's great, even has the pedal back brake.

Thanks Gents. More food for thought. A bit of a Google has shown that there's an awful lot of junk about for similar prices to the kit you've mentioned.

Islabikes are expensive for what they are

Yeah, so are the bikes pretty much everybody on here rides if you look at it from that perspective – I mean you can get something which works just fine for £200.

Yeah, so are the bikes pretty much everybody on here rides if you look at it from that perspective – I mean you can get something which works just fine for £200.

Exactly. Doesn't mean that Specialized and Ridgeback Genesis should be disregarded just because they aren't built imported from Taiwan by a man woman in a shed.

They're just not niche enough for some folk.

geoffj – you're missing the point that there are various significant advantages to an Islabike compared to others on the market. Not really comparable to a niche, man in the shed, handbuilt steel rig, where the only possible advantage is completely insubstantive.

If your anywhere near then a trip over to Islabikes in Ludlow is recomended. They have a little test circuit out back. Extremely helpful staff. They're not much more expensive than the tat that Halfrauds & Raleigh sell, but the difference is vast. Right down to special brake levers & bar dia for smaller grips etc. What your paying for is a lot attention to detail in designing for smaller riders. Low friction bearings etc. We didnt try the offerings from Specialized, Ridgeback etc, mainly because there wasnt anywhere local to view them when we looked. Plus the service from Islabikes is excellent.
We've two 14" wheel bikes, a Cnoc for our 4yr old & a god awful cheapo thing that I use for our 3yr old to sit on with a Trailgator on our daily commute.
The Cnoc is about half the weight!!!
Will be getting the 4yr old a Cnoc 16 in a few weeks, ready for his Birthday, but hoping he might be big enough for the small Beinn20.
Just to add, the Wife is always the sceptic when it comes to me & my bikes, but even she was impressed with the stuff at Islabikes.

aracer – I'm not missing the point at all. The specialized and ridgeback models are equally as well designed for younger riders. Low frame weights, smaller controls etc.,

Of course there are other brands of kids bikes which are too heavy and use the wrong size brake leavers, bars etc., but Islabikes are not the only ones who have adapted their designs.

Some of them are vert nice, just not worth the premium and fawning which goes on on here too much IMHO.

The Spec, Ridgeback and Carerra bikes all look to be worth further investigation – I just need to find a stockist in the East Midlands so I can see them in the flesh. From what I've read, however, Islabikes are my first choice and I will remain open minded about the others.

Thanks.

call me ignorant but i don't understand the point behind the balance bikes. Why not buy a small bike and remove the pedals/chain and when the child is ready add them gradually?

Bobby – that does work and is what I did for our eldest. The balance bikes do tend to offer better standover clearance for smaller kids though.

Another vote for the Ridgeback bikes. I have had both a 16" and a 20" wheel model for my lads – good resell value.
One then moved to a 24" wheel Kona Hula and the other has a 24" Hotrock.

The eldest had just moved from the Hula to a 16" Kona Blast that he helped me build up. His first build 🙂

So a Kona Hula about to be sold if anone is interested…

Bobby, we (naively) bought a Raleigh starter bike for young MasterG and took the pedals/cranks off. It worked a treat, but even after a couple of weeks of cycling properly, he's in need of something more substantial. The Raleigh seems to be made of cheese.

from the look of the bikes the larger sizes are very attractive however its the push along bikes i find it hard to justify.

but i am never one to get in the way of progress…ride on little dudes.

They didn't have IslaBikes when my son was little, so he had one of these (after his first 20" Raleigh):

http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m9b194s10p3291&rs=gb

Everything is adjustable, and its still working today – its his 'street' bike.

Maybe a bit big at the moment for what you are looking at.

Unpacked our Isla bike last night to check it was all there – very impressed with the quality and lightness. Looks well worth £99 to me.

Now waiting for 21st September to give it to our little one for his 2nd birthday!

There's some brand that makes wooden balance bikes – they look cool but cost £180!!!

anyone got a kids suspension fork that has the right spring? my eldest 20" hotrock fork is harder to compress than my medium Pike. Is this typical for a kids bike suspension? its not worth him having it.

anyone got a kids suspension fork that has the right spring? my eldest 20" hotrock fork is harder to compress than my medium Pike. Is this typical for a kids bike suspension? its not worth him having it.

We've got 2 20" Hotrocks in our house – my son's is the latest model and the forks are actually quite softly sprung (and adjustable I think). My daughter's is a couple of years older and a bit firmer, but you can still see the forks working when she rides it. I'd say you've got a duffer

Agree with geoffj. Islabikes are too expensive for something the kid is going to grow out of in a year or 2. My son was perfectly happy with a free Raleigh bike given to us by a friend. Didn't hold him back in the slightest.

Now he's on a 20" wheel, we've bought him something decent (a Haro) as it will last a few more years. And yes Legoman, the sus fork seems to be sprung for his weight.

DezB – Islabike sell very well on eBay after they've been used. Certainly not a 'throwaway' bike. Knowing you'd probably get £70-80 on eBay for it makes a £150 not quite that expensive.

I would stay well away from decathlon bike. Crap bike and crap service. I'll personnaly recommend isla bike…

DezB – Islabike sell very well on eBay

Agreed. I still like FREE! though 🙂

Legoman – on the bike I have just built for my son it has some simple Marz coil forks on it. I found them too hard for myself to compress so I removed the spring assembly from one leg and it now seems perfect for him 🙂