for a 5yr old girl with a 52cm inseam and 112cm total height.

best in what way?

value, components, fit – obvious really

No it isn’t obvious, Scott do an £800 Spark 24″ kids bike, it’s probably the ‘best’ kids bike in the same way the Spark LTD is the ‘best’ of the adult range, but it’s not good value, the fit won’t be good for her either, as it’ll be too big.

Take her to a bike shop, sit her on the ones they have, then buy the one she likes the colour of and thus will want to ride. No point buying her a bike with a nicer rear mech, that she hates the look of.

Ridgeback MX16 (or 14 is she’s a bit smaller).
Excellent bit of kit.

njee20 – Member

No it isn’t obvious, Scott do an £800 Spark 24″ kids bike, it’s probably the ‘best’ kids bike in the same way the Spark LTD is the ‘best’ of the adult range, but it’s not good value, the fit won’t be good for her either, as it’ll be too big.

Take her to a bike shop, sit her on the ones they have, then buy the one she likes the colour of and thus will want to ride. No point buying her a bike with a nicer rear mech, that she hates the look of.

Not my kid so would look a bit odd!! LOL

Weight is obviously an issue/consideration as is sub £200

what about the ridgeback melody?

well if it’s a MTB you want a 20″ wheel bike, most will fit her as long as it’s a nice sloping frame, BMX she’d be on 16″ wheels.

For up to £200 I’d be looking at the Islabike Beinn (large) or looking for a deal on the Scott Scale JR 20, which is more mountianbikey

She is too small for a 20″ wheeled bike. I have a tall 5 year old and he is only just at the stage of lifting the saddle on the MX 16. And I wouldn’t consider something with gears, operating the brakes is hard enough for them at that age.

I’d contest that, some 5 year olds are more than happy enough on a 20″ bike, depends on the kid and the bike!

Definitely depends on kid/bike combination – check the Islabike Size Chart – it’s been accurate for me on their smaller bikes. 52cm inseam fits in the middle of the range for the small Beinn 20, and bottom end of the larger Beinn 20.

Geoffj – Sorry to tell you but you are wrong! (on all 3 counts)
a child of the height/inseam specified will fit plenty 20″ wheel bikes (it does depend on frame size/geometry and crank length tho)
many 5yr olds will be perfectly able to learn how to use gears and if they can’t use the brakes properly you shouldn’t even talke them out anywhere on it.
one thing about kids bikes is that most are sold without the brakes set-up to work well for small kids – by simply using the lever reach adjustment screw and slackening the spring on the actual brake caliper/V/canti they will be far easier to use.

As above, my lad was riding a Schwinn Mini Mesa 20″ at 5, now he is 7 he is on a Kona Shred 2-0

No problem with with brakes/gears or weight. Or steps, jumps, boardwalks….

OK so I missed the IMHO off my last post.

My point is (based on having a son who is 122cm tall with a 53cm inseam) that you may get a child to be able to get a 5-year old to ride a 20″ bike with gears, but at the size quoted, IMHO she would be too small.

Its not just about size either, its about weight and the ability to have fun on it. What’s the point in putting them on a bike which weighs almost as much as they do?

I have a 20″ wheeled Spesh Hotrock hanging on the garage wall for when junior is big/strong enough to ride it. I reckon it will be next spring before he gets onto it though.

Did anyone mention pushy parents 😉

one thing about kids bikes is that most are sold without the brakes set-up to work well for small kids – by simply using the lever reach adjustment screw and slackening the spring on the actual brake caliper/V/canti they will be far easier to use.

No-shit Sherlock 😆

i reckon single speed and light is the order of the day

Geoff – doesn’t really matter what your point is when you’re wrong! 😛
seeing as you are the one who eluded to kids of the same age as yours finding it hard to operate brakes I thought the tip might actually be of use. 🙄

Which year Hotrock BTW? even the same bike (particularly specialized Hotrock 20s) are sized very differently from year to year.

I bought my daughter a 20″ hotrock last year for her 5th birthday.

Its still in the garage unridden as is too big.

Had to go and buy her a 16″ Ridgeback for the interim.

Oh, and compared to other girls in her class she is quite tall.

look..

All girls hotrock 20s (but different years)..

standover height and reach varies wildly, and that’s just one manufacturer 😕

My 5 yr old is on a 16 inch ridgeback – excellent bike.

islabikes, quite simply superb.

i bought the small bein for my lad when he was 5, to this day i am still astounded at the quality of it (in fact was admiring it yesterday when we went for a ride). the only negative i think is the twist grip, i’m considering replacing it with triger shifter as i think its easier to use.

isla also have a high re-sell value, worth considering.

My 6yr old son has a 16″ Hotrock which is getting too small for him now. Have already bought him a 20″ for christmas (Got a deal for it with a 12″ for his little sister) which is in the loft.

Anyhow we found that although there isnt a great deal in it height wise, there was a very large difference in length. He was stretching really badly on the 20″ untill i got the shop to put the saddle as far forward and bars leant a bit back. It surprises me that people are so flippant in demanding that a 5yr old is suited to a 20″ bike, when in reality i would suggest that they would be much more suited to a 16″ which is both lighter and easier for a little un to throw around.

My little lads pals have been running around on bigger bikes for a little while now. They all struggle with them because, yes they can pedal them, but they cant handle the weight or the fact that they are ‘borderline’ too big.

Given the choice i would go for the bike that fits best, not what people say ‘should fit’.

My nephew (nearly 6 but quite small for his age) started riding a 20″ a few months ago. It does look a bit ungainly at times and might be slightly too big but the 16″ was getting noticeably too small so it’s a tough choice. The 20″ certainly rolls a lot better off-road (he like rocks and small drops :p ) but he falls off a bit more than he used to if comes to an unexpected halt as he struggles to get his feet down. The gears help to (although he needs reminding to use them), I think if he was riding smooth trails then a 16″ geared bike would be ideal but made sense to switch to a geared 20″ from his single-speed 16″.

my 6 yr old is slightly taller than OP’s and earlier this yr grew out of his Cnoc 16 and is now on a Bein 20 large – just moved the seat up an inch at the weekend too. 3yr old has now nabbed the Cnoc – he rides it fine with stabilisers on.

I reckon you can’t beat the quality, design and value of the Islabikes – all the components are specced out with kids sized bodies in mind.

I bought my lad a cnoc 16, its an ace little bike.

I think the important consideration is not whether the kid can ride a bigger bike, but if he/she is comfortable on it.My lad can ride a 20″ but he is stretched and there is no way he would do the stuff he does on the smaller one.

Agreed on the sizing. Youcan get away with a 20″ but they probably won’t enjoy it as it will be too big. I bought my son a 20″ hotrock just after he turned 5. Yes he could ride it but he was stretched out. He kept jumping back on to the 14″ decathlon bike. It’s the right size for him now at 7, with quite a lot of post showing.

I’m just about to get my daughter (who’s now 5 1/2) a small Islabikes Beinn (20″). It’s a bit smaller than the Hotrock. It will be too big for anything that usually involves her shouting “motocross” for a while but it’s not too far off. Both my kids are tall for their age.

As for gears, my son was using them at 5 and for me that meant less pushing, which is always a good thing 😀

As for weight, my daughter wanted a “pink bike” for Xmas. She never rides it as it’s much heavier than the decathlon bike she bombs around on.

If you think singlespeed and lightweight are the answer, then look at a junior / mini race BMX. My son’s Redline Flite is 14.5 lbs, and most of them are 16-17 lbs. If you don’t mind secondhand BMXtalk is a good place to look out for them but they get snapped up pretty quickly.

My two both have Islabikes – a Beinn 20 (small 7 year old when he got it) and a Beinn 24. I’d echo the comments about the quality and weight. They both love their bikes, and when they’ve lent their bikes to friends, they always comment on how fast the bikes are compared to their heavy bikes.

Give Islabikes a ring, they’re friendly and know ptheir stuff. I liked their philosophy of no suspension, no front gears and brake levers that are the correct size.

Paul

the 20″ specialized hot rock was the only 20″ bike that my very short just 7 year old fitted – she’s only about 110cm – had to cut the seatpost down so could get right down – she loves it and no doubt will be building more ramps in the back lane when gets home from school
paid something like £205 for it though i didn’t search around on price as fit and choosing colour more important if kid is going to ride it

would also second positive comments on the Ridgebacks – my oldest had one and is goodish spec and weight for price

I reckon you can’t beat the quality, design and value of the Islabikes – all the components are specced out with kids sized bodies in mind.

Sizing, fit and spec are ace. But a bit of bright paint and fun graphics about the place would make things look a bit nicer? No?

Abigale was on a 20″ Ridgeback at 5 and had out grown it at 6

Tracey

You could try second hand – I picked up a nearly new one of these for my eldest girl (5 1/2) on the classifieds for not much more than £100

Brant, agree with you on the image side of the Islabikes – my lads one looks far better with a huge load of pirate skeleton (his words) stickers all over it. I think their image is a little “anti-fashion” / sensible cyclist.

I reckon you can’t beat the quality, design and value of the Islabikes – all the components are specced out with kids sized bodies in mind.

Sizing, fit and spec are ace. But a bit of bright paint and fun graphics about the place would make things look a bit nicer? No?

good point, and one I discussed with a riding pal when he was getting a bike for his daughter. The islabikes made sense to him, the pink bike with tassles on the bars was what she wanted ‘cos it was more like her pals……….

iainc – Member

I reckon you can’t beat the quality, design and value of the Islabikes – all the components are specced out with kids sized bodies in mind.

Sizing, fit and spec are ace. But a bit of bright paint and fun graphics about the place would make things look a bit nicer? No?

good point, and one I discussed with a riding pal when he was getting a bike for his daughter. The islabikes made sense to him, the pink bike with tassles on the bars was what she wanted ‘cos it was more like her pals……….

Totally agree on both counts. The best thing they could do is continue to market a great fitting and lightweight bike to appeal to the savvy parent and a range of “optional” sticker sets to give the kids some choice. The Isla bikes do put kids off (well mine anyway) as they are so dull. However, my daughter has learned that pink tassles don’t make a good bike. Unfortunately I had to buy it to provide the evidence….err sorry Santa had to bring it.

Bought the little lad a islabike, CNOC16, that said he is only 3, just a tall 3 year old.

Quality is brilliant, and he loves the bike.

16 inch melody here for my 5 year old gurl, loverly little bikes.
Watchout for the ss kids hotrocks, they’re are little lighter cuz of the A1 frame but the coaster brake makes can make training i bit harder.(not much)

Whichever, look out for 2nd hand, kids grow so quickly they get through bikes as fast, so plenty of barely used ones about.

Got the melody for 50quid hardly used….mucho better and she was just as stoked.

My 5 year old has outgrown his 16″ Hotrock. He’s now on the 20″ Hotrock.

Islabike might be better, but not being able to sit and fit is a big problem with things for kids. You can sit on a mainstream bike and try out different makes and models.