I expect my kids to cycle as transport on fairly regular occasions.

So that suggests that bikes are transport – an essential I should provide for them like I do food, shelter and other transport.

…but bikes are also toys, which means bikes are a plaything that should be given as a special treat/birthday/xmas present. (Or when they’re older paid for with paper-round cash etc.)

Discuss.

There was for me no greater present on earth than a new bike at Christmas!

transport here.
They get good quality bikes as and when they need to go up sizes.

Fortunately JrSr is now big enough to fit Mrs S’s unused small 26″ 456 so we have plenty of old frames to recycle on him now all the way up to Sasquatch sizing.

They get good quality bikes as and when they need to go up sizes.

Yep.

Bikes are like breakfast. Everyone should have one.

Having said that ive just rebuilt my 2010 full sus spesh for my 12 year old son, 26″ wheels 27 gears and all that’s not fashionable. I did it over half term whilst they had a few days away with Mrs ws. He was sooo happy to get it and has used it every day (unless it’s an odd bmx day) to get to school on, best 150 quid from the bargain bits bin to rebuild that I’ve ever spent.

It used to be presents at Christmas. Now it’s more a slow growing pile of part used, secondhand and some new bits that make their way from frame to frame. Not really wrap-up stuff anymore. The upside is that they aren’t fussy about things being new. They would rather have good quality used stuff that works well. So it’s more as and when based on their growth and/or parts needing replacement.

Both – I could provide the kids with a BMX that is transport for life. Somehow though we tend to justify spending a bit more on a bike by saying it is for xmas…

Santa has just been for my 11yr old

There was for me no greater present on earth than a new bike at Christmas!

This.

Anyway, I don’t see why the two have to be mutually exclusive. Same with anything really – if a child plays an instrument should they only ever be bought things as part of their musical education or could some things be bought as presents?

+1 – though being transport doesn’t mean they’re not fun, but making them ride a mis-sized bike while you wait for a birthday is a bit rubbish, and bikes as presents also doesn’t work very well if the quality bikes get handed down from one kid to another.

Same thing applies though – instrument gets upgraded when it needs to be rather than having to wait a year (in the case of my oldest where his birthday is in January). Doesn’t mean it can’t be a present, just that it’s not tied to a date on the calendar. Potentially a real situation here, as both my kids are likely to want to upgrade their instruments in the next year!

Bikes are a requirement for kids where I live, both recreation and transport. That said, they typically only receive bikes on birthdays or Christmas or ‘early b/day if the next size is needed earlier .
You could always have a ‘pub/hack’ bike for the required transport and a good bike as the gift/fun bike.
My boys do have 3 or 4 bikes each though.. 😐

here was for me no greater present on earth than a new bike at Christmas!

Yep, mine were always for Christmas. I wouldn’t have been given such an expensive thing at any other time (whether it was transport of not)

Yep, mine were always for Christmas.

Same here – ‘big’ Christmas every third year when we got a bike – the other two Christmases we would get much lower value ‘main’ presents like toy guns or microscopes, stuff like that.

In our house bikes, books and computers* are essentials for modern life and will be supplied when required. Gifts are non-essentials.

* ok so they currently share an 8 year old laptop but still

Nothing wrong with bikes being presents. Means they actually get something worthwhile for Xmas rather than tat they don’t actually need.
If they need to go up a size in between and you can afford it, go for it.
Kids love getting bikes for Christmas. Fact.

Nice new bike = present.

Hand-me-down whenever.

Bikes were always presents for me as a kid, and now to an extent. But I get my two bikes as and when they need them, I think they’re a right not a privilege. I won’t be so generous when it comes to cars.