My nearly-3-year-old is growing out of his balance bike so I'd like to step him up to a "proper" bike with pedals. Trouble is, I don't know what to get him. I don't want to break the bank, but neither do I want a rubbish gate that he won't want to ride.
Has the collective/ hive mind got any advice to offer?
Stoner Jr (4y4m old) rode his Islabike Cnoc 14 on his own for the first time this weekend.
Good size and weight for transition from his Rothan.
Highly recommended.
Started him on it without pedals initially, then help with starting off for a few weeks.
Another vote for Islabikes, my daughter had a Spesh Hotrock for a little while but she couldn't get on with the coaster brake so I got her a cnoc 16. This has two conventional brakes so is much easier to get started as she can back pedal to get the pedals to the correct position to start off.
This Sunday was her 2nd proper ride on it (as opposed to riding around the estate) and she did 12.5 miles over 2.5 hours and loved every minute of it, she's 4 years old BTW
if he's ready, anything will do S/h or borrowed.. treat him with whatever recomendation you feel fits the bill once he's away! 
Islabike - expensive but you can trade it in for a bigger one later or get a good lump of your cash back on ebay. If you think of it as rental with a big deposit it's probably cheaper than buying something from Halfords that will have no residual value.
My son (3 1/4 but tall) had just gone from a Hotwalk balance bike to a CNOC16 which is just OK for him size wise and it's awesome. He's standing up on the pedals already after 3 days!
His sister has a Ridgeback Melody which is their equivalent and although in terms of build etc, it's as well made as the CNOC, it's just a bit bigger alround (reach, brake levers etc) and weighs a little more (not much though).
A CNOC14/16 or Ridegback would be fine - I personally don't like coaster brakes so would avoid a Hotrock. A good bike will hold it's value well so the total cost of ownership is quite low.
Thanks for all the advice.
I'm a little wary of spending too much as his balance bike is scuffed to bits where he jumps off it or leans it against walls. His sister's 2 years younger so I suppose we'll have whatever I get him as her first bike as well though.
I'll have a look at the suggestions, but I'd already assumed that the Islabikes option was going to be the most well thought of. 
I pulled some out of the skip at the local dump for my kids, stripped down and regreased all the moving parts.
cost
A couple of hours of my time
£4 to the man at the dump
+1 Cnoc 14.
Both mine migrated from Rothan to Cnoc 14 with no problem at age 3 and a half.
Islabikes hold value - even scratched, see eBay - so worth it in my view.
Yep another rothan to cnoc 14 here as well
How about one of these
http://www.thegyrobike.com/Default.asp
Genius idea but a tad expensive at £70 for just a wheel
"look at this after only 5minutes!" that's how long it takes most kids to learn anyway. 
Grrrrr.....
My daughter is nearly 4 and she wont go anywhere near either her disney princess bike or her balance bike.
She's just not bloody interested and i have to try really hard not to turn into "pushy competitive dad"
Think yourselves lucky
my first was just like that til about 4, she first rode at 4 and very quickly beacme a competent wee cyclist with very good awareness, balance and stamina for her age but just isn't really into bikes.. she's more into climbing/skating/skiing and hates cometitive or team sports. while my youngest (18mth) can't get enough of bikes/scooters/ride-on toys.. they're all different, don't beat yourself up about it.
Cheers GW. I laugh now about how she used to spin the pedals backwards and stay in the same spot whilst i sat sobbing on the kerb going "no no no, the other way" ha ha
I would strongly recommend not buying a Ben-10 bike from toys-R-Us. I had the displeasure of completely stripping my nephew's and rebuilding it yesterday. It originally looked like it'd been built by a monkey.
My mate's nippers have been moving through the Islabikes range with great success. His 6 year-old is irritatingly good already.
my daughter sneered at a balance bike as it didn't have pedals like her older brothers.
Have a look at Puky bikes if you want something 'traditional' that's well made (and if you can get past the name).
BF - you might get better results with encouragement instead of criticism. 
crankflips are way cooler than pedalling forwards ever could be IMO
Ridgeback or Cnoc it is then.
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