Forme kids’ bikes – any good?

Starting hunting for my son’s next bike as he is beginning to outgrow his balance bike. He has a Hornit Airo (which are great and I’d recommend, he loves it) but is now ready to move to his first pedal bike. So, does anyone have any experience of Forme bikes, and more specifically the ‘Cubley’ models as that’s what I’m looking at. They certainly seem decent value compared to the usual suspects, but keen to buy right as he’s loving biking so far and don’t want to ruin it!

Also, just to add – he’s just 3, but tall – I’m guessing he’ll be ok jumping from 12 inch wheels to 16 – anyone got experience in this area? Ideally I’d like to skip past 14 inch wheels for longevity and hoping as he’s tall it might be doable.

Weren’t Forme one of the brands affected by Moore Large falling over?

Not a problem if you’re buying s/h mind you

Just be aware that Forme were distributed by Moore & Large, who have recently gone into administration.

They are a decent brand though, but just be aware that any good deals out there might not have any manufacturer warranty back-up. I’m not sure where that leaves the retailer in those situations….something to bear in mind though.
Just tried getting onto the Forme Bikes website & that seems to be down at the moment too. Not sure if that’s related.

My daughter is pretty small, so we ended up going from a 12″ balance bike to 14″ balance bike, then a 14″ pedal bike & now a 16″ pedal bike. She’s 7, 119cm and getting very near the top-end of the 16″ wheeled bike.
We went from a Carrera Star 14″ pedal bike to a Ridgeback Dimension 16″ bike. Weight between them is pretty much the same, so that shouldn’t be an issue.
If you can get away with it, I’d definitely consider the jump to 16″ wheels. We went 2nd hand for the pedal bikes, so it wasn’t too expensive, but they certainly grow fast at that age!

Ah ok. Probably not the best then with no warranty (unless I find a second hand bargain like you said).

Any other good recommendations for 16 inch bikes?

My eldest has a Sterndale, similar quality to Islabikes, but a bit heavier and more capable off-road, would buy again used.

Islabikes Cnoc 14 or 16 are great, and good value 2nd hand

Islabikes have a useful sizing chart to check

They are cracking bikes,but lost with the collapse of Moore & Large.

Mr Forme is local to me, not sure what he’s having to do now.

Just be aware that Forme were distributed by Moore & Large, who have recently gone into administration.

Forme are an own-brand of ML, not just distributed by them.

Also, just to add – he’s just 3, but tall – I’m guessing he’ll be ok jumping from 12 inch wheels to 16 – anyone got experience in this area? Ideally I’d like to skip past 14 inch wheels for longevity and hoping as he’s tall it might be doable.

Little Miss_s was a tall 3 and she went from a Rothan – to cnoc 14 when just under 4 years old. The problem was, she lasted on the 14″ for less than a month – it was ideal for getting her pedalling, but too small for riding. ISTR the cranks were too short and so was the top tube.
So she went onto a frog 16″ very quickly, and less than a year later onto a Cannondale Cujo 20, which are brilliant and quite small for a 20″.
She’s the 3rd child so all the bikes have been hand-me-downs.
By missing out a 14″ you’re perhaps making the jump to pedalling quite hard… but it’ll depend on his height and ability I guess?
I had the bikes in stock so it was easy. 16″ might work, but buy a decent 2nd hand one (that’s well known for being small – so Isla or Frog) and see how it goes?

I think there’s something to be said for the 14″ for a just 3 year old- you will probably only get 9months out of it, but if you can pick up a decent price 2nd hand 14″ Frog/Isla then you can probably just own it and sell it for what you paid when they’re done. My boy is now on a 16″ Frog 48 at 4y4m old and it looks big on him when he tries to dismount, and he’s reasonably tall. A 3yo might struggle a little, so I would say worth having a gander for a 14″ on Facebook/gumtree and if you can find something for the £150-200 sort of range then you’ll have the bike that fits and will be able to sell it on without hassle.

That said, if you do go 16″ and new then give Vitus a look. My daughter has a Vitus 20 which is a good bike and a decent bit cheaper new than the bigger brands. Also it is a bit shorter in reach than the equivalent Frog – if this is the same for 16″ then it might be a good option for a kid who is young/small for the bike.

We rent bikes for our children through the bike club. Previously had Frog but recently had Forme Cubley and a Kinder. They have been great bikes, light, well finished, tough paint etc. I would recommend the Bike Club too.

Its a shame about Forme as the children’s bikes were so good and reviews for the Forme Monsal had me interested in one.

Check out the Bike Club website for alternatives but Frog were good too.

Does sound a shame. I’d never heard of Forme and had even gone down the rabbit hole of looking at their adult trail hardtails for an n+1 itch I’ve currently got!

Sounds like I need to get him to sit on some 14 and 16 inch bikes then, not as clear cut as I had first thought. Thanks for the advice!

Agree on the 14, mine have all been pedalling before 3yo on cnoc 14, the little twin needed a 14small. All moved to 16s quickly although bear in mind islas tend to have bigger wheels for a given size so going from a 14inch Isla to a 16inch Carrera will be a bigger jump. I bought all our islas second hand and haven’t lost any money, so they’ve all been able to stay on bikes the right size a lot longer. Don’t forget Isla say you can skip a size and go from a 14 to a 20 small although I don’t think that’s a good idea.

My almost 5 year old went from a 12″ balance bike to a 14″ early rider. He is stubborn so was hesitant for pedals. 3 weeks ago he finally took to them and the bike is now too small, the minimum insertion mark is just out of the seat tube. I’ve got a second hand 16″ early rider for him next.

All will be passed onto younger brother then probably passed to the local bike charity.

Can’t help on info about the Forme bikes, but my twins had a Frog 40 and CNOC 14s when they were nearly 3 and managed to get them riding on them unaided just before turning 3 (although my daughter then stopped riding for 6 months because ‘pedalling was too hard’). He’s currently on an Early Rider Belter 16 (from Hope Academy) and I would really recommend it as they’re way lighter than the the Frog and Islabike. Also the belt drive is clean, silent and easy to adjust.

The Bike Club is supposed to be pretty good, we went with Hope Academy (which worked out about a quid a month cheaper for the 16” wheeled bikes) because we knew about them already and hadn’t heard of Bike Club until later.

We figured with 2 kids of near identical height and age (twins) that forking out for 2 bikes at a time would be costly (even secondhand).

If you Google John Pye auctions you’ll find a load of Forme bikes cheap enough to not worry much about a warranty.