Has anyone used the Hope Academy for kids bikes? I have twins (about to turn 4) and so far we’ve had a combo of new and used Frog/Islabikes which isn’t cheap.
The sprogs just won’t stop growing and are already for the next sized pedal bike (16-18” wheels) and we’re looking at having to fork out £300-700 for 2 more bikes. And my kids are currently crashing on BMX tracks and downhill, etc so they’re getting a bit scratched up (kids and bikes lol) which will effect the resale)

The Hope Academy looks like a decent price (when you factor in new bikes with a resale vs just upgrading to the next size) and the Early Rider Seeker RX bikes are £450 (plus the kids want purple and orange bits not just raw).

Just looking for people’s experiences.

I nearly did it, was on the waiting list etc… decided not to go with it –

1. it is still alot of money
2. you don’t know if they will really be into biking (mine are now 5 and 7 – 7yr old has been to swinley, hard to get the 5yr old to ride without ice cream incentive)
3. buying second hand bike and selling on, if you do it right is pennies. I actually sold one for more than I bought it for (I did redo cables / pads etc…)

Ultimately I came to the conclusion those bikes, certainly when they are really young are more about the dad wanting the kids to love biking than need

If you have the cash, go for it, but don’t kid yourself its a the cheap option!

I never said it was the cheap option. Just an easier option which didn’t work out that much more in the long run.

Ours had Frog Tadpole Mini balance bikes when they were 1.
Then they grew and got a Tadpole and Islabike balance bike at 2.
At 3 they wanted to pedal so we got a Frog 40 and CNOC14 (which were a sod to source last year!!).
And now they’re about to turn 4 and have outgrown them the problem
Is they’re old enough to want the ‘right’ coloured ones now or my daughter won’t ride it. And £14 a month each isn’t that bad (a Frog 47 is £350 and Early Rider Seeker is £350-450 each and I need 2 at the same time)and I don’t have to sell it afterwards. I know we buy a few 2nd hand (the CNOC and Bein were secondhand).

Once they get bigger and the cost goes up we’ll probably just build 24/26/27.5 bikes from parts for them.

But they do enjoy a toddle around a verderers at FOD at the mo and I begrudge the having something cheap and Tesco for that.

My daughter had a Hope Academy bike when it first started (2017 I think). We didn’t get to try different sizes, she was already tall enough for the large 26″ bike. The bike itself was fantastic, she loved it and riding it – a big step up from her 24″ bike and a lot lighter (air fork, disk brakes etc).

Dealing with Hope was a dream, they couldn’t have been more helpful. As it was early on in the scheme, the bike was brand new and my daughter was able to chose the component colour. We were able to pick it up from the factory and had a tour. When we bent the mech hanger and rotor, Hope sent replacements straight away – I just had to return the damaged parts with the bike when I returned it. Sadly she continued to grow, so it had to go back in early 2020.

At that age Isla/Frog/Early Riders are a bit much, just nip down Sports Direct and pick up a couple of cheap Muddyfox bikes and spend the other 500 quid on nice bike bits for yourself 😁

Sounds like you’ve made your mind up. Admit it, the hope cache is for you not your kids. (I have hope stuff on my bikes, it’s nice but not essential)

My boys are on frog 48s and a 55. These are more than capable for their age. Selling is super easy. Round our way there is a scalper that buys every frog bike that hits the market at a sensible price and “does them up” and sticks them back on gumtree / Facebook for £100 more. I sold the frog 40 in a day from posting, they are very popular.

A bike only cost £350 if you buy at retail and then never sell it. Buy second hand at £250 sell for £225. It’s cost £25. Depending on how well you buy / sell you may even make money…

For example….this is a great price if you are local to me (not mine)
https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/frog-48-%C2%A3165/1438065695

You could run that for a year and sell it for the same. Cost £0

To be fair, the 16″ Hope comes with disc brakes, it’ll be worth buying just to avoid having to maintain the brakes and wheels, think in the last month i’ve had to true a couple of wheels on kids bikes in the neighbourhood, you forget stuff like that with disc brakes!

Weird, I put my name on the waiting list eons ago for a 16″ bike and I’d forgotten about it until this thread. I have just checked my email and I have an agreement waiting to be signed.

I was on a waiting list for around 12 months before I got docs via email to be signed. Currently have 3 academy bikes, two waiting to go back, your instructed to email to sort returns, it’s a slow process. Sometimes you’ll have more luck getting blood from a stone over a reply. Our current bike has an issue which as yet to be resolved as nobody gotten back to me, delivered with two right hand pedals. The bikes are fantastic if your into the hope bling, just wish the communication throughout was better, even basic questions to unanswered

We’ll probably try it out this time (the bling obviously isn’t for the kids but my wife is the breadwinner in the family and she likes the idea so thought we’d look into it) as they’re at the age where they might shoot up in height (like my family) or stay shortarses (like the wife’s side) and it would be an easy way to try out an Early Rider bs the Frog and Islabikes they’ve had before.

If it sucks we’ll bail out rather than size up.

Thanks for the advice and feedback (from both sides).

It seemed really expensive compared to buying and selling even decent kids bikes as the markets for them is so buoyant. Yes they have Hope bling on but in reality it makes naff all difference to the kids experience other than nice colours and we’ve generally done that through coloured grips, spacers and odds and sods which can move between bikes anyway.

Careful buying and selling means each of Hoppy Jr’s bikes has cost us less than £5/month lost value for a mix of Islabikes, Early Riders and then a Cube 240 race. Obviously that relies on being in a position to be able to afford the purchases but if you can do it there’s a significant saving to be had. I’m not sure that now he’s on adult sized bikes that it’ll hold up quite as effectively unfortunately but equally we can do frame swaps from now on.

This arrived today. Looks to be brand new as it hasn’t got a bit of dirt or a scratch anywhere on it. It’s a very very nice bit of kit. Slightly heavier than the equivalent Isla CNOC 16, but then it has got beefy tires and disc brakes so that’s to be expected.

Sam1988, it’s worth giving them a ring to sort out the return and to make sure you aren’t charged for the months rental after trying to get them back. I had the same issue early in the year and I got the impression the person answering the phones was getting really annoyed with the despatch person.

I’ve joined the waiting list. We’ll see what’s available in about a year when I get a response.

Damn, I just got my offer this morning. You lot said it could take a year!

I don’t know whether to go for it yet or sit on it for a while. Young’un is quite tall but he’s only 14 months and still a bit wobbly on his feet. Seems like it’s too soon for a posh balance bike, I was hoping to wait until Xmas at the earliest.

I think it all depends on size. Seems the smaller sizes they are getting in quicker than the larger ones. I would think this is down to availability of components that are not Hope branded like mechs, cassettes, shifters etc.

We had eldest on a balance bike at 20 months, youngest on the same one at about 18-19 months they are both quite tall. For £5 a month though it may just be worth getting it until he’s ready in case you can’t get one further down the line.

@Sharkattack the twins were on Frog Tadpole Minis at 12 months (which they ignored for a while, mainly due to refusal to wear helmets before toddling everywhere on them) and then at 24 months we got the a regular Tadpole and Islabike one. Just before they turned 3 we got them a Frog and CNOC 14s which they started riding straight away (only refused to learn to start on their own). Now they’re charging everywhere (usually in opposite directions) and my son is already at the Min insertion point on his Frog 40 and they’re 4 next month (pesky sproglets just keep on growing!!)

What I learned is that it’s best to give them the bike early, encourage them a little and then leave them to it. We were probably a bit pushy at the start and it made no difference to how quickly they actually took to get riding.

Good luck.