My daughter is itching to get a proper bike that has gears and is light etc. Most of your halfrauds type stuff has flowers, bears etc plastered all over it 🙁 can anyone recommend a cheaper alternative to islabikes ? (that I know are fantastic but a touch more pricey than I can afford at the mo)

Ridgeback MX 20 or Specialized Hotrock
But tbh, the Carreras from halfords are actually pretty good

what he said

Tbh i would avoid suspension forks heavy and I can barely compress the ones on my kids bike never mind them

secondhand Islabike?

Islabike Beinn small, look after it then sell it on for 70% of purchase price. They are ace little things. My 7 yr old has one.

We got our lad a Ridgeback MX20. It’s a nice bike, and more importantly, he loves it and has to be prised off it, which is what matters most.

Our little Scott has been ace, better geometry and lighter than the specialized and Kona we also had. It is a scale junior 20 and we also have a scale junior 24. One was free and one was £80 on here.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=729063&categoryId=165630&langId=-1

Halfordes carrera Luna, we have the 16 inch versions and have been very impressed with them ( girls Luna and boys blast) alloy frames so a fair bit lighter than their friends equivalent sizes components are of decent quality for intended use and price point, paint has stood up very well to 18mths of use and still look new. Been keeping eye on prices for 20inch and there is normally a bit off if ordered on line

Ridgeback MX20, Trek MT whatever with 20″ wheels, Carrera Blast 20″ (probably LittleMissMoreCash’s next bike)

We know that they don’t need suspension forks, but they know that they need them. And it absolutely must be pink!

Trek MT60 was the most adjustable kids bike I ever saw. Two crank drillings and a rotating stem meant that it saw more than 4 years of use. It does have suspension, but it was a great bike. Silver/white meant it was gender neutral, which is a positive selling point.