Bikes for the under 5s?
Discussion
My lad has just mastered cycling without stabilisers and hoping he'll become as hooked on cycling as his mother and I are.
Thing is, bikes for kids that age seem to be garbage! Heavy and badly made, it pains me to see him struggling with it so much.
Does anyone know of a source for reasonably priced bikes for this age group?
Thing is, bikes for kids that age seem to be garbage! Heavy and badly made, it pains me to see him struggling with it so much.
Does anyone know of a source for reasonably priced bikes for this age group?
Halfords also have a new range of Wiggins branded kids bikes which look to be directed at the isla/frog market. Had a look at one the other day and they appear to be pretty decent, although I doubt the resale value will be anywhere near an Isla. (Just sold a well used 2 year old Beinn S for £220, so cost us just over £50 a year)
My daughter was struggling with her btwin hand me down, so got her a carrera star and for a 16in wheeled bike it's miles better than the B'twin Superhero.
Just couldn't justify the extra cost on the isla / frog, especially as she has a habit of dropping it as she gets off.
Also got a Wiggins 24 for my eldest and I cam confirm that they are great bikes.
As said above, the residuals will be interesting, but both were bought at a discounted price, plus with all the mainstream brands catching on, who knows what will happen in the future.
Saying that early rider better for the win!!
Just couldn't justify the extra cost on the isla / frog, especially as she has a habit of dropping it as she gets off.
Also got a Wiggins 24 for my eldest and I cam confirm that they are great bikes.
As said above, the residuals will be interesting, but both were bought at a discounted price, plus with all the mainstream brands catching on, who knows what will happen in the future.
Saying that early rider better for the win!!
pembo said:
If money were no object it would have been an Early Rider, they are really well made and by far the lightest.
Clearly if money was no object, you'd be looking at:
http://www.islabikes.co.uk/islabikes-pro-series
Obviously £999 is the right price for a 5 year old's bike:
http://www.islabikes.co.uk/islabikes-pro-series/be...
Although from your choice, this does look the absolute nuts:
http://earlyrider.com/products/belter-20-trail-3
pembo said:
We have a Hoy Bonaly 16" from Evans, lovely bike, a bit cheaper than the equivalent Isla and serving him well.
I picked up a s/h Bonaly 16, less than half what a Cnoc16 would have cost and more than suitable for a 5yo. The Cnoc is good, so long as you're willing stump up the initial outlay.Just copied and pasted this from a previous post:
With regard to Islabikes, they're not as expensive to own as you might think.
I've bought my daughter two - both of which she's outgrown - and her latest one is a Halfords Apollo Elusion.
What I would say is that Islabikes are unbeatable in terms of weight and usability. And while the buy-in price IS high, so are the returns you get on them. And that's what you have to look at to see how much a bike actually 'costs' you.
The first one was a CNOC 16 which retailed (at the time) at £229. When we came to sell it, I'd heard that Islabikes resold well and priced it at something like £150. In hindsight, it was way too low.
The first person to ring bought it for full asking price, but I had people calling me up for days afterwards offering up to £180 unseen (on the strength of the pictures on the ad).
Total cost to own the bike, £79 - but it could have been as low as £49.
The second was a Beinn 20, which retailed at £329. Knowing that it was likely to sell well, I offered that one for £250 and took £240 for it. The woman that came to pick it up had bought another SH Islabike that day, as she had twins, and paid more for the other one, which was in a much, much worse state. So, again, I probably could have got more for it.
Total cost to own the bike - £89, could have been less.
I mention these facts and figures, because her very first bike was Christmas present of a Dora the Explorer Halfords thing with stabilisers. From memory, this was £69 from Halfords and that sold for a fiver. And it was a dangerous pile of poo too. I'm not very mechanically minded, but I know how to set up brakes, and there was nothing I could do to get them working properly.
Total cost to own the bike - £65. Only £14 less than her first Islabike, which was streets ahead in terms of build quality.
I have no doubt that when we come to sell her current Apollo, that I will see very little of the £119 we paid for it (and that was half-price). I'd expect to list for about £30 and maybe get £20.
Expected total cost to own that bike around £100.
What I would say, however, is that the reason we didn't go for an Islabike this time around, is that they do look a little dull in comparison to offerings from other manufacturers (maybe more so for boys). This time I let my daughter choose her own bike and she was made up with that whole process. Partly, I think (in fact I know) because we ended up with a 14" woman's frame and 26" wheels, rather than another 'kids'' bike.
Nothing will compare to getting a cheap, cheap SH bike in terms of cost of ownership, but cheap new bikes are not always as cheap as you think. Plus what she's ended up with is probably heavier than mine, will cost more to own than an Islabike long term and she finds it hard to use the brakes as they're too big for her hands.
However, it may be that she uses it more than an Islabike, because she likes it. And that's my final point - it has to be something they'd be happy to be seen on (for older kids), and something they'd enjoy riding (for younger kids). After all, they get bought to be used, and that's the main thing.
With regard to Islabikes, they're not as expensive to own as you might think.
I've bought my daughter two - both of which she's outgrown - and her latest one is a Halfords Apollo Elusion.
What I would say is that Islabikes are unbeatable in terms of weight and usability. And while the buy-in price IS high, so are the returns you get on them. And that's what you have to look at to see how much a bike actually 'costs' you.
The first one was a CNOC 16 which retailed (at the time) at £229. When we came to sell it, I'd heard that Islabikes resold well and priced it at something like £150. In hindsight, it was way too low.
The first person to ring bought it for full asking price, but I had people calling me up for days afterwards offering up to £180 unseen (on the strength of the pictures on the ad).
Total cost to own the bike, £79 - but it could have been as low as £49.
The second was a Beinn 20, which retailed at £329. Knowing that it was likely to sell well, I offered that one for £250 and took £240 for it. The woman that came to pick it up had bought another SH Islabike that day, as she had twins, and paid more for the other one, which was in a much, much worse state. So, again, I probably could have got more for it.
Total cost to own the bike - £89, could have been less.
I mention these facts and figures, because her very first bike was Christmas present of a Dora the Explorer Halfords thing with stabilisers. From memory, this was £69 from Halfords and that sold for a fiver. And it was a dangerous pile of poo too. I'm not very mechanically minded, but I know how to set up brakes, and there was nothing I could do to get them working properly.
Total cost to own the bike - £65. Only £14 less than her first Islabike, which was streets ahead in terms of build quality.
I have no doubt that when we come to sell her current Apollo, that I will see very little of the £119 we paid for it (and that was half-price). I'd expect to list for about £30 and maybe get £20.
Expected total cost to own that bike around £100.
What I would say, however, is that the reason we didn't go for an Islabike this time around, is that they do look a little dull in comparison to offerings from other manufacturers (maybe more so for boys). This time I let my daughter choose her own bike and she was made up with that whole process. Partly, I think (in fact I know) because we ended up with a 14" woman's frame and 26" wheels, rather than another 'kids'' bike.
Nothing will compare to getting a cheap, cheap SH bike in terms of cost of ownership, but cheap new bikes are not always as cheap as you think. Plus what she's ended up with is probably heavier than mine, will cost more to own than an Islabike long term and she finds it hard to use the brakes as they're too big for her hands.
However, it may be that she uses it more than an Islabike, because she likes it. And that's my final point - it has to be something they'd be happy to be seen on (for older kids), and something they'd enjoy riding (for younger kids). After all, they get bought to be used, and that's the main thing.
Kell said:
SNIP ... Islabikes "Cost of ownership" maffs
Precisely why we have two of the things in the garage, and now have total brand loyalty.(It also helped seeing my eldest jump on his first bike with pedals, no stabilisers, and within a couple of goes, he rode off down the prom unaided. Aged just under 3 1/2 years old.) This was after a solid year on an Islabikes balance bike. I'm a total convert to balance bikes and Islabikes.
Russ_H said:
I've picked a couple of Specialized Hotrock bikes for my boy - 12" & 16".......
They can be had for £50-£80 in almost as new condition. The front caliper brake is a bit s
t but has rear pedal back brake.
We had a Hotrock 12 (still do, anyone want to buy it for £45??), back-pedal brake caused lots of frustration as anything other then forward-pedalling caused stoppage. I'm now having to teach a 5yo that it's ok to free-wheel.They can be had for £50-£80 in almost as new condition. The front caliper brake is a bit s
t but has rear pedal back brake.Your Dad said:
We had a Hotrock 12 (still do, anyone want to buy it for £45??), back-pedal brake caused lots of frustration as anything other then forward-pedalling caused stoppage. I'm now having to teach a 5yo that it's ok to free-wheel.
They should still freewheel with about 1/2-1 back pedal revolution before the brake is applied.On the 12" bike I got my LBS to remove the back pedal brake mechanism as my boy couldn't get on with it either.
louiebaby said:
Clearly if money was no object, you'd be looking at:
http://www.islabikes.co.uk/islabikes-pro-series
Obviously £999 is the right price for a 5 year old's bike:
http://www.islabikes.co.uk/islabikes-pro-series/be...
Although from your choice, this does look the absolute nuts:
http://earlyrider.com/products/belter-20-trail-3
t?I think I'd still go with the Earlyrider.
pembo said:
I think I'd still go with the Earlyrider.
The regular spec Islabikes really are very good, and with the maths applied in previous posts, actually pretty good value.(Although I won't be selling any of ours in case either of our boys become Tour de France winners, obviously.)
louiebaby said:
The regular spec Islabikes really are very good, and with the maths applied in previous posts, actually pretty good value.
(Although I won't be selling any of ours in case either of our boys become Tour de France winners, obviously.)
Oh I completely agree the Islabikes are great and a great choice financially.(Although I won't be selling any of ours in case either of our boys become Tour de France winners, obviously.)
We went with the Hoy to be different, I can't imagine we will be hoping for residuals anyway, he is racing cycle speedway on it every week and doing a couple of cyclocross races in the winter. It should last him a while (he's 3, it's supposed to be a 5 year olds bike) and will be well used by then.
I'm not selling his balance bike because I want it hung on the wall in my garage:
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff