What bike for a 3 year old boy.
Discussion
One for the PH parents.
My son will turn 3 three in June, and we want to buy him his first bike.
£100 budget, happy to spend less.
I know balance bikes seem to be the thing right now, but I'm not convinced.
I'm not sure between a normal bike with stabilisers, or a bike without the pedals that can be added later.
My son will turn 3 three in June, and we want to buy him his first bike.
£100 budget, happy to spend less.
I know balance bikes seem to be the thing right now, but I'm not convinced.
I'm not sure between a normal bike with stabilisers, or a bike without the pedals that can be added later.
http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/cnoc14.html
This.
Job done.
Read reviews etc.
Check out the resale values and islabike buy back when your son out grows it.
Worth the extra as they are so light.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
This.
Job done.
Read reviews etc.
Check out the resale values and islabike buy back when your son out grows it.
Worth the extra as they are so light.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by craste on Wednesday 1st May 21:06
My son has been riding his islabike 14" (no stabilisers) since just after his 4th Birthday. I think it would have been sooner but he takes after me in the height department so couldnt reach the floor firmly enough to give him confidence.
Before that, he'd had a balance bike for as long as I can remember. I honestly think this is the best way to go.
Bikes with stabilisers don't teach balance, and when the time comes to remove the stabilisers they tend to be much heavier and therefore harder to control.
Before that, he'd had a balance bike for as long as I can remember. I honestly think this is the best way to go.
Bikes with stabilisers don't teach balance, and when the time comes to remove the stabilisers they tend to be much heavier and therefore harder to control.
Maybe I robbed my son of the pleasure of an expensive bike to throw on the ground but this in either 12 16 or 16 has been bulletproof.
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/...
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/...
nigelonich said:
Maybe I robbed my son of the pleasure of an expensive bike to throw on the ground but this in either 12 16 or 16 has been bulletproof.
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/...
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/...
Not cheap at hundred quid!
£200 for bike that'll be dropped, painted and scratched!
Get a £20 balance bike of eBay (Sports Direct) and let him learn to, er, balance. I've just bought two for my twins (3yo) and they love them! You can see them improving their balance.
Trouble with pedal bikes is there's to much to learn, pedaling and balancing.
Remember, you're probably buying him a nice shiny bike for yourself in reality. He won't care. As long as its shiny.
"But son, this was £200!"
"Meh, it's red!"
Get a £20 balance bike of eBay (Sports Direct) and let him learn to, er, balance. I've just bought two for my twins (3yo) and they love them! You can see them improving their balance.
Trouble with pedal bikes is there's to much to learn, pedaling and balancing.
Remember, you're probably buying him a nice shiny bike for yourself in reality. He won't care. As long as its shiny.
"But son, this was £200!"
"Meh, it's red!"
Didn't take long for the typical PH answer - double the OP's budget! 
My daughter turned 3 in April, and we looked at balance bikes and 12" pedal bikes with stabilisers. Decided on a balance bike because she is very small for her age, (about 85cm) and couldn't really cope with the weight of pedal bikes.
We tried her on a few balance bikes, in a couple of bike shops, and ended up with a "mid-priced" one.
The really cheap ones were either too heavy, or the seat didn't go down far enough for her. The Specialized one for £100 was perfect, but I couldn't convince the other half that it was worth the extra due to resale value.
We bought this one, but had a 10% off code, so got it for £45: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
A plus point is that, although she was adamant she wanted a pink bike, we persuaded her that a yellow one (saddle, at least!) would be good. So it should be good for my 1 yr old son once the daughter has outgrown it!
My daughter turned 3 in April, and we looked at balance bikes and 12" pedal bikes with stabilisers. Decided on a balance bike because she is very small for her age, (about 85cm) and couldn't really cope with the weight of pedal bikes.
We tried her on a few balance bikes, in a couple of bike shops, and ended up with a "mid-priced" one.
The really cheap ones were either too heavy, or the seat didn't go down far enough for her. The Specialized one for £100 was perfect, but I couldn't convince the other half that it was worth the extra due to resale value.
We bought this one, but had a 10% off code, so got it for £45: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
A plus point is that, although she was adamant she wanted a pink bike, we persuaded her that a yellow one (saddle, at least!) would be good. So it should be good for my 1 yr old son once the daughter has outgrown it!
GTIR said:
£200 for bike that'll be dropped, painted and scratched!
Get a £20 balance bike of eBay (Sports Direct) and let him learn to, er, balance. I've just bought two for my twins (3yo) and they love them! You can see them improving their balance.
Trouble with pedal bikes is there's to much to learn, pedaling and balancing.
Remember, you're probably buying him a nice shiny bike for yourself in reality. He won't care. As long as its shiny.
"But son, this was £200!"
"Meh, it's red!"
We got my little girl one of those cnoc14s and I justified it as follows.Get a £20 balance bike of eBay (Sports Direct) and let him learn to, er, balance. I've just bought two for my twins (3yo) and they love them! You can see them improving their balance.
Trouble with pedal bikes is there's to much to learn, pedaling and balancing.
Remember, you're probably buying him a nice shiny bike for yourself in reality. He won't care. As long as its shiny.
"But son, this was £200!"
"Meh, it's red!"
A £100 (or less) bike will after a few years use be likely to be worth very little, be rusted solid and essentially scrap.
An islabike can be handed down a few times and still be sold on for a stupid amount of money.
Whether that turns out to be true remains to be seen but they are really good bikes. They are a properly engineered bicycle just shrunk down to midget size.
craste said:
Just take the pedals off the one I suggested and it will be a balance bike!
Not quite - did it with our boy who'd been flying around on his Rothan (balance bike) but he kept whacking his legs on the crank arms.But I do recommend the CNOC 14 - ours has finally cracked it and loves it. Not all that light though.
Much as I love bikes as an adult, I personally don't think it is worth spending a lot on a bike for a child that young. We bought something for around £70 from our local bike shop for our first born and it was handed down to our two younger sons and then onto another family of 3 boys. We didn't do the balance bike thing, from what I understand, those that have a balance bike sometimes subsequently struggle with pedalling and those that have a 'normal' bike subsequently sometimes struggle with balance. They all get there in the end though, just make sure it is always fun!
Cheapest PoS balance bike from Toy R Us weighed 4Kg, was pink and lasted my daughter from a little over 2yo to nearly 4yo. It had no bearings in the headset (plastic shims instead) and probably wasn't strong enough for anyone over about 25Kg to sit on it.
Cost £19 and is responsible for her riding a pedal bike without stabilisers a month after her 4th birthday.
I really don't get Islabikes for kids under ~8yo. Controversial, I know.
Cost £19 and is responsible for her riding a pedal bike without stabilisers a month after her 4th birthday.
I really don't get Islabikes for kids under ~8yo. Controversial, I know.
Watchman said:
I really don't get Islabikes for kids under ~8yo. Controversial, I know.
The the Cnoc14 I bought for my daughter has been one of the best bargains I've ever had. Spent just under £200 on it a couple of years ago. Ada was off and riding shortly after her 3rd birthday without any trouble and now (aged 4 and a half) is happily doing 5+ mile rides on it. It still looks as good at the day she got it and she absolutely adores it and rides it every chance she gets. She'll out grow it at some point this year but when she does, equivalent ones are going on ebay for £120.
£80 for two years solid riding is pretty good in my book.
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