Bike recommendation for a four year old?

[HannsG]

Hi,

Lads turning 4 this month and aside from the marvel stuff and other stuff I'm gonna get him a bike.

Growing up I always had hand me downs or a girder lol.

I am leaning away from Halfords purely due to the fact growing up I always went to the local bike outfit and it was an experience getting to know them and they were a great learning ground for me.

Any recommendations for a sturdy, light and durable bike for a four year old? Manufacturer etc?

Thanks.

[g7jhp]

Second hand Islabikes Cnoc 16.

Buy it, ride it and sell it on for close to what you paid.

I was luck and bought a new one in 2015 for £199 and sold it a couple of weeks ago for £210. The RRP is now £289.

[1ians]

X2. Bought my daughter a second hand CNOC 16 when she was 4. Paid either £160 or £180 for it. Took her about twenty minutes to learn how to ride it.

It's a properly built, light, child size bike.

[pembo]

If you want the shop experience and a new bike it might be worth looking at the Hoy bikes if you have an Evans Cycles near you. Otherwise you could look for a Frog bike dealer nearby, both are around £200 for a 16". My 4 year old loves his Hoy Bonaly. Islabikes are great and hold their values well but finding a stockist can be hard and they are another step more expensive if buying new.

[tenohfive]

LittleBig. Don't be put off by the fact that they grow with the child, they're lightweight, solidly made and road.cc rate 'em.
https://www.littlebigbikes.com/features/
http://road.cc/content/review/207728-littlebig-3-1...

[jamiebae]

My son has an Early Rider, it's light, made of decent bits and belt drive so no grubby bits to cover him in oil. I think it came from the Early Rider outlet store for a lot less than RRP and I'd highly recommend it. Cosmetic damage is no issue because it's obviously going to get trashed within minutes anyway

[astroarcadia]

Commencal Ramones bought earlier this year for my 4 year old. He did 8km on it today.

You get what you pay for with kids bikes.

[hyphen]

Whichever one he likes the look and feel of.

Mine played with loads in the shops, ended up getting him a used Rothan and so far barely touched it.

[SwissJonese]

We bought 2nd hand Specialized bikes when the twins were 4. However now 5yrs old we bought 2ns hand ridgeback which are much lighter. They ride them to school daily so are getting well utilized.

[HannsG]

Hi I bought him a Frog 48 today. The white dotted one..

Went to a shop to try it out beforehand and he seemed to like it and it seemed like a very well made bike.

Paid for a second hand one in the shop. Saving of 100 on new

[C0ffin D0dger]

HannsG said:

Hi I bought him a Frog 48 today. The white dotted one..

Went to a shop to try it out beforehand and he seemed to like it and it seemed like a very well made bike.

Paid for a second hand one in the shop. Saving of 100 on new

Good choice, recently got a Frog 55 for our 6 year old, very impressed with it and so is he. Before that he had an Islabikes Cnoc 16 which has now been passed onto his sister. Both of them progressed from balance bikes to be able to ride the Isla without stabilisers and within about half an hour of practice in the local social club carpark. Amazing to watch.

[pembo]

jamiebae said:

My son has an Early Rider, it's light, made of decent bits and belt drive so no grubby bits to cover him in oil. I think it came from the Early Rider outlet store for a lot less than RRP and I'd highly recommend it. Cosmetic damage is no issue because it's obviously going to get trashed within minutes anyway

Where is the Early Rider outlet store? My son had a Road Runner which is now on the wall in my garage because I love it so much. The cost of them has put us off but if we can get his next at outlet prices it will be worth considering.

[jamiebae]

pembo said:

Where is the Early Rider outlet store? My son had a Road Runner which is now on the wall in my garage because I love it so much. The cost of them has put us off but if we can get his next at outlet prices it will be worth considering.

Not sure, I think it was maybe just a 'second' off their website. He had the balance bike which came from Wiggle's eBay store (Tri Sport Resort) then upgraded to the one with pedals a year later from Early Rider themselves direct.

[pembo]

Cool, I'll keep an eye out for them coming up on there then.

Cheers.