I'm just after suggestions for a bike to get my boy. Turning 4 soon.
Probably looking for new for ~$200. Maybe 2nd hand but he's had so many 'hand me down' and op shop presents it'd be nice to give him something new. It'll be used for his 1yr old brother in a few years too so that helps justify extra spend.
I have about a month so can buy from OS if any decent savings can be had.
cheers
cheers for the reply. I dunno about $200 not buying much though. There's 16" wheel size boys bike from GT, GIANT and MONGOOSE available from local shops for $200 to $250 (not on sale) so I was expecting to I expected bargain price or OS around $200.
We did have a 12" pedal bike (hand me down) for a while, but there was too much slop in the rear hub/gear so it was tough to ride (270 degrees crank from brake before the drive would engage).
He's got a balance bike already. I wouldn't say he's mastered it because we haven't given him the chance to use it enough, but based on his use of the 12" pedal and balance I reckon he'd be OK with 16" pedal after a bit of practice.
Point noted about the brakes. pedal brakes are great for skids though!!
Fair enough, I admit that I'm not knowledgeable in the market for this size.
We're still in the 12-14" size range (small kid) and the cheapest bike that I've seen and I'd consider buying is a Frog at $350ish.
Currently using a hand-me down Haro that was imported back when the dollar was stronger, but it still weighs a ton, the Frog is much nicer, but I can't see the value even if we were able to keep it in excellent condition for maximum resale (unlikely anyway) to pay that much for a bike with probably only 12-18 months use in it across 2 kids..
$350 is crazy money for a small bike IMO. Sure it might be light, but probably not much less than decent brand alternatives that also have alloy frames for ~$220 ish.
I'll save the big $ spend for the full size BMX in a few years time.
Just buy 2nd hand and paint -> New.
Is he a rider already or starting from scratch? My 4yo has had a balance bike for a while and recently stepped up to a 12" (wheel) bike with pedals (no training wheels). He wont be on it long though and I suspect will be stepping up to 16" as soon as he is competent at stopping.
I haven't bought my kids a bike until they reached 20" wheel size as they just grow out of them too quick and council cleanup provides plenty of great bikes in smaller sizes. If you don't get council cleanups locally Gumtree etc have stacks of cheap hardly used bikes for kids.
In contrast to scubacoles above I wouldn't get a bike with hand brakes for a little kid, pedal brakes are so much more effective when compared with what little hands can do with a hand brake. Plus cheap bikes tend to have very ordinary brakes that are hard to adjust and hard for kids to use. I've taken the hand brakes off my kids bikes until they got to 20" size.
Yeah, I'd normally agree, but for the issue I'm seeing with the reverse pedalling causing crashes.
He doesn't actually use any brakes, cause he's used to stopping with his feet on the Balance Bike… that's what he still does.
In the next size up, once pedals are mastered, I would seriously consider going back to pedal brakes, if only for the aforementioned "better for skids" reason!
no way am I painting a bike! I've done it a few times in my youth and value my time too much now to bother.
I found a 2014 Giant Animator 16" for $80 which looks to be in very good condition, so agree that there's plenty of used options around. That'd be my pick v's spending an extra $120 or so on the same thing brand new. Mrs might have a different opinion though.
$200 wont buy much…
Shipping costs will kill most overseas deals even if you could find one worth importing in that price bracket.
I'd be looking secondhand at a brand name bike, otherwise your $200 budget new is only going to buy a cheapo KMart/BigW unit that will be very heavy.
If you can get instore, check out the offerings at some bike shops, then shop around for the brand/model you like on the secondhand market…
Brand name bikes will tend to be more likely to have smaller sized components like hand brake levers that suit small hands. Cheaper bikes use adult size components (where possible) and generally very heavy frames.
If he can't ride already, consider getting a Balance Bike initially.. ideally something with a long seat post range so your younger child can use it in 6-12 months.
My soon to be 4 year old has just upgraded to a pedal bike, no trainer wheels required, cause he's already mastered the balance component of riding with his Balance Bike over the past 2 years.
It's actually taken a lot of bribing to get him onto the pedal bike cause the Balance bike is so much more fun to him.
From my experience, I'd recommend going for a bike with hand brakes only and no pedal brake. my son's bike has a hand brake and pedal brake but he sometimes gets confused which way to pedal, and goes the wrong way which causes him to stop abruptly and usually crash…