Buying a bike for a 3yr old Post Reply

[MrsM]

Hello. I'm after some advice please on buying a bike for my 3 yr old daughter.
She has a balance bike but last weekend in halfords jumped on a display bike and ride around the store.

It made me want to get her a real bike for Xmas. I have managed to convince my husband but now he wants me to do some research into what we should be looking for in a bike, and not just buy a cheap one because she liked it in the shop.

What really matters in a bike? (We are hoping she won't need stabilisers for long as she is good at pedalling, and can balance).

Any help advice, ideas much appreciated

Thanks

[juliantenniscoach]

Why don't you pop into Everyone Bikes on Northcote Road? They are rated very highly by the posts on here. We bought an Islabike which is expensive but we can pass it down to the younger sibling in time.

[MrsM]

Hi. Thanks for the advice. I'm just keen to know from other experience what is good in a child's bike. We be bought things in the past and always wished we'd had first hand advice. Shops don't always have a wide selection, and also not always the best deals. Appreciate though they have good knowledge, but not necessarily the first hand dos and dontsit might be that it doesn't matter, and cheap and cheerful is ok for a few years, just keen to know what others have done

[dansk1234dance]

Hey there.

My son was on a bike without stabilisers from the age of 3 too. Two things are important:
Pedal brakes. They are essential for safety. In Scandinavia, where I am from, you wouldn't dream of getting a bike without pedal brakes for a child under the age of 10. Their hands aren't strong enough to safely operated the handbrakes and the response time is slower. From my research there are two brands, which do pedal brakes; Isla bikes and specialized. Specialized you can buy in Evans Cycles

Getting the right size. If it's too big, it might feel too scary and put them off. We got a 12 inches first and within 9 months had to upgrade but feel convinced that the bigger one from the word go would have scared him.

[MrsM]

Thanks. That's really helpful!

[alapala]

Also try PUKY bikes, they have a pedal brake too and are really, really good (in fact we might be about to move up a size so might be selling one soon...).

[MrsM]

Thanks! Selling one how soon? We have a puky balance bike and it's been amazing, so very interested in their bigger bikes. Just haven't done any research yet!

[rl1982]

I got my nephew his bike at Cycleworx in Southfields. The main reason being the brake levers were adjusted for small hands which is something I hadn't seen in other bike stores.