Seeking a decent bike for my (going on) 5 year old. He's ready for a full 2 wheeled affair as he's been on the balance BTIWN for a good while now.

Want it to look half decent (so them btwins sad looking things are out of the question) and okish gear... He's been patient enough so reck9n he deserves it.

Something that he will have a good few years out of and budget being £120 to £220!!

We've had fun with a pair of Specialized Riprocks and you can go from 12 to 16 to 20...

I've just spent ages looking into kids bikes for my 3 year old. He's really small so was left with little choice but to spend quite a lot.

One that stood out on the search was Vitus from wiggle/crc. Depending on how tall he is will mean what size wheel of course.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vit ... prod168786

The commencial ramones looks cool, but out of stock there

FLV wrote: ↑Tue May 07, 2019 5:45 pm I've just spent ages looking into kids bikes for my 3 year old. He's really small so was left with little choice but to spend quite a lot.

One that stood out on the search was Vitus from wiggle/crc. Depending on how tall he is will mean what size wheel of course.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vit ... prod168786

The commencial ramones looks cool, but out of stock there

They both look great. I have just bought our 5yo twin boys bikes. A 2nd hand pinnacle koto https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ko ... e-EV275988

And a 2nd hand cube Kid 160 https://www.cube.eu/en/products/kids/ki ... blue-2016/

Pinnacle is defo the better bike. Would recommend it without hesitation and they are very cheap 2nd hand.

We’ve gone with Islabikes for our kids.
Mostly bought second hand in good condition from eBay and sold on for more or less the same price when finished with.
Very sturdy, very well made, nice thoughtful touches(presta tubes etc). Not very exciting though. More like a pair of cords than skinny jeans

take the hit on an isla bike [ second hand] and then just resell and size up when required - probably the cheapest option in the long run if not necessarily the initial purchase.

Second hand Islabike. Bienn 20 comes in small or large. Lasted my girl from 5 till 8 and is now being refreshed for my 5 year old boy.

Edit: go careful on price. Some go for silly money. Paid £200 for mine.

Had a few Frog bikes for our little one. A bit like a poor mans Isla Bike. Costs a bit of an outlay to start with but we've managed to sell ones she's outgrown without taking too much of a hit.

If you like the look of frog, then Squish can rival them (made by Dawes but don’t let that put you off!). They are cheaper but don’t come with the mudguards, so horses for courses (and frog no longer come with two sets of tyres)

Thanks all. Thats more bike options than you can shake a stick at and am sure his new iron horse will have one of the above names on it

When I was younger (and older all the way to 18 or 19) I couldn't actually ride a bike. Partly cos the folks used to think its dangerous and I'll get run over - which I'm sure they had a point as, on hindsight, we had speedbumps all over our tiny little hill. I therefore used to have dreams, which I've only recently realised were fakes, that I was/had been riding and balancing a (quite) big bike when in the nursery playgrounds. As a teen when seeing people riding on two wheels it was as if it was magic (to be able to balance like that)...

Anyway... Sob story over and as soon as I got my first job (on the trolleys and tills at b&q) I realised it'd only take so many busfare tickets to pay off a bike. Duely went and got a Marin Palisades Trail on the xmas club at Colne Valley Cycles up at end of Huddersfield... and the rest is history.

From above (and the fact I'm still riding, but them magicians from my mates who would perfectly bakance their shoddy Barracuda or whatever bikes, are not) and some added market research from my riding buddies and watnot, I managed to develop the theory that:

'Riders of shoddy bikes in their younger days, dont ride when big... riders of decent bikes in their younger days... are still riding'...

Not sure if that theory has quite worked with my eldest who started with a Gary Fisher as his main bike (and a btwin before as the 14inch wheeler which I've just hacked and skipped yesterday) but now at 12 refuses to go anywhere near a bike

Anyway... Hopefully my youngest will mould into my BAM partner of future years (for some reason their very hard to find in this neck of the world)...

commencal ramones are worth a look. latest models have shed a load of weight.

decent tyres, brakes and mtb-ish geometry.

https://www.commencal-store.co.uk/ramon ... 2x26307514

Both my kids are on Islabikes. Very impressed with them

Thanks all for the input. Yesterday at around the time I opened this thread, told the little one to pray for a decent bike (whilst sat outside Halfords)... Tried to talk to him but he must've still been at it and asking away..

Today, managed to win an Islabikes CNOC 16 inch (measured him up this am and seemed appropriate) for a lovely £51... Am totally hoping the seatpost isn't seized but happy with the outcome so far...

thanks again...

Can't see him being disappointed with that! Nice.

Cnoc by Islebike was a great bike for my littlen when he was a similar age good build quality and lightweight may get hold of a reasonably priced second one if you look around
Steer clear of anything with a suspension fork as at that age they wont get the benefit and they just add weight

i steer clear of suspension myself (although have had a few Fox Talas, couple of Mag Menjas and potentially a RS by mistake)... supposed to be benefit in them you say