First bike for 5 year old (from a dad who knows nothing!)

[iambalrog]

Hia

I'd really appreciated your advice and wisdom. As a non cycler myself, I'm keen to try and get my daughter on a bike, with her 5th birthday coming up.
I've done a little research, with the key points seeming to be 'dont get her something too big' (14" seems right), and 'dont buy something cheap from Halfords'.

Its at that stage I get a little stuck due to my own lack of knowledge (sorry!). I have no idea what makes a good bike, or what features are good/bad. I'd love to buy her something (which shouldnt be too girly, as we'd like her baby brother to use it one day), but also dont want to pay hundreds of pounds.

I'd really appreciate any suggestions on what might be a good quality bike and value for money place to start?

Thanks in advance!

 

[summerdays]

Depends on the size of your daughter ... my eldest was quite tall.... so she went onto a 16" (and we found a royal blue one that had a basket on that made it girly which could be removed for the later children - it was a Raleigh bike - quite a few years ago now!!!). Mostly stay away from gimmicks .... the simple bikes are better. Metal brake levers in my opinion are better than the plastic ones that get snapped. Don't buy a buy from anywhere that you can also buy toys, but a bike shop is the best place. Pick up the bike - light bikes are much nicer to ride!

If you have seen a couple post up a link and I'm sure someone will comment on them, it's been a while since I bought a bike that small.

 

[User482]

The usual advice is to learn on a balance bike before progressing, rather than using stabilisers. But given your daughter's age, you could buy a normal bike and take the pedals off until she's ready.

Islabike are always highly recommended - my four year old has one (model is CNOC 16) and it's a world away from Halford's tat, and the Giant she had before. They're light, the brakes actually work, and they're properly sized for little people. The price is off-putting but on the plus side, they hold their value so well that you'd probably get 75% of it back when it's time to sell. We got a reconditioned one from the factory with new cables, chain, tyres etc for the same price as buying one off Ebay.

 

[ianrauk]

Thank you @User13710

Hi @iambalrog and welcome to the forum.
At the age of 5, it's a really good age to teach your child how to ride a bike. And yes, do not be tempted by the stabilisers route. They really are a lazy option. Your child will end up relying on them and not wanting to learn to ride without.

as @User482 quite rightly pointed out, Islabikes are probably the top of the tree when it comes to children's bikes. Worth every penny and have a great resale value. However, if you don't want to or have the finances for an Isla Bike there are now plenty of other options. Most of the bigger named bike manufacturers are now making good quality children's bikes. For example, my just turned 6yo rides a Raleigh Zero 16. A really lovely, lightweight bike.

So. How did I get him riding.
To be fair, he did start riding far earlier then 5. Before he could walk he was using a plastic Toddlebike. From there he moved on to a small wooden balance bike. We used to take him to the local park which had a nice gentle grass slope so he could grasp the concept of rolling with his feet up. He then moved up to a bigger balance bike. A Zooom, which he loved.

Feet up down the slope.

After a good year and a half of the balance bike he asked for a 'real bike', so I got him a Specialized Hotrock. He was quite intimidated about it at first and didn't want to ride it, so I didn't pressurise him. Just left it sitting there until one day he asked if he could ride his 'big boy's' bike. We did the same thing, took him to the park and let him roll down the slope a few times, feet in the air, then with his feet on the pedals, freewheeling and with feet turning. He came a cropper a couple of times, but without drama we just picked him up and pushed him along again. Once he realised he wasn't getting hurt falling off, we progressed to the path. This video is his very first go at a proper ride, a week after his 4th birthday,

From then on there really was no stopping him, this video is just a few weeks after that initial first ride

For his 5th birthday, we got him the Raleigh Zero (I let him choose it himself from Evans)

5 minutes or so of teaching him about the brakes and he was off.

Sorry for blathering on :-)
You do need to have patience with teaching a child how to ride. Patience with the child and patience with yourself. It's quite easy to get despondent if they don't 'get it' at first or take a while to get the basics. She may not actually like riding a bike or not want to learn just yet. If that's the case then nothing you can do will make her change her mind. Certainly don't show her any impatience as that's a sure way to put her off. Leave it for a while then come back to it another time.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.