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Saw this advertised on telly the other day - an online bike club you subscribe to to get your kid a bike and replacements as they grow.
I checked out the available bikes and they're pretty good, so it'd be like £300 a year to get your child a decent Orbea hardtail (or cheaper for smaller bikes). I guess the subs go up as the kid moves to a bigger bike.
I know some folk spend a few hundred on bikes for their kids, so looks like a decent deal.
Any current/potential customers on here?
You mean like the one Hope do?
Bikes are offered on a monthly rental basis starting with basic push along's at £5 per month, right through to small 26" wheeled bikes for £29 per month.
As your child grows we'll have the next size available for them once they're ready for it.
I know some folk who use it.
The people that I know who use one are:
A, those that think their kids need the "best" or everything.
B, have no idea what the "best" actually is.
C, have everything on finance / subscription.
Maybe I should find different people to hang out with.
£311.88 to rent the bike (plus damage tax).
£629 to buy minus resale.
I agree thepodge, but there's no doubting there are people on here who want decent bikes for their children. ie. brand named stuff for themselves 😉
Mine had cheap tat, and he was happy. And still rides now he's an adult.
Our two generally got nice stuff, particularly light low geared and well fitted stuff, because neither my wife nor I wanted to give up riding. They started on good quality child seats on my bike, then they rode them selves. I think the younger one was 6 when he first rode Les Gets himself (a lot of green that year).
The value in the Hope scheme depends on how fast the child grows. We did have points where one of ours was through bike sizes in a few months not years. On that basis the rental system looks more attractive.
That said I got good at making a frame ride smaller, and then later on, bigger than it actually was.
And for a while I had an excellent collection of stems, seatposts, shims and cranks in odd sizes / fittings (because none of them were standard adult bike fittings).