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I have a Argos special. batman 14" for the 3.5yr old. it's want he wants. but building it tonight it really is a bit crap. I'm sure he will love it as it looks the part. but it weighs a ton and the wheels barely spin, it's not the brakes as they barely lock the wheel.
in some ways having some sort of semi brake to slow him freewheeling might be a good idea but it may piss him off so hedoesnt use it.
what to do? try and pick up a set of 14" wheels from somewhere?
If it's not the brakes rubbing (presuming you've checked that), take the wheels off and see if the hub bearings need sorting out?
admit you've made a mistake and return it. Buy a decent second hand 14" bike like a frog or isla and a pack of batman stickers.
Not the brakes rubbing. will take a look at tub bearings. Isla / frog bike isn't what he wants. though maybe I could buy one and do a frame transplant so he gets something rideable.
compared to his cheaper strider balance bike I am very disappointed. maybe a bit of grease will help
yeap, hub bearings be over tight (cup & cone) also check if axle is not bent (looks bent or go stiff in one place)
BB prob be over tight as well
Headset prob need adjusting
Wind the brake reach adjusters in then re adjust brakes.
Gears and limit screw prob need resetting and can be stiff (if twistshift)
if you can hear a light rubbing sound when wheels spin fast but can't see anything rubbing,
Snip the tyre "rubber hairs" (inject ports) on the side off.
Oh and remember to turn the forks the right way. 😉
What I did for a friends kid was buy a decent second hand bike and respray it in a colour he liked with some personalised decals on it.
Cost about £50.
Stick with it and treat it as a project.
Likely you will get it running a lot better with some time spent.
Do the wheels run free when not bolted into the forks/ frame? If so, likely to be cup/cone bearings a bit tight. Will be a bit of trial and error there to sort. Bearings will likely be dry so whilst doing work on bike grease/oil everything too. The chain will be awful so check for tight links etc. Freewheel might not be too, Erm, free either but you aren't looking for perfection to be honest.
Should you have to do all this? Of course not, but your lad wants that bike and count yourself lucky that unlike most Dads you will be able to get it running pretty good in the end.
Most of these bikes are assembled on Christmas Eve by parents using the pressed steel "universal spanner" you tend to find floating around in the box. Trust me, you'll be fine and his bike will probably be the pick of the Batman crop this Christmas with some spannering.
At his age you have done the right thing. Buy what he would like, not what you would like.
That comes a few years down the line. 😉
Good luck buddy.
Hub bearings being tight is very common on these things. You'll need a flat spanner or two to fix them - should also be available in Halfords. What I do with these is tighten the locknut onto the cone tightly on one side, when it's in the right position of course. Then on the other side tighten the locknut onto the cone semi-tight, then use a spanner on each locknut to tighten the cones - the tight side won't move, the semi-tight side will. Then if I really want to once it spins freely without play I tighten the semi-tight lockring on to its cone. Although that may not be strictly necessary as the wheel bolts tend to hold it all in place anyway. It's a bit of a faff for those who haven't been fixing bikes long enough to have had to do this 🙂
I'd also adjust the brake pads make sure they a) don't rub and b) hit the rim properly. Also check out the chain tension assuming it's singlespeed. Best way to do this is put it roughly in the right place, tighten the non-drive side but keep the drive side loose. Then pull or push the wheel to get the right tension - this is when there's enough slack to let you move it up and down a few mm without tension. Then when you have the tension right tighten the drive side, then loosen the non drive side, adjust the wheel so it's straight, then tighten it back up.
Don't despair and don't replace the bike - it's easy to get these things running well enough to give a kid full enjoyment.
If it were me I'd be taking it back and getting something light and good quality. Great suggestion above to get some stickers and batman accessories to pimp it with.
3 year olds are massively fickle. Once the initial excitement of the batman thing fades it'll be heavy and a bit rubbish and anyway he'll want a spiderman or PJ masks bike by then anyway. Kids on lighter, better quality bikes will leave him in their wake and ultimately you'll end up buying another bike. Our local club does sessions for little kids over the summer an you can see the how much the kids get out of having nice bikes with brakes that they can learn to use.
Our older one wanted a pink balance bike. She got a red frog one. After about 30 seconds of disappointment and a quick swop of the grips to pink she hopped on and hasn't looked back.
I'm the opposite...try to free up the wheels and then leave him to it...if he gets fun from it he'll use it. Watching his dad fuss over it will stop him...hand it over and let him play.
thanks for the feedback. I'll take it apart one night this week. I've not had the pleasure of dealing with cup and cone before so a learning experience. the whole drive.feels super tight so I reckon a strip down, grease and see where we are.
I really wanted to get him something else like an early rider but he wasn't interested and the wife didn't want to spend loads as he'll want a new one soon. if he really doesn't like riding it I'll chalk it to experience and get another...
probably a quick win is swapping the tyres out for something lighter weight and.fast rolling
so what tyres.for a batman bike?
WTB Riddler ?
SB8 is the staple on islabikes of every size we've had so far, but looks like they're doing their own tyres now...
https://www.islabikes.co.uk/product/accessories/islabikes-mixte-tyres/
200g for 14"
Its really disappointing to read stuff like this - back, must be 12-13 years ago, my kid's first bike was an "Action Man" BSO from Halfords (£30 iirc) and it was fine. Plastic wheels, solid tyres... but the kid learned to ride on it and used to whizz around everywhere. That they've actually lowered the quality of their products is really poor.
[edit]realised it OP's was from Argos, so not from a ahem proper bike shop like Halfords. Arf.
Found a pic!
[img] https://tinyurl.com/ybo533hs [/img]
OP, you are over thinking it with tyres mate.
Get the wheels spinning nice etc. Slow or fast rolling, he won't notice the tyres...
If you want to spend, aside from the helmet of course, then a Batman bell or such is the way to go. He is 3, he doesn't care about tyres. Want to make it easier to pedal,put more pressure on the tyres. Not that he will notice.Lol
the chain will also be over tight. that was always a standard issue with the Moore large BSOs that we used to sell for at the time the lack of anything better.
Chains were right , BBs had not been locked propper so the cup was over right and the headsets were always over tight.
Apart from 14" being a bit of a size dead end. If he likes it, crack on! He'll ride it if he likes it. I'd see if you can find some better, lighter tyres, but as I said 14" is not a great size. I've always recommended 4" jumps 12-16-20-24", and there is a good supply of tyres in all these sizes.
Check the brakes don't rub. Screw the levers in so he can reach them with the adjusters, Check saddle is a good size. Tell him not to drop it on the end of the bars. Fit a stand, as this helps them to keep it upright.
And it's not heavy, it's strength training. If it rides well, they don't notice the weight. My kids bikes got bigger but seldom lighter!
admit you’ve made a mistake and return it. Buy a decent second hand 14″ bike like a frog or isla and a pack of batman stickers
This, he's 3, take him to a bike shop, sit him on any bike and he'll want it. Kids are fickle, take control or the next couple of years will be expensive.
Plus the vitus 14 ltd is quite a handsome little bike, if you want new.
Also if it doesn't already have them get some kids grips with the big rubber knob on the end. This so that it doesn't scratch up the side of your car in the drive way 🙂
Don't return the bike. IT can be made perfectly good enough, don't piss about with Islabike at that age. Bikes are fun.
Maybe move the brake levers inboard a bit. Not as far as one finger braking of course but so that he is pulling with as much leverage as possible.