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My 4 yr old (he’s bigger than most 5 yr olds though) is just looking too big on his 14” Isla bike, so thinking I should treat him to a new bike day!
I’m after any recommendations for quality machines.... he’d love front suspension, as he’s getting quite into trail centre riding and is fascinated by bouncy bikes but ( I only ride rigid) I’m not sold on it on kids bikes, they all seem to weigh about the same as s small planet!
Do I go 16” wheels, or even bigger?
Go up in 4" jumps from 16". I went 12-16-20-24. I'm afraid 14 is a bit of a back-water to be honest. There are some nice alloy frames from the big sellers, and buy used. You'll still pay £120+ for a nice one.
Front suspension is pretty useless at this point, but it looks nice 😉 . My sister still has a Specialized Hotrock FSR24. That is a rare bike now.
Raleigh Performance 20. (Log pile poster's own)
Or, Giant ARX 20.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/arx-20
Frog 52 is a top bike for someone that age / size.
This is my 4 soon to be 5yr old on his green one - 3rd photo as you click right on the arrows - I added wider bars (560mm I think, cut down from 700) as the stock ones are a bit narrow once they start bouncing over roots & logs
Ace, thanks so far
Definitely will buy 2nd hand... I only by used for myself too.
I guess light and with options to progress on it would be the priorities! He already thinks he’s at World Class standards of gnarr
Always worth looking for bikes at this size on Fleabay or facebook sale pages, as kids tend to grow out of them pretty quickly. We bought hers from there and it was dirt cheap and like brand new.
The Orbea MX range have a pretty low stand over so a 20" version might be alright. My average sized kids had them from about 6ish I think. Great bikes.
My 5 year old just graduated from a Halfords 12" bike to a secondhand Islabikes Beinn 20S, (cost £200, in very good condition). He's a bit short for his age - but has taken to it really well. In fact we have two now 'cause his 7 year old sister is still riding the other one - which shows you can get a bit more life out of them if you can go to 20" early as possible. Every time I pick it up I'm struck by how much lighter it is than the truly awful Halfords thing it replaced! Personally I would avoid suspension at this age - even my 9 year old's 24" suspension is a bit pointless(I think).
I like the look of the Saracen!
Maybe 20” could work
Might pop down to Halfords with him, for a cheeky size check
Wheel size and standover are only part of it. Measure him before buying anything.
Set-up a dining chair the same distance as the toptube length from the dining table and get him to lean forward and place his hands on the table edge. you'll see immediately which bike size is correct by how much he has to reach for the bars.
I had to buy a Cnoc 14 for my son as the 16 was too big and you could see the difficulty he had with it.
If the size is right, I'd recommend and Early Rider Belter. they're much better built than Islabikes.
Early Rider Belter
Will have one for sale in the summer....
Excellent little bikes.
Just bought an Early Rider Belter Works 16 for our daughter. It is incredibly light to the point I thought they had forgotten to put it in the box when it was delivered.
They are expensive but it will be used for 2 kids and the resale value is high even on older ones. it looks nice and I wanted it!
Forgot about the early riders... he had a used one as his balance bike.
The bigger ones look ace!
Cpn.flash. Let me know if you fancy getting rid of yours sooner, although I’m not really in any rush