16", 18" or 20" - opinions please

weepiglet

Hi guys,
My son turns 6 tomorrow and my wife and I are keen to buy him a bike. He has wanted a bike for ages but when we got him to the LBS, we put him on a 16" bike which I thought would be about right for him but his knees were around his chest at the top of the pedal stroke. Even with the seat up he still looked cramped.
I then thought about an 18" but the shop didn't have any so when he tried a 20" it looked huge and he could barley get his leg over the top tube.
What I am wondering, is would it be best to wait and get him a 20" in 6 months or so (although he isn't tall for his age and may grow slowly) or go with a cheap 16" so he gets used to it?
Cheers for advice.

baudman

Can he ride?

This is a very important consideration, as the geometry for a bike with stabilzers is often quite different to what a kid needs without them. (For what it's worth, I'd almost NEVER advocate stabilizers - look at the getting kids to ride sticky).

One consideration with 18" - they're nowhere near as common as 16" or 20". So, not all bike shops will stock spares. It's not a real biggy (my daughter's bike is 18") but it's worth mentioning.

My guess is, he'd probably be fine with a 20"... but again, it really depends upon the frame design. There's great ones that allow very low saddle height - and others that are quite high. What bikes did you consider? And (I suppose I'll get in first) did you look at Islabikes?

bartimaeus

First measure your child... This is the Islabikes sizing guide, which is spot on as far as I can see (my kids aged 8 and 10 have Beinn 24 and Beinn 26s) - though the Islabikes sizes will differ significantly from other makes as they tend to have bigger wheels with smaller frames. I don't think other manufacturers are as helpful with sizing guides - so you'll need to find (and more importantly see) one that fits as not all 20" bikes are the same.

PeeDee

We bought an Isla bike and its great, really well thought out for kids and lots of sizes. Not cheap though!

SmellTheGlove

(Two cents alert...)

It's definitely possible to make an educated guess in these matters; if it looks cramped to you then it probably is. I was looking for 18inch wheeled bikes for my 6yo daughter (she's taller than many eight year olds) but, scarce as they are, I eventually took a flier and found a small frame 20inch Gary Fisher Cosmo on eb@y. Daughter sat on and promptly took off and I'm now battling to keep her away from it! I think it's important that she's growing into it, whereas with something smaller she'd be growing away from it.
There are some cracking bargains out there and some 20inch e.g. Fisher, have two frame sizes in their 20inch range. I think Isla do too. On the other hand if you do decide on a good quality e.g. MX-16 or similar you'll be able to sell it on in six months and get your money back. Don't let the little fella wait till winter!

EDIT - Fisher also feature two crank positions for the pedals and a very good adjustable fore/aft bar position; the front shock is definitely not necessary but I'll live with that as a compromise. Also take account of hand span for the brakes.

ariba

I'd second the Islabike option. I got my five yr old the Beinn 20" small. He was already a confident rider, and we did size him up on smaller wheels (i can't remember the size he came from ), the Beinn seemed to tick all the boxes. The seat is in the lowest position though. I think they really hit the spot with a 20" bike with a small frame - the advantages of the larger wheels, but married to a lovely stable smaller frame gives a great ride and means we can ride as a family.

He loves it - he's only just five & we've already been on roads, cycling to school (okay it's only a couple of minutes away) & he's getting the hang of the gears too.

TBH, i don't think the cost is that bad for a decent child's bike. The other good brands are also at the upper end of the cost scale. I think we're accustomed to seeing children's bikes as "toys" and so assume the same pricing. The princess/transformer style bikes are cheap, but very heavy, the Islabike is a revelation. After getting it I can understand why they get such top reviews on this forum (including me now). I would expect to get a couple of years usage (at least ) out of this, and for the amount of use it gets/pleasure it gives, rating it against other scooters/bikes etc it doesn't really seem that much more to pay.