New bikes for youngest adn oldest daughters..

Meurig06

Hi there,
I am looking for advice on bikes for my youngest and oldest daughters..

My youngest will be 2 in August and i am keen that she learns to balance before pedal. In view of this i am looking at balance bikes. She is pretty much average height for a toddler of her age so would you recommend a balance bike for her at this age or should i wait until she is a little older?

My oldest daughter is a little more tricky. She has clearly outgrown her 14" wheel bike but all the advice i am reading seems to vary from 18" wheels to 20" wheels. Which size would be better for her?

She will be 7 years old and is currently 45" tall. Budget is an issue and it will likely be used on a mixture of roads and light off road use.

What would you recommend in the £100 - £150 range?

Thanks in advance
Marcus.

baudman

I'd certainly advocate getting a RunBike for your 2 yr old. Even if she doesn't take to it at 2, having it around makes her more familiar with the concept, and will give her pride in it. She will slowly go from there (especially with the older one as a role model).

Check out islabikes' sizing chart for the older one. Yup... they're not cheap. But most kid's bikes are terrible, heavy beasts you wouldn't wish upon anyone. I mean... seriously... would YOU ride a bike that weighed 70% of your weight?

Wheel sizes - probably doesn't matter that much - it's more the fit with the frame. One word of warning - 18" is not a common wheel size, so factor that in. (Although, that didn't bother me getting one - I just also keep spares in the house).

ince

The balance bikes are great, will give the child a lot of freedom and confidence for the future. My eldest will be 3 in September and is already zipping around on a pedal bike.

The balance bikes will also allow you to head out on long walks etc with out the restriction of a 2 year old wanting to walk and slowing you up. In fact you will end up trying to keep up with them.

We have two Islabikes, yep they cost but the quality is great, brakes for little hands etc. The second hand resale value also seems to be better than the average.

PeeDee

We have Isla bikes now and they are great. More expensive than others, but keep the box and packing material in the attic then you can sell it again later on ebay and get back half your money, so in the end it doesn't actually work out more expensive. However I realise this doesn't really help if there are not the funds available to purchase in the first place!

We have also had Ridgeback kids bikes in the past and these seem better than the standard Halfords style offerings.

Meurig06

hi chaps,
Cheers for all the advice and info. In the end it was easy. We went into a store and she saw a Saracen Spice.

Not my first choice but she kinda fell for it. Had a sit and a small play and was hooked. Its not as light and i suspect not as well made as an Islabike but what can you do when they fall for it i guess.

I am confident she can handle it so hopefully we won't be regretting it in a month or 2 but hey ho.

Not got the youngest's runner bike yet but will get that soon.

Meurig.

PeeDee

Good point about getting a bike they actually like! I they don't like it they won't ride it however light/good you think it is.