Squish children's bikes

Baron Greenback

Good morning all,

Does anyone have experience of Squish bikes at all? I found them while looking into my 3 y/o son's first pedal bike.

http://squish.bike/squish-bikes/

The weight seems to rival isla. The smallest model seems to be 0.5kg lighter than the frog 43.

I'd be keen to hear any experiences please?

Best regards,

Greenback

tangled_metal

I think I found it last week but no idea. If weight is important, which it is at that size, then look at carrera cosmos 16. It's on the Halfords website as 6kg but I saw it as 6.8kg somewhere online. I guessed the higher weight was an actual weight of a physical bike so could be the true weight or a higher outlier.

Anyway for £160 and 6-7kg with decent spec I think that's worth looking at if it fits your child. I mean it's £90 cheaper than hoy benaly/frog 48, £130 cheaper than Islabikes and £60 cheaper than the squish bike.

Of course I did see a cnoc in 16" version for £150 second-hand in Oldham. Blue with a bit of a battering to chip the bike decals a bit but looked serviceable. Join the second-hand isla-economics! That's the advice I keep reading. It's like a knackered second-hand islabike is better than a new bike with similar specs and price. Even my kid can see that being the first to own a bike is special. Which is perhaps not a good thing.

Baron Greenback

Thank you, I'll check that cosmos out too.

One of the challenges I have is that our youngest has a short inside leg of about 37cm. So far it looks like only the isla is suitable, however I'm keen to try him on a few others aswell.

tangled_metal

Sorry didn't read your post properly. IIRC the frog 43 is a 14" but the cosmos and frog 48 are both 16". He'll probably not be ready for the cosmos.

I checked there's a 14" version that's light too.

Not sure if this is a good idea or not but there's a carrera 14" bike with a lower, step through design. It is down as a girl's bike but it looks to me to be just a red bike not too girly pink at all. The cosmos is more of a boy's double triangle/diamond shape frame. The star from carrera has a chunky down tube only to create a more step through design like smaller 12" or balance bikes. Just an idea as it's the same price and down as the same weight.

natrix

Not heard of Squish before but it looks as if lots of shops stock them. Won't have the resale value of Islabikes or Frog though............................

Adele492

I have a Squish bike for my eldest son. We bought the Squish 26, 15" frame. We bought it from a specialist bike shop who only sells kids' bikes. I recall him saying that there were a number of makes that he would not sell, as he didn't feel that they were fit for kids' cycling. He has sold Frog Bikes for a few years and sells many every day. He has recently added Squish bikes.

So it was between the Frog 73 and the Squish 26. I went for the Squish in the end, as whilst it does not yet have the resale value of the Frog, we liked the look of it. I should say that we also have a Frog 62 for my youngest.

I must say that I love the Squish and my son loves the ride. The gears are easy to shift and it's easy to handle.

I have no complaints about our Frog. It is an excellent bike and I cannot fault it at all, but I would equally buy another Squish. They definitely rival the Frog. The downside is that they won't have the resale value yet, but I'm sure they'll get there. The other thing that would be good would be if Squish had more colour options for each size. My son wanted the black with green, but that's only available in a smaller size. He's not at all disappointed with the colours now that he's got it, but a choice would be good.

imposter2.0

Is it just me that thinks the name 'squish' is a wholly inappropriate name for a bike brand?

Adele492

I don't think so. I think it's quirky and would appeal to kids. It never crossed my mind.

rob13

Bit of a thread resurrect on this but Squish bikes are Dawes' offering on the kids market. I have the previously Dawes branded 14' for my little girl and it appears almost identical to the Isla bike. Weight wise it's excellent. She's been well away with it since we got it for her. Confidently riding at 4 years old with no stabilisers.