Bike Advice For Toddler (2-5yr olds)

[KittyFan83]

I'm looking at getting my nieces their first bikes. One is aged 2 and a half, the other is 5.

Has anyone on here tried the First Bike range? first-bike.uk

If so, could you let me know what you think about them please? They look good to me, but I've never tried them before, and it's a big purchase if I mess it up. Thanks!

Particularly interested to know:

1. Did you find it better than training wheel bikes?
   
   
2. Any accidents with them? More or less than with training wheel bikes?
   
   
3. Is it easy for the child to learn on? How much assistance do they need to get started with it? (Again compared to the standard training wheels style bike)
   
   
4. Did your child find it easier to switch to a pedal 2 wheeler after using a First Bike compared to how you'd have expected them cope with the training wheels coming off a standard bike?
   
   
5. Have you had a 5 year old on one of these bikes? (They say they're for ages 2-5, but I don't want to get the older child something they'll grow out of too quickly!)
   
   Thanks all!

[UniS]

Balance bikes like the first bike range are great. Many children move from balance bike to real bike easily.
I think you may find the 5 yr old got only a short use from it, most 5 yr olds can pick up a pedal 2 wheeler pretty easily. For a 2 yr old a balance bike could be used for a yearvir three years, depends on when parents want to move them on to pedals.
My DS had a balance bike at two and moved to pedals at 3.3 when he was doing stunts on the balance bike to keep up with his cousins. It took him about 10 meters to get the hang if a pedal bike.

[KittyFan83]

Thanks for the advice, UniS!

In that case, is there any big difference between FirstBike and other brands? Any recommendations on good balance bikes, or bad ones?

Appreciated :)

[UniS]

Go for light weight.
Bearings in the wheel hub not bushes.
Pump up tyres ( solid ones are heavy and wear out if kid is a speed demon).
Steering restriction seems popular in the better brands. Stops them turning the bars back wards or too sharply .
A brake if they live in a hilly place but its not essential ( wish DS had had brakes but he was a speed demon 3 yr old).

Top brands - keep their value but are spendy , puky, islabike, specialised.

OK brands , lidl, aldi, first bike, scoot, giant.

Avoid, tesco/ Argos peppa pig / Thomas brands. Not well built and your paying for the stickers. Avoid anything that weighs more than half the child's weight.

[KittyFan83]

Thanks UniS, you've really helped me solve this question and I'm sure my nieces will love getting their first bikes! I'm going to with a balance bike for the 2 year old, and a training wheels bike for the 5 year old, who can then take the training wheels off once she's comfortable on it - I've got a lot more experience of the latter!

I really appreciate you taking the time to reply and help me out with this. :)

[UniS]

Encourage the 5 yr old off training wheels fairly fast. its an age where they learn fast, but that includes learning bad habits fast too. Children on training wheels tend to over steer and corner sharply, which leads to falls when they start on two wheels. They also "forget" to hold their bike when they stop and "forget" that a bike won't stay up by its self if they take both feet off the ground. .

Any bike can be made into a sort of balance bike by taking the pedals off temporarily

to see this method in action with a child of 5 ish , then put pedals back on once they "get" gliding in balance.

Most 5 yr olds can process in their heads the "pedal ready" position and have some understanding when its demonstrated to them that a good push down on the pedal ready foot moves the bike forward. From then on its practise practise practise.
Have fun.

I teach/ coach children cycling from total beginner through to race ready, they develop as cyclists at different rates, but the key thing for any of the kids I've taught is they need practise time, little and often works well, a child of 5 who just about learns in summer and doesn't touch the bike again for 6 months has to pretty much start again.

[KittyFan83]

UniS - thanks again, and one last Q (I think!)

What do you think of the Kiddimoto a lance bikes? I've seen them in a lot of places, but they look so cheap I figure it must only be a matter of time before they get snapped in two - am I right to think that? They just seem so weakly constructed that I ruled them out for that reason.

[KittyFan83]

balance not "a lance" - sorry, autocorrect! I mean the wooden ones - they look like they'll break within 5 minutes of rough play to me...

[UniS]

Not sure I've seen one in action , but wooden balance bikes generally seem to hold up to use by a couple of children and get handed down . Kidimoto are using g pump up tyres which us good and steering restriction. Also good. Won't survive being g left out in the rain again and again, but nor will a metal bike with bearings.

[ragged]

I bought a 2nd-hand LikeABike (posh wooden balance bike) for £25 and sold it still in good nick for £40 after 14 months of use by DS. Was plenty solid enough, the Kiddimotos look okay but I'd be hunting for reviews to be sure, and always check the weight. Whatever balance bike you get make sure it's got pneumatic tyres, not plastic ones. the ones OP linked to look fine, maybe price not the most competitive (amusing how the colour scheme affects the price!).

I guess I'm a rare beast because we are keen cyclists and I am absolutely fine about training wheels: no regrets whatsoever. Chasing a toddler on a balance bike scared bejeezus out of me.