Suggest the next bike for three-year-old DD?

[Combusting]

Our three year old daughter has mastered the balance bike, which is the strider balance bike. She will be four in about six months and we are considering what the next step for her could be because I think she’s getting a little bit bored of the balance bike by now. Does anybody have any suggestions as to what a good next bike might be? We will look on Facebook on please and eBay before we do what we did with the balance bike which is we used bike club, but we are now tied to the current balance bike subscription for a while yet unless we pay up at 20 quid fee I think. So any suggestions would be welcome. She is very confident on the strider balance bike and raring to go. Our experience with her bigger brother who is four years okder, has been much different and he is still not very confident. nobody ever taught me how to ride a bike in the country where I grew up so I’m quite keen they get the chance to learn! Picture of her current balance bike attached

[Caspianberg]

My Ds is similar, he’s 3 years, 3 months and wizzing around on balance bike. 12”
We actually tried him on bikes yesterday at the shop for an idea of size for Christmas, thinking he would need a 14” but he’s actually already ready for a 16”. It was a low frame Woom we tried

[allhellcantstopusnow]

My daughter went onto a Bobbin at that age, the seat and handlebars adjusted enough that it lasted until she was about 9 and I sold it for almost as much as I bought it for.

[Blingstar]

Check Evans Cycles. Their bikes are well made and if you choose wisely you'll get one big enough to last to age 6 or 7. Pinnacle is their brand. And Hoy are also good. I think there's a size calculator on the site but 14 or 16 inch wheels should do.

[stargirl1701]

Islabike Cnoc 14 or 16

[Patchworksack]

Islabike or Frog. Can’t you just upgrade to pedals with bike club? I thought that was the whole point.

[Patchworksack]

Islabike or Frog. Can’t you just upgrade to pedals with bike club? I thought that was the whole point.

[Makinglists]

Isla bikes are fantastic - but buy secondhand (Facebook group), look after it and then re- sell to fund the next bike. DS2 has had 3 in total and they have taken him from unable to ride to a very competent cyclist.

[Wellhellother]

DD got this at 3. It's much lighter and easier to ride than most others. She started with stabilisers on for a few months and then we took them off.
www.decathlon.co.uk/p/16-inch-kids-bike-doctogirl-500-4-6-years-old/_/R-p-145226?mc=8379366&c=white

[xyz111]

We got my son a Carerra. They're really light, so it helped with him learning to pedal. He had a cheaper one from Smyths with stabilisers but it was just so heavy to pedal he then didn't want to do it. But the lighter bike means he can do it easier and he learnt in about half hour with no stabilisers!

[Pascha]

I liked Frog because they are made in Wales. Nice lightweight bikes and very resellable.

[Combusting]

@Patchworksack

Islabike or Frog. Can’t you just upgrade to pedals with bike club? I thought that was the whole point.

Bike club doesn’t actually allow us to change as and when we wish to. So with the current one we are not allowed to ask for a replacement or upgrade for another six months. Of course we could pay the return fee of 20 quid or whatever it is, but we are looking for suggestions for which thanks very much for the money ideas here to see what we could do.

[Combusting]

One thing to mention is that both my kids are quite lean and slight, so my daughter is quite slight as a three-year-old. So something light would be quite handy I think

[NameChange30]

What's her inside leg measurement?

My advice is to get something light, as it will be much easier to handle and ride, and preferably 16" wheels if she is tall enough for the lowest saddle height (it will depend on the brand and model as the geometry can differ).

You could continue with the bike club - £20 isn't a huge amount in the grand scheme of things to ensure she has the right bike - or you could look for a second hand bike to get the best value for money.

Premium bikes are brands like Woom, Islabike and Frog but they're expensive (unless you use the bike club or find a second hand bargain). You could look for a Carrera Cosmos which is lightweight a good little bike for the price.

Do compare the weights of all the bikes you're looking at.

[NameChange30]

https://www.cyclesprog.co.uk/bikes/small-kids-bikes/best-bike-5-year-old-16-inch-wheels/

[AlphaAlpha]

Frog.
There's a whole FB group for preloved frog bikes, they pretty much keep value unless wrecked.
You could probably measure her up yourself by looking at the frog sizes online.

[Combusting]

Will need to check inside leg (she’s out on her balance bike!) - but the lightness is very key I think. Perhaps with DS (7, and also lean and slight) we’ve made an error with an eBay purchase of a very heavy bike for his frame ….


anyway back to DD - yes £20 to exchange on bike club and get the next one isn’t too bad. I think Woom 2 is the lightest (5 kg something) and a frog at 6 kg something.

I think for DS too we need a rethink and potentially bike club as well… we’ve tried various Facebook and eBay purchases for him but not really hitting the spot. I mean he can ride, but doesn’t enjoy it and definitely says the bike is too big/heavy…

anyway back to DD - and I’ll research all your suggestions.

[Combusting]

Perhaps this needs another thread but there isn’t any hope is there of an adult (me!!) being taught from scratch how to ride? I grew up in a super crowded part of the world where learning to ride wasn’t even a thing and I feel so wistful :/ But learning in late 30s is possibly a no go …. I inquired at the council bikeawability course but no spots open yet…. Never mind!

[Kaffiene]

Like others have said Frog, Isla, Hoy, Squish are the main lightweight bikes for little kids. Check her inside leg measurement to see what size she needs. Don’t get another balance bike just Take the pedals off and let her get used to the new bike. Then pop the pedals back on when she is ready. We had a couple of weeks of them wanting pedals on and off depending on terrain and distance. Both my kids were pedalling by 3.

[Caspianberg]

Yes brand dependent.
Mine could fit the woom 16 yesterday fine, but the trek 16 was massive and much heavier.
We already have the woom balance bike, so I highly recommend the brand.

[Crazytoddler83]

Another vote for an Isla bikes cnoc 14 or 16. Their website has a size chart. But definitely buy second hand. My experience is that you can make most of the money back when you come to sell them.

[welshweasel]

Woom bikes (we have ours from the bike club). Lightest pedal bike on the market and so easy for small kids to ride. We had a frog before we got the woom and the difference was really noticeable.

Both mine learnt at 3 on frog 40s, but if the woom had been available at the time I would have chosen that over the frog.

[OwlsDance]

Get a proper pedal bike, there are some 14" ones. It's better to practise on smaller bike, as it's easier to control. Ebay/facebook marketplace is your friend!

I don't know if it's the angle of the picture, but when kids are on balance bikes, their seat is meant to be high enough so that they can touch the floor with just their forefoot, so that they can still push off the ground, but the strides should be quite long so that they go through periods of just rolling and balancing without touching the ground.

As for yourself, just get a bike and go practising late in the evening when no one's around!

[welshweasel]

Oh and for your older one - my 7 year old couldn't manage the gears on his frog, but has no issue with the woom 4, so that's opened up lots more options with rides.

[Esgaroth]

Woom is the lightest you can get. I'm sure the other premium brands are great too but we were so happy with our Woom 2 and Woom 3. They are absolutely top quality, every little detail is perfect (for my kids at least).

We've now sold the Woom 2 and we got almost what we paid for it after 3 years of very regular use.

[Esgaroth]

I don't recommend getting one that's a little too big to grow into, trying to get more for your money. Better slightly too small than slightly too big. It can be a real setback for their confidence to be scared by a bike that is difficult for them to control.