Balance bike with removable pedals recommendation?

[xkr]

Hi, our son is 4 and very confident on his balance bike, will happily go down steep hills, stand up on it, even over jumps at the state park, but he absolutely will not use a pedal bike

My thinking is to get a bike like the Strider 14x which has removable pedals, so he can get comfortable with the bike and we can add the pedals when he's ready, the problem is looking at the reviews on here and people are saying it's very heavy (which I think is also a problem with the Raleigh Pop we bought for him) which we'd like to avoid

Thank you :)

I would probably get a frog bike and just remove the pedals and cover the area with some foam / tape until he’s ready.

you can buy good quality frog bikes 2nd hand on Facebook for a lot less than new

Good shout, thank you :) I'll take a look now

I’d suggest Islabikes over Frog. They are lighter! Loads 2nd hand on FB. I’m currently shopping for our 4th and 5th Islabikes for my children. (and selling the too small ones).

You can take pedals off any bike 😁

Thank you! Taking the wheels off might be my best option then, I hadn't thought of that :) There is a used Islabike (with the 14" wheels, more suitable for my son who's almost 5) on Marketplace but it's £120! Maybe that's just what I need to pay, and I guess I will hopefully get quite a lot of that back

Ive never understood what was wrong with the old toddler bikes with stabilisers that you then took off after a few weeks. All my kids learnt on them with zero fuss and bother. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Likewise I guess you could ask what is wrong with balance bikes :) My kids love them and even my 2 year old can confidently go up and down some very big ramps at the skatepark on them

I'd buy the £120 Islabike. You'd probably be able to sell it for the same amount when he's outgrown it.
We moved from Isla to frog, but would happily have either.

Another vote for Islabike here. You’ll easily sell it on for similar to what you pay. We’re on our 4th Islabike, and other than first which we bought new (🤦‍♀️), we’ve sold them for the same price we paid. All they’ve cost is the price of a service at our local bike shop.
Have a look on the Islabike website for the size guides though. Unless your son is shorter than average, you might find he needs a 16 frame. You can always take off the rear reflector to get the seat lower if you need to.

Just be aware that Isla bikes are no longer being manufactured. So that could mean that the 2nd hand ones hold their value or even increase as they become harder to get but it could also mean they lose value.

for what it’s worth, unless it gets scratched really badly, I think you’d sell the £120 one on again for the same if not very similar

We brought a strider.
the 14x is brought as a balance bike then you buy the pedal kit as a add on when ready.

Thanks all :) Sounds like either the Isla or Strider will be good options then, I'll have another quick look but it's good to know that even £120 for the Isla maybe isn't a bad deal

It's definitely worth paying for a light bike. We went for a more expensive option and it makes the whole learning process easier for them. My friend got a character bike from Halfords and it's so heavy her daughter hates it which is such a shame as she zooms about on a standard balance bike.

We've just started our 3 and 4 year olds cycling with used Isla bikes. Started both in a balance bike last year and a Cnoc 14 with pedals off, and both confident really quickly. Last month got both trying with pedals on the cnoc 14 and a Cnoc 16, and the taller one has already moved on to a Beinn 20. In the process of selling the balance bike and the 14. We were given a standard kids bike with stabilisers but it was so heavy both struggled to pedal at all. They're . whizzing about doing figure 8 and breaking properly on the current bikes. And they can lift and carry them on their own. It's definitely worth getting a light bike to start with if you can.

Thank you both! Good shout on getting a light bike, I bought him a Raleigh pop 16” which is not only a bit too big it’s also mega heavy and he hates it

Tbh I’m also thinking more and more I’ll try to keep them on balance bikes for as long as possible since it’s much easier for me to keep up with them and I really, really hate cycling

I would go with a frog bike without pedals. excellent bikes. We have now bought the next size up.

Alternatively, decathlon do a cheap lightweight balance bike which I would also highly recommend

Just an update on my post from last week. My 3 year old is now on the beinn 20 small as well, and has started using the gears, which I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't seen it. I'm really a convert to the light bikes principle. And I listed the two used islabikes for what we bought them for and had different people offering more for both within 2 days, so they definitely do seem to hold thier value. Now looking for another 20 and probably selling the 16 soon😂

We have an islabike cnoc 14 which is the lightest I found in that size. I’d go for that and remove the pedals until he’s ready.

If you're looking for a convertible bike, our LittleBig bike is similar to the Strider 14x in that it converts into a pedal bike, but it also grows so it can fit kids from age 2-6 years old. It's super high quality, lightweight, and assembled in Ireland.

I second this. My daughters have them and they're fantastic.

Looks great, thank you!