To ask where you buy a kids bike from

[myusernameisnotmyusername]

Posted here for more traffic. I'd like to buy 4 yr old DD her first bike. Need reliability and obviously safety. Thanks.

Bought ours from Argos.

Halfords.

They're really clued up.

Toys r us.

Look out for eBay bargains. We got two Specialized Hotrock mountain bikes on there. Hardly used by previous owner and obvs a fraction of the new price.

Decathlon! I love their bikes

Toys r us

Excellent service and helpful assistance at Evans

Decathlon for our boys - been really impressed with them.

Islabikes. Not cheap but absolutely worth it.

If you don't mind pushing the boat out Isla bikes are amazing! Our ds loves his.

Seconding another poster - Evans, we have a ridgeback for ds (5) and he loves it

Car boot sales or ebay. If you can do a bit of bike maintenance and have a bike shop handy to check over gears I don't see the need for a brand new/ expensive bike for a child. In fact i enjoy tinkering with my children's bikes. Swapping over seats, cleaning gears, adding racks or bells it is good for children to learn as well.

If you have the budget the definitely Islabike or Frog bikes. Expensive but so worth it, buy new or second hand on eBay/fb selling sites (there's one just for buying/selling islabikes!). The bikes are light in weight and designed for small hands to grip brakes.

eBay.

Gumtree for a secondhand Islabike. But it's worth saying that I'm happy to do basic bike maintenance, and was confident I could check a bike over (brakes, cabling, tyres etc.) before buying it. Otherwise I'd have used one of the (many) local bike shops - but I live somewhere where cycling is popular.

YY Decathlon

We have a charity in our area, On Your Bike, they teach people out of work/with mental health issues/etc to repair bikes and then they sell the bikes. I have bought several bikes from them and donated 2 bikes to them. I also get our bikes serviced the same place. It's the best bike place I have come across, they really know their stuff. Maybe see if there is something similar in your area?

Other than that, definitely buy it second hand. Your DD will grow so fast and the bike won't get much use before it's time to get a new one.

We bought a Wiggins bike from Halfords for both of ours, youngest got straight on and went without stabilisers etc.

Very much like Islabikes, Frog et Al but with less of a price tag. Very light and well balanced.

We had several Raleigh bikes from ebay -tried to look out for a known brand - although the first pedal bike IIRC was from the local tip and did several years of sterling service.

Safety and reliability is more about how the bike is maintained, oiled, brakes adjusted and the saddle the right height. That's down to you!

We've bought very few new bikes whilst they were in the stage of growing out every couple of years. Now we've found a place that does reconditioned mountain bikes and equipped the whole family.

I would recommend Isla, Ridgeback or Frog bikes. Look on eBay for a good condition used one and then get it serviced at a local bike shop if necessary.

An independent bike shop or Islabikes. DS had an Islabikes for his first bike, it was brilliant and they hold their value. I find the independent bike shops a lot more knowledgeable than halford.

Halfords. They seem to have the experts. Or they do at mine.

Got one from Toys R Us once and they hadn't got a clue. it went back in the end.

Wouldn't trust anyone except Halfords.

Halfords.

They are really clued up. As another poster says.

They know about bikes. ToysRUs know about selling.