Am I being tight?!

[McSteamyorMcdreamy]

My friend has just turned her nose up at me....

"Really? You're doing that?. Ew, I would feel awful if I did that!"

DD4 turns 5 later on in the month. Nailed her NEW balance bike and is now ready for her first proper bike.

Money is a bit tight and with her birthday party I didn't want to spend £££s on a brand new bike for her not to get on with it and sell it a loss/have it in the shed forever.

Anyhoo found a decent on on FB MP. Needs new tyres and new saddle and has a couple of age related marks but it's not battered. With the extras it's probably going to come to £70-£80.

Been looking for something decent for a while so was really chuffed to get it. Told friend and she said the above.

I feel really shit now and worried DD will be really disappointed as it won't be brand new and shiny. Realistically I know she won't give a shit and I will just be a bike, but I can't shake the feeling.

Am I tight???!

@Howbizarre22 @how

The £70 is the cost of the bike and new tyres/brakepads and new saddle. It's also lightweight. Cheaper ones we have seen weigh an absolute ton!

Bikes are a great item to buy second hand as you can usually get a much better quality one and it's easy to update any parts if needed. The mugs are the ones paying $$ for a crappy paw patrol bike. And like a previous poster said if they are good quality they hold their value really well.

You can always add a basket or some other 'fun' feature

I don't think you are being tight at all op.
Your DD will be absolutely delighted with her new bike because it will be new to her.
Strange that your friend would voice that opinion, even if she thought it, saying it was nasty

She will be absolutely thrilled, especially if you put a nice shiny bell on it!
All of mine had second hand bikes, probably didn't notice and certainly didn't care
Your friend is a snob!

Can you link one? I'd be looking for 16" for a five year old. Halfords £110 and 10kg, Argos £100 and 11kg. I wouldn't call a bike that heavy 'good' personally.

The one i've got is 6.3kg.

Another one here who gets 2nd hand ones. One of my teenage ds's friend's is from a biking family. I paid £60 for a bike off them for his birthday recently. DS was thrilled, it's a decent one, that they put new tyres on. It
meant he still had money left from the £100 budget we had for him. Second hand bikes are great.

Your friend sounds uncouth, to be honest. I would pay her no mind whatsoever, and not bother discussing your monetary choices in future, with her.

Bought my DS a bike for his 4th birthday.

It was £10 off gumtree. Some signs of wear & muddy.

He was made up with it! 😊

Got him a £1 second hand "it's my birthday" T-shirt off Vinted that had been worn once too.

No point spending loads when they grow out of things so quickly. Your friend is a snob.

At 5-6 do they need a top of the range bike? They grow so fast they won’t have it long. I got my dd a “Frozen 2” bike- she loved it and was on it every week for hours no problems!

All my daughter's bikes have been second hand. Means I can buy her a better quality bike and they are always well looked after meaning they are second hand and shiny. Her latest bike was a polka dot frog bike. Envy of all her friends and no one knows its second hand until I tell them 😁 I also always sell for same price I bought meaning that each bike is theoretically free.

I've never had a new bike even as an adult - you get much better bang for buck secondhand as long as you know what to look for. It's actually great parenting to model financial responsibility, not overstretch yourself to 'spoil' your kids - but also, you've researched this, done it up, you've put a lot of thought and effort into this as opposed to just chucking your debit card at Halfords. Your friend is being silly and I hope your daughter enjoys her bike.

I always buy bikes second hand and have given for birthday/christmas. I’d rather get a better brand - they are lighter/easier to steer. And more expensive. Kids don’t use them for long. Second hand a win for everyone.

I realised as an adult that my parents got me second hand bikes as presents as a child. I didn't notice as a child. As an adult I appreciated their sensible approach to finances and am grateful to have grown up learning how to be frugal.

I got plenty of other presents second hand too: scarves, a skirt, books and those are just the ones I know about and can remember.

I always get second hand bikes, through choice. They get a better quality bike. They don't mind at all, and we sell them pretty much at what we paid for them as they are good makes. Which means I don't mind getting them a new bike every other year as it barely costs me anything

I don't think it's anything other than the weight that's the issue with them really. It's not that they need to be top of the range, but a lighter weight bike is easier for them to handle themselves (I doubt a 5-6 year old could move a 10kg bike around) and less painful when it lands on them in any inevitable crashes (and I think probably easier for them to course correct on to prevent any crashes but willing to be corrected on that one).

I think it depends if they're using it just for play as well or if you use bikes as a method of transport. Probably not at 5 but I was cycling my own bike for transport alongside my dad by 7 and out on my own by 9 or 10.

My kids and myself for that matter have never had new bikes. Kids grow out of them far too quickly

Your friend sounds like an absolute fuckwit, OP!

Crikey no of course you’re not being tight. I’ve always bought my kids as much second hand as possible. Not only is it cheaper but much more environmentally friendly. My older two (10 & 8) now when they get their own money they always look to buy second hand if they can and they’re also pretty good at cleaning up old toys etc to sell on!

Not tight at all, we do the same. Why pay price of brand new when you can a perfectly good item for less? Second hand bike, go kart, x box, all appreciated and loved. Xx

Old bike, new friend!

One of the best presents I ever had was a second hand bike.

Your friend sounds like a dick

Your dc will love it! Both my dc's had second hand bikes

I bought my daughter a huge box of Playmobil secondhand for her fifth birthday. It didn't come in a box so we laid it all out the night before, all set up like a village. She was so excited when she saw it
Little children haven't learnt to care about the things adults etc care about.

If they love it then newness doesn't matter , and buying second hand is so good for the planet too

You probably could have bought a new bike for the same money but it would have been a pile of tat and would have been dead in 5 minutes. A good second hand bike is much better, especially as it seems you are handy with maintaining it. Trade it up when she grows out of it for similar in a bigger size