Bike for a 5 year old boy- what to look for and where to look?

[Jjcrackers]

...just that really. Any advice would be welcome

It depends to a point on how he is using it.
DS3 is 5, he has a ridgeback bike. They are good quality - we go out mountain biking a lot as a family so it had to be capable of off road biking. It's not too heavy compared to lots of bikes you would buy in Halfords for example, but not as lightweight as an Islabike - but they cost £100s of pounds, something we couldn't justify spending.
Equally if he were just going to use it down the odd pavement then a bike from Halfords would probably be fine.
If he is average height 16" wheels are probably what you are looking for size wise. The lightest bike you can buy for your money makes it easier to go uphill.

I would try and get a bike as light as possible. Ds1 has ilsabike as it will be handed down. ds2(5) has a second hand Carrera blast. Ridgebacks are popular too and good little bikes. You can get second hand 16" bikes for £60-80 and often they have had little use. Just dont get a heavy steel toysrus type one

We went for a Ridgeback for just the same reasons as LittleMissGreen, and also because our local indie bike shop stocks Ridgebacks. Made the mistake of buying cheap and heavy before.

What will he be using it for and how confident is he on a bike, and how tall is he, and how much are you looking to spend?

If you can afford it (remembering that you will get a decent amount selling it on), I'd get an Islabike. Friends have spent similar amounts to us on buying other bikes, and the difference in how the Isla is actually built for children is very obvious

Thanks all. Will look at Islabikes