Bike recommendations for 3.5 yo DS please

[thehouseofmirth]

Found this one which I know would make DS ridiculously happy but am worried it's too cheap.

A friend bought her son a bike at an independent bike shop and he man who worked there used to work at Halfords and said their cycles re very hard to peddal. When I told DH this he said " He would say that, wouldn't he?"

Does anyone have any experience of this bike, good or bad or recommendations for an alternative please?

I really don't think it is worth spending a lot on a bike for a child at this age. What could make it hard to pedal? If the pedals are stiff, get the WD40 out!

But - is it the right size for your ds? Have you checked saddle-height? And do you think he will be able to pedal it, or will you end up pushing him a lot?

I ask because my ds1 (4 in Feb) probably couldn't pedal that bike far. Although he is quite short and not very physical!

Ds1 has a balance bike - a bike with no pedals. He zooms along on it (to school and back with dd), and has learnt to balance on it, so when he moves onto a bike with pedals I'm hoping he won't need stabilizers.

Thanks that's helpful. I think you're right about the WD40!

DS is tall for hs age so I'm fairly confident a 12" wheel bike will be OK but I will measure his inside leg just to check.

The reason we want to get him a "proper bike" is that he's had his balance bike now for about 18 months and has mastered balancing on that really well. He does, however, find pedalling a bit tricky but I guess practice is the only remedy for that.

Bumpety bump

DS's bike is a Raleigh, we actually got it from the tip, it just needed a clean and punctures mending. I can tell it's a really good quality bike though and he has a real turn of speed. He is also a graduate of a running bike although we stuck it out until about age 4.5 by raising the seat. He had a short spell of stabilisers and then taught himself to ride without them.