bike for 5 year old

[tourdefrance]

DS1 currently rides an Islabike Cnoc 16 which he's had since he was 3 1/2. He's growing out of it so we are planning on getting him a new one for Christmas. The next Islabike up is Beinn 20 and costs £299 so we wanted to check what alternatives there are. Does anyone have any experience of Giant or any other makes for that age? I've just looked at the Giant website and the specifications for their 20" bikes don't include the weight which I find a bit worrying. Thanks in advance

check the backorders delay for Beinn 20, make sure you order it in time.
There are some recommendations if you're willing to trawl the archives. Have you asked on BikeRadar?

I'd go for another islabike to be honest. Every time we upgrade we look at other models as the islabikes cost so much but the thing that swings it for me is the resale value of the them. Each of our islabikes so far has sold on for about 3/4 of what we bought them for, which then makes buying the next one less painful!

Thanks lljkk and Piffpaffpoff. I've checked stock levels and that's no problem. I've also looked at Bike Radar which had an interesting thread about their increased prices. There were several alternatives listed but all about 3kg heavier. So we will be getting the islabike. It seems a lot now, but will get used by both him and DS2 so not so bad in the long run.

In 2007 we bought a Beinn 20 for DC1 which I reckon DC4 won't finish with until 2017. 10 yrs old & fairly bashed I reckon it will still sell for something on Ebay. Not bad value, one good quality bike for 4 kids.

I'm wondering about this too - DS1 had the Cnoc when he was 4 and he's now about to turn 6, and needs a bigger bike with gears. However I was when I saw the price of the next one up! However, after the initial shock has worn off, and the fact that DS2 will use it (the Cnoc 16 is still in great condition) AND they sell for lots on eBay, I think we will go for another Isla.

Same issue here. We've gone for another Isla as have 3 dc. Expensive but the cnoc we have is so great.

Dawes are a fantastic brand and make a great selection I wouldnt personally spend 'Specialized' prices as both boys throw their bikes around, dragged against the house, thrown and banged.

Dawes bikes are around £100 DS1 has had his since stablisers around 5 and DS2 has a Blowfish he is 3.