any recommendations for first bike?

[kittyb]

Thinking of getting ds his first bike for his third birthday, but no idea where to start looking (save me from too much choice). What features, which shop, how much to pay?

I would say, check out the car boot sale and the small ads in the paper... kids grow out of their first bike quite quickly. I got dd1's bike for £15 (but then I am also a tightwad )

Try a local independent shop. Halfords charge £30 more for DD's bike than the independent retailer we bought the same bike from.

sorry, not sure what "features" a boy's bike needs. DD wanted a dolly carrier, tassles from the handle bars and a bell but these might not be so far up his list! From a practical pont of view make sure there's a chain guard and i think the metal (traditional) seat and handle bar attachements are better and just as easy to adjust as the plastic concertina tube ones.

Kittyb - ignore the 12" bikes which they say are suitable for 3-4 year olds and go straight to the 14" which is supposed to be 4+. The 12" won't last five minutes. We bought our twin DDs a 14" bike each for their 3rd birthday and they've had no problems riding them. We got ours in Toys R Us - good selection and reasonable price.

Oh well, I'd say the opposite! Get the bike with 12" wheels unless you have a very tall child; my rising 5yo is still too small to ride a 14" bike , but he's very competent on the 12" bike without stabilisers; it's much easier to learn to ride without stabilisers on a small bike.

Also, the 12" wheels are usually solid -- no punctures!

Got ours at a carboot sale for £5 (with stabilisers); decent quality, too.

this is excellent, thanks for all your help