Sadly, DS (6 (just)) is yet to learn to ride; we are about to buy him an islabike as the bike rusting in the garage is too heavy and too small for him to pedal sans stabilisers. The bike will 'fit' him, but he's at the short end of the range, and he's a tall boy, so it's going to be a huge jump from his last bike. I'm expecting we may have a few falls along the way, and we'll probably learn to ride on grass to make a softer landing. We live in the centre of london, and will generally, i imagine, be road/path riding (though who knows what a 6 year will do when that path is in the middle of hyde park).... should we spend the extra money and get mudguards?