First bike for nearly 5 year old daughter

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We took our son to our local independent bike shop and got him to sit on bikes and we chatted to the shop owner. He recommended the correct size for him. (one that he was nearly growing in to and not the one we thought he'd need) We were able to put a deposit down, and pay the balance off before Christmas. They also put the bike together for us.

It was a Raleigh Stormer, but I'm sure they do a girls equivalent.

Not sure about those actual bikes but in adult bikes I'd say ridgeback is a better brand than Raleigh. I looked at a ridgeback tourer last year and it was very good quality, I wouldn't have had a Raleigh.

I don't think raleighs are anything like the bikes they used to be, trading on the name now. It's probably a different company that's bought the name these days. Raleigh bikes are heavy.

Have you tried looking secondhand on eBay or Facebook selling pages? Second hand you'd get a Giant bike for that money and they're very good.

Our DS has a Specialized now but previously had a Ridgeback it's a very good bike and sells well second hand too.

Yy to ridgebacks; friends of ours who are serious bikers bought their dd ridgebacks for her first bikes. There are some v good online bike shops: evans have the honey for 130 & free del. [http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/kids-bikes here]]. If you see a second hand islabike on ebay or gumtree, bite their hand off, though - lovely bikex and really light.

Damn, let's try again here. And yy to resale value being v good.

Ds(9) first bike was a ridgeback, bought for £100 sold very quickly for £50 a year later when he outgrew. Someone travelled 60 miles on a train then bus from Edinburgh to Ayrshire to pick it up!

Great quality, light little bike.

We bought our nearly 5 year old an Islabike Cnoc 16. And we have the Beinn 20 small for our daughter who is older. They are fantastic bikes (lightweight, especially designed for kids) Expensive, yes, but resale value is extremely good.
You could check them out at
//www.islabikes.co.uk

eBay is a good place to buy them second hand if you wish.
They truly are worth every penny you pay for them.

Was planning on writing what simply did. Our DTDs had islabike cnocs when they were 4. They're now having beinns for their 7th birthday. They are absolutely brilliant bikes, especially if your DD is on the slight side, as they're so lightweight. Great customer service too. Expensive, but they hold their value. Try looking for second hand models (where in the country are you? I'm about to have two second hand ones to sell...)

back of the local paper can often turn up good second hand bikes: we got a great 5-gear well made light bike for my 8 year old this way for 40 quid.

Also Ebay as suggested by another poster. List search results by distance and "buyer collects" and you may find a bargain. The Islabike is a cracking bike but at £200 is worth more than my car! might be worth buying for a first child and passing through the family before selling on but they do outgrow bikes very quickly.