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Buying advice for a small child bike.
- Thread starter Rampage
- Start date
Re:
My son had an Islabike balance to learn the basics on, then moved on to a Ridgeback MX1.
He really struggled with it. My wife wanted us to try stabilizers, however I was pretty reluctant.
In the end, bought a HOY, and he rode it unaided immediately. It's so much lighter than the Ridgeback, makes a massive difference.
http://www.hoybikes.com/kids/102-hoy-bo ... oad-bike-2
My son had an Islabike balance to learn the basics on, then moved on to a Ridgeback MX1.
He really struggled with it. My wife wanted us to try stabilizers, however I was pretty reluctant.
In the end, bought a HOY, and he rode it unaided immediately. It's so much lighter than the Ridgeback, makes a massive difference.
http://www.hoybikes.com/kids/102-hoy-bo ... oad-bike-2
I've got 2 kids riding, my 6 year old son and 8 year old daughter. Both started on 12 or 14" wheel department store bikes (Lightening McQueen and a Princess bike), each sourced at boot sales for about $5. Started with the stabilizers until they had pedalling down, then to a nice grassy area to learn the real job. Once they're ready, they pick it all up in about an hour. Don't worry too much about the learning bike, any bike will do, so long as its sized correctly. It's worth teaching them to use the hand brake at the same time as the coaster brake.
Once they mastered those bikes, they quickly outgrew them in both size and capability. Both ended up on a Norco Eliminator 20" wheel MTB within a few months of riding the cheap sidewalk bikes. Again a boot sale find, it's taken them everywhere... I softened up the fork a bit by removing one of the springs. When they're done with that bike, they're off-roading 10k rides regularly, and have beginning singletrack skills.
My son on "McQueen":
My daughter on the "Eliminator"
J
Once they mastered those bikes, they quickly outgrew them in both size and capability. Both ended up on a Norco Eliminator 20" wheel MTB within a few months of riding the cheap sidewalk bikes. Again a boot sale find, it's taken them everywhere... I softened up the fork a bit by removing one of the springs. When they're done with that bike, they're off-roading 10k rides regularly, and have beginning singletrack skills.
My son on "McQueen":
My daughter on the "Eliminator"
J
SEANSTEPHENS
GT Fan
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I dont think theres anything wrong with halfords' Apollo bikes for young kids, theyre only gonna drop it and grow out of it in a year anyway. Id of course assemble and service it myself though
Sean
I dont think theres anything wrong with halfords' Apollo bikes for young kids, theyre only gonna drop it and grow out of it in a year anyway. Id of course assemble and service it myself though
Sean
Kell
Retro Guru
With regard to Islabikes, they're not as expensive to own as you might think.
I've bought my daughter two - both of which she's outgrown - and her latest one is a Halfords Apollo (Elysium, maybe (ETA Elusion).
What I would say is that Islabikes are unbeatable in terms of weight and usability. And while the buy-in price IS high, so are the returns you get on them. And that's what you have to look at to see how much a bike actually 'costs' you.
The first one was a CNOC 16 which retailed (at the time) at £229. When we came to sell it, I'd heard that Islabikes resold well and priced it at something like £150. In hindsight, it was way too low.
The first person to ring bought it for full asking price, but I had people calling me up for days afterwards offering up to £180 unseen (on the strength of the pictures on the ad).
Total cost to own the bike, £79 - but it could have been as low as £49.
The second was a Beinn 20, which retailed at £329. Knowing that it was likely to sell well, I offered that one for £250 and took £240 for it. The woman that came to pick it up had bought another SH Islabike that day, as she had twins, and paid more for the other one, which was in a much, much worse state. So, again, I probably could have got more for it.
Total cost to own the bike - £89, could have been less.
I mention these facts and figures, because her very first bike was Christmas present of a Dora the Explorer Halfords thing with stabilisers. From memory, this was £69 from Halfords and that sold for a fiver. Mind you, it was a dangerous pile of poo. I'm not very mechanically minded, but I know how to set up brakes, and there was nothing I could do to get them working properly.
Total cost to own the bike - £65. Only £14 less than her first Islabike, which was streets ahead in terms of build quality.
I have no doubt that when we come to sell her current Apollo, that I will see very little of the £119 we paid for it (and that was half-price). I'd expect to list for about £30 and maybe get £20.
Total cost to own that bike around £100.
What I would say, however, is that the reason we didn't go for an Islabike this time around, is that they do look a little dull in comparison to offerings from other manufacturers (maybe more so for boys). This time I let my daughter choose her own bike and she was made up with that whole process. Partly, I think (in fact I know) because we ended up with a 14" woman's frame and 26" wheels, rather than another 'kids'' bike.
Nothing will compare to getting a cheap, cheap SH bike in terms of cost of ownership, but cheap new bikes are not always as cheap as you think. Plus what she's ended up with is probably heavier than mine, will cost more to own than an Islabike long term and she finds it hard to use the brakes as they're too big for her hands.
The final thing I'd say is that it has to be something they'd be happy to be seen on (for older kids), and something they'd enjoy riding (for younger kids). After all, they get bought to be used, and that's the main thing.
I've bought my daughter two - both of which she's outgrown - and her latest one is a Halfords Apollo (Elysium, maybe (ETA Elusion).
What I would say is that Islabikes are unbeatable in terms of weight and usability. And while the buy-in price IS high, so are the returns you get on them. And that's what you have to look at to see how much a bike actually 'costs' you.
The first one was a CNOC 16 which retailed (at the time) at £229. When we came to sell it, I'd heard that Islabikes resold well and priced it at something like £150. In hindsight, it was way too low.
The first person to ring bought it for full asking price, but I had people calling me up for days afterwards offering up to £180 unseen (on the strength of the pictures on the ad).
Total cost to own the bike, £79 - but it could have been as low as £49.
The second was a Beinn 20, which retailed at £329. Knowing that it was likely to sell well, I offered that one for £250 and took £240 for it. The woman that came to pick it up had bought another SH Islabike that day, as she had twins, and paid more for the other one, which was in a much, much worse state. So, again, I probably could have got more for it.
Total cost to own the bike - £89, could have been less.
I mention these facts and figures, because her very first bike was Christmas present of a Dora the Explorer Halfords thing with stabilisers. From memory, this was £69 from Halfords and that sold for a fiver. Mind you, it was a dangerous pile of poo. I'm not very mechanically minded, but I know how to set up brakes, and there was nothing I could do to get them working properly.
Total cost to own the bike - £65. Only £14 less than her first Islabike, which was streets ahead in terms of build quality.
I have no doubt that when we come to sell her current Apollo, that I will see very little of the £119 we paid for it (and that was half-price). I'd expect to list for about £30 and maybe get £20.
Total cost to own that bike around £100.
What I would say, however, is that the reason we didn't go for an Islabike this time around, is that they do look a little dull in comparison to offerings from other manufacturers (maybe more so for boys). This time I let my daughter choose her own bike and she was made up with that whole process. Partly, I think (in fact I know) because we ended up with a 14" woman's frame and 26" wheels, rather than another 'kids'' bike.
Nothing will compare to getting a cheap, cheap SH bike in terms of cost of ownership, but cheap new bikes are not always as cheap as you think. Plus what she's ended up with is probably heavier than mine, will cost more to own than an Islabike long term and she finds it hard to use the brakes as they're too big for her hands.
The final thing I'd say is that it has to be something they'd be happy to be seen on (for older kids), and something they'd enjoy riding (for younger kids). After all, they get bought to be used, and that's the main thing.
Attachments
I didn't see your reply, thanks for that.
Money is tight at the moment so buying a new or used Islabikes is out of the question unfortunately.
We saw this Carrera at Halfords and it seems good, but still way to expensive. Apparently 4.6kg???
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... ds-bike-16
Does the bike look like it's upside down in this picture?
I think we're going to go for a second-hand Ridgeback MX16. They seem to sell on ebay for £30-40 and have an aluminium frame and are quite light.
Money is tight at the moment so buying a new or used Islabikes is out of the question unfortunately.
We saw this Carrera at Halfords and it seems good, but still way to expensive. Apparently 4.6kg???
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... ds-bike-16
Does the bike look like it's upside down in this picture?
I think we're going to go for a second-hand Ridgeback MX16. They seem to sell on ebay for £30-40 and have an aluminium frame and are quite light.
Sailingjab1976
Dirt Disciple
Re:
I know the Isla bikes are great, but I agree with the heavy initial outlay, and especially with boys, the risk to the bikes being damaged or stolen has always held me back from buying one. Our kids have had multiple bikes from Decathlon, which have really child friendly brake levers, cranks and features, come in colours / schemes that they find really appealing, and don't cost the earth. I think each of the bikes we've bought over the last few years has been less than £100, with one of them down to £60 I think in the sale. Our eldest is on his third bike from there, and loves it. One of the plus sides is that most of the junior bikes are available with out the rubbish suspension options that spoils a lot of the bikes.
I know the Isla bikes are great, but I agree with the heavy initial outlay, and especially with boys, the risk to the bikes being damaged or stolen has always held me back from buying one. Our kids have had multiple bikes from Decathlon, which have really child friendly brake levers, cranks and features, come in colours / schemes that they find really appealing, and don't cost the earth. I think each of the bikes we've bought over the last few years has been less than £100, with one of them down to £60 I think in the sale. Our eldest is on his third bike from there, and loves it. One of the plus sides is that most of the junior bikes are available with out the rubbish suspension options that spoils a lot of the bikes.
