THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BUYING A KIDS BIKE

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BUYING A KIDS BIKE

BUYING A KIDS BIKE CAN BE A PERILOUS JOURNEY, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU WANT IT TO BE A SURPRISE AND CAN’T TAKE THE CHILD TO A BIKE SHOP. NO MATTER – FOLLOW THESE 3 STEPS AND BECOME A KIDS-BIKE-BUYING MASTER. GET THE RIGHT SIZE OF BIKE Resist the temptation to buy a bike for your child to “grow into”.

Too-large bikes are unwieldy and extremely difficult to ride.

If you can get your child to try out a bike, they should be able to get a foot onto the ground easily while sitting on the saddle. They should also be able to straddle the crossbar with both feet on the ground.

You should expect a well-sized bicycle to last your child 2 to 3 years, and if you’ve bought a quality bike then you can sell it on or pass it to a younger brother/sister.

UNDERSTANDING SIZING Kids bikes are usually measured by wheel size, such as 14 inch, which corresponds to a rough age, in this case 3-5 years old.

Age is not always a good indicator of what size kids bike to get, particularly if your child is big or small for their age. It is a good idea to have your child try out a bike first, otherwise measure your child’s inside leg (not height) and speak to the bike retailer directly to make sure you get the right fit.

2-4 years

3-5 years

4-7 years

5-10 years

8-14 years

11+ years

Balance bike

14”

16”

20”

24”

26”/27.5”/29”

Some bike manufacturers, such as the popular British brand Frog, measure their bikes in terms of a child’s inside leg measurement, as opposed to the wheel size. For example, a Frog 43 is suitable for a child with a minimum inside leg measurement of 43cm. edinburghbicycle.com

BIKE MODEL

MINIMUM INSIDE LEG

APPROX AGE

WHEEL SIZE

Tadpole

32cm (12”)

2-3

12”

Tadpole plus

38cm (15”)

3-4

14”

Frog 43

43cm (17”)

3-4

14”

Frog 48

48cm (19”)

4-5

16”

Frog 52

52cm (20”)

5-6

20”

Frog 55

55cm (22”)

6-7

20”

Frog 62

62cm (24”)

8-10

24”

Frog 69

69cm (27”)

10-12

26”

Frog 73

73cm (29”)

12-14

26”

Frog Road/Track 58

58cm (23”)

6-7

20”

Frog Road/Track 67

67cm (26”)

8-12

24”

Frog Road/Track 70

70cm (27”)

11-14

26”

To measure your child’s inside leg measurement, follow these steps:

Stand your child with their back to the wall, wearing socks.

Place a book between their legs, as high as comfortable.

Get them to move away from the wall, and measure from the top edge of the book to the floor.

Height in cm

Example: To get a certain size of Frog bike, your child should have a MINIMUM of the corresponding leg measurement. So if they have a leg measurement of 48cm or 51cm for example, a Frog 48 will be appropriate for them.

If their measurement is 46cm, a Frog 48 will be too big. They should opt for a Frog 43 (the next size down), which demands a minimum inside leg measurement of 43cm.

This is because a child with a leg measurement of 46cm will be able to ride a Frog 43 (43 cm) with the saddle higher up. edinburghbicycle.com

LOOK FOR VALUE, NOT THE LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICE When you’re a child, a bike’s a bike, right? Wrong. You might balk at the price of a good quality kids bike, but there are more than a few reasons cheap kids bikes are a bad idea:

CHEAP BIKES ARE REALLY HEAVY

CHEAP BIKES BREAK MORE EASILY

As an adult you’ll lift up a kids’ bike without much thought, the same way you’d throw shopping into the boot of a car. As a child, that 10kg of weight is like moving a refrigerator. Nobody wants to ride a refrigerator.

“What are children anyway?” asked Irish comedian Dylan Moran. “Midget drunks. They greet you in the morning by kneeing you in the face and talking gibberish.” In cycling terms, that means falling off your bike a lot, throwing it around the playground, and letting your clumsy friend try it out in exchange for a gummy bear.

If you’re not convinced, imagine you’re a 7 year old girl who weighs 22kg. On average, a 20-inch bike from the supermarket will weigh something like 12kg. That’s over half her bodyweight! That would be like a 12 stone man riding a bike weighing over 40kg.

Kids love breaking things, even when it’s one of their favourite possessions – so don’t make it easy for them. Get your child a quality bike and they’ll love you forever*. * Not based on real science

HOW TO SPOT QUALITY

FRAME

WHEELS

BRAKES

COLOURS

As a general rule, avoid bikes with suspension until your child is old enough to ride a quality mountain bike like the Whyte 403. Suspension on a cheaper bike will be extremely low quality and exist for show more than anything, as well as driving up the weight and sacrificing on the quality of other parts to keep costs down.

Also as a general rule, avoid wheels which are knobbly like you’d expect of mountain bike tyres.

Unless they’re going on mountain trails, semi-slick tyres will be more than enough to handle everything your child wants to cycle on. The benefits of semi-slick tyres are that there’s far less rolling resistance and a little less weight.

Give the brakes a squeeze using just your pinky fingers instead of your whole hand. If it’s hard for you to squeeze it like that, it will be worse for your child. A good set of brake levers will be easy for a child to squeeze with their little hands.

Cycling UK suggests avoiding ‘gimmicks’ on bicycles, such as being overbuilt to look like a motorcycle or with pictures of children’s TV characters. We’ve never met a kids’ bike we liked that had either of those things, so we have to agree.

edinburghbicycle.com

TREAT A KIDS BIKE AS AN INVESTMENT When it comes to choosing a kids bike, we always recommend buying from a reputable brand such as Frog, Specialized, Early Rider, Whyte, or Ridgeback. These are the bikes that really hold their value, don’t break at the first sign of trouble, and can be passed on to a family member or re-sold.

A cheap kids bicycle that you might pick up in a supermarket will have next to zero re-sale value by the time your little one outgrows it. The old adage for this one is true; “Buy cheap, pay twice.”

In contrast, it’s common to see high quality kids bikes being re-sold for 60% of their value. So if you paid £200 for a new Frog bike, in a couple of years you would make back £120.

Also worth thinking about: You don’t want to put a child off cycling forever with a low quality bicycle.

Here’s why:

1 2 3 4 5

Cycling can make children feel more confident, as it gives them the independence to explore.

Kids love cycling, and it gets them away from the X-box.

According to Sustrans, many teachers report that kids who walk and cycle to school are more alert and ready to learn than those who arrive by car.

Good travel habits learned young can last a lifetime.

If you’re into cycling too, it can be a great family activity and an excuse to get some fresh air. It can also help you save on travel costs.

TOP TIP One of the greatest skills you can learn as a parent of a child cyclist is how to mend a punctured tyre.

All too often, bikes with flat tyres end up in the shed for months on end waiting to be taken to a bike shop. Ask Youtube how to fix it yourself and your child will be back on their bike in 20 minutes.

Still unsure? Give Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative a ring on 0345 257 0808 or email us on enquiries@edinburghbicycle.com

edinburghbicycle.com