Kids bike question

[trener1]

Seems like there are lots of folks with little ones here, so I am hoping to get some ideas.
I am looking to get a bike for my sons 5th birthday.
He already rides a bike without training wheels but it's getting small for him.
So basically I see bikes from all of the brands at shops ranging from about $150-$200 (I saw one from SE for $145 that looks good).
Then there is a big jump to the likes of Cleary and Woom that are about $350-$400.
Has anyone looked into these? what am I really getting for double the price for a kids bike?.
If I do go with the pricier ones I am leaning towards Cleary beacuse I can get it at a LBS which I prefer, wheres Woom is online only, but open to all suggestions.
Just as an FYI, we live in Brooklyn and my son rides his bike to school almost every day, so it will be getting some good use.

 

[ilnadi]

having gone thru 2 kid, the main thing seems to be weight and drivetrain. for some reason kids bikes are overbuilt and weigh a ton. we went with a lot of Specialized bikes which were heavy but the kids liked them. at some point my son was between sizes so we got him a bright-red box-store bike with cool graphics. pedaling it sucked, so he used his sisters Specialized with blue/pink flowers and all. Once they grow enough, you have good choices for 20" 1x with real-ish brakes. e.g. my son started at 6MR on a 20" Specialized Hotroc (6 or 7 speed).

 

[trener1]

Yeah his current bike is a Trek, it weighs a ton.

 

[one piece crank]

I initially went for 16" BMX from my LBS, then modified lightweight BMX race bikes (20x1-3/8 tires), then when to full-on 24" Mtn bikes.

I still have one lightweight BMX if you're interested - can mix and match the gearing to suit your terrain/kids ability.

 

[Peabs83]

i just got a gently used small kids bike its all yours if you want it

 

[moose35]

Here is a good website with a list of kid specific companies
https://rascalrides.com/best-bikes-kids/

 

[Delish]

We've had WOOM's starting with the 1 (balance bike) through 3 (16" wheel). They make a great product that is sized and spec'd for little kids. For example, the brake levers are made for little hands and can actually be used. As a result, our dudes never rode with coaster brakes. Also, they are incredibly light, which I think is really important to add to their enjoyment. Our little one started riding without training wheels when he weighed probably only 25 lbs. Some of the name brand bikes we looked at were closed to 20 lbs (imagine yourself riding a 150 lbs MTB!?) whereas the WOOM was 13 lbs. IMHO that makes a huge difference.

One of our dudes turns 5 soon and we got him a 20" Isla Bienn size small. I did a ton of reserach to find the best 20" to get them started and that bike really checks all the boxes. Like the WOOM products, everything is sized appropriately, has grip shifters which little kid hands can actually work and doesn't have any nonsense like stupid heavy front shocks that do nothing. It's very light for a kids bike. The only thing I changed from stock is that I put 20"x2.0 Schwalbe Little Joe (Team MTBNJ.com sponsor correct tires!), which at 6-10 PSI makes it like a little mini plus bike. If you intend to ride actual MTB trails with your little one (we certainly do) having a nice tall gear is also really key. The Isla Bienn comes with a SRAM 7-speed 12-32 rear cassette and X4 derailleur. Our guys use the 32t gear A TON when riding on trails. It has standard 135 spacing so you could in theory put some some of your old parts bin 9 or 10 speed QR stuff to good use. The downside is that it is expensive, but I figure we will get a couple years out of it and the re-sale value is good. I tried to buy a used one on craigslist recently and it went for about 75% of the price of a brand new one. Ocassinally the pop up on Pinkbike classifieds. I figure, if I'm ok occasionally flatting $125 cx tubulars but I'm not willing to invest a little more in a bike that will maximize riding enjoyment for the whole family then I've got my priorities wrong.

@taylor185 had a Cleary and his little dude is ripping on an Isla Bienn 20" now too.

We recently helped our friend's kid pick out a new 20" bike and they ended up with a Kona Makena from Lou at Pedal Montclair. I was pretty impressed. Kona ditched the useless front shock for 2018 and probably save 2 lbs by doing so. The bike is definitely longer than the Isla but much less expensive at $389 list. If our little guy was a few inches taller I would have strongly considered it.

 

[choop]

Also check out Frog bikes. Not the cheapest, but they are light and the components are pretty good.

 

[MadisonDan]

We've had WOOM's starting with the 1 (balance bike) through 3 (16" wheel). They make a great product that is sized and spec'd for little kids. For example, the brake levers are made for little hands and can actually be used. As a result, our dudes never rode with coaster brakes. Also, they are incredibly light, which I think is really important to add to their enjoyment. Our little one started riding without training wheels when he weighed probably only 25 lbs. Some of the name brand bikes we looked at were closed to 20 lbs (imagine yourself riding a 150 lbs MTB!?) whereas the WOOM was 13 lbs. IMHO that makes a huge difference.

One of our dudes turns 5 soon and we got him a 20" Isla Bienn size small. I did a ton of reserach to find the best 20" to get them started and that bike really checks all the boxes. Like the WOOM products, everything is sized appropriately, has grip shifters which little kid hands can actually work and doesn't have any nonsense like stupid heavy front shocks that do nothing. It's very light for a kids bike. The only thing I changed from stock is that I put 20"x2.0 Schwalbe Little Joe (Team MTBNJ.com sponsor correct tires!), which at 6-10 PSI makes it like a little mini plus bike. If you intend to ride actual MTB trails with your little one (we certainly do) having a nice tall gear is also really key. The Isla Bienn comes with a SRAM 7-speed 12-32 rear cassette and X4 derailleur. Our guys use the 32t gear A TON when riding on trails. It has standard 135 spacing so you could in theory put some some of your old parts bin 9 or 10 speed QR stuff to good use. The downside is that it is expensive, but I figure we will get a couple years out of it and the re-sale value is good. I tried to buy a used one on craigslist recently and it went for about 75% of the price of a brand new one. Ocassinally the pop up on Pinkbike classifieds. I figure, if I'm ok occasionally flatting $125 cx tubulars but I'm not willing to invest a little more in a bike that will maximize riding enjoyment for the whole family then I've got my priorities wrong.

@taylor185 had a Cleary and his little dude is ripping on an Isla Bienn 20" now too.

We recently helped our friend's kid pick out a new 20" bike and they ended up with a Kona Makena from Lou at Pedal Montclair. I was pretty impressed. Kona ditched the useless front shock for 2018 and probably save 2 lbs by doing so. The bike is definitely longer than the Isla but much less expensive at $389 list. If our little guy was a few inches taller I would have strongly considered it.

View attachment 70197

Remind me in a year or two, I should have a 24" ready to sell.....

 

[pkovo]

I've got three kids ages 6-10, and have had them all on Treks. I've grabbed all of them used, for free or cheap and simply swap parts around or use whatever I have in the parts bin. They're heavier than they need to be, and the suspension forks are really just an overweight gimmick at this level, but they seem pretty well built and the geometry seems to work well for the kids. I'm nearly 200 lbs and I ride around on 24" version when I'm tuning it up.

One thing I like about them is they have different spots for the pedals, so it's like having two different crank lengths without actually having to swap the cranks. It's nice as the kids grow, or if your passing them down, like I do.

 

[taylor185]

20" Isla Bienn is great. Highly recommend it but it is expensive. @Delish hit all the key points on selecting a good kids bike (weight, kid sized components, grip shifter, etc).

My son's friend just got this Trek which was lighter than expected given the chunky frame and suspension fork. It's not an Ilsa or equivalent but much cheaper at $299.99.

 

[taylor185]

If I do go with the pricier ones I am leaning towards Cleary beacuse I can get it at a LBS which I prefer, wheres Woom is online only, but open to all suggestions.

unfortunately, the Cleary 20" Owl has a trigger shifter and 3-speed internal gear hub. Nice that there's no derailleur to bend but 3 gears is insufficient for going off road or up hills. Trigger shifter is tough for little thumbs.

 

[trener1]

Thanks for all of the info so far.
Not looking for anything with suspension so that Trek is out, this is mainly going to be a city bike, who knows maybe I'll start taking him on trails and he will like it, but not right now, there is a local shop that has Cleary so I am going to take him there tomorrow to check it out, I liked at Frog and they look really nice, never heard of them before, Isla as well.

 

[Mountain Bike Mike]

Kids grow out of bikes so quickly... That said, if you don’t mind taking a drive to Second life bikes, you could score a decent second hand bike and you won’t break the bank for something they’ll use for 1-2 years

 

[moose35]

Kids grow out of bikes so quickly... That said, if you don’t mind taking a drive to Second life bikes, you could score a decent second hand bike and you won’t break the bank for something they’ll use for 1-2 years

I believe 2nd life is also a frog bikes dealer.

 

[goldsbar]

My 10 y/o has a Cleary, though it would be a different model than for a 5 y/o. He asked for a "geared bike" and my dream was he would come MTBing with me. We've done it a few times and the bike is capable, but he's not really into it. No complaints on the bike - it's really nice, but for a 5 y/o riding city streets, I'd personally save the money and go with a cheaper option.

 

[pkovo]

I initially went for 16" BMX from my LBS, then modified lightweight BMX race bikes (20x1-3/8 tires), then when to full-on 24" Mtn bikes.

I still have one lightweight BMX if you're interested - can mix and match the gearing to suit your terrain/kids ability.

Not to hijack, but whats the scoop on that Haro? Price? Is it a mini, junior, micro etc...? What age/size is that appropriate for?

I'm a bit out of touch from the BMX scene, but I have an 8 year old daughter that says she wants to race BMX. Not sure how or why she got that idea, but I'm planning to run up to HCBMX track one Saturday morning soon with her so we can check out the racing in person to see if it's really something she wants to take a stab at. If so, I'll be looking for a bike for her.

I may just have to dust off my '84 Redline and take some runs myself!