What should be my son's first bike?

[Saint Austin 745]

Technically, he has a bike already, but his dumbass uncle (my brother-in-law) bought him one that "looks cool," but is completely wrong for his size and helping him learn how to ride. He's five now, and I want to get him a solid beginner's bicycle. Suggestions?

[Ollie Slatt 289]

Most bikes for kids that age weigh a ton when you compare them to the weight of the kid.  So get something light. 

Our son has a Woom and rides it like a champ.  He started riding it at 4 and is not a particularly athletic/strong kid, but having a bike that fit and did not weigh much made all the difference.  I think Woom's primary US location is in Austin.  

[Thetexashammer 1062]

You get some kind of bike that doesn't have pedals. Or you take the pedals off a bike. Either way.

You put them on a hill, aka the top of the driveway. They can "ride" down the hill, and they balance from the natural gyroscopic effect of the movement. So now they're pretty much doing it. Then you give them back the pedals.

[Sbbruin 21865]

[RoundRobin 828]

get him one like yours. 

[Loco 3753]

Everything you need to know

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/teachride.html

 

Quote

The ideal bike for learning to ride, whether for a child or a deprived adult, is a bike that is "too small" for efficient riding. For learning purposes, the rider should be able to sit on the saddle with both feet flat on the ground and the knees slightly bent. The bike can then be used as a hobby horse or scooter, with the feet always ready to stop a fall. It may even be useful to remove the pedals at first, so that the feet can swing freely. (In case you are new to all this and haven't read the pages about pedals on this site: the left pedal unscrews clockwise!) Ideally, a bike for this approach should have at least one handbrake, so that the child can stop while using both feet for balance. A good place to practice is on a grassy field, perhaps with a slight downgrade.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult for parents to justify the expense of a smaller bike that will be outgrown shortly, so there is a constant temptation to buy a bike that is a bit too large on the theory that the child will "grow into" it.

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by Loco

[RPM 26327]

[CleverNickname 1321]

Go to academy. But a bike that is $80 or less. Buy another in 2-3 years when their knees are in their ears while pedaling. 

Kids bikes, like basic clothes, are one of those weird things that (inflation adjusted) are cheaper than they were just 15-20 years ago. They are disposable. China might not be MAGA, but it does make for good deals on exactly this. 

Edited November 8, 2018 by CleverNickname

[Buffsoldier 1895]

I'm sure there's one or two of these around.

[Your Mom 4827]

A balance bike for sure. 

 The act of pedaling and stopping a bike is completely different from the act of balancing and steering the bike. It’s really hard to work on both at the same time but you simply cannot write a traditional bike without doing both at the same time. 

The balance bike is so easy to learn. You don’t have to teach them anything other than to encourage them to pick their feet up every now and then and just coast. They will have it down very quickly. Slight inclines are fine or flat ground is fine too.

 Let them get really comfortable on the balance bike and then switch back to a very small bike with pedals to learn how to start and stop. No tears, no stress. 

 Strider is the most popular brand of balance bike, but there are tons of others and it does not need to be a nice one. It’s simply need to have wheels that will roll and be small enough they can have both feet on the ground while they are on the seat.

My kids learned on a wooden balance bike  that had the advantage of having a front wheel that would only turn a couple of inches in each direction. Prevented the kid from jackknifing it early on. 

 But the regular aluminum or steel balance bikes are just fine as well. 

[utee94 15835]

My kids had cheap Target/Academy/Walmart bikes, sized 12 then 16.  They did fine with training wheels, but struggled a little bit when I took them off.

Then I put them on razor scooters.  They were more comfortable with the scooters because they could easily put a foot down and simply stand, if they felt they were losing control.  Within a few days they had mastered the scooters, then when I put them back on their bikes, they easily adapted. The balance they learned on the scooters translated directly to the bicycle, almost immediately.

That first time when my kids looked up and realized they were doing it on their own, that I wasn't behind them helping or holding the bike, and the looks on their faces-- among the best memories of my life.

 

[52-80 19204]

Colnago imo

[ohchaucer 1443]

If you're in Austin, I recommend a fixie. Death before derailleurs!!

[TexasBeta 1265]

[Gene Parmesan 4008]

Just go to Walmart or whatever store is close to you and buy a kids bike.  If he's five and has no experience I'd go with something that has 14'' wheels.  You don't have to consult your local bike shop for this purchase.  The boys bikes will be covered in superhero paraphernalia and the girls in pink Barbie shit.  They should be easy to spot. 

[midtown 3346]

3 hours ago, utee94 said:

My kids had cheap Target/Academy/Walmart bikes, sized 12 then 16.  They did fine with training wheels, but struggled a little bit when I took them off.

This.  I taught both my kids in an afternoon at 5 for my son and 4 for my daughter; who has dominated the bike rodeo. 

 

3 hours ago, utee94 said:

That first time when my kids looked up and realized they were doing it on their own, that I wasn't behind them helping or holding the bike, and the looks on their faces-- among the best memories of my life.

And this.  I filmed it and sent it to my ex-wife.  She was half jealous and half impressed. 

Edited November 8, 2018 by midtown

[Your Mom 4827]

One of these Balance Buddy bars is also a good deal.  Far superior to training wheels.  Training wheels don't teach balance at all and they trick the kid into thinking they can  go super slow and still stay upright.  With this bar you can walk or run behind them and let go for a few seconds when they have it and then grab back on when they don't.  And they never even know you let go.  Pretty soon they just pedal away from an go half a block without realizing they're on their own.

[Steel Shank 9429]

My kid's bike lost the bearings on the front wheel. I thought I'd just go to Goodwill and find a cheap ass bike with the same size front tire. I ended buying a bike for $15 and showed him the "new bike". He thought I was awesome. Ended up buying a brand new wheel  for his old bike. Now he's got two bikes. /humblebrag

[Thetexashammer 1062]

20 minutes ago, Steel Shank said:

My kid's bike lost the bearings on the front wheel. I thought I'd just go to Goodwill and find a cheap ass bike with the same size front tire. I ended buying a bike for $15 and showed him the "new bike". He thought I was awesome. Ended up buying a brand new wheel  for his old bike. Now he's got two bikes. /humblebrag

[Jerry Callo 8708]

I second the balance bike and no-training wheels suggestions. 

[Loco 3753]

straight to the terrain park!

[Viking 301]

12 hours ago, Steel Shank said:

My kid's bike lost the bearings on the front wheel. I thought I'd just go to Goodwill and find a cheap ass bike with the same size front tire. I ended buying a bike for $15 and showed him the "new bike". He thought I was awesome. Ended up buying a brand new wheel  for his old bike. Now he's got two bikes. /humblebrag

My son has gone through 2 walmart bikes in 3 months. Both with busted hubs on the rear wheel. I've been riding all my life, bmx and mountain, and I've never seen a hub lose its bearings. This is on my 10 yo sons bikes and he's not a big kid. Freaking insane what a pile of shit those walmart bikes are.

[Loco 3753]

If you buy a big box bike, take it apart and rebuild it.  The min wage guys putting it together are not gonna do a good job, even if they knew what they were doing (which they don't)

An hour, a bit of grease, and some car wax will make most of those bikes last forever...  Unless you take it off some sweet jumps

[Hate 20126]

You should get him this one.

[texashorne 1178]

Santa is bringing my 5yo al new bike this Christmas.. "he" is not planning on spending much more than 100$

[utee94 15835]

As far as the big box stores go, I'm not sure there's much difference between a $60 one and a $100 one.  So Santa should definitely not spend too much.

Another route is to find a used, clean, "good" bike on Craigslist.  For my kids' first REAL bikes, I found each of them a used Trek 20" mountain bike and I think I paid around $80 for each.  They were already in very good shape but I took them partially apart, cleaned them up, reassembled, and then put them under the tree from Santa.  They were thrilled and I was glad I got a higher-quality bike but didn't spend a fortune.

 

Edited November 9, 2018 by utee94