# Bike for my 4 year old going on 5 in May



## cdecker78 (Dec 29, 2008)

My son is turning 5 in May and needs a new bike. I am looking for a 16" kids bike with training wheels preferably. Any input on a name brand? Should I go with a Walmart bike for now since he will outgrow the 16" bike shortly? Then wait and buy him a better 20" which should last him longer.

I went to a LBS and looked at a Haro Z16. Then went to another LBS to look at a Specialized Hotrock 16 Boys. I am also want to go look at the Trek MT16.

Any Opinions? Ideas? Thoughts?


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## paulys_tx (Jul 14, 2007)

My son will be turning 4 in April. He had a "walmart" bike and would not ride it at all. It sat around collecting dust for almost a year. One day he was with me as I went to my LBS and he got on a Hotrock 16 with training wheels and just took off riding it around the store. Needless to say the bike left with us and I returned the unused walmart bike for store credit. He loved that bike so much he can now ride without training wheels. The hotrock is very light when compared with the cheaper bikes, and I think it was worth the money - but that is my opinion.


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## cdecker78 (Dec 29, 2008)

thanks thats what i want are good opinions.:thumbsup:


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## essjss (Aug 16, 2008)

I have my twins on Hotwalks until their birthday in May when they will get the Hotrock 16. The AL frame was a big seller for me as they are girls and have been able to lift and carry the Hotwalk when needed. I didn't want to stick them on some cheapo tank after having so much fun with the lighter bikes.


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## new2this (Nov 26, 2006)

*go with the lighter bike...*

I did the hotrock for my 4 y/o Bday as well.

He could already ride 2 wheels and wanted "handy brakes"

So a redline flipflop hub, freewheel cog and BMX brakes were added.

He learned to ride 2 wheels in about a day! I took the training wheels and cranks out of a Wallyworld bike and let him find his balance going down low grade hills on grass. Took no time at all.

I also saved a bunch of cash over buying the bikes build w/o cranks to train kids. WAY easier than my older sons experience. He rode T wheels ..the the running along side mess... try the balance without cranks. There was a thread here that gave me the idea and it works wonders for the kids and us adults.

We taught a few friends kids and neighborhood kids this way, I keep a spare bike with no crank set for just that reason!


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## Maida7 (Apr 29, 2005)

If he's not ready to remove the training wheels I highly suggest starting with a glider type bike. They have no pedals. The kid moves along on foot power then picks up his feet and glides. This is a very effective method to learn balance. IMHO this method is far superior to training wheels. Lots of brands make them. Specialized is called the hot walk. 3-4 months on a glide bike and your kid will ride a pedal bike without any problems balancing and falling. Compared to taking off the training wheels and running around behind them while they freak out cause they think they are about to wreck, the glide bikes are simply amazing.


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## traffic002 (Dec 16, 2008)

^^^ I second the glide bike if he can't ride on two wheels yet. Don't go the training wheel route as that will mess them up in terms of learning balance.

My son jumped on a pedal bike after running a glide bike over the summer and it took him about 10minutes to adjust to the pedals and he was burning up the neighborhood.

It just seems that there are a ton of 16" bikes out there on CL or know a coworker or friend that has one. The kids are bigger now and the bikes are no longer in use. The steel bikes can take a pounding and can be left outside in the rain and you don't care as much. My sons bike got left outside in the rain and I just towel dried it and lubed the chain and off he went.

We'll be a lot more careful about maintenance and putting the bike away properly with his 20" bike.


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## KayGee (Mar 26, 2009)

I bought my 4-year old son a wal-mart bike (Incredible Hulk Edition!) with training wheels and he loves riding it, which is the most important thing! Of course I had to grease and adjust the crappy 1-piece cranks and coaster brake hub so he wouldn't have to work twice as hard. He's still getting the hang of the motion of pedaling. Once he gets that nailed I'll go the crank-removal route and send him down some hills without the training wheels, so when I put the cranks back on he'll be ready to take off.


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## chiplikestoridehisbike (Aug 8, 2007)

Trek has a new line of convertible bikes. They are some of the more versatile kids bikes in this age range. http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/kids/ages_4_6/float/ I went with the Jet16 for my son. I felt better with a coaster brake verses a hand brake. The float series is pretty cool because you can go cruiser with no cranks, cranks, or if you want you can throw on training wheels. Our shop offered to at no charge. The Jet 16 is heavy but I really like the stand over clearance a lot better with training wheels. The MT and hot rock bikes look cool and look a lot like big boy bikes but I wanted something that was easy for my son to get on and off of. It has been a great bike. My son is finally learning how to feather the coaster brake as opposed to full on and is really gaining confidence. I made the big mistake of letting him get on it right after we gave it to him on his birthday. We have a slight hill in front of our house and although I was walking with him he got away and ran into the garbage can . That really knocked his confidence down and he was not too interested for a few weeks. So really make sure to set them up for success with that first ride and don't make my mistake of forgetting that there could be new concepts to pick up on. You are in for fun times. We did about three miles through the neighborhood Saturday and he is really pushing his limits which is cool to observe. I let him pick the route and just make sure he stays safe.


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## Harrier (May 5, 2008)

I wonder if anyone ever actually tested whether training wheels had any effect whatsoever on learning to ride. I had my first kid on training wheels and it was just a four-wheeled tricycle. He learned nothing. About 2 months on a like-a-bike and he was cruising. 

I live in Marin and everyone bikes. It is becoming the general wisdom to get a smaller bike with no/removed pedals where the kid can scoot. Bigger wheels for a four year old tends to be a reflection on our ambitions more than the kid. They LOVE scooting.

Throw them on a small bike with pedals and you can get them riding in a day when they are ready if they have experienced scooting and balancing.

You can get Specialized, Trek, and Marin on Craigslist for $40-$60 used. Get smaller wheels and just pass the bike along when they are ready for bigger.


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## 4mula1 (Oct 31, 2008)

My 6 year old daughter had a Sprawl-Mart bike with training wheels and refused to ride it last year with the training wheels off. This spring we stopped at the LBS and a boy her age had just learned to ride using the glide method. My daughter took an hour or so and the pedals went back on and with only a little help she was finally on two wheels. I can't endorse the glide method enough.

Within two weeks she was with me on the local trail, hitting the easy routes. Her Princess bike wasn't really up to the task (the coaster brake had me worried) and we got a used Hotrock at the LBS which is still just a little big for her. She has somehow managed to bend one of her brake levers...

I wanted her to have a multispeed bike for riding the trails as well as around the neighborhood. The Hotrock fit the bill nicely.


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## mtnbiker72 (Jan 22, 2007)

I third the glide bike for beginning riders, my 3.5 year old is just starting to want to bike (he sees dad's bikes all the time) so I got him a glide bike and he's getting the hang of it pretty quickly. My hope is that he will be able to transfer to two wheels w/o training wheels.

Also, department store bikes are HEAVY...putting a 35-50lbs kid on a 20-25lbs bike is insane...the glide bikes are usually under 10lbs and once they get the hang of it, it is more worth the investment to get them on an aluminum bike that is light enough to handle.


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## Kasper (Feb 23, 2004)

cdecker78 said:


> Any Opinions? Ideas? Thoughts?


Islabikes https://www.islabikes.com has some nice bikesfor kids. I like their philosophy about weight and componentry made for kid's size. The Beinn20 has a claimed weight of 19 lbs

Kona Shred 2-0 and Makena looks really cool too but I suspect they weigh more than my allmountain fullsus -thats my uneducated guess only! 

Kasper


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## ukemike (Apr 28, 2010)

Training wheels are AWFUL. We had a hand-me-down toystore type bike. It was a "Harley Davidson" with a fun flame paintjob. It had training wheels, and I watched my 5 y.o. son on it for months learning exactly how not to ride a bike. So I took a cue from those little Skuut bikes. I cut the chain, took out the crank, wiped all the grease off, and lowered the seat so he could sit and stand at the same time. I actually had to cut a bit more than an inch off the seat post (dremel tools rock). I left it like that for a while, and we practiced several times until he had the hang of it, then I put the whole thing back together towards the end of last summer. He was riding great in about 10 minutes. Then riding became our favorite activity. We would ride downtown (real close), and he loved the freedom. I quickly saw it was too small, and too crappy. We shopped around and got him a Specialized Hotrock 20. After that I had to upgrade my bike just to keep up. We picked the Specialized because it was the only 20" that he could stand over the frame. We now go on all day (like from 11am until 5pm) rides every weekend.


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## merlinm (Feb 12, 2010)

*Don't spend a lot -- yet*

Stick with cheap wal mart bikes until you hit 20" wheels. This is going to be betwen age 4 and 6 depending on the kid. Before that they simply grow too fast and it's a waste of money...plus a three year old is not going to hit many trails.

At age 5 unless your kid is on the small side I'd be going for a 20" bike. If he's not ready yet, get a cheap 18" from yard sale and save the $$$ for the mtb.


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## Mount Dora Cycles (May 29, 2009)

This thread is a year old and the kid is probably already riding on trails on a FS bike. I do agree training wheels were the old way to learn to ride a bike.


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## jalopy jockey (Jun 7, 2007)

Mount Dora Cycles said:


> This thread is a year old and the kid is probably already riding on trails on a FS bike. I do agree training wheels were the old way to learn to ride a bike.


Nah rigid SS, but doin serious stuff.


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## Broccoli (Jun 11, 2008)

ukemike said:


> Training wheels are AWFUL.


Word. Run bikes and "Balance buddy" bar for transitioning to pedals. All that is needed.

Training wheels are crack. Just teaches bad habits and delays having real fun.


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