Need some good advice about a child's bike please?

K

Karla

New member
My DS is nearly 4yrs old and has learned to ride his 12" bike. Trouble is, he seems to find it much harder work than I think he should. He can balance and pedal and steer at the same time, but is finding his bike very hard work to keep going. The guy in the local bike shop said it's because it's a cheap character bike. He said the bike has a fixed back wheel, cheap frame and that my DS would find a 14" bike with free wheels and a solid frame much easier.

Does this sound like good advice? I don't have a lot of money and want to be sure that buying a bigger and more expensive bike is really necessary.

Also, does it sound like it's the bike's fault or my son's? Does my son maybe just need more practice on the 12" he's got? I don't want to make him lose confidence by putting him on a bigger bike that's going to feel scary and not be any easier for him!

NB The guy in the bike shop didn't have anything in stock for DS to try out at the minute.

Any bike advice from experienced parents or cyclists would be most appreciated thanks.
Yes the training wheels are off. They were taken off a month ago, he learned to balance two or three weeks ago (took the pedals off for a day).

His only issue is concentration (not looking ahead) but then he still pedals consistently even when he waivers through turning his head to look at things.
 
If he is only 4yo, I would suggest sticking with the 12", if anything, look for a regular 12" bike. Sometimes the kid friendly stuff is not made as well. they focus more on the look of the item, and less on the product itself. Encourage your son to keep it up. Also try getting him into other exorcises to help him strengthen his muscles. His difficulty may well be nothing more than being a young child with lesser developed muscles. Some time and work will solve the problem. The guy at the bike shop wants your money, don't trust them 100%.
 
Does he still have the training wheels on the bike? Sounds like they are off. What bike you have does make a world of difference. It is possible the cheap bike just isn't well made, and therefore he has to put forth a huge amount of effort to make it go. Can he be allowed to test the bikes in the bike shop? Can the bike guy order one and let you test it before you buy it?

I do have experience with bikes, and know that a larger bike, and a higher quality bike is a much easier and faster ride.

I even remember riding my Hot Wheels, or whatever it was up a hill and the pedals would go but the plastic tricycle just wouldn't go up the hill. Couldn't physically do it. The wheels would just slip in place. I graduated from that to a kiddie bike that was much faster and could go up the hill, then I got a BMX mountain bike. Big difference. Much faster and easier to use. Then I got my Schwinn 12 speed. I could absolutely soar on that, easy to go up the hill. Then I got a little Honda 50cc motorcycle, which of course only involved turning a handle to go. ;) Now I drive a car.

But yeah, what bike he is riding is like a step difference between a bike and a car. It is that different.
 
If he is only 4yo, I would suggest sticking with the 12", if anything, look for a regular 12" bike. Sometimes the kid friendly stuff is not made as well. they focus more on the look of the item, and less on the product itself. Encourage your son to keep it up. Also try getting him into other exorcises to help him strengthen his muscles. His difficulty may well be nothing more than being a young child with lesser developed muscles. Some time and work will solve the problem. The guy at the bike shop wants your money, don't trust them 100%.
 
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