Looking for a new bike?
Here's our recommendations
Foam Tyres and Plastic Wheels
Foam tyres are great for puncture resistance but are slow and clunky to ride as well as having poor grip and poor durability.
Make sure your bike has air filled, rubber tyres for better grip, comfort and rolling resistance as well as metal wheels for stiffness to help with handling and rolling speed.
Twisty Gears instead of trigger gears
Gripshift was a great introduction by bike component company SRAM. This style of shifter has simpler mechanics and is cheaper and easier to make. Trigger shifters that you use your thumb or finger to change are much simpler to use especially for smaller hands with less grip strength.
Caliper Brakes (single bolt attachment)
Caliper brakes on children's bikes always rub the wheel causing friction, difficulty riding and stopping.
Find a bike with V-brakes (2 bolts attached to the forks), these can be adjusted in many ways to get the right fit and stopping power.
Buy new at your Local Bike Shop, the friendly and passionate experts
The best place to buy a new bike is without a doubt your local bike shop (listed below), top brands with lightweight frames and great components. This is the best way to get your children cycling, enjoy what they're riding and be able to explore even further!
These can come at a cost but are definitely worth it if your child wants to ride there bike at least once a week and more than just to the park or shop.
Try to avoid big chain shops, especially those that don't specialise in cycling and offer other outdoor or sporting products. These bikes tend to be a steel frame and less quality components in order to save on cost. This means a heavy bike with poor geometry and parts that either don't work as well as others or break easily.
Toy shops, Argos and supermarkets? avoid at all costs. These products are toys and not bikes. Although they may do the job it won't be easy, last long or fun for them and you when you end up carrying the bike!
Didcot and Carterton - Mountain Mania
Abingdon - Pedal Power
Wallingford - Rides on Air
Bicester - Broadribb
Oxford - Summertown Cycles, Walton Street, Warlands
Rent the right size bike until then exchange it when it's too small
There are a few options for companies that offer bike rentals but the industry leader is, without a doubt, The Bike Club.
Find the right bike for your child and rent it (normally around £15 a month). Once your child has outgrown it, or inevitably decided they want a different colour, you can exchange the bike you have for the next size or colour.
Choose from a brand new bike, or save money by going with a Re-bike that someone has already loved riding.
Save even more by using our referral link here! - 25% off for 6 months!
Re(bi)cycle with specialists that offer top bikes for half the price
Some of the bikes worth buying over and over again can be found for half the original price when you buy second hand from specialists. Rick's Cycles in Carterton and Southern Cycles, who travels around South Oxfordshire, both buy and sell old bikes and regularly have a massive amount of stock of Frog and Forme bikes.
They will part exchange your old bike and make it ready for a new owner whilst you ride off with something your little ones will love riding for miles without stopping!