need bike for little girl's birthday - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Sliver · 03-17-2010, 12:38 PM

For some reason I have a feeling that thread title will draw in a few pervs, but such is life on the interwebz.

Anyway, I'm looking for a new bike for my daughter for her birthday. She's turning 4 next week (big change from the screamer she was in my avatar) and wants a pink two-wheeler with sparkles, streamers coming out of the handles, a basket, etc. I'm going to try to make a Norman Rockwell moment for her on her birthday that she'll never forget, so I want the perfect bike.

My question is to the moms and dads that have bought a kid's bike before...are the $99 bikes at Sport Chek going to last her the 2-3 years she'll probably have the bike, or will they fall apart even for a little kid like cheap bikes for adults do? Best place to get what I need?

TIA!

Slava · 03-17-2010, 12:40 PM

My daughter is a little older than yours, but we went with a bike that I assume is similar to what you are looking at. It's been very good, and I wouldn't go after a whole lot more.

Ironhorse · 03-17-2010, 12:46 PM

I consider the $100 bikes at Sport Chek & Wal-mart to be disposable - cheap chains, tires, bearings etc. You'll probably get two years out of them, and then they're done as a decent bike -- kids are not nearly as careful with bikes as adults are.

I would say get her the $99 bike with an eye to replacing it with a good one from a place like Bow Cycle on her 6th birthday.

MacDaddy77 · 03-17-2010, 12:54 PM

We bought exactly what you're describing at Zellers.

How much damage is a 4 year old going to do to a bike anyway

Sliver · 03-17-2010, 01:01 PM

I'm not so worried about what damage she might do and we'll keep it in the garage so it's not like we'll leave it outside. I just want to make sure she's not going to be riding along and have the handlebars or a pedal fall off lol. Looks like I'll do the Sport Chek deal.

Thanks for the help guys!

bossy22 · 03-17-2010, 01:03 PM

have you thought about a like-a-bike? Essentially it's a bike without pedals. It teaches the kid how to balance on a bike, and when they get pedals, it's a snap. There are different varieties out there. The likeabike brand bikes are wooden, but you can get aluminum models from Bow. I have friends who have gone that route, and their kids seem to get along pretty well. I went the route Ironhorse suggested. Bought them cheap bikes when they were 4 and then good ones from Bow later on in life.

Boblobla · 03-17-2010, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sliver

I'm not so worried about what damage she might do and we'll keep it in the garage so it's not like we'll leave it outside. I just want to make sure she's not going to be riding along and have the handlebars or a pedal fall off lol. Looks like I'll do the Sport Chek deal.

Thanks for the help guys!

Since it is cheap bike it isnt a bad idea to make sure everything is tight everyone once and a while. You should only need an allen wrench to check almost everything.

Also...

photon · 03-17-2010, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bossy22

have you thought about a like-a-bike? Essentially it's a bike without pedals. It teaches the kid how to balance on a bike, and when they get pedals, it's a snap. There are different varieties out there. The likeabike brand bikes are wooden, but you can get aluminum models from Bow. I have friends who have gone that route, and their kids seem to get along pretty well. I went the route Ironhorse suggested. Bought them cheap bikes when they were 4 and then good ones from Bow later on in life.

You can do this with a normal bike too, just take the pedals off.

Sliver · 03-17-2010, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

You can do this with a normal bike too, just take the pedals off.

I think we're just going to go with training wheels. I understand that's not going to do much to help her with balance, but she's still pretty little so I think right now I'll just let her have fun bombing around on a bike.

photon · 03-17-2010, 01:27 PM

Is 4 years old too young to ride without training wheels? I don't know if it is or not, but if it isn't then maybe a few weeks without pedals might be enough to get her riding.

We're going to try the no pedals thing this year with my almost 6 year old, the thing is he's so easily distracted, he runs into things because he's looking at a dog or drives into traffic because he saw a bug he wants to pick up

Sliver · 03-17-2010, 01:44 PM

I'm not sure if four is too young to ride without training wheels. I'll get a feel for what she's capable of once we get her on the new bike next week. If things are looking good maybe I'll take the training wheels and the pedals off.

Maybe it's a boy thing. My son is two and he always drives his little battery-powered quad into the wall because he's looking everywhere but straight ahead. My girl had way more sense when she was his age about that kind of thing lol.

CM ONE · 03-17-2010, 02:28 PM

I let my 3 year old choose between a Trek Mystic 12 and a Haro Z 12 and surprisingly she chose the Haro. I thought for sure she'd have gone with the more girly of the two. The Trek is a nice little bike and sounds like what you're looking for.

The Haro...

I like the Haro's seat (it's bigger) and B&P cycle was able to fit a chainguard on it for me. It comes with the handlebar and crossbar pads (not pictured) just like a real bmx. (and training wheels) : )

worth · 03-17-2010, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

We're going to try the no pedals thing this year with my almost 6 year old, the thing is he's so easily distracted, he runs into things because he's looking at a dog or drives into traffic because he saw a bug he wants to pick up

I have a friend like this. He's 27.

amorak · 03-17-2010, 02:42 PM

I think that's call entrapment.

Ohhh, it's for your daughter?

Nevermind.

troutman · 03-17-2010, 04:51 PM

nm

Skate around the circle · 03-17-2010, 05:11 PM

Be sure to check that all the nuts and bolts have been tightened correctly.These bikes are as only as good as the people putting them together.

Skate around the circle · 03-17-2010, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

Is 4 years old too young to ride without training wheels? I don't know if it is or not, but if it isn't then maybe a few weeks without pedals might be enough to get her riding.

We're going to try the no pedals thing this year with my almost 6 year old, the thing is he's so easily distracted, he runs into things because he's looking at a dog or drives into traffic because he saw a bug he wants to pick up

It defineatly depends on the kid.My daughter was 4 when she demanded her mother to remove her training wheels because all the kids on the street were calling her a baby.She came back to the house once for a bandaid and was riding like a pro by the time I got home from work.

pylon · 03-18-2010, 12:17 AM

Sorry if this is off topic, but I have always wanted an excuse to post this, and a kids bike thread is as close as I will come to having the right forum for it.

When I was a kid, I went through my normal selection of crappy Canadian tire supercycles every 2 years or so and those blue Raleigh's with the yellow 5 spoke plastic wheels. Anywhoo, I was a struggling 9 year old student in grade 4, with a horrible case of Hyperactivity disorder (now called ADHD) and there was a threat I would be held back a year. I had to pull out all of the stops (and ritalin..lol) to get through my last term and onto grade 5. To make matters worse, I also had bashed up my Raleigh jumping garbage cans in the alley and it wasn't even remotely safe to ride anymore. This was in the days where we would log at least a few hours a day minimum on our BMX's, and my ride was pretty much toast. So I was also walking to school instead of taking my bike.

So anyway, I make it through my last term with near perfect grades and get moved on to grade 5. When I got home I was so excited to tell my dad, who at that time, in 1984, was a laid off engineer, and we were nearly broke. So I approach him on the front step of our house in Bonavista, and say "I made it dad, I got to grade 5!" (not verbatim, but it was something along those lines, as it was 26 years ago.) And he said, without any show of pride or emotion, "You shouldn't have been so bad at the start of the year to have to have put yourself in that position. Please carry these garbage bags (which were full of grass clippings) to the trash in the back."

I was really upset, I had worked so hard and my dad brushed me off like it was no big deal. When I rounded the corner to our trash bin, there sitting in front was a brand new Diamond Back pacer 500 chromoly BMX bike. That was a $500 bike in 1984. I probably spent at least a couple hours a week at South Cycle in Bonavista Downs just looking at it, wishing I had one. I stood there in absolute shock. It would be the equivalent of finding a Ferrari in my driveway today. My dad came around the corner as I stood there, put his hand on my shoulder told me how proud he was of me, and that I had earned it. I suppose my teacher had tipped him off.

To this day, that is probably the most memorable thing of my youth and best lesson I learned about hard work paying off. And every time I tell the story I get all emotional and teary thinking how cool it was. After thanking him repeatedly, I unbolted the kick stand, ripped off all the pads (which was cool in the day) rocked my best pair of Adidas shorts, and showed it off to all of my friends. I didn't come home until about 10 pm.

I never understood until many years later how big of a purchase that was, especially when he was un-employed at the time, and couldn't really justify the cost. I bet I put at least 20,000 kms on that thing until I handed it down to a cousin that wrecked it, which is a shame. It and the Factory Kuwahara's were like the Ferrari and Lamborghini bikes of the day, and I treated it as such.

Anyway, that is my best bike memory, and from that day forward, I have been a 2 wheel nut, both pedal and motorized.