Best bike for child - advice please

[Tanza]

Can anyone recommend a bike for a 7 year old please? He's learned to ride on a bike we were given, but it's a heavy bike and the pedals don't go backwards (only forwards) so he's having trouble getting going on it.

[sanity girl]

I've just been researching this for my daughter (although she is a bit younger). My brother, who is a bike fanatic, says islabikes are the best for kids to learn on. They are very light and excellent bikes compared to most you can get for kids.

[Tanza]

These bikes look amazing. But gulp ?299 for a kid's bike? Surely there must be a good, cheaper alternative out there??

[jround]

howsabout going over to Edwardes in Camberwell. helpful, very good selection. good value.

[redjam]

I asked a friend of mine (another bike fanatic) about this a few weeks ago and he also recommended Islabikes - said they were brilliant, very lightweight. He tried to persuade me they are a good investment (he's already bought two!) on the basis that you can sell them on afterwards very easily. But I'm afraid I'm too tight to fork out that much - my daughter can't even ride yet. So we ended up going for a boy's bike from Halford's (Carrera Blast 16" Mountain Bike, ?130), which got good reviews and also seemed relatively lightweight - though this may be a bit small for your son?

Anyway, I am currently sporting bruises the size of dinner plates from running behind my daughter + new bike, clinging on for dear life as she careers along at an angle of 45 degrees. Not sure I can blame the bike for this though. Anyone got any brilliant tips for how to teach their kids to ride once you've bought the damn thing?

[legalalien]

The islabikes are expensive but they really are good - both in being light and in having brakes specially designed for small hands - made a big difference to my five year old who was on the small side and struggled with the stiff brakes on a heavier bike. There are some for sale second hand on eBay. In terms of resale, Islabikes do offer a buy back scheme, but they told me (and they were right) that I was likely to get more reselling locally...

[Goodliz]

I got my son a Dawes Blowfish from BC Bikes about ?130 I think. It is an aluminium frame so very lightweight.

Islabikes sound like the cream of the crop and they do sell quickly on ebay - I forgot to look into getting one but to be honest I am really pleased with the Dawes one - we had the smaller Blowfish previously so knew they were well made and nice for little ones to ride.

[ladywotlunches]

I had this question last year. Was really keen on the Islabikes, but like others, thought the price just too steep for a first bike! There weren't any on Ebay that fitted the bill at the time either, but if you have time its worth keeping an eye out.

In the end, we went for a Ridgeback MX16 (my son is almost 5, tall for his age and is just fitting it, so this might be right for you too, or you might have to go for a 20"). Got it on ebay for about half price, and despite being through 2 kids already, looks just like new!

Another option is Decathlon. I'm sure the bikes aren't quite on the same level as the others listed above, but the good thing is that the children can try the bikes out in store - so if nothing else, it might be worth a trip to Surrey Quays to try a few out for size...