Hi, Guys, I am after buying a bike for my 5 yrs old son. I have seen some in Kmart from about $70 to $80. and I have seen in Decathlon as well for $169.
https://decathlon.com.au/products/btwin-100-petit-bleu-kids-…
How quality compared to Kmart? Has anyone experience with Decathlon, Does it worth spending another $100 on Decathlon?
Thank you so much
Thank you very much for your comment.
For a 5 year old, you should consider a 16" (40cm) bicycle with training wheels else he will outgrow a 14" model very quickly
It depends on the size of the kid too. I've seen some 5 year olds that could go to a 20" easily.
Look for one with coaster brake
5-6 is using hand brakes, but again it depends on the kid.
avoid training wheels if you can. Starting on a balance bike is much better.
coaster brake (pedalling backwards to engage the brakes)
my 4 year old (soon to be 5) can not get used to pedalling backwards at all. My 7yo couldn't use those kinds of bikes either. Could try a brake lever and loosen it right off. Looking for a bike with a break for a 4/5yo now.
I bought one from Kmart (40cm) for my daughter when she was 5. She didnt learn and the bike was then parked for 4 more years until one day she suddenly wanted to learn and eventually did it in 4 weeks.
In my experience - its always best to buy something that works just fine and not expensive. You never know when their interests change and they outgrow soon anyways.
Thank you for sharing your experience:)
This.
Look for a branded bike - specialized, giant, byk, etc. They retain their value well and if they were purchased at a bike shop, they've been set up and adjusted properly.
The DIY stuff from kmart is hard to get right.
I agree with a branded bike, but disagree they hold their value well.. see my post below.
I meant, if you buy a used bike, it retains its value well - sounds like you agree with me on that one ("I guess I could make a profit too").
If you buy it brand new from a shop, it wont hold it's value well.
@salmon123: Can't disagree with you there.
Because they grow out of these bikes so quickly, it's much better to buy a good secondhand bike for $70 than a new bike for the same amount.
And there's a good chance you could get that $70 back too.
I bought a small cheap one with training wheels for my son from big w when he turned 4, just so he could get used to the pedalling motion. Before that he had a balance bike. I wanted him to learn how to ride without training wheels when he turned 5, so took off the ones on the big w one, but he had lots of trouble balancing. Decided to get the 16" decathlon one for around $170, and it was the best buy ever. He got the hang of cycling with two wheels on the first day :) I highly recommend decathlon's bikes
Thank you for sharing your experience:
I generally don't buy secondhand items however kids bikes are an exception (and also cars under 2 yo).
Kids trash their bikes so buying secondhand is good as I don't have to worry if they drop it, gets stolen etc.
The Kmart type bikes aren't very good. They are heavy and harder to ride than good bikes, especially important if they are learning.
The thing is good bikes aren't cheap, you're looking at $200-$300 minimum.
I purchased a few of secondhand bikes from Gumtree and the op shop.
They were Giant, Mongoose and Byk. I think they were between $15 and $50 each. People get rid of them because their kids outgrow them.
I don't bother selling them, I just give them away to friends because they are still good bikes and I can't be bothered selling stuff for $50. I guess I could make a profit too.
I'll buy them a new decent bike when they can ride it for more than a 1 or 2 years.
Thank you for sharing your experience:)
I bought my 3yo daughter a $250 specalized as I like the way the child sat within the bike - Basically they could control the bike easily and feel comfortable cycling it. I bought it knowing there wouldn't be any training wheels, she was proficient on the balance bike. I spent about 3 days running behind her holding onto the seat while she figured out how to pedal, then boom, she was away! Have since done this again (balance bike, holding the seat for 3 days) for my 2nd daughter, just recently sold the bike for $80 (doesn't hold value)
Next bikes I went for were the Byk brands for the same reason, easy for kids to control them, well built and long lasting. My kids ride km's to the shops and back, I don't want chains falling off, gears getting stuck etc.
The older kids Byk bikes are awesome (540x3), we often go into single track, can easily ride up to 10ks. Not sure they'd have the same amount of use and fun with a bike from kmart.
Yeah, I agree (obviously) that good bikes make it much easier to ride. The Byk bikes did look a little strange at first as the frame seemed longer than other bikes, but my daughter learned to ride it pretty quickly (moved up a size).
I remember I once bought a Kmart Bike for myself, it was a shocker. When you turned the wheel and pedaled at the same time, your foot would hit the wheel.
Returned it promptly and got myself a Giant. Prior to that, I thought all bikes were the same for a casual rider.
What's a 540x3? Google didn't reveal anything other than 1620.
540 3 speed. Sorry, should've linked to it.
I got this one, its a Brilliant bike offroad and on road.
https://www.bykbikes.com/products/540x3i-mtr
Still trying to figure out when kids should go the full spectrum of gears, thinking later is better.
Thank you for sharing your experience:)
Thanks. I think even 3 speeds will confuse my 8yo son.. lol.
I'm looking at getting him a new one as he is outgrowing his current bike.
Thank you for sharing your experience:)
Commencal have great kids range and their CS is very good too. They'll answer all your questions over the phone.
edit: Sorry, I didn't read your question in it's entirety. The Commencal bikes cost a little more than what you were hoping to spend.
We've had the cheapies brand new plus decent brands new and second hand.
I would recommend a decent brand (i.e. Giant etc) mainly because of the weight of the frame.. the cheaper bikes are so heavy.
That said, both my boys have smashed up their gears etc before figuring out how to use them - so glad I purchased second hand.
I'd recommend ebay, facebook marketplace, gumtree or family friends.
Our boys learned to ride, first with training wheels and then without but on soft-ish ground - in a paddock at a farm and in a camping ground. A bit safer/softer than riding on asphalt.
Thank you for sharing your experience:)
Thank you so much guys.. I have ended up buying 16inch with training wheels 229+25 from Deckathalon. I tried on Facebook and gumtree for balance to start with but I couldn't find any close by.I am shift worker as well. Son was keep asking for bike so had to get one asap to make him happy :). He is 105cm dont know how is going to cop up as he is not balanced.
Thank you so much guys.Happy Sunday.
For a 5 year old, you should consider a 16" (40cm) bicycle with training wheels else he will outgrow a 14" model very quickly. Look for one with coaster brake (pedalling backwards to engage the brakes) as kids that young can't squeeze the brake lever that good.
Ones from Kmart are pretty decent. For a 5 year old, I would go for Kmart instead of anything fancy.