Kid's bike are so heavy

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: pandus13
oh,
my 5 years old, has a steel 16" with helping wheels. (she's taller than 7 years olds)
i spaced them so she is not on 4 wheels, but on 3 wheels at all time to start building the 2 wheel balance....

Have you seen kids on run bikes? You can start them at 2-2.5 and if you find a pedal bike small enough, they will be riding without training wheels ever at 3.5 or 4.
We have a rough gravel driveway so training wheels were never an option but the kids were riding a bike at 4 with no problems as all they had to master was pedaling and starting off.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear

What do your girls ride when they were 5-6 years old?


My daughter is 6, and rides a cheap steel chinese bike from Academy (same as walmart)

I over inflate the tires to decrease rolling resistance, and everything is just fine.

 

[SuperSalad]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: pandus13
oh,
my 5 years old, has a steel 16" with helping wheels. (she's taller than 7 years olds)
i spaced them so she is not on 4 wheels, but on 3 wheels at all time to start building the 2 wheel balance....

Have you seen kids on run bikes? You can start them at 2-2.5 and if you find a pedal bike small enough, they will be riding without training wheels ever at 3.5 or 4.
We have a rough gravel driveway so training wheels were never an option but the kids were riding a bike at 4 with no problems as all they had to master was pedaling and starting off.

I started my first at 1.5 yrs on a Strider and he transitioned directly to unassisted with no training wheels on a 12" cheap Huffy at 3 years old about a month ago. My next oldest (1.5 yrs) just started on the Strider about a month ago and is already riding it mostly unassisted (slowly, mostly walking pace, but all by himself). Balance bikes are fantastic tools for teaching kids to ride bikes.

For the OP, it is about experience and learning to be comfortable on two wheels. As long as the bike isn't too large for the child, weight should not be an issue.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: pandus13
oh,
my 5 years old, has a steel 16" with helping wheels. (she's taller than 7 years olds)
i spaced them so she is not on 4 wheels, but on 3 wheels at all time to start building the 2 wheel balance....

Have you seen kids on run bikes? You can start them at 2-2.5 and if you find a pedal bike small enough, they will be riding without training wheels ever at 3.5 or 4.
We have a rough gravel driveway so training wheels were never an option but the kids were riding a bike at 4 with no problems as all they had to master was pedaling and starting off.

Thank you Indy
Your boys are climbing trees and outdoor stuff

My little 5 years old is a scaredy-cat. She'll get there when she'll get there... :-(

I used the 16" as a running bike to teach the 8 years old 2 wheels balance.
2.5 hours , some bruises and some rainy eyes and she's got it!
We upgraded her to a brand-new 20" (good grades gift) and retrofit the 16" with wheels for the little one till "she gets it"
12" was too small for her

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan

Have you seen kids on run bikes? You can start them at 2-2.5 and if you find a pedal bike small enough, they will be riding without training wheels ever at 3.5 or 4.

We just got one of these balance bikes for our 2.5 year old. He's been "riding" it around the house. I'll try to take him outside this weekend.

 

[PandaBear]

Wife said no kick bike / balance bike, we will be passing the 16" to the younger one eventually so it is not that bad, wife wants the older one to start with something that has training wheels so 16" is as big as it goes, daughter is currently on the small side of her age and she can still fit into some 4T 5T clothes.

Is it my daughter? Maybe, she does want to "ride" the 12" bike in the driveway in circle. She tried but just couldn't go around some of the slight incline even when she stood up on the pedals. Maybe the bike had a bad bearing, but unlikely as the Huffy's in box stores are also too hard for her to ride in. She seems to do ok with the Trek and Cannonbell in sports and bike stores (both 6061 frame, about 19-20lbs) at about $200-210. I was trying to see if it make sense to go a step lighter with Priority F/W at 15lb for $250 (but it has no training wheel), or something in the $300 range at 11-12lb.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Wife said no kick bike / balance bike, we will be passing the 16" to the younger one eventually so it is not that bad, wife wants the older one to start with something that has training wheels so 16" is as big as it goes, daughter is currently on the small side of her age and she can still fit into some 4T 5T clothes.

Is it my daughter? Maybe, she does want to "ride" the 12" bike in the driveway in circle. She tried but just couldn't go around some of the slight incline even when she stood up on the pedals. Maybe the bike had a bad bearing, but unlikely as the Huffy's in box stores are also too hard for her to ride in. She seems to do ok with the Trek and Cannonbell in sports and bike stores (both 6061 frame, about 19-20lbs) at about $200-210. I was trying to see if it make sense to go a step lighter with Priority F/W at 15lb for $250 (but it has no training wheel), or something in the $300 range at 11-12lb.

Turn the 12" around and oil anything and everything including the helping wheels.
roll all the wheels/moving parts, then oil it again

The Pro bikers are going to suggest the thicker oils/greases they use.

For Turbo settings, make sure the princess stickers are on!

Make sure she's not doing it in floppy pajamas (chain catch?)

set the chair to the lowest height.

How is her foot reach to pedals?

 

[Smokescreen]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
My sister and I had Schwinn Stingrays. I can still remember. I was 5 or 6 and she was 8 or 9. We learned to ride those things within an hour. I remember I'd ride in circles to keep my balance,then eventually riding a straight line. Mine was red with ape hangers and a sissybar seat haha. I had a Raw Power on it too!!



I totally remember those...they were pretty cool...at the time cuz I was 3 years old.

 

[PandaBear]

Our local sports basement has a sale on a last year model Cannondale 16" bike. Aluminum frame, fork, and rim that's quite light (much lighter than the 12" Disney bike she had, surprisingly). Daughter was able to ride it by herself and due to clearance (new model year is coming), they slashed the price from $260 to $200. End up getting it home. I don't think I can buy anything lighter in a physical store at this price point.

 

[Andrew1972]

They are but kids manage. My kids did over 20 miles at Acadia national park carriage roads (holly) on a free Specialized and Giant mountain bikes. Both weighed far more then wife and I cannondale bikes.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: IndyIan

Have you seen kids on run bikes? You can start them at 2-2.5 and if you find a pedal bike small enough, they will be riding without training wheels ever at 3.5 or 4.

We just got one of these balance bikes for our 2.5 year old. He's been "riding" it around the house. I'll try to take him outside this weekend.

It's so great to see their faces when they finally start rolling on them with their feet up! Just make sure they can't roll into something at speed, it took my youngest a good crash to realize how long it takes to stop once they get their speed up.
We actually used the run bikes as a family hike extender once they got good at trails, and the runners brand aluminum one is quite light and indestructible. Light enough that they can easily ride/push the bike almost anywhere you can walk once they get abit older.
This was from last winter when we were winter camping, the snow was hard enough they could ride anywhere in the woods, so we stuck the hockey helmets on them and they had a blast.