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Lightweight kids bike

mikhamora9

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My kiddo is 3 and has a Cruzee balance bike. It's bloody brilliant - under 2kg and he can zoooooom on it.
However he's extremely keen for a pedal bike and I'd like to get him one for Christmas. The thing is that everything I look at is so much heavier - around the 8-10kg mark even for the 'lightweight' bikes. Given that I'll have to carry the darn thing home from childcare/whenever we go for walks and he gets sick of it, I'm willing to pay a bit more for not killing myself carrying an awkward shape while chasing a three year old
Are there any recommendations? I'd hoping to buy something second hand in the three months before Christmas...
 

scott43

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IMHO, 3 is pretty early for a pedal bike. Maybe wait a year? Neither of my boys were pedaling until 4. Every kid is different so YMMV.
 

Wilhelmson

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I was reminiscing the other day about the time 12 years ago we took our 3 year old boy and 1 year old daughter camping in NH and ride out a category 1 hurricane in a tent. That was the end of that tent but it cleared up the next day and we took my kids training wheels off for the first time. My daughter wanted nothing to do with learning to ride until much later. Even then for a while she was scared of hills. Now she rides to her friends’s homes all the time.
 

Wilhelmson

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REI has a few 12 inch bikes. That’s what we got ours and then sold it for 1/2 price a few years later. I don’t know if it really makes a difference at that age. That would be cool if he used it at daycare but more likely it would be a once or twice a week in a parking lot somewhere if you take him.
 

wiread

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My kids have had Frog for balance and then first pedal bikes, then moved to Cleary and now on to specialized. If you want lighter weight, you're going to be spending a fair amount. at 3, they can keep striding IMO. No need for pedals, sure they can do it, but it doesn't change much. 2 of my kids were zooming everywhere between 1-2 on a balance bike to the point they could keep up with me easily. When bigger brother started pedaling at 5, little brother was 3 and was right on his tail with the balance bike.

My point, pedaling is easy, it takes them 45 seconds to figure it out after they've been on the balance bike for a while and are better riders for it. I'd wait until they're bigger and older and you can get a bike they're big enough to move themselves and with sprockets that will actually make a difference when pedaling.
 

tromano

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These kids 12" pedal bikes are ridiculously over built and very heavy. We never found a lightweight option. If your kids are small a 12" pedal bike may be a good idea since they will get a lot out of it.

But if they are big for age and growing fast into 16" land best to keep them on the balance bikes and wait for that. The 16" bikes are just a lot better and weigh similar to the 12" bikes.
 

socalgal

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We started our daughter young on a balance bike. Then a 12 inch specialized hotrock via CL, then a 14 inch Hotrock also via CL. Then she went up to a 16 inch Priority Start (a fantastic bike!). Now she's on a 20 inch mtb.

The point being, yes we really wanted a low weight bike in the early years due to her being petite for her age. But the "good" lightweight brands are few and far between on the used market.

But if you do buy new, you can sell them super easy. I really liked the Priority bikes, also Woom and Cleary. A website I used was this one .

Yes, carrying a bike plus a toddler is awkward, but manageable .
 

dan ross

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Kids bikes are heavy for their size partially because they are built with cheaper tubing - not that it’s not strong - but strong, AND light tubing is much more expensive and the frame triangles so small as to make it unreasonable.
 

cantunamunch

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Kids bikes are heavy for their size partially because they are built with cheaper tubing - not that it’s not strong - but strong, AND light tubing is much more expensive and the frame triangles so small as to make it unreasonable.

You're not wrong, but I think proportionally cheap hubs and wheel builds (and crank/bb/hs) are more to blame for kid bike overall weights.

In the 20" size, cheap hub/wheel weight becomes less of a factor - because BMX trickledown.

EDIT: I confess I had absolutely no idea about the number of difficulties a *lightweight* kids bike builder faces until I spoke to Gabriel Lang of Altruiste who took it as a personal challenge to build his daughter bikes that fit her as she grew.
 
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dan ross

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You're not wrong, but I think proportionally cheap hubs and wheel builds (and crank/bb/hs) are more to blame for kid bike overall weights.

In the 20" size, cheap hub/wheel weight becomes less of a factor - because BMX trickledown.
Agreed , a hub is a hub , bottom bracket, etc regardless of size -to a certain point . Thus, their percentage of the overall weight to size ratio is greater. I’m sure my first pedal bike at age 4 ( pre-BMX) had a huge weight to size ratio but what did I know?-I was just happy to be riding and experiencing autonomy and “ speed” for the first time you had to pry me off of it.
 

tball

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Get a pedal bike @mikhamora9 ! Every kid is different. Having twins emphasizes that with everything they do.

Both kids were on balance bikes from about as soon as they could walk. Our son has the bicycle gene, and amazed us from day one on the bike (as his twin sister did in different ways).

I had to post one of my favorite videos to show off our son's first time on a pedal bike at 3 1/2. He jumped on his cousin's bike and just started riding. It also shows one of my best dad saves. :ogbiggrin:



We bought him a pedal bike shortly after that, while his twin sister stuck to the Strider until about five.

20150602_175454.jpg


We kept his Strider around for a couple more years, as it was more fun for him at the pump track, and he enjoyed switching back and forth.

20150703_191819.jpg


Pump tracks are awesome for kids of all ages. So much fun, and they build great bike handling skills.
 

Erik Timmerman

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There are some bikes that are lighter than the typical kid's fare. Trailcraft would be one. Maybe Spawn cycles? It's crazy where the weight on some of the kid's bikes is. 600g handlebars? WTF?
 

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