Bicycles for Children – How to Choose?

What do you associate with summer? Since childhood, summer has been associated with the sun, sea, lakes and BICYCLES! Only when the weather warms up, we take our bikes out for evening rides after work, weekends with friends, and summer hikes with family. Therefore, today we are talking to real bike lovers and enthusiasts – Cycle Stories (the founders of an online bicycle store) to tell you everything every parent needs to know about bicycles. We tell you where to start, how to choose and what to pay attention to.

Our great-grandfathers rode bicycles, we rode them, and most likely our grandchildren will continue to ride them. But what has changed in 100 years? If in childhood we used to ride on gravel roads with a big smile on a bike borrowed from our older brother, today every small town can boast of excellent quality long bike paths winding both in parks and in the city center. Today, a bicycle is a hobby, an investment and a vehicle in one. With so many choices and famous names, how can you not get lost when choosing?

How to Choose the Right Bike?

The most important part of choosing a bike is to answer a few questions to yourself:

Who: Does an adult, teenager or a child need a bicycle?

Where: Will you be going on long hiking trips, riding in forests, or are you going to ride only in the city and on bike paths?

How: do you dream of amateur competitions, or maybe you just want a pleasant time with a bike after work?

In order for the result to be really pleasing, we recommend answering the questions honestly and objectively. This is not the way: “…I want to go around the whole of Lithuania.” Only after assessing the circumstances and the current situation, how much space will it really take up in your life.

Budget: We always recommend that you estimate how much money you would like to spend on a bicycle. In our experience, this amount should be multiplied by 1.5. It is that way because most likely after researching the market you will realize that you want more fun/better, and the bike will not be enough. At the same time, it is necessary to purchase certain accessories, e.g. front and rear lamp, lock, helmet, etc.

After you have answered these questions for yourself, we recommend that you contact specialized bicycle shops. There, they can help you choose what you really need.

Which Bike to Choose?

As we mentioned before, the choice of bicycles for adults will depend only on individual needs and many details, and if you can’t make a choice yourself, specialists in a specialized bicycle shop will be able to help you choose.

However, when choosing bicycles for children, you will need to make a number of decisions, and not only to objectively evaluate your own needs and capabilities, but those of the child too. Our advice if you want to develop a love and desire to ride a bike in children for you is to pay as much attention to the choice of bike as you do to yourself.

A Child’s First Introduction to a Bicycle

If you are a true bicycle enthusiast, your little one’s first introduction to the world of bicycles will most likely be a seat.

The First Baby Seats

These are intended for transporting very tiny babies who have just started to sit. These seats are mounted on the front, but have a couple of disadvantages: they make driving very difficult for you, and based on our experience, we can say that babies outgrow these seats very quickly. It should also be mentioned that bicycles are not so popular in our country that there should be such a rush to ride a bicycle with a recently born baby. Therefore, we generally suggest that even the most enthusiastic cyclists wait and take their time with baby seats.

In the Back of the Child Seat

Intended for older babies (from 9 months to 6 years/22 kg). These seats for children are selected according to their weight, so the most important thing is to take into account the parameters specified by the manufacturer. Modern baby seats are extremely comfortable, with securely fastened belts that will not come undone even by the smallest fingers. The new generation seats are not only soft and comfortable, but are designed so that even in the event of a fall, the impact is cushioned to the max to protect your little one. And do you remember the important rule in childhood, don’t dream and don’t stick your feet in the wheels? This is already in the past and our children will not learn such “lessons”. New child seats are designed in such a way that this is practically impossible.

Attachable Children’s Carriages

This is yet another way to transport adults or even several children with one bicycle. The main advantage of these carts is that they are easy to transport, you can put several children, a dog or even things in them. However, there are several main disadvantages – they are much more expensive, when driving with them, it is necessary to carefully assess the route and the surface, and without a doubt, due to the width, the possibilities of passing in certain places decrease.

Bicycles for Children

When children outgrow seats and strollers, it’s time to become independent cyclists. We probably all remember our childhood, when we learned to ride bicycles that were not adapted to us at all, how many roads were broken and what stories we experienced, maybe we can laugh today, but we certainly wouldn’t want to put our little ones in such situations. We always emphasize that if you want to develop children’s love of cycling, it is important to do it consistently and gradually – the safer the lessons, the faster the progress. Gradual training of children to ride bicycles is recommended – balance bikes, children’s bikes, and finally, bikes for bigger ones.

Balancing Bikes for Children

These are the bikes recommended for children from 1.5 years of age. These bicycles allow children to get to know the world of bicycles in a safe and comfortable way. Even if the child has just started walking, these help to feel the balance, and the smaller the child, the faster and easier they learn. We can confirm that after riding a balance bike, children are often able to start riding a normal bike without any additional wheels even on the first day without any problems.

When choosing a balancer, it is very important to pay attention not only to the weight (which is specified quite precisely by the manufacturer), but also to the quality of the details: the wheels must rotate easily and not wobble. Based on many years of experience, we often recommend to our clients to wait a little until their child is 2-2.5 years old, when the child is more independent and understands more, and not to buy the smallest bikes that their child will instantly outgrow.

Choosing Bicycles for Children (3+ Years)

The most important thing is to choose the right size (sizes are measured according to the size of the wheel), and also note that bicycles from different manufacturers vary slightly, so you should not take into account the general instructions, but rather the recommendations of the selected manufacturer. Although the size is very important, the quality of the details is no less important: you should pay attention to the easy rotation of the wheels and working brakes. These things, at least on bicycles for small children, are significant drivers.

Bicycles with Gears for Older Children

These are chosen only after good driving skills have been obtained or if your family needs grow. These bikes are more expensive, so we choose them only as the child’s independence and needs grow.

General Advice for Kids Looking for Bikes

• We do not recommend buying bicycles with shock-absorbing forks – these are not effective in children’s bicycles, and do not add any comfort/lightness;
• We do not recommend bicycles with disc brakes for children under 14 years of age.

Bicycle Accessories

It is not enough to buy a bike, you will need accessories. Keep reading!

Mandatory Bicycle Accessories

Helmets

According to the law of the Republic of Lithuania, helmets are recommended for all adults, and helmets are MANDATORY for children under 18 years of age. Caring parents should not allow their children to sit on a bicycle alone without a helmet. Even if you’ve mastered cycling perfectly, remember that the environment can be quite unpredictable.

It is important to mention that if you do not want the helmet to be the subject of debate and controversy, you should lead by example and have the whole family ride with helmets. And in order for a child to fall in love with a helmet, of course, it should be comfortable. For parents looking for helmets for children, we always recommend paying attention to helmets with additional back protection, beak (forehead protection), additional magnetic connection, good ventilation, replaceable pads and adjustable size. To this day, one of the most beloved of our customers are helmets from the manufacturer WOOM. Not cheap, but worth the price.

Sound and Light Signals

The sound signal is necessary for both adults and children. At first, it brings a lot of joy to the little ones, but eventually the whole family learns this language of communication. We also highly recommend purchasing light signals for both yourself and children. These particularly effectively protect adults even at dusk, and also very clearly warn everyone around about sometimes unpredictable little drivers.

When it comes to locks, you have to keep in mind that unfortunately, bike theft is rampant all over the world, so factoring a lock into the cost is a MUST. We won’t lie, all locks are able to be unlocked, but the main question is how long it takes. Thieves generally avoid picking locks that require half an hour, so if you’ve locked your bike in a group of others, try to make yours look the strongest. Approximate prices of good locks are around 50 euros. Other bicycle accessories are recommended too.

A Standing Leg

We recommend this accessory to all parents who buy bicycles for their grown children. We adults are usually used to protecting our possessions and can get by without a standing leg, our kids may not. Due to the carelessness of the kids, the bike can quickly lose its marketable appearance. This problem is best solved by a standing leg – that way, the bike lasts longer and keeps its great appearance.

Bags

This supplement is mostly relevant for adults, because when traveling with the whole family, don’t forget, you will be the ones who will have to carry all the property. Comfortable and reliable bags are very important, especially on longer trips. Our favorite and most used APIDURA panniers have earned a reputation for their quality and adaptability to any bike.

What’s the Difference?

We are often faced with the question of why buy a bicycle for 800 euros, if the same one costs 200 at the weekend promotion in the supermarket – it’s just wheels and pedals, what could be different? Usually, for those less exposed to it, the differences become especially apparent when meeting other cyclists. You must have felt when a friend who is driving next to you doesn’t even seem to notice and runs by the side, and you are the last one to catch up with him.

A higher price may mean not only just a famous name, but a couple of additional advantages:

• Higher quality, longer-lasting parts, long warranty and specialized reliable service;
• An easy and pleasant ride. When the bike “rolls well”, even the journey Klaipėda-Nida can be a very pleasant and easy ride, even for non-professionals;
• Investment. A more expensive and high-quality bike will always be sold faster and easier if your plans change. It’s a shame that sometimes people save a few hundred euros, but lose a lot of pleasure, and with it, the desire to ride a bike in general.

New or Used Bike?

We usually suggest paying more and looking at the bike as a long-term investment that will last you 10 years, and if your needs or lifestyle change, you’ll sell it much faster and for a lot more.

Used bicycles may be a great alternative for children who are growing quickly, but it is very important to pay attention to the manufacturer’s instructions so that the “cheaper” one matches your child’s abilities and age. And we also always recommend to pay attention and buy only from reliable hands by demanding purchase documents, this is even just a guarantee and a possible service, but you will not support the business of theft. You wouldn’t want your child’s bike to be another child’s lost birthday present, would you?

Finally, we thank Evald Griškevič, Tomas Arvasevičius and their bicycle shop Cycle Stories for a long and detailed interview.

With the support of true bicycle lovers and enthusiasts, we repeat once again, be healthy, happy, responsible cyclists and raise your children as such.

Photo sources: official bicycle manufacturers.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, bear in mind that “Travelling with Children ®” has also selected an article about bicycle paths with children in Vilnius for you that you will certainly enjoy – have a read.

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