Anyone find a deal on a Girls 16" Bike w/ training wheels/Can you recommend a brand?

[carriescar]

Hello All,

I am shopping for a 16" bike with training wheels for my 3 year old.
Has anyone found a great deal on one?
Can you recommend a brand that you have been happy with?

Thanks!

[pjsmom30]

We love the Trek Jet. They are really expensive, but I have gotten two of them on Craigslist for great deals.

[mnosky1]

The use won't be very long so I vote get her favorite character (or a more neutral one) at Walmart.

[emily_gracesmama]

We got a princess one at Kmart for $53, it was on sale and we had a $5 coupon, Kmart and Walmart will assemble free, TRU charges $10 to do it.

[katydid1971]

Another vote for Walmart

[WatchingThemGrow]

We've done the balance bike thing up until now, and DD is getting a 16" Specialized Hotrock for her 4th bday, even though it will likely be a touch too tall for her still. I think a 12" is recommended for most 3yos. Have you had her fitted at a bike shop? Treks are nice too, just a good bit heavier (lighter means easier to pedal). There are lots of Trek Mystic bikes on our CL for a song, but DD's set on a lello Hotrock.

[pinay]

We just bought DD a bike with training wheels from Target for her 3rd birthday. She's really tall for her age but it's still a little too big for her to be comfortable on it (we got a 16') I believe it was $49.99 plus tax and is pink and purple, no characters on it just some stars and pink/purple handlebar streamers.

[kellybelly0513]

Wow, a 16" bike for a 3 year old? She must be tall! We just got a 16" for my 6 year old dd. We got it at Walmart, she wanted a barbie bike. Before that she was riding a 12" bike from a few years ago.

[MissyAg94]

My four year old DD just learned to ride w/o training wheels on a 12" bike. It was great for her to be able to touch the ground while sitting on the seat! She can't do that on a 16" bike. We are planning to get her a 16" bike for her fifth birthday. I was hoping to get a bike not made in China but that's looking pretty unlikely. I'm going to check out the brands listed above for more options.

[MommytoEliana]

We got DD a 16" Schwinn from TRU for her 3rd birthday. (She is/was very tall for her age.) We've been happy with it--it has lasted very nicely the last three years and is still in great shape. One of the selling points for us was that it had both pedal brakes and hand brakes so that she could learn to use the latter. (Not that she actually has--she says she'll wait for her next bike to learn the hand ones.) When she wanted to take off the training wheels, a few months after she turned four, we lowered the seat so she could touch the ground while she learned. It worked great.

She's outgrown this bike now and we're searching for a 20" for sometime this summer (birthday or other). Not sure if we'll go for another Schwinn or move up to something like a Trek.

[pjsmom30]

My youngest son started riding his brother's 16" last summer when he was just over 3, so we bought him his own. The 12 inch was way too small for him and he had trouble riding it.

The Trek and the Hotrock both have low centers of gravity to make balancing easier. Avoid mountain bike styles unless you have really adventurous kids. They put your weight center higher and towards the front of the bike.