bike for a 4 year old boy?

[DualvansMommy]

DH & I want to get DS a bike as part of his birthday presents. I'm so so overwhelmed with all the varieties and choices. I saw the balance bike that came highly recommended here, but it looked to me it's the kind of bike that DS1 will very quickly outgrow though.

right now he is 37 pounds at 40 inches tall, but those measurements were taken last October and i feel like he has grown another inch and half since then. dh wants a ordinary bike where we can put training wheels on it and take it off when he mastered the skill of riding it as opposed to getting him a teeny beginnger bike to outgrow it quickly. I, on the other hand think it'll be ok to get a balance kind of bike as i can always keep that to pass on to DS2 when DS1 outgrows it.

My issue with ordinary bike with training wheels is that the height of those bikes is still too hard for DS1 to hop on/off with ease??

any recs? i want to order it within 2 weeks to get it in time for his birthday early June.

[MommyAllison]

Dd2 is 40" tall and just switched from her Strider balance bike to a 12" bike without training wheels. The Strider didn't have much room left to grow, but it did make her transition to the 12" bike very simple. I resold the balance bike on Craigslist for $5 less than I paid, so it was definitely worth it! Strider does make a taller seat post for older kids, if you want to go the balance bike route. Generally, the thought is that when kids are just getting started without training wheels, a slightly small bike is better than a slightly too big bike. They feel more secure if they can easily put their feet down on the ground. The 12" bike probably won't last Dd2 long since she is so tall, but a 16" would be too much for her right now.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We did a balance bike first, but at 4, the specialized 16" was a bit too tall for her to put her feet flat on the ground. Since she could already fly on the balance bike, we had the seat post cut and stuck her on the bigger bike. We ended up buying a 12" bike for subsequent DC because they learned to ride earlier. So, I highly recommend the balance bike route and getting a used 12" once he masters that. I'm just not a fan of training wheels when a more efficient method is available.

Craigslist specialized bikes have been a huge hit for our DC. Aside from the first new bike we got, we have not given bikes for birthdays, more just a "right" to have, iykwim.


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[AngB]

We just did an 16 inch bike with training wheels for our tall 4 yo. We had tried balance bikes with him (he has had a Strider since before he was 2, he never got the hang of it and really started preferring anything else instead of it, even just walking) but it never clicked. We got a lightweight bike (Raliegh mxr16 or something like that, which got fairly good reviews on the twowheelingtots site and a price we can live with...) It has taken him longer than I expected to figure out pedaling so I don't think he would have been able to skip the training wheels even if he had the balancing down already. The good thing is he loves his bike and will ride it which is huge progress over the balance bike.

[teresah00]

We got my son a 12 specialized hotrock for his 4th bday (used off CL for $50). He had ridden a balance bike until then and Will still occasionally use DD's strider. I just bought him a 16 in hotrock. He'll turn 5 in July, is 47 inches and 46lbs.
Check out twoweheelingtots for recommendations if you go for a balance bike. There are some designed for bigger/taller kids and some for 2yo size.

[DualvansMommy]

Thanks all for your great feedback! some of you echoed some of my sentiments regarding "training bikes" with training wheelies, i feel they don't really do any favors to the little one learning to ride.

twowheelingtots is a really awesome site!!! thanks so much for referring me to it! I already decided and leaning between the ridgeback scoot or scoot XL, DS1 seems to be right between those two bikes as far his age/size go. I have coupons to use, so price doesn't seem too far fetched for us.

[teresah00]

I don't know how far you are from Plainfield or Neward, but they both have boys and girls club bike exchange and have great deals. It's all a matter of what they get donated, but you can check their FB page or call. My friend just got a 16 in specialized hotrock for $30