How to Choose a Quality Kids' Bike

In my last bike story, Investing in a Lightweight Kids' Bike, I talked about my son's progress over the last year on his Spawn Cycles 16" Banshee.  I wrote about how he can now bike upwards of 16.5 km at five years old and how he loves to spend his days in bike parks learning the skills he'll need on mountain bike trails.

Just another day on his Spawn Banshee

Over the last month I've been talking with other parents who've also chosen Spawn bikes for their children and every one of them came up with the same three reasons for choosing a quality Spawn Bike.

One - Quality Bikes are Lightweight

For why this one is so important, read my last story, Investing in a Lightweight Kids' Bike - Your Child is Worth it.  My friend Coleen says it best in her top reason for choosing Spawn bikes for her three children:

"100% Weight Weight Weight – we wanted our kids to enjoy mountain bike riding like we do and to have success biking longer distances and uphills without having the struggle of trying to ride on a bike that was more than 1/2 their weight and that they would have to walk up 99% of the hills."

Coleen's son on the Spawn Savage 1.0 in Fernie

Investing in a Lightweight Kids' Bike - Your Child is Worth It!

When Noah got his first 16" Spawn Cycles bike a year ago, I didn't know a single other parent who had  chosen this kind of bike for their child.  Most of my friends had children on balance bikes and from there were moving up to a generic pedal bike from Walmart or ToysRus.  Now a year later, I get emails and texts weekly from friends and acquaintances telling me that they have just bought their child a first pedal bike - and have chosen a Spawn bike just like Noah's.  Meanwhile, I also see moms come out to my Junior Biker Gang events that I run in Calgary with their three and four year olds - often on their first pedal bike ever, and often on a Spawn bike.  One by one, most of my friends are choosing to invest in a Spawn bike and it feels like my outdoor playgroup community should practically be sponsored by Spawn Cycles.

Ride on! A Junior Cyclist's Christmas Wish List

What's the best Christmas gift you could give the outdoor child who loves biking?  A new bike?  A bike upgrade?  Funky new helmet or cycling gloves?  Here is my Christmas gift guide for the junior cyclist in your family - guaranteed to make them squeal Christmas morning!

Ride on!  A Junior Cyclist's Christmas Wish List

One - A Spawn Cycles Bike

While you could go down to ToysRus or Walmart to pick up your child's first bike, there's nothing like an aluminum light-weight bike to help your child master the sport of cycling.  Whether your child prefers pavement or trails, a good bike will get them where they want to go faster.  

My son got his Spawn Cycles 16" Banshee bike this spring and it was incredible to watch how quickly he went from average to amazing on the little green machine!  We transitioned from a balance bike to the new pedal bike in a couple of weeks.

The Spawn Cycles 16" Banshee

The Spawn bikes are not cheap but they are an investment!  They can be passed down to siblings, onto friends, and then onto their siblings.  This isn't a bike that you throw away after a year when it's fallen apart.  

My Junior Rider

To read the full review I wrote on the Spawn Banshee, visit Kids on Wheels - Choosing a Good Bike.  

For more information on the complete line up of Spawn Cycles bikes, visit their website at Spawn Cycles.  Their pedal bikes come in 14", 16" and now 20" with the new Spawn Cycles Savage 1.0 and 2.0.

Off Trail Riding on the Spawn Banshee

I can think of no better gift for an outdoor kid than a new bike under the Christmas tree this year.   And it's the perfect time to justify buying a new bike, right?

Bikes can only be ordered online so visit the Spawn Cycles website.  (Order NOW for all Christmas orders.  They sell out fast.)

Fall Riding

Two - A Fun New Bike Helmet

How much fun would it be to see a cool new bike helmet under the tree in your child's favourite color? Check out the great collection of helmets at All out Kids Gear and support a local Alberta business this Christmas. 

You've got to wear a helmet so you might as well make it as fun as possible to wear one.  Style is everything - even to children.  And who knows, maybe that child who protests and fights every time you pull out the bike helmet would finally agree to wear it if they got to choose a fun new design.

Bike helmets don't have to be boring

Three - Bike Gloves

Safe and Fun!  When a kid falls, it's inevitably the hands that take some of the worst beating.  But it's so preventable.  Buy a cheap pair of bike gloves and your child is not only cool (I'm a real biker now!)  but safer and protected from falls.  We actually had a rule in our house when our son was learning to ride his bike that he didn't get on it unless he was wearing a helmet, long pants, AND gloves.  

Nothing ends a bike ride real fast like scraped hands or knees.

Our favourite bike gloves are the Zippyrooz half finger or full finger gloves that you can order online through All Out Kids Gear. They're lightweight, comfortable, and super stretchy (meaning they'll last a few years!) 

These gloves are also great for hiking and rock climbing! (anything that saves the hands in a fall.)

Off Trail Riding with Bike Gloves - recommended!

Four - Their Very Own Bike Jersey

If you watch cycling on TV with your child, they will know that real cyclists wear jerseys.  How cool would it be therefore to get one of their very own?  And while they are super hard to find, Rocky Mountain Rags out of Colorado has a great kids' collection of jerseys.   

One of our friends showing off his bike jersey at the Canmore Nordic Centre

Five - A Bell!

I'm pretty sure it's required by law to have a bell on your bike here in Canada.  And who doesn't want to have one on their bike anyway?!  Especially for kids - it's the best part about their bike.  And again, another great idea for stocking stuffer!!

Little Bike, Big Bell

And for the child yet to become a Cycle Master - a Balance Bike

Skip the training wheels and teach your child to ride with a balance bike.  Spawn Cycles has a balance bike called the Spawn Tengu which comes complete with hand brakes.  (unusual for a balance bike.)  This is a great option for the dare devil child who can't stay away from hills and is destined for big wipe-outs without a brake. (My son could have used one.)

Mountain Biking on the Strider Balance Bike

For my family personally, we had a Strider Balance Bike which did not have a hand brake, but was light!!

We did a lot of bike hikes with our Strider Balance Bike which involved me carrying the bike up hills, mountains, and steep paths so that my son could ride on flatter terrain up top (or ride down from the top.) For me, a lightweight balance bike was more important than something that had brakes.  

Strider Bike Hiking on Nose Hill

This Christmas, put a balance bike under the tree for your child and you'll be able to teach him or her to ride it in your basement or living room until the snow melts a bit. For bikes, new tires, and other Strider Accessories in Calgary, contact Strider Bike Canada. 

Find my complete set of holiday gift guides below

A Holiday Gift Guide for Happy Campers

A Holiday Gift Guide for Active Kids 

A Ski Family's Holiday Gift Guide 

A Holiday Gift Guide for Outdoor Families: Trips, Activities, and Tours 

A Holiday Gift Guide for Winter Hiking and Snowshoeing  

Top Ten Christmas Gifts for Snowy Winter Fun  

Ride on! A Junior Cyclist's Christmas Wish List

Snow Warm! An Outdoor Mom's Christmas Wish List 

Christmas Gift Ideas for Outdoor Children 

Favourite Summer Bike Trails and a Visit to the Fernie Skills Park

I have at least 10 stories waiting to be written - all related to biking, so I've combined all of the trail related posts into one story here, summarizing where we've been in our summer biking adventures.  If you've been following my Kids on Wheels series, you'll know that we are pretty serious about getting our whole family on wheels (myself included), that we've upgraded Noah's bike, enrolled him in bike classes, and want family biking to be front and center in our lives. 

Favourite Summer Trails With a Balance Bike

One -  Watridge Lake and Karst Spring, Mt. Shark Kananaskis

This is a 9km bike hike combo trip that we did while staying at Mount Engadine Lodge in June.  While the trail was closed for a while after the June flood, everything is open again, and you can access Mt. Shark trailhead from Canmore or Hwy 40 again.  We loved this easy mountain bike ride on an old logging road that was very family friendly.  We walked the steep hills and gave Noah the occasional push here and there.  We were extremely proud that Noah did the entire trip by himself to Watridge Lake and  back on his Strider balance bike.  I wasn't sure if he would be able to ride the whole 7.5km round trip without serious problems in motivation and energy but he did awesome and rocked it!  He even had the energy to run up to Karst Spring from the lake so that we could see the water gushing out of a hole in the ground and tumbling down in a thundering waterfall.  It was very cool to see and highly recommended with kids. We left the bikes at the lake for the short hike to the spring and back as it was very steep and NOT bike friendly on any kind of bike.

We definitely plan to repeat this trip next summer and Noah will be on his pedal bike for it.  Hopefully I'll have a new mountain bike by then too.  ;) 

Riding to Watridge Lake

Kids on Wheels - Choosing a good bike!

If you've been following my Kids on Wheels Series you should know that I am absolutely passionate about getting kids on their first bike at an early age and that I believe in choosing a good bike!  I have never been a crazy mountain biker flying down mountains  but I loved riding my bike when I was a kid and the memories carry with me into adulthood.  I remember riding around my neighborhood with my brother seeking out new playgrounds, riding to the store, and even decorating my bike for neighborhood parades with crepe paper woven through the spokes. I want my son to have  those memories too! - with a bit of extra challenge of course.  :)  I am hoping he'll take his bike places I'd never dream of riding and we're off to a good start because he's already done more mountain biking on his little balance bike than I've done in my entire life.

My four year old on his first pedal bike