Kids’ bikes in Crouch End
Kids grow. Bikes stubbornly do not. That is the whole problem with buying one, and it is why we keep a proper run of sizes in the shop rather than one lonely 16 incher gathering dust in the corner.
Woom are probably the kids’ bike brand parents most want right now. Beautifully made, light as anything, and full of thoughtful details, including a single green brake lever so children who haven’t sorted left from right yet always know which hand to use. The range runs from balance bikes for toddlers right through to geared bikes for older children.
Early Rider are something of an insider’s choice. A British brand, obsessively designed, with belt drives on the pedal bikes (no oily trousers, almost zero maintenance) and a look that holds up long after cheaper bikes have started looking tatty. We’re one of only a handful of London stockists.
We also carry Hornit balance bikes, a fantastic option if you want something excellent without stretching to Woom prices, and can order in Marin and Ridgeback kids’ bikes. Shop all our kids’ bikes.
Balance bikes
No pedals, no stabilisers, no stress. Kids work out balance on their own and then skip straight to riding, usually in an afternoon. Stabilisers teach the wrong thing entirely, which is a hill we are happy to die on.
GO 1Plus
Lightweight kids’ bike with 14″ wheels, balance bike, longer wheelbase, ideal for around 3–4 years.
£285
First pedals
Straight off the balance bike, usually around three or four. Light matters more than anything here: if they can pick it up themselves, they will ride it themselves.
16 inch
Four to six, roughly. Confident riding, proper braking, and the first bike they will really remember. The auto gear versions are quietly brilliant round here, because Crouch End is not flat and nobody wants a gear lesson on a hill.
20 inch
Six to eight. This is the bike that does the school run, the Sunday park lap, and the first proper family ride where they keep up the whole way.
24 inch and up
Eight and older. At this point you are buying a real bike that happens to be small, and you will probably be borrowing it to nip to the shops.
What size does my kid need?
The two things we say every single day
- Measure the inside leg, not the birthday. Two six year olds can be a full wheel size apart. A tape measure beats a guess every time.
- Please don’t buy one to grow into. A bike that is too big is frightening to ride, and frightening bikes live in the shed. Buy the one that fits now. They are genuinely easy to sell on, or to hand down.
| Wheel | Rough age | Inside leg | What that stage looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 inch | 1.5 to 3.5 | 30 to 35 cm | Balance bike. Feet down, scooting about, no pedals in sight. |
| 14 inch | 3 to 4.5 | 36 to 42 cm | First proper pedals, usually straight off a balance bike. |
| 16 inch | 4 to 6 | 40 to 48 cm | Riding properly, learning to use brakes like a grown up. |
| 20 inch | 6 to 8 | 52 to 58 cm | Gears appear. This is the school run and the park lap bike. |
| 24 inch | 8 to 11 | 57 to 65 cm | A real bike in miniature. They will go further than you expect. |
| 26 inch | 9 and up | 65 cm plus | Basically a small adult bike, and often faster than you uphill. |
Swipe the table sideways for the full guide.
Those are rough guides, not rules. Bring them in and we will sit them on a couple of sizes and set it up properly. It takes ten minutes and saves a lot of regret.
Why these bikes?
We have young kids ourselves, so we have done the school run, the first wobbly lap of the park, and the “I don’t want to ride it any more” negotiation. We stock the bikes we would put our own children on: light, properly sized, and good enough that the next child in the family still wants it.
The single biggest thing is weight. A lot of supermarket kids’ bikes weigh almost as much as the child riding them. Come in and pick one up next to a Woom or an Early Rider. It is the fastest way to understand what you are actually paying for, and it takes about four seconds.
Woom
Austrian, and completely obsessive about weight. Every part, from the brake levers to the cranks, is built around a child’s hands and proportions rather than shrunk down from an adult bike. If you want the easiest possible bike for a kid to get on with, this is usually the answer.
Early Rider
British designed and built to be ridden hard. The Belter range runs a belt instead of a chain, so there is no oil, no rust and almost nothing to maintain, which is ideal if the bike lives outside or gets handed down. Seekers are light trail bikes. Hellions are proper mountain bikes for kids who have caught the bug.
Hornit
Lightweight balance bikes at a friendlier price. A very sensible way in if you are not ready to spend Woom money on something that gets eighteen months of hard use and a lot of dribble.
Frog. We no longer stock or recommend Frog. Here is what happened and what we would put your child on instead.
Marin and Ridgeback. We do not keep many of the kids’ ranges in stock, but we can order them in. If you have a specific model in mind, ask us and we will get you a price and a realistic lead time.
What happened to Frog bikes?
If Frog is what brought you here, this is the honest version.
Frog built genuinely good children’s bikes, and for years they were the ones we pointed parents at. They got the thinking right at a time when almost nobody else did. Light aluminium frames in place of the steel weights most children were being handed. Cranks shortened to suit short legs. Narrow pedal spacing so small knees track straight instead of splaying out. Brake levers a six year old can actually pull with one hand. None of that sounds dramatic written down. Watch a child on a bike that has none of it, fighting the thing instead of riding it, and the difference is obvious in about ten seconds.
The company has since been sold, and it now sits inside the group that owns Sports Direct. That is a different business making different decisions. We stopped stocking them around that point and we do not recommend them today.
The good news is that you have lost nothing. Woom and Early Rider are built on the same idea and, in our honest opinion, execute it better. The same obsession with weight, the same componentry sized for children rather than shrunk down from adult parts, and in Early Rider’s case belt drives that survive a winter in the garden without a single link of rusty chain.
Both are still independent companies who make children’s bikes because they care about children’s bikes. Buying one of those supports them, and supports a small shop on Crouch Hill that will size it properly, set it up properly, and still be here when the saddle needs raising. We think that is a better place for your money.
Come in and put your child on a Woom and an Early Rider back to back. It usually settles itself in five minutes, and it costs nothing to find out.
Carrying the kids yourself?
Before they can ride the whole way, you are the engine. We are cargo bike specialists too, and you can try any of these up the hill outside the shop, which is a far better test than a flat car park.
Come and try a couple of sizes
Ten minutes in the shop beats an hour of guessing online, and we will set the bike up properly before it leaves. If we do not have the size or colour your mini boss has set their heart on, we can usually get it in within a day or two.
We are at 143 Crouch Hill, N8 9QH. Sprocket, our Barketing Manager, greets most visitors and will be extremely pleased to see your children.