Kids Mini Bike Fit and Deposit or Safety Check

We love getting kids onto bikes, it’s one of the reasons we work in the bike trade (it’s not for the money!). We understand that parents want to get their kids to try bikes out, get the size right, and get advice for which bike is right for their growing kid.

We totally get that.

One of the issues we have is that something like 80-90% of kids trying bikes doesn’t translate into any revenue for our shop. Parents (completely understandably) often want to find the right size bike for their kid, and then get a bike second hand, from a friend, older relation, or just buy a bike online. We get it. We also can’t stock every variation of colour and size of every type of bike. We do however try and stock at least one of every size, and can normally order anything else for the next day!

Parents then often come to the store, get kids to try a bike, and buy one elsewhere. We get it, we see it all the time, and we understand why. Presumably you may also understand why we don’t necessarily match the cheapest bike price online – it’s not because we are in London. It’s because it takes more time to sell a bike, set it up, and provide follow up service, than it does to ship a bike in a box for people at home to build. If parents buy a bike online after sizing up at our shop, they often then feel reticent to come in the shop to have that bike checked over, as they may assume we would feel a little bit miffed about it.

So, here’s a product we’re going to trial to make this a bit easier for everyone ahead of Xmas.

For £50, you get 20 mins of time to try various bikes with your child. We can be enthusiastic and helpful as we’d like to be, knowing that we have got a customer, however it pans out. Once we’ve found a bike for your kid, you have two options.

1. Order or buy a bike from us. We will setup the bike (not something you get when you order online) and make it lovely. The £50 then gets taken off the bill (as a deposit), and as a thank you we will even throw in a Mini Hornit bike light bell/buzzer worth £17.99.
2. If you decide to buy a bike elsewhere, a second hand bike etc, then you can do so happily, knowing you’ve got the right size, but then also you can use that £50 you’ve spent with us to put towards a bike safety check/mini service (normally £55). That way your new bike will be assembled correctly, or your new second-hand bike will be made safe to ride, and everyone is happy.

It’s a bit of an experiment, let’s see how we go!

We have plenty of kids bikes in stock at the moment, and pretty much sell any of the products from: (all available before Xmas)

• Hornit – Balance bikes £129 including a free mini (worth £17.99) and can be shipped direct to you for no extra charge.
• Frog – Well known class-leading kids bikes, in lots of sizes and colours.
• Early Rider – No compromise kids bikes with belt drives, and mini-MTB’s!
• Marin – Making some of the most fun bikes and MTB’s for adults and kids since 1986
• Ridgeback – British brand with plenty of bikes for everyone. Good value too.
• Woom – Austrian brand, very popular at the moment and super lightweight.

As you can see, we have a really good range available, and the prices are never more than you see on the companies’ websites, but also come fully assembled with warranty etc.

So, if you like this idea – click on the right hand side there, drop us your £50 and we will see you and your little one soon. It goes without saying, that if you’re not happy, we’ll refund you!