Get The Right Bike, Dad!
Channel: James Rose
Date: 2021-05-08

The story of how we eventually found the right bike. And how, after much stumbling around, the perfect pedal bike was found. It began well with this tiny balance bike - cheap and cheerful with charming animal prints along the crossbar. Teddy loved this little bike, he went everywhere on it. - experiencing his first biking thrills - and spills.
We got him a really good balance bike - so he could start doing some of the stunts he was watching on YouTube … Teddy was going to CycleMeTots riding classes where he used the STRIDER BIKE. We got one for him. It was an epic balance bike; he got stronger, faster, braver. It was perfect for the BMX track and the skate park - it was orange and super cool.
If Teddy is this good on a balance bike surely the transition to a pedal bike would be easy. We don’t have much footage of Teddy riding this bike. It is a TANK - made from a heavy girder - clearly labelled in the shop as suitable for 5 to 6 year olds - Teddy was a small 4 year old  - it was too big - Teddy liked the police theme so we got it - he mainly rode it around in circles. To put this right we bought him a smaller girder bike from the same shop with charming animal prints on the chain guard - It had a little attachment on the back for a pole that could stabilise the bike. We will always remember this bike as it was the one on which he eventually struck out on his own. … But it was heavy, difficult to ride and didn’t give him the same thrill as the Strider … Look at this - he just loves it! So then we thought - his first proper pedal bike could be a BMX bike - he’d love it.  Here is the BMX bike we got for him. What is our problem?  It’s the wrong size! Clearly too big. - Teddy tries really hard - but can’t reach the brakes or the floor. We left Teddy with a bike he was desperate to ride - but couldn’t! To make matters worse the Strider bike broke! I had failed to keep the tyres properly inflated and Teddy’s ramping and jumping had finally torn the back tyre open - I could not find a replacement.
It was about this time that TIGO Bikes asked if I could I do some photography and video work for them - this was a lot of fun - they had a range of products - and they let Teddy keep their prototype bike. He loves this bike like he loved his Strider. It quickly superseded the Strider. We took it everywhere. It is a fantastic balance bike.
But we still had to find the right bike for Teddy to make the transition to pedals - So we, my wife and I,  took the unusual step, for us, of going to a proper cycle shop, where the friendly staff measured Teddy and sold us an appropriate sized bike. Teddy likes the colours and it looks like he has a sponsorship deal from Sky Television - it is actually a Frog bike, limited edition. Finally - could this be a pedal bike he will enjoy riding - The early signs are encouraging. We’ll put the kink bike away for a year. - It is a great bike and he’ll love it in due course.  The Tigo balance bike is here to stay, or until he gets too big for it. The heavy girder bikes will find their way to the charity shop. So, to sum up - go to a good bike shop and ask for advice - Don’t get a bike they will grow into or one that is cheap and heavy. - Get a good one for right now and they will love it.