I am being very wary of not putting my own ambitions on the shoulder of soon to be 4-year-old Jonas. It is important that he does whatever he wants, and what he thinks I want him to do. To ride a bike, however, is mandatory.
He has been riding a Strider ST4 balance bike since he was two and fancies the 3-wheel scooters as well. As he got closer to 4 years old he was ready for a bike with pedals. The search for a bike began.
Honestly, the selection of children bikes is mostly rubbish. They claim a lightweight of «just» 8kg. My own bike is around that weight, and when Jonas is weighing 15kg, that would be equivalent as my bike was 36kg(!). Finding the joy of cycling was really important to me, and that is difficult with poor equipment. We ended up with an Early Rider Belter 16«, which looked like the best bike a 4-year-old could have. A belt drive chain is a huge advantage and made of high-quality aluminium parts makes the weight a class leader of 5,6 kg.
Learning to ride a bike is difficult, but kids learn at an astonishing pace. After three focused sessions of 20 minutes, he said; you can let go now. After that, he hasn’t looked back. Only a few days in he rode 11km in one day(!) and can maintain a speed of 10km/h.
Is the Early Rider Belter 16″ the best bike for kids you can buy? At least I have not found anything better, not even anything close. The low weight, belt drive and overall great quality parts make it superior to any other option I have seen. Except for the slippery pedals, I could don’t see how it can be made better.¨
Is it worth the price of £299+shipping? (around 4200 NOK including customs). While 5,6 kg is light, it is surely enough for Jonas. He is just strong enough to lift it up and generally handling the bike getting it in the elevator, doors etc. He thinks to ride up minor uphills is truly hard and sometimes he has to stop and walk with the bike to get up. With a bike of 8 kg, it would make it significantly more difficult for him to handle it, and difficult to enjoy riding. For that reason, I would say it is worth the price, even at 2 – 3 times higher than other bikes for kids in that age.
Allans triatlonverden 
Halloen Allan. Takker for anbefalingen om denne sykkelen, den har vært kilden til mye sykkelglede for hele familien. Nå er det snart tid for at lillebror må ta over denne sykkelen, og da må vi kjøpe ny til storebror. Har du også kommet så langt at du har begynt å lete etter en større sykkel? Jeg er villig til å stole blindt på dine anbefalinger etter denne suksessen :).
Morsomt du spørr. Jeg ser litt etter en erstatning når Jonas når blir 6 år. Vurderer sterkt Early Rider Belter 20″ https://bikeshop.no/early-rider/er015/early-rider-belter-20-barnesykkel-aluminium-4-gir-5-5-8-%c3%a5r-8-kg som er lik den tidligere sykkelen men litt større og 4 gir i navet.
I dag så jeg i midlertidig at Scott har kommet med en «racer-sykkel» med bukkestyre men grovere dekk og skivebrems som så ganske kul ut. Skal få tekniske spesifikasjoner og pris i morgen (ser ingenting på nettsidene til Scott om sykkelen men Oslo Sportslager fikk de i dag)