First bike recommendations?

[NYCVeg]

(Mods: I'm putting this here rather than in toddlers, because I thought those who had children past the toddler age would have the most/best advice--BTDT, etc. Thanks.)

I'm looking for a bike with training wheels for my almost-4yo. She is pretty small for her age (just over 3 feet). I'm trying to find something that is character-free. We'd prefer bright, gender-neutral colors (red, bright blue) to pink or pastels.

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

[LuckyMommaToo]

We're huge fans of balance bikes here, but since you want training wheels -- Specialized is the best brand, I think:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...enuItemId=9270

Their bikes are much, much lighter than most kids' bikes, and so easier to ride. Seriously, once kids ride my son's Specialized bike, they say, "Why is his bike so fast? I want one!"

That said, they are pricey. Resale should be pretty good, though. I could get my May 2006 girl the 16", but you'd probably have to test them first to see what size she's comfortable with.

CHeck your local bike store if you're interested.
-e

[NYCVeg]

I'm so glad for the rec--I just looked at the website of our local bike store, and that's brand they stock for littles. I'm not so worried about price, as it will likely be partially or fully subsidized by the (very generous) grandparents for dd's 4th bday.

How tall is your LO, Erin? Dd takes after her shrimpy mama, and is only a smidge over 3 feet.

[LuckyMommaToo]

She's just at 40" (which I know largely because we just went to Disneyland, and that's the cut-off for a lot of rides!). Partly I would be comfortable because she's so confident on her smaller balance bike that I think the transition up would be okay. If the training wheels are adjusted well and she can reach the pedals, I think it'd be fine.

This chart claims that you can use a 16" bike starting at 34". That seems pretty small to me, though.
http://www.cbssportsstore.com/sm-det...g-2857481.html

If your local bike shop is any good, they should be really helpful. Also, I meant to say in my previous post -- sorry, the girl colors for Specialized are really girly, and almost all the boy ones are half black, so that part probably isn't exactly what you're looking for. But I still think Specialized is worth it!

-e

[cloe]

Raigeigh (spelling) training bike. We got ours in a 12" starter bike. It is very good quality. My husband who used to race bikes chose it over the specalised because it was better construction and strangly cheaper. We got it at one of the local bike stores but you can find it on the internet. But any of the big brands have a trainer bike that are designed for kids and really a step above the target ect brands.

Ours came in a purple/blue and very atractive plain design. Just some stickers to pull off.