Children's 16" Bike - anyone had a Vitus?
Discussion
Hello,
I've got a four year old who is doing well on their balance bike, and a starter bike seems an ideal Christmas gift. Does anyone have any experience of a Vitus 16? I've had my eye on the usual suspects for a while (Early Rider, Islabikes, Frog, Forme, Hoy etc) on eBay, with the idea that I could just buy a decent condition one as and when it's required, rather than it be a Christmas or birthday present. Now that it has ended up being for Christmas, I'm a bit too constrained by time to wait for the right bike (and more importantly the right colour!) to come up for sale, so I've been looking at new instead.
The Vitus seems to tick all the right boxes - it is light, has brake levers for small hands, has the right "Q-factor", everything seems adjustable, and generally appears to be a small version of a proper bike, rather than a BSO. Have I missed anything?
Something from a more well-known child bike brand is mostly pricier and/or out of stock - Islabikes Cnoc 16 is £100 more. But then I would expect that after two children have got some use out of it, and it has been sold on for probably not a huge loss, that I wouldn't greatly notice the difference. Or is it a bit like a car situation where the brand is driving the higher price more than the equipment?
I realise that asking for feedback on bikes that adults won't actually be able to ride themselves, is of limited value, but any opinions or advice appreciated
I've got a four year old who is doing well on their balance bike, and a starter bike seems an ideal Christmas gift. Does anyone have any experience of a Vitus 16? I've had my eye on the usual suspects for a while (Early Rider, Islabikes, Frog, Forme, Hoy etc) on eBay, with the idea that I could just buy a decent condition one as and when it's required, rather than it be a Christmas or birthday present. Now that it has ended up being for Christmas, I'm a bit too constrained by time to wait for the right bike (and more importantly the right colour!) to come up for sale, so I've been looking at new instead.
The Vitus seems to tick all the right boxes - it is light, has brake levers for small hands, has the right "Q-factor", everything seems adjustable, and generally appears to be a small version of a proper bike, rather than a BSO. Have I missed anything?
Something from a more well-known child bike brand is mostly pricier and/or out of stock - Islabikes Cnoc 16 is £100 more. But then I would expect that after two children have got some use out of it, and it has been sold on for probably not a huge loss, that I wouldn't greatly notice the difference. Or is it a bit like a car situation where the brand is driving the higher price more than the equipment?
I realise that asking for feedback on bikes that adults won't actually be able to ride themselves, is of limited value, but any opinions or advice appreciated
Virus get reviewed well by the likes of two wheeled tots etc, I think it would be a good bet.
Frog and Isla have really good re-sale values, you’d likely get ~2/3 of the price back in a few years time. Isla sometimes go for -80% of retail second hand!
We went from a Hotwalk BB to a Frog 43 (14”) wheel at just over 3yrs which lasted him about 5yrs old and then we went onto a 20” wheel (Giant ARX).
The Frog was £240 new and I sold it for £150 within a day on FB.
The 16” should last a while.
Frog and Isla have really good re-sale values, you’d likely get ~2/3 of the price back in a few years time. Isla sometimes go for -80% of retail second hand!
We went from a Hotwalk BB to a Frog 43 (14”) wheel at just over 3yrs which lasted him about 5yrs old and then we went onto a 20” wheel (Giant ARX).
The Frog was £240 new and I sold it for £150 within a day on FB.
The 16” should last a while.
My niece has been riding with no stabilisers since she was 3 and when she outgrew her islabike cnoc 14, I looked at getting her a vitus, in the end I opted for a ridgeback melody 16” and it has been excellent I would say it’s no worse than the islabike for half the cost, the geometry is perfect for her, has the same tektro brakes the Islabike had and she loves it.
Edited by Am43 on Friday 4th December 11:45
Matt_N said:
Frog and Isla have really good re-sale values, you’d likely get ~2/3 of the price back in a few years time. Isla sometimes go for -80% of retail second hand!
I've made money on each of the Islabikes I've bought for my kids.I buy the best secondhand one I can find for a reasonable price, keep them for both kids, and then give them a thorough clean.
They've always sold for more than I paid. Not by a lot, but always a profit. You have to have the original outlay on hand, but buy smart and they work out well.
We have 3 Frogs on on the fleet at the moment, but it will be at least 3 years before I know whether they pay for themselves, but I doubt I'll be much out of pocket.
A couple of years ago I think Isla/Frog had a clear advantage, but I think other manufacturers have cottoned on to their market niche and I don't think they stand out so much any more. The main thing was the geometry and lightweight frame, the actual components they use are not anything special.
My lad has a Frog 48, and while the alloy frame and rims make it really light and it uses a proper threadless headset and cartridge bottom bracket, it became a much more useable bike once I'd stripped off all the plastic tat (mudguards, chainguard) and put some decent tyres on it to replace the awful slicks that Frog insist on fitting.
My lad has a Frog 48, and while the alloy frame and rims make it really light and it uses a proper threadless headset and cartridge bottom bracket, it became a much more useable bike once I'd stripped off all the plastic tat (mudguards, chainguard) and put some decent tyres on it to replace the awful slicks that Frog insist on fitting.
Prawo Jazdy said:
Thanks for the replies. The Vitus is on its way, so I’ll see what impression I get from it when it arrives. I’ll probably end up wishing I could have a go.
Shouldn't be a problem... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d02z1MDzMd8&li...For reference, my boy has a Hoy, but I imagine all kids bikes that are, as you say, designed to be a small bike will be great. The ones that are just a heavy lump of the cheapest parts possible must be so offputting.
Once mod we went for is Schwalble Black Jack tyres. They're light and a decently grippy tyre for proper offroad riding, when the typical semi-slick kids tyres are completely outwitted. Only about £10 each.
The other one was a paid of cheap (£1.50 ish from PlanetX) flashing LEDs front and back. Getting him to use them every ride just seems a good thing to instill.
We have a Vitus 14, originally for our eldest and is currently being used by our youngest.
I would say that it has been a good bike, I could imagine that there are more expensive bikes out there that are a little lighter. For our eldest we actually jumped straight from a 14" to a 20" bike, but I would consider the Vitus 16 when looking for our youngest as long as the price & weight stack against the competition.
I would say that it has been a good bike, I could imagine that there are more expensive bikes out there that are a little lighter. For our eldest we actually jumped straight from a 14" to a 20" bike, but I would consider the Vitus 16 when looking for our youngest as long as the price & weight stack against the competition.
Thanks for the feedback and tyre suggestions. I haven’t got the bike out of the box yet, but peering through a hole in the box the tyres didn’t look like, well... like the tyres on my bikes. Potentially a decent upgrade to be had there but we’ll see.
Edited by Prawo Jazdy on Wednesday 9th December 16:31
I’ve now unpacked it and it looks like a decent little thing. The tyres are “Vee Tyres” and don’t look hugely grippy, although they do have a sort of hybrid tread on them, so they’re not slicks.
It weighs 7.1kg without pedals, which is more than the 6.8kg quoted on the website. I had overestimated how much the present balance bike weighs (which is 4.2kg including a fair bit of mud, but no pedals
). So this is a noticeable step up in weight, but then it’s a larger bike with a drivetrain. Hopefully that’s still in the “light enough to build confidence” category? The equivalent Islabikes Cnoc 16 is 5.6kg, and I'm wondering if I should be spending the extra to get a bike 1.5kg lighter 
It weighs 7.1kg without pedals, which is more than the 6.8kg quoted on the website. I had overestimated how much the present balance bike weighs (which is 4.2kg including a fair bit of mud, but no pedals
). So this is a noticeable step up in weight, but then it’s a larger bike with a drivetrain. Hopefully that’s still in the “light enough to build confidence” category? The equivalent Islabikes Cnoc 16 is 5.6kg, and I'm wondering if I should be spending the extra to get a bike 1.5kg lighter Edited by Prawo Jazdy on Thursday 10th December 10:42
Not going to lie, if I'd bought a sub 6kg kids bike that weighed more than 7kg, I'd be on the phone asap. The two things that affect how much they ride are the weight and the gearing. It'd be like me trying to ride a 25kg bike about, being 1/3 of my weight. That 1.5kg makes a huge difference. Love to know how they arrived at 5.x kg!
Regards the tyres, my boy rides his a lot on hilly moundy grass. It was fine in the dry summer, but as soon as it got wet he was losing the front in the corners (because Marc Marquez, obvs). It'll all depend on were your rides most as to what is suitable.
Regards the tyres, my boy rides his a lot on hilly moundy grass. It was fine in the dry summer, but as soon as it got wet he was losing the front in the corners (because Marc Marquez, obvs). It'll all depend on were your rides most as to what is suitable.
My 3 year old rides a Vitus 14 without stabilisers coming from a Vitus balance bike.
It's not a light bike but he has no issues with it, rides well, seems to handle properly, drive train is smooth and easily serviced, quality is good for the price and he loves riding it. Most importantly it's red like a fire engine and that's all that he cares about!
300g isn't a great deal when you think about it, you've not bought a 9K carbon superbike, it's a kids bike at the end of the day.
I'd happily buy another one.
It's not a light bike but he has no issues with it, rides well, seems to handle properly, drive train is smooth and easily serviced, quality is good for the price and he loves riding it. Most importantly it's red like a fire engine and that's all that he cares about!
300g isn't a great deal when you think about it, you've not bought a 9K carbon superbike, it's a kids bike at the end of the day.
I'd happily buy another one.
Yeah sorry I reread your post but haven't had a chance to reply.
I spent an age going between similar choices to you but settled on the admittedly cheaper, but heavier bike.
I just thought back to my own experiences with my bikes which considering one is an 11kg steel framed monster and the other a 7kg racing machine I figured once your moving it's not the end of the world.
My boy has no issues moving or lifting it, he's never complained, but he does already say he wants a bike with curly handle bars
We've done several 10km rides with no issues.
I would actually say the biggest limitation we've run into is his wishes to climb up hills with only one gear, but then again I'd not seen any kids bikes with proper heard anyway so that's a mute point.
I spent an age going between similar choices to you but settled on the admittedly cheaper, but heavier bike.
I just thought back to my own experiences with my bikes which considering one is an 11kg steel framed monster and the other a 7kg racing machine I figured once your moving it's not the end of the world.
My boy has no issues moving or lifting it, he's never complained, but he does already say he wants a bike with curly handle bars
We've done several 10km rides with no issues.
I would actually say the biggest limitation we've run into is his wishes to climb up hills with only one gear, but then again I'd not seen any kids bikes with proper heard anyway so that's a mute point.
Sorry - I misread that - yeah, 300g discrepancy isn't too bad. That's probably them being cheeky and weighing without pedals.
The best bang for buck weight savings are normally pedals, saddle and tyres on any bike, so perhaps spending £25 on a new set of rubber would claw back the 300g and maybe even a bit more. Anyway, a new bike is a wonderful thing, whatever it is. I hope he has many happy hours with it.
The best bang for buck weight savings are normally pedals, saddle and tyres on any bike, so perhaps spending £25 on a new set of rubber would claw back the 300g and maybe even a bit more. Anyway, a new bike is a wonderful thing, whatever it is. I hope he has many happy hours with it.
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