WTB: Nitto Promenade Bar

[Michael Baquerizo]

or maybe just to talk about it?

my son is due to upgrade from a balance bike to a pedal bike and because i'm me I want to switch things up a bit on whatever frame I end up buying him. I was intrigued that the bosco is just a bigger promenade bar so was wondering if anyone has experience with it and if it might be too much for a 4 year old. 

and if its cheap enough (they're already one of the cheaper nitto offerings) i'd love to take a pair of someones hands.

thoughts?

[Matthew Williams]

These have been on CraigsList for a while:

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[John Johnson]

Hi Michael,

I have a 3 year old that rides a Woom 2 (and yes, the balance bike is definitely a great way to learn. He was on his own after a few days of trying. I used the advice from this video to help him learn:  few https://www.islabikes.co.uk/blogs/riding-advice/teach-your-child-to-ride).

I would say that for most kids and their "first bikes", an important factor in mastering how to ride is good bike design. Weight is maybe the biggest factor (for a 30 lb kid, the Woom which is pretty much the lightest bike on the market at 11 lb, is 30% of their weight!) but also the bikes' geometry and Q factor. I have seen other kids on big box store bikes that weigh almost the same as they do, trying to learn and struggling, and it doesn't look like much fun. 

Using handlebars designed for adult-sized bikes may throw the little bike's handling off significantly (and the promenades are almost a pound all by themselves). I would also put forward that the promenade is a swept back bar, and most kid's bikes are designed around flat bars. He'd likely be cramped and have a hard time turning the bars (unless you put a long stem on the bike - more weight - but even then, I think the bars would take up a lot of space). I mention all of this, because I've thought about the same thing as you for my kid. I want him on a bike that has the same aesthetic that I love in bikes... but yeah, between a bike that weighs 11 lbs rather than a bike that looks pretty cool but weighs closer to 18 lbs (Veloretti kids bikes, for example) - I'll take the trade off that my kid enjoys riding and takes pride in mastering something. He's 3 years and a few months and is already riding very independently (we did 10 km to a local watering hole last week) - that's what's been the most important thing for me. I'd also say that comfort (swept back vs. flat bars) is less of an issue for a young rider doing a few km at most.

I'd say when you get to 5-8 year old bike sizes, you might be able to Riv it out a bit more.

best of luck either way and cheers,

John

[Michael Baquerizo]

matthew - thanks for that. promenade is less wide than those 'adult' offerings so i'd stick to that

john - i just helped a friend get a bike for their kid. it was labeled as a 3-5 year old bike, the kids are 4 now and the bike has sooo much stretch that he'd really benefit from bars coming back at him. he's doing fine on it he just looks extremely uncomfortable. this is the cleary 16" offering.

while i'm not getting the same bike for my kid, i'm anticipating he'd be stretched out as well. just want something that comes back a bit instead of a straight bar.

what bike are you planning on upgrading to? another woom?

[John Johnson]

Hi Michael,

The Cleary Hedgehog looks like a great bike (and great company)! We can't get it in Europe as far as I know, but it was one that I considered for sure. I'm certainly no expert on the matter of kids bikes, but like any good RBW owner's bunch dad I did plenty of online scouring before buying. I do know (from this site: https://www.twowheelingtots.com/cleary-hedgehog-review/) that the Hedgehog has more aggressive geometry than a Woom or Prevelo - due to lower stack height and less bar rise. Apparently in 2021, Cleary increased the rise on the bars so the position is a bit less aggressive. 

I'd say give it a shot with whatever bike you do buy's standard set up and see what needs adjusting. If the promenades end up working, I'd love to see! 

I found with the Woom that we needed to lean the bars back a bit (the nice thing about the big riser bars that is has is you can lean them back and get a closer reach), and we've already raised the saddle height twice in about 4 months (growth? more confidence on the bike?).

For the next bike, I expect to keep this one until he's close to 5 years old. At that point, I don't know if I'll be so particular about the 2nd bike. I was obsessed with making sure he enjoyed riding, so I took this first bike purchase probably too seriously. I think by the time he's 5, I'll choose something a little cheaper but still reasonable quality. Wooms are really great bikes, I just don't think I need to buy a new $400+ bike every 2 years when there are other decent options. 

cheers,

John