Yes, the bike for the next generation should of course be light, durable, smooth-running and have a wide range of uses. And it can't hurt to look good. And the questions continue: should I buy it from a specialist dealer - or on the Internet?

When researching online, you will not only come across numerous children's bike suppliers, but also very quickly tuning reports: children's bikes that fathers have customized down to the last detail and upgraded to become truly unique and, not least, lightweight. With up to 60 hours of work.

60 hours of tuning?

I imagined a different amount of work for the first bike of the firstborn: Six hours of research including the ordering process for the right bike. And then spending the remaining 54 hours biking together. (Although we have to be honest and draw on our experience: The first 54 hours did not consist of biking together. Instead, they consisted of my son riding his balance bike and me jogging at the same time).

But back to the search: once again, choosing a children's bike was like looking for the right bike for you. How heavy is the children's bike - is the information correct, is it weighed including pedals? Once again, it's just like with bikes for adults. With the weights, even reweighing is probably the only 100% reliable measure.

The question of trust

As with every purchase - and prior purchase decision - the question of trust then struck. I opted for a manufacturer that only offers children's bikes. That seemed particularly trustworthy to me. Because with well-known, large manufacturers, I couldn't shake off the impression that children's bikes were simply mass-produced goods. Along the lines of "We've got that too", that was just too poor.

Internet shopping stinks - beastly

My online purchase went smoothly, but had one major disadvantage. When buying online, you can't touch the object of your desire - and you can't smell it either. The quickly delivered wheel looked good and was quick to assemble. But the tires (and the inner tubes) smelled like rubber. Just like the smell in the bike department of a DIY store - only much worse. A quick web search revealed something about nitrosamines, plasticizers and smoked rubber to make it more durable. The beautiful children's bike got so up my nose that not only I, but all those who admired it, quickly became nauseous.

But still tuning

Smell or no smell, everything was fine when riding. His son learned to ride his bike quickly and without restraint. However, the new balance bike had to live out its stinky existence on the balcony when not in use. Despite plenty of fresh air, the pungent smell remained.

The foul-smelling tires had to come off and new, neutral-smelling tires had to be fitted to the junior bike. In a roundabout way and actually against my will, I became a children's bike tuner after all. And now I'm looking for organic cork grips in children's hand dimensions. Tuning and modding sneaks in through the back door...