Bike question for Moms of older kiddos

I would buy anything my kids like. As long as they say "please".
You have a good question. I'm bumping because I really don't know the answer. :)

Regarding size - have you had them sit on the bikes and looked at how they handle the various sizes out there with the seat at different positions? IS there bike shop in town where you can go get them sized even if you don't spend the higher prices there? If you're looking for longer lasting, I'd even consider trying a bigger bike if you can lower the seat/bars, etc. DS has a 20 inch. He got it at 6. He's almost 10 now. We have his seat and bars adjusted to give him as much space as possible. He can ride it but he certainly could go bigger. DD is 7 and small. We've had her try the larger bike without issue.

As for the style - DD had picked out Monster High and LPS themed bikes. WE talked about how she's getting older and this bike will be with her for a while - when she' 10, she may not be into MH or LPS any longer but this will still be her bike. She's since discovered some really cute "big girl" bikes she adores.

(Hate these small boxes! ROFL!) To help, we reminded DD that she was 4 when we got her the bike she has now. At the time she begged for the Dora bike and we nixed it. She ended up with another style she liked almost as much. I said to her "Meg, think about it, when you were out riding your bike this last summer between 1st and 2nd grade would you have wanted the Dora bike? When you were out on it last weekend...would you have wanted the Dora bike?" She got wide eyed and said "Oh no! I'm too big for that stuff now!" WEll then, these are great toys you adore TODAY but in a few years? Maybe you won't. Maybe you will. But you may not want it all over your bike. And with that we moved on. . .

They will need bigger bikes when they hit the teen years... these will not be the last bikes you buy.

I would hold off until they are a bit older before getting them their permanent bikes. For graduation from 8th grade we got my daughter a Trek brand bike from Craigslist. She loves it. It is an $800 bike that we got for $200. She will ride about 20 miles in the better weather.

i would get them what they want for now because they will grow out of them. you can resell the ones you get them now when they get too big for them, but they will get too big and faster than you think.

I think they are going to outgrow bikes that you buy now. I would buy the bike she wants and plan on repurchasing bikes in a few years.

we got just regular bikes for our boys

By the time my daughter was 8 she was on a 20" bike, so going up two inches right now might only last them one summer....I'd recommend going cheaper or used still....the 20" has last a couple of years so far...but,, the 16" only last one summer and by the end of that summer it was pushing it.....