Tried & Tested
On trial: Bike Club’s monthly subscription service
So good you'll wish you'd thought of it
What is it?
First up, I need to get something off my chest. Bike Club is a great-habit-making, gamechanging, frankly genius idea. And I (really) wish I’d had it.
So what is Bike Club? Simply put, it’s a kids bike subscription service offered through John Lewis that grants its 40,000-plus members access to bikes (balance, first pedal, mountain, road, hybrid) from the best brands (including Frog, Forme and Isla), for kids aged 0-16 years, from as little as £4.49 per month.
Exchange to upsize – as your child grows – and you’ve got yourself one clever cost, time and space-saving solution. And it’s a more sustainable way to shop (casually polishes halo).
My own (lite) jealousy aside, there’s no denying that Bike Club has identified a number of parental pain points. Namely: finding a bike; teaching child to ride said bike; watching on as child grows too big for bike; trying to resell bike; baulking at the idea of forking out £££ on the next new bike knowing full well that kids grow, and now there’s no way of getting off this cycle recycle cycle-and-repeat cycle. Gah.
Bike Club takes all the hassle out of shopping for kids’ bikes, literally delivering your chosen (probably award-winning) ride as and when your budding Beryl Burton needs it most.
No more riding too small bikes like teeny-tiny circus clowns. No more bad bike buys that you just can’t seem to shift. No more cycle scrapyards clogging up your porch. Bike Club is The Dream for anyone looking for a low-cost, zero-fuss, commitment-free ride.
How does it work?
Sign up to a monthly subscription and you/your child can choose from a selection of top brands online – simply search by inner leg length (recommended) or age to reveal their best matches. Prefer to try before you subscribe? You can visit Bike Club at John Lewis in London’s Westfield Stratford and sign up in-store.
The bike will be delivered to you, and your child can ride it until they outgrow it – and then you can exchange it for a bigger one (for free after 18 months, or at any time for £19.99).
Used bikes are then refurbished, ready for anyone who’d like to try a reduced-cost ‘reBike’ – Bike Club’s even more affordable subscription service, where pre-loved bikes are serviced and safety checked by expert mechanics.
Why should you sign up?
Bike Club offers wheels for every age, ability and stage, from balance bikes to first pedal bikes and mountain bikes to hybrid road bikes. More than that, it stocks scooters (aged two to adult) and accessories aplenty, including bike helmets, lights, bells and locks.
Kudos too for the club’s selection of industry-leading lightweight kids bikes – music to the ears of anyone who spends 76% of their weekends lugging scooters and/or bikes around, on behalf of their little darlings.
Is it worth it?
Truthfully, I wasn’t willing to spend a fortune on bikes, and literally paid the price with my five-year-old’s first (v bad bike) purchase last Christmas. Bike Club swooped in at the perfect time, with a simple, cost-saving, subscription-based solution. It’s ideal for families like mine who, sure, like bikes, but truthfully? Didn’t have a clue where to start. From subscribing, to selecting her size/preferred colourway online, through to the seamless delivery, I cannot fault Bike Club.
The five-year-old had the pleasure of road-testing the Frog 48 and was overjoyed with her new wheels.
She loves it. My back loves it. And I’ve since signed up the three-year-old too. Officially sold/subscribed.
