Recreational & Family - Knobbies on 7-year-old's bike?

Hi! I have a son who is almost 7 (next month). We stupidly left the bike he learned to ride on at the park last fall, along with his helmet, and only realized it 3 days later, by which time it was long gone. :( So this year, we've moved him up to a larger and heavier bike which was left to us by the previous owners of our house, and purchased a new helmet. He is having some trouble adjusting to it (the bike), it is slightly big and bulky for him, but the LBS guy says it's really a pretty good fit. So I guess he just needs to get used to handling it.

One thing I wonder about is the knobby tires. Would smoother tires make the bike easier to handle? I would think so, but then I'm don't ride knobbies, so I'm not used to them anyway. What do you think?

I don't think it would make the bike much easier to handle, but it would make it much faster though!

does he like riding through dirt, grass, mud, etc?

does he like riding through dirt, grass, mud, etc?
He's not steady enough on this bike yet. Maybe later.

I got my local Performance shop to order in some street tires to fit her 24" mountain bike. Cost me maybe $15 for the pair.Big improvement in speed and effort. I don't think it will make the bike easier to handle, although less rolling resistance might mean easier to handle.

Street tires do make the bike go faster easier and thusly harder falls (my kids experiences). Wait until he's zooming around fairly confidently with what he's got now, probably a month or so, then get the tires to let him go faster and keep up with you better.

I got my local Performance shop to order in some street tires to fit her 24" mountain bike. Cost me maybe $15 for the pair.Big improvement in speed and effort. I don't think it will make the bike easier to handle, although less rolling resistance might mean easier to handle.

I'm looking at doing the same thing for my son. What tires did you get? Thanks!

I was thinking the same way .... then my 7 year old daughter caught on that cutting across the park was fun. She now likes dirt trails. I'm leaving the tires. She's a little slower on the pavement, but it's good traction for the rest.

My son's been riding up to 10 road miles with me on his heavy 20" bmx. I'm moving him up to a 24" with gears, but I don't want to get him a road bike yet. He still needs something he can jump curbs with, so a 24" mountain bike with some street friendly tires should do the job. Anyone know of any 24" non-knobby tires?

some BMX tires?

Edit: quick search shows Maxxis Hookworm Urban assault, Maxxis High Roller and Maxxis Holly rollers come in 24"

Update: He's doing better now, but still struggles sometimes when he starts falling over at slow speeds. I think more than the tires, the bike is a little heavy for him, and maybe slightly too big, although the LBS guy says it looks okay to him. It seems heavy for its size to me, but I guess he'll grow into it. At least he can get started by himself now! Thanks for the comments.

Childrens bikes are usually fairly heavy and made of steel.

My sisters specialized mtb weighs about as much as my fully decked out(bottles, pump, saddle bag) E5.