LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
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LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Hogbert » Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:06 pm
My daughter turns 7 in a week and for Xmas we want to get here a new bike. She is competent on her 16" bike and small for her age, however just getting to the end of the 16" life. We could go longer but the bike is holding her back.
When we cycle rough trails or hills really knock the wind out of her and she ends up quitting on hills (with much disappointment) whilst mum and dad downshift and power up!
My research has me at the following bikes for the following reasons:
Requirements are Lightweight, solid fork, Quality parts with gears and handlebar brakes.
The two leaders in my research are these:
Trek Superfly 20 https://www.trekbikes.com/au/en_AU/bike ... 5000-2018/
Frog 52 or 55 depending on what I can get her on. https://www.frogbikes.com/lightweight-k ... rid-bikes/
They are both similar price and spec however I thought some folk with more cycling knowledge prowess or kid bike experience could help me make the decision or offer advice t help?
Sorry for the long winded post but my research has been exhausted trying to compare and find a winner.
Hogbert
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Duck! » Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:35 pm
https://www.liv-cycling.com/au/bikes-enchant-20-24-2018
I've linked the whole 20" & 24" range, but the 20" would be the next step up from your daughter's current 16" bike. The "standard" Enchant 20 has 7-sp. gears, which gives a reasonable spread and progression, but the suspension fork adds weight with minimal benefit, plus uses hand brakes for both wheels, which can sometimes be a bit difficult for smaller hands to work effectively, even though they are reach adjustable.
The Street model has a 3-sp. internal gear hub, which is less prone to damage than derailleur gears and easier to operate because it doesn't matter if you're pedalling or not to change gears, but doesn't have the overall gear range, plus larger jumps between gears than the 7-sp. However, perhaps importantly for a smaller person, it has a foot-operated rear brake like her current 16" bike, and the rigid fork will be lighter than the suspension unit on the other model. The frame on both is aluminium, so not absurdly heavy, although they are built to last, so not super flyweights either.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby twowheels » Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:48 pm
With any gear shifters though it can take some kids a long time to get the idea of how to use them correctly, don't expect too much, too soon.
Duck was writing as I was. I'll add this. My daughter has never been into pink, so appreciated the black Giant. This made it easier to pass on to someone else later. Pink bikes can have limited appeal and lifespan. My daughter then went directly from the 20" bike to small frame 26" bike, which made life easier for us also.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby slowK » Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:54 am
It's been great. He's getting the hang of gears, which has made cycling up hills easier.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Sparx » Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:50 am
This is an epic kiddies bike I reckon - looks very well sorted.
https://www.commencal-store.com.au/ramo ... 2x23864423
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby nickdos » Fri Oct 20, 2017 9:24 am
https://www.bykbikes.com
They make decent quality, light weight bikes that are designed for kids (not scaled down adult bikes). A lot of LBS sell them and you can get them online as well (Bike Bug sell and import them). They don't publicise the wheel sizes of their models as they don't want buyers to pigeon-hole their bikes with the majority of other brands - they tend to use bigger wheels for a given frame size than most other brands, which kind of makes sense these days (think 29er revolution). So go off their size chart and don't use wheel size as a proxy for the model/frame size.
Some of the pros:
- light frame and no unnecessary heavy suspension
- decent gearing
- appropriate crank lengths
- good resale value
- light rims and good brakes
cons:
- internal hub models have both rear hand brake and back-pedal/coaster brakes (often not mentioned in specs)
- bit expensive (but I've sold 2 at a relatively small loss)
- some models have unusual rim size so can be hard to get spare tubes
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby RobertL » Fri Oct 20, 2017 10:21 am
Sparx wrote:If it's a mtb you are looking for have a look at the Commencal range - soon to be available in Aus.
This is an epic kiddies bike I reckon - looks very well sorted.
https://www.commencal-store.com.au/ramo ... 2x23864423
A "Ramones" bike?
Hey, hey, let's go!
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Mububban » Fri Oct 20, 2017 12:13 pm
Hogbert wrote: Requirements are Lightweight, solid fork, Quality parts with gears and handlebar brakes.
Light for a kids bike will be around the 10kg mark.
Reid Viper 20” - $269
https://www.reidcycles.com.au/reid-viper-20.html
10kg, 1x7 drivetrain, smooth easy grip shifter, 1.75” tyres. My daughter has the 24” model and she loves it.
ByK e-450 - check Gumtree and pay under $200, most will be single speed but some come with 3 internal gears (my son has this currently), also 10kg, slimmer 1.3” tyres.
Retail they are low $400s.
Apollo Neo kids bikes are the same style - light(ish) alloy frame, rigid fork, 1x6 drivetrain, 1.75” tyres. Retail is again $400ish so try Gumtree.
FWIW, we pooled money with grandparents and bought 2 of the ByK bikes for my kids and spent almost $900 doing so a couple of years ago. The 16" bike has gone to their cousin, and the 20" went from my eldest to my youngest, and she got the Reid 24". She actually likes the Reid more than the ByK, largely because the 7 gears seem more "grown up" and she's not an overly girly girl, so the green and black colour scheme looks cool to her.
My son also wanted a 20" mountain bike, so I bought him one off Gumtree for $85 and it's brilliant for the money.
Kids grow so fast, and bikes are so expensive, if you're on a budget consider getting something second hand, they're often in excellent condition because lots of kids don't ride lots and lots of k's. Often new handlebar ends to repair any drop damage will make it look as-new.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby twowheels » Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:57 pm
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby ValleyForge » Fri Oct 20, 2017 7:05 pm
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby StevOz » Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:11 pm
I can only concur, that looks the best, perhaps a few dollars more then most, still looks a very solid option and must have at least a 50% resale / pass on value after years of usage, amusing proper maintenance.Sparx wrote:If it's a mtb you are looking for have a look at the Commencal range - soon to be available in Aus.
This is an epic kiddies bike I reckon - looks very well sorted.
https://www.commencal-store.com.au/ramo ... 2x23864423
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby ValleyForge » Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:35 pm
Having gone through a lot of kids bikes and worked in an LBS many years ago, kids bikes are hugely price driven. Most parents can't see any value in a new half-decent bike let alone consider the resale value.StevOz wrote:must have at least a 50% resale / pass on value after years of usage, amusing proper maintenance.
Get the bike your kid enjoys riding the best. And that's been Byks for us.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby slowK » Sat Oct 21, 2017 4:48 pm
I think you need to evaluate each bike on its merits, and not assume that all bikes from the same company are great. To counter the above experience supporting the Trek, the opposite happened to my nephew. He went from the 20 inch Superfly to the next size up Superfly, which was significantly heavier (although it does have front suspension forks, which look cool but arguably don't function that well).
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Mububban » Mon Oct 23, 2017 2:45 pm
What was the weight of the Trek?slowK wrote:when we compared the 450 vs the Superfly, the Trek was noticeably lighter.
I weighed our 350 x2i at 8.85kg, and our 450 x3i at 10.21kg.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby slowK » Tue Oct 24, 2017 7:28 am
Just went and weighed them. I only have bathroom scales, but our Byk 350 (1 gear) is 8.5kg, and the Superfly is 9.0kg.Mububban wrote:What was the weight of the Trek?slowK wrote:when we compared the 450 vs the Superfly, the Trek was noticeably lighter.
I weighed our 350 x2i at 8.85kg, and our 450 x3i at 10.21kg.
The Superfly is quoted as 8.1kg - goes to show you can't trust listed bike weights! That being said, it did feel significantly lighter to my wife and I compared to the Merida, Byk and 1 other brand (maybe Cannondale, or Focus - can't remember) that we picked up at the LBS.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Mugglechops » Tue Oct 24, 2017 8:13 am
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Mububban » Tue Oct 24, 2017 12:41 pm
Mind you I almost choked checking out the Commencal link above. $2500 for a 20" dual sus with 100mm rear and 120mm front. A 20" bike!!!
If I won lotto and brought that home my 7 year old son would have a heart attack
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Mugglechops » Tue Oct 24, 2017 3:31 pm
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby MattyK » Tue Oct 24, 2017 3:56 pm
I would look at a 7 speed bike (been checking Reid Viper myself), and (if it doesn't come with one) a 14-34 megarange cassette (most have a 14-28). Should have enough granny to winch out of most problems.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby Sparx » Wed Oct 25, 2017 8:58 am
https://earlyrider.com/collections/bikes
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby tcdev » Sun Sep 02, 2018 11:14 pm
Looking to upgrade for our 6yr old daughter from a Liv 16" and since all 4 of us have Giant bikes, thought we'd stick with the brand. Looking specifically at the outgoing 2018 model. I know the suspension forks are heavier, and a lack of back-pedal brakes will be a learning curve, but aside from those issues, would be interested to hear other pros and/or cons of the Enchant specifically, even pre-2018 models!?!
2011 Schwinn Sporterra Comp
2021 Giant Contend AR1
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby tcdev » Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:01 am
My wife is (now) adamant she wants the 20" upgrade to have back-pedal brakes. The reason is because she herself is not a very confident rider and is paranoid that our daughter will take off down a hill and not be able to stop using hand brakes.
My argument it is that very few 20" bikes have back-pedal brakes, so it can't be much of an issue for kids. I'd also argue that it won't take her long to get used to them, and we wouldn't be riding down steep hills until she had mastered them anyway. But she's got it in her head that she's going to crash and injure herself.
Opinions either way?
2011 Schwinn Sporterra Comp
2021 Giant Contend AR1
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby bychosis » Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:09 am
How quickly your child picks up new things may sway your decision.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby queequeg » Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
My son has a Byk-E450 3i, which is a 3-Speed internal geared Hub with a coaster brake, as well as the two hand brakes.tcdev wrote:Another question if I may.
My wife is (now) adamant she wants the 20" upgrade to have back-pedal brakes. The reason is because she herself is not a very confident rider and is paranoid that our daughter will take off down a hill and not be able to stop using hand brakes.
My argument it is that very few 20" bikes have back-pedal brakes, so it can't be much of an issue for kids. I'd also argue that it won't take her long to get used to them, and we wouldn't be riding down steep hills until she had mastered them anyway. But she's got it in her head that she's going to crash and injure herself.
Opinions either way?
Keep an eye out for these bikes 2nd hand. I picked up an an almost new one for $250 off gumtree.
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Re: LIGHT kids 20" bike help deciding needed
Postby bkwilson » Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:30 am
I recently went through this process as well.
I ended up choosing byK bikes for my two girls. E350 for my four year old and E450x3i for my 6 year old.
I went with the 3 speed hub over derailleur system for simplicity and robustness. Both bikes have front and rear hand brakes and a rear coaster brake.
So far they are both loving them and the brakes actually work. The eldest can walk her bike down relatively steep hills controlling the speed with the rear hand brake.
The only issue I have with the bikes is that the grip diameter don't seem very kid friendly. (imagine trying to ride your bike holding onto grips the diameter of softdrink can. (see other thread)
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