Best 20" Mountain Bike
Janbo25
Posts: 68
We are looking at changing our son's current bike (Trek Jet 16) for a 20" for 2 reasons, the first being size as he is very tall so needs a 20" now and secondly because of the rides we do he's covering many hills and trails already and coping the best he possibly can with a single gear bike, but it would certainly be advantagious for him to have gears, as he already understands the concept of them. Budget wise we would be looking to pay upton around the £250 mark and the current bike we are thinking of would be the:
Giant XtC Jnr Team 20 because of the features including the 14 speed gears on a single chainset.
But interested in other opinions???
Giant XtC Jnr Team 20 because of the features including the 14 speed gears on a single chainset.
But interested in other opinions???
0
Posts
I've a feeling this may be the best buy
http://www.islabikes.com/bike_pages/beinn24.html
I say the latter, because riding rigid in the earlier days develops skill at speeds that they can cope with. Most kids' bikes (not referring to the Giant, here - have no knowledge) suspension is pile of cat poo, but does encourage them to ride faster and probably beyond their skill level, so when they crash - and they will - it hurts more.
Islabikes also have excellent resale value c/w most others.
They're the most popular choice by parents/kids at our club once they move on from the one they come to us with.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/eastbradfordcyclingclub/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/eastbradfordcyclingclub/
Most young kids struggle to use half a dozen gears properly so double chainrings and 14 gears just confuse matters - I've seen it at the local Saturday morning sessions. I also don't understand why bikes this small need suspension, it adds weight and I'd second Mike Healey's comment re. the quality. IMHO many products are sold by promoting unnecessary 'features' and this is one of them.
I'm not saying no-one should buy the Giant and I've read favourable things about Ridgeback kids bikes, but you can't go wrong with an Islabike.
It is a terrific kids bike and he has done plenty of good (tough for a little lad) routes in the South Downs - up to 12 miles on the flat and up to 8 miles with climbs to the top of the South Downs.
This is the boys version that he has. Both I and my son can wholeheartedly recommend them.
My little boy flies around on it and my experience of having two front rings on a kids bike is not the same as another poster. My son picked it up very quickly and makes a point of telling me when he is switching to his uphill ring on climbs!
The spec is here... http://www.marin.co.uk/2010/bikepage.ph ... 10HCB#spec
My son had his from when he was 5, he's just turned 8, so he got 3 years of good off-road use out of it.
£385 for 3 years use = £1.82 per week, a bargain!
(Selling my sons one for £125 o.n.o. if anybody knows somebody who's after a second hand one. Lots of upgrades: Easton Havoc Stem/EA50 bars, Shimano DXR V-brakes and levers, Shimano 105 rear mech, Maxxis Max Daddy tyres, Odyssey mini BMX grips, alloy platform pedals, UN54 bottom bracket, Shimano Alivio 8speed STI shifters. 2007 grey model, various battle scars but mechanically sound. Crud catchers front and rear thrown in too!)
Great build quality but weighs in at 10.7kg! Proportionally that's more than 50% his body weight - or the equivalent of me riding a 40kg bike...practically useless for decent xc.
So...i'm now stripping it down and weighing every part and looking for replacements to shave off at least 2kg. Changing seatpost, saddle and ripping off the cheap reflectors has saved 0.5kg tonight without much effort. The rest will be more expensive, although the seat and carbon post probably cost a ton.
What i would love to find is
1) lightweight 20" wheels! can i just swap out the heavy ones for something like this? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=42461
2) changing the 6 speed for a 7 speed cassette with rapidfire shifter, instead of the bulky gripshift...is it a straight swap? Any other tips for weight saving?!
I would have preferred to start with the 8.8kg of the islabikes and saved another £200+ on upgrades!
Someone design 5kg 7 speed mountain/jump bike and it'll be a hit.
** Ibis Mojo sl ** Giant XTC **
ex bikes
**Trek Top Fuel 9.9SSL** Trek Fuel Ex 8 ** Scott Genius LTD **
Anyone want a kidney, one careful owner, so i can afford it
** Ibis Mojo sl ** Giant XTC **
ex bikes
**Trek Top Fuel 9.9SSL** Trek Fuel Ex 8 ** Scott Genius LTD **
found it to be a great bike and he loved it
now been handed down to a friend's kid who also loves it. Well built and has the cool factor amongst the other kids