Looking for a "simple" 20-inch girls bike...

sosidge

Any suggestions on a simple, good quality 20-inch girls bike that I could find in a local bike shop (Bristol area)?

My daughter is tall for 5-and-a-half and has outgrown the (appallingly dimensioned) hand-me-down Raleigh bike she has been learning on without getting confident without stabilisers.

I see a lot of mini-mountain bikes on the market but to be honest I'd rather she spent more time on a bike that has a solid fork and a single speed before moving up. The mini-MTBs are not very "girly" either, and yes, she does want something with a doll seat!

All I have seen from scanning the well-known bike brands and retailers is a "Trek Mystic 20" and the "Electra Hawaii" but these bikes don't appear to be widely stocked. I've also seen the Dawes Lottie 18" but wonder whether that may be too small.

Any guidance gratefully accepted.

White Horse

In my recent experience of looking for the very same, 20 inch wheels start to come with a 5 or 6 speed system.

As with all of these "what bike for my kids" threads, you really can do a LOT worse than an Islabike.

baudman

+1 to Islabikes.

We don't get them in Australia , so 'Santa' has this waiting in the wings for a few weeks.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 370/49964/
The pic doesn't display in my browser - not sure if there's something wrong or if it's just me. It's a Giant Areva 20 lite. It's not too bad, and Thing1 (upon test ride) loved it.

But, the main reason we're getting one is, unlike the one pictured, in Aust we can get one with a 3spd coaster braked hub. I prefer the coaster for kids with still-not-yet-very-strong hands. I also think it's about time for gears. And, the fact that they (or you) can change gears while stopped is an added bonus.

Mike Healey

+1 Islabikes. Apart from their quality, they have the enviable characteristic of fetching astonishingly high resale prices on ebay and even on the naturally tightfisted Yorkshire auction site ebaygum. I'm talking 80%+, whereas on most other makes, the resale value is nowhere near that.

So the net cost is less than the competition when you take this into account.

johnboy183

Agree with all about Islabikes. Quality kit and above decent resale value. You can't go wrong IMO

adamedwardsteather

Do look at the Puky range of bikes. German designed so very robust. Their Z8 might be what she needs:

http://www.puky.net/en/mod_produkte_produkt/kategorie/zweirad_z8/produkt/Z_8_rot/index.html

We have owned 5 in varying sizes and my daughter has just outgrown the biggest they do for girls.

The larger bikes all have back peddal brakes, carriers, hub powered lights and mudguards, so when looking at prices, remember you may accessorise up to the same price (Islabikes add ons are a good example.)

Cheers

Adam