Kids bikes for 8 year old

nessmanuk

Hi
have been looking at various bikes for my twin grandchildren. Came across a Saracen Tufftrax JNR Mountain bike - 24" wheel at £165 which seems a very good deal BUT is this bike any good?? Others I have looked at are Specialised Hotrock and Islabikes which are both considerably more expensive. Any thoughts greatly appreciated.
Thanks

martynjc1977

I got my lad the Specialized Hotrock A1 fs 24, it is light and has the wow factor for him. The Bike is very well built and has a lockout on the front sus. I did look at the cheaper bikes but the build quality shone through with this one. It will last him a good few years.

bartimaeus

Islabike Beinn 24. It's an absolutely cracking bit of kit: very light and very well set up for kids. See this.

nessmanuk

Hi Thanks for your comments. Just that having to buy 2 bikes both the Specialised and Islabank are a bit too expensive altho if money was no object both would be very serious contenders. Just not too sure if the saracen is worth considering or should I tell the kids to save some more pocket money up so we can get one of the others!!!

nessmanuk

Just come across a Diamondback Outlook - any thoughts here!!!!

bartimaeus

Looks like a full-suss... avoid!

Have a read of the BikeRadar buyer's guide... weight is a big deal for kid's bikes, which is why Islabikes have rigid forks... a decent lightweight suspension fork suitable for kids isn't cheap, though the Hotrock A1 is a good bike with a fork that works well.

simon_e

Saracen v Islabike - no contest. Spend the extra and see the benefit every time the young 'un jumps on it.

Kids don't need suspension and triple chainrings, they need a light bike with easy-reach brake levers.

From a recent ebay sale of the Saracen:

we paid £200 for this bike approx 18 months ago, it as a few marks on it, but overall is in very good condition and as only been used a handful of time.

It sold for £25. Serious depreciation! That won't happen to the Islabike.

nessmanuk

Many thanks all - will start saving a bit harder for an Islabike methinks!!!

mattrixdesign2

Carrera Blast is a good option. It may not compete with an Isla bike but still a nice spec for the money IMO.

Only issue is how well the Halfords store put it together, we had a stiff BB and an untrue wheel, but a return visit put them right.

bartimaeus

Ridgeback bikes are also worth a look... we had an MX16 before going up to an Islabike Beinn 24, and it was a great bit of kit... in fact we had two of them at one time.

I've no direct experience of the Ridgeback 20 and 24 inch bikes (the Islabikes are big wheelers - so an MX20 rather than an MX24 is the equivalent of the Beinn 24), but the MX20 is quoted as 24.5 lbs and the MX24 as 27.1 lbs. This is not so bad, and you should be able to find a Ridgeback to try for size - they look pretty smart to me. But that said, a Beinn 24 is 22.6 lbs and a Beinn 26s is 24.2 lbs, so they will notice the difference in weight.

t4tomo

Simon E wrote:

Saracen v Islabike - no contest. Spend the extra and see the benefit every time the young 'un jumps on it.

Kids don't need suspension and triple chainrings, they need a light bike with easy-reach brake levers.

From a recent ebay sale of the Saracen:

we paid £200 for this bike approx 18 months ago, it as a few marks on it, but overall is in very good condition and as only been used a handful of time.

It sold for £25. Serious depreciation! That won't happen to the Islabike.

On the other hand if you can pick one up second hand then you have yourself a bargain. Yes it will be a bit heavier than an isla bike, but probably lighter than the the old steel bike you had at his age. Raleigh Grifters, Commando's Choppers, Bombers etc were not light at all.

Saracen are a decent brand at the value end of the spectrum, they sell proper bikes not supermarket cheap rubbish.

bartimaeus

Which is a good point. As long as your kids have fun and want to ride then whatever bike they have is fine.

I bought Alec his first Islabike when he started to do proper hills - and it expanded his horizons considerably. My other son also has an Islabike which is wasted on him... luckily Alec has just grown into it, and as it is a 26 I've been able to kit it out with a spare Medusa and Mud-X so he can ride through the winter gloop.

simon_e

t4tomo wrote:

On the other hand if you can pick one up second hand then you have yourself a bargain. Yes it will be a bit heavier than an isla bike, but probably lighter than the the old steel bike you had at his age. Raleigh Grifters, Commando's Choppers, Bombers etc were not light at all.

My mate had a Grifter and it weighed a ton even by 80s bike standards.

But it's not just about weight. The bikes we tried or bought have fat grips and crap brakes they can't reach on too-wide bars, crap tyres, excessively long crankarms and too-big chainrings. And kids don't benefit from having either double/triple rings or suspension forks so why fit them?

I find it odd that people who happily spend a packet on bikes, wheels, gadgets and good quality clothing for themselves don't think that their child either deserves/would appreciate a good quality bike that still costs a lot less than their own.