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Cyclocross bike for a (nearly) 9 year old

UnderscoreUnderscore Posts: 730
edited April 2015 in Family & kids cycling forum
All three of my boys really got into cyclocross during the second half of the winter and the eldest (who is on a Beinn 24) has been asking for a Luath 26 for his 9th birthday (in July) for the last couple of months. While the majority of the competitors in his races were on Luaths, I'm interested to know if there are other options to consider before settling on the Islabikes offering.

The one option that I have come across is the Worx JA26. The review that I've read was very positive but, given that the new Luath is lighter than the old one, the only obvious benefit is the 9-speed gears rather than 8-speed and I'm not convinced that justifies the £50 price premium.

Anyone have any thoughts or, even better, experience on the JA26 or any other bike that I should consider before I plump for the default option?

Cheers,

_

Posts

  • oxomanoxoman Posts: 11,726
    Moda major and minor are a good quality kids cx bikes been around a while so not just jumped on the bandwagon, not sure how they compare weight wise with Islabike though. The minor which is 24" wheel is currently on sale at formby cycles at a good price. Seen a few at a training group my son attends, but Islabikes tend to be dominant.
    Too many bikes according to Mrs O.
  • oviovi Posts: 396
    https://www.frogbikes.com/lightweight-kids-bikes/road-bikes/frog-road-67.aspx another option
  • UnderscoreUnderscore Posts: 730
    Thanks for the ideas guys.

    I've looked at the Frog but it is 24" wheeled (and I've not been able to find a 24" cyclocross tyres for the Beinn 24 that he already has).
    I'd not considered the Moda but, having given it some thought, I think that I would rather go with the simplicity (both when racing and maintaining!) of a single chain wheel.
    I do like the look of the JA26 but it appears to be a slightly larger frame and, having managed to get my son a couple laps around a grass track on the Luath 26 at the weekend, I think that it would be a bit too large for him at the moment.

    So, after all the thinking, I come back to the Luath 26. Sometimes I suspect that I might over-think these things a bit!

    Cheers,

    _
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