Daughter needs a new bike - What do your kids ride?

dirkpitt74

Time for the youngest (nearly 6)to have a new bike.

She's outgrown her Hello Kitty single speed and I want to get her something with gears and not too heavy.

I've ruled out Isla bikes due to the fact that £370 for a kids bike is ridiculous.

I've also ruled out Decathlon's range as they look like they were designed by Stevie Wonder and weigh a ton.

Wiggin's is also out as it only comes in a 'blokey' colour and the forks look weird.

Friend of ours Son has just got a Frog 52 which looks superb and he had no problem with the gears even though they're thumb-shift.

Not sure if the 52 will be a bit small for my youngest as she's quite tall for a nearly 6 y/o.

The next size up is the Frog 55, with this going for £260 and weights 8.8kg - can't seem to find a way of getting any discount on one though.


Have also seen this Cube 200 on CRC which is coming in at 10kg (just over 1kg heavier than the Frog's). With British Cycling discount will be just about £195.


There's also the Pinnacle Ash from Evans at £240 and 9.1kg.


Also found the Merida Matts Jr 20W which apparently comes in around £170 and 10kgs


I notice that some come with thumb shift and others with grip shift - how do small hands cope with either and which is best? I'm guessing the grip shift on a £200+ bike is going to be better than a cheaper bike?

Any other recommendations?

cooldad

Most people seem to get most of their money back selling Islabikes, so it might not cost as much as you think in the long run.

As for the others I would check to see if they have small child size brake levers and shifters, and are not just adult size stuff on a small frame.

Can't really help as my son is hairy and rides a 180mm travel Nicolai.

chrisw333

I sold my kids Islabikes for more than I paid for them - both well used - although the 'new' prices did increase dramatically over that period.

Frog bikes are also great and I suspect they will hold resale value very well too - worth checking e-bay to confirm.

Once you take resale into account these bikes are arguably cheaper than toys r us specials which are pretty much scrap once you have finished with them.

In terms of resale, it is worth getting some helitape or patches to minimise cable rub. And don't add a wired trip computer - the wire rubs the paint terribly. You'll always get scratches from general use but cable rub ones can be really unsightly and avoidable.

Tashman

I know it's not the thing to promote on here, but my recently 7 byear old loves her Aldi bike. At just £60 it is hard to beat, and she's not one that's ever going to go trail riding. It's perfect for up to the park or the couple of miles along to her friends house.

craker

My opinion - and I suspect I'm at odds with a lot of people who post here - is to not spend that sort of money on a bike that will get ridden rarely and outgrown rapidly. I've always gone with 2nd hand bikes and made sure they're roadworthy.

Perhaps it depends what your expectations are? My lot pootle around on whatever bikes I've sourced for them, I'm sure they're indifferent to the quality of the gears and, to a certain point, the weight of the thing but then my whereabouts aren't very bike friendly (for children anyway) so they don't get used all that much.

bompington

Islabikes are not just light (8kg v 10kg? No contest), they are easy to use - gears, brakes, crank length etc. Bompetta (age 6, Beinn 20 small) has no problems at all with the grip shifter, but some seem to. Frog are pretty good too: Bompetta's best pal has one - but is often keen to play at bike-swapping...

@Tashman - is that the one that weighs 14kg? You could be done for child abuse...

@craker... true, if you buy them a piece of junk then it will get ridden rarely. Bompetta is on her Islabike at every opportunity.

Tashman

@Bompington, i've never weighed it, she rides it regularly and loves getting out on it.

Having just looked it up, yes it is that one, but she was more interested in it being purple!!

bompington

Well of course, any bike is better than no bike. But we live at the top of a 10% hill and I'm not sure I'd fancy riding up that on a bike that was two thirds of my body weight. I'm quite glad my bike weighs less than a tenth of mine...

Her previous Islabike (Cnoc 14) was sold, coincidentally, for £60 less than we paid for it new.

alex100a

Both my daughters (6 & 8) have Frog bikes and they & I love them. They're really good quality and even after years of use will still be good to sell on with a decent resale value.

The only thing I changed on the first one we bought was the twist grip shifter, which my eldest daughter struggled with, once I put a trigger gear shifter on she was fine. I think Frog has since changed this but notice a couple of your other options show twist grips shifter.

alex100a

Not sure why the number 8 (eight) has come out with smiley face & glasses?!?!

DeVlaeminck

It does depend what they are using the bikes for I suppose. Mine went through a variety of Islabikes (mostly bought second hand and sold for at least what I paid for them though it was a period when the prices were rising) but then we did do quite a lot of riding when they were young and latterly they got into cyclocross. At the time though I did also quite rate the Decathlon bikes and my youngest (14) now rides a Decathlon MTB I picked up off a mate for £30, her brother has a Forme MTB that I bought off Amber Valley Council for a similar sum after it had been used teaching kids to ride in their schools.

The OPs choices all seem sound to me - so long as you aren't buying something plastered with Barbie stickers and a plastic basket that is harder to pedal than a Fat bike with the brakes rubbing it should do the job. I would still prefer second hand though as you get something that bit nicer and don't feel you have to worry about taking care of it too much. I do some cycle coaching in schools and the Frog bikes are becoming more popular and look like a decent alternative for those who find the price of an Isla a bit toppy.

The Rookie

alex100a wrote:

Not sure why the number 8 (eight) has come out with smiley face & glasses?!?!

It hasn't, an 8 followed by a ) will though...... 8)

rockmonkeysc

I always buy Islabike or Frog for my kids. They are expensive but they are extremely well designed to suit kids and are light.
They are also very well made so don't rust or fall apart like cheap bikes and they really hold their value. You won't lose much at all in a couple years.

964cup

We went Islabike Beinn 20 Small (brilliant), then Frog (Sky-branded) Road 58 (lovely thing, I thought, but he couldn't get on with riding on and braking from the hoods) and now Scott Scale Jr which is madly heavy but a proper hardtail with 3 x 7 drivetrain and 2" tyres and seems to suit the boy, who is 8 but very tall for his age.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -10-35752/

poah

I had a bike called a budgie when I was 6 - unless they are any good on a bike, buy a cheap one. If they start to show an interest or want to cycle any distance get a better one.

itboffin

Light they might be but all of those brands use cheap parts, I've resorted to buying frameset then using the same groupset I'd put on an adult bike, plus it's shocking how cheap good entry level MTB kit is.

Of course finding someone selling just a frame is neigh on impossible

rockmonkeysc

Frog and Islabike use components properly designed for kids. The brake levers are designed for small hands, pedals to suit small feet and get decent grip and shorter crank arms.

Baron Greenback

My son has a cube kid 200. He is recently 6, and quite slight for his age. He's settled into riding it incredibly well. He hasn't struggled with anything. The crank throw seems to be well suited to his size, he manages the brake levers and grip shift really well.

He loves it. I do often wonder if I could reduce the weight slightly though. 1kg at his age is quite significant. I'll weigh it soon, and see what I can do with it.

Much better than the bike shaped objects you might find in a catalogue shop.

nasha48

Surprised no one has mentioned Ridgeback. Got the Harmony for my daughter couple years ago and always thought it's pretty good quality for the price of circa £160. Smooth ride, decent 6 speed gearing, solid but not stupid heavy at all.

Jonesinamilion

My 6yo daughter has this and it's perfectly acceptable for what she does... Mainly flat paths.

Added bonus is her brother (3yo) will be having it next summer as she progresses; he can already ride it!

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/kids-bikes/raleigh-zero-boys-bike-16

The boy currently rides an old steel framed 12" thing that I've sprayed up, no idea what it is but it's got v brakes and is bulletproof!

M9DBO

My 12 year old now has a cube 140 wls and loves it. She rode a Scott 24 inch scale Junior for a few years (7_11) Which is still hanging in the garage covered in cobwebs.

itboffin

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Frog and Islabike use components properly designed for kids. The brake levers are designed for small hands, pedals to suit small feet and get decent grip and shorter crank arms.

bike24 and a couple of other German online stores do kids specific components, I found a great 140mm crankset and short pull small brake levers as well as some really light flat pedals, on another 20" bike build I took off the heavy cheap sram rear mech and replaced it with a shimano 105 road GS, swapped out all the terrible cabling, no idea why they use such bad cables on kids bikes and replaced the brake levels and v-brakes with avid, again cheap but so much better than stock.

Finally on that 20" build I bought a hand built rear wheel again from Germany with schwalbe tyres and a HG-50 8 speed cassette, the wheel was £20 and the tyres £10 each those few changes have transformed an otherwise lump into something very rideable, all in that bike bought second hand for £25 with may be £70 of upgrades is far better than all but the most expensive kids bikes.

Baron Greenback

itboffin wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Frog and Islabike use components properly designed for kids. The brake levers are designed for small hands, pedals to suit small feet and get decent grip and shorter crank arms.

bike24 and a couple of other German online stores do kids specific components, I found a great 140mm crankset and short pull small brake levers as well as some really light flat pedals, on another 20" bike build I took off the heavy cheap sram rear mech and replaced it with a shimano 105 road GS, swapped out all the terrible cabling, no idea why they use such bad cables on kids bikes and replaced the brake levels and v-brakes with avid, again cheap but so much better than stock.

Finally on that 20" build I bought a hand built rear wheel again from Germany with schwalbe tyres and a HG-50 8 speed cassette, the wheel was £20 and the tyres £10 each those few changes have transformed an otherwise lump into something very rideable, all in that bike bought second hand for £25 with may be £70 of upgrades is far better than all but the most expensive kids bikes.

I'm really interested to hear about your 20" bike builds. Have you documented them on this forum previously?

itboffin

No I did it recently because I couldn't source wheelset for a new 24" frames I bought from planetx so needed to breath life back into her old bike for bike ability, she's really to big for it now but my attempts to get her onto the 26" on-one have failed, so back to the drawing board with a step through cube frame from Germany for £50.

I might document that build, all being good I'll donate the 20" as I did her previous model.

Mattcee

If you can find a used Isla bike in good nick, then I'd get that as they hold their value so well. It really is money well spent. Kids soon grow out of bikes so you won't have it that long. We got a used Isla bike from ebay for £130 and sold it one year later on ebay again for £205!

We got her the Frog 55 now brand new and it seems very good although not quite as light as an Isla equivalent.
Not sure how their holding up on re-sale value though as they are a newer brand.

dirkpitt74

Bit of an update on this.
Took little one to Halfords on Sunday to have a look at the Wiggins 20" Chartres.
With the seat down here feet were flat on the floor and not quite sitting on the saddle, this has a 10" frame.
Going to try the 11" Frog this weekend to see how that stacks up.

dt7

We bought our daughter (just turned 6) a Wiggins 20" Chartres at the beginning of August. She absolutely loves it. Not the most 'girly' colours, but we persuaded her that it looked like Laura Trott's Olympic bike. We were very impressed with the weight of the bike and rider position. Seemed very good value. About to take it back for a free 6 week service.

dirkpitt74

Had another look at the Wiggins Chartres 20" as with BC discount and cash back I could get for under £200.

But the cassette is only 28t and the front ring is 32t so thinking climbing might be compromised.
So priced up a 32t cassette for £10, better suited tyres £30 - put's it back into Frog territory..... especially as I've been offered £20 off one bringing it down to £240 with 2 sets of tyres and guards.

Also looked at Wiggle Veranti 20 but no info on gear ratios etc. and only available in yellow..... Looks good though for £190.

***Edit***
Just heard back from Wiggle about the ratio's on the Verenti - 12-32 cassette and a 32t chainring, so same as the Frog's.

poah

I'm getting my 2nd son a scott scale jr plus for his 7th birthday.

Tashman

These kids should all be given a Grifter first so they can really appreciate the lightweight machines they're getting

lettingthedaysgoby

My 5 year old daughter has a Frog 52 and loves it