Kids 24" bike

Bill1976

Hi folks, just bought myself a 2017 voodoo bizango, 1st bmountain bike since about 1990 when I had a specialised rockhopper sport! Loved that bike. Recently had a giant defy road 3 road bike, which doesn't get used somis on eBay.

Anyway I got the bizango so we could go out on family bike rides, my 2 boys are 8 & 9, and are ready for new bikes for there birthdays, We have been to look at the b'twin rockrider 500, they both love the look of it, not keen on the Halfords options, they seem heavier and I b'twin seem to be pretty well regarded.

Last night I found a cuda kinetic 24, so not knowing anything about bikes, would like some advice on these 2 bikes please, which is the better bike?

I'm now leaning towards the cuda, due to it being lighter and more expensive, ( although I have found it for £165 )

The only other option Is I have found a cube kids 240 near me on eBay 2017 model, so may take a look at that, but we need to buy 2 bikes, so still need to decide on the better bike from the other 2. Many thanks.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/24-rockride ... 20201.html

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/cuda-kinet ... ke-p400536

Bill1976

scrap that! ive just shown them both the cube kids and the cuda kinetic, they like neither!

so as it stands its the rockrider 500, budget is £200 each, rockriders are £150, so i guess I'll be quids in as it stands.

robertpb

That's an adults bike from Decathlon.

steve_sordy

A couple of years ago I would have advised you to consider an Islabike for them. Great bikes. Expensive to buy, but the second hand values are off the charts. When you consider how much you can sell them for, the ownership cost is minimal. But then when my grandson needed a 24" wheeled bike, I actually bought him a Hoy Bonaly 24 from Evans Cycles, designed by Chris Hoy. The bike had a wider spread of gears, a proper shifter not a twist grip, was just as high quality, weighed the same and was cheaper. What's not to like? I also looked at a bike by Frog that was cheaper still, but overall, the Hoy bike got my vote. I realise that you have two bikes to get and that can be expensive, but try eBay. I suspect you will be surprised at how high the prices are on eBay, but that is a good thing because it means that when you come to sell, you'll do OK and the ownership cost will be low. Buy some cheap BSO from Argos and it will be worthless after six months.

I suspect that all 24" bikes have carp tyres, so remove the Kenda Small Block 8s and get some proper mtb tyres. Keep the Kendas for when you sell the bikes on eBay.

Bill1976

robertpb wrote:

That's an adults bike from Decathlon.

Oops!

This was the one I ment to link.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-5 ... M7EALw_wcB

Bill1976

robertpb wrote:

That's an adults bike from Decathlon.

Looking again the links right, 24" kids rockrider

Bill1976

steve_sordy wrote:

A couple of years ago I would have advised you to consider an Islabike for them. Great bikes. Expensive to buy, but the second hand values are off the charts. When you consider how much you can sell them for, the ownership cost is minimal. But then when my grandson needed a 24" wheeled bike, I actually bought him a Hoy Bonaly 24 from Evans Cycles, designed by Chris Hoy. The bike had a wider spread of gears, a proper shifter not a twist grip, was just as high quality, weighed the same and was cheaper. What's not to like? I also looked at a bike by Frog that was cheaper still, but overall, the Hoy bike got my vote. I realise that you have two bikes to get and that can be expensive, but try eBay. I suspect you will be surprised at how high the prices are on eBay, but that is a good thing because it means that when you come to sell, you'll do OK and the ownership cost will be low. Buy some cheap BSO from Argos and it will be worthless after six months.

I suspect that all 24" bikes have carp tyres, so remove the Kenda Small Block 8s and get some proper mtb tyres. Keep the Kendas for when you sell the bikes on eBay.

I totally get what your saying about getting a more expensive bike, better all round and good resale values etc, i did show them a few on eBay, but they turned there nose up at them not being brand new and from a shop, which is fair enough, they want a new bike, not a second hand bike.

Ended up getting 2 rockriders from decathlon, which they absolutely love, for what they need, they do the job, I'll keep that in mind about the tyres, but I think,they'll get replaced due to having big skid marks through them ( once they start that game, I can see them never stopping lol )

Cheers for the post

natrix

steve_sordy wrote:

I suspect that all 24" bikes have carp tyres, so remove the Kenda Small Block 8s and get some proper mtb tyres. Keep the Kendas for when you sell the bikes on eBay.

Are the Kenda Small Block 8s that bad? Both of my two have the 24" Hoy Bonaly bikes (which are great, better than the Frog bikes) one now has Schwalbe Black Jack Tyres, but the other is still on the original Small Block 8s............

steve_sordy

natrix wrote:

...........

Are the Kenda Small Block 8s that bad? Both of my two have the 24" Hoy Bonaly bikes (which are great, better than the Frog bikes) one now has Schwalbe Black Jack Tyres, but the other is still on the original Small Block 8s............

Kenda small block 8 are a good tyre for tarmac and towpaths, but they are carp in the forest or other soft ground. The treads fill up with mud, grass and leaves and don't clear either. They spin out when climbing out of holes and they slide sideways on loose ground. I bought Continental Navigators. They are cheap and they work!