Dawes Espoir

I am sure there's a thread elsewhere on this forum about it (quite positive); we are also eyeing it up (the 24" version for my nearly 9yo). I don't think it's as robust as the Isla Luath which is the only bike I can think of that is quite comparable -- so I think it would be good for lots of road / flat grass racing, but I wouldn't want to take the Espoir on gravel or sandy paths very much (I think, need to check if you could fit wide knobbies on it, maybe?, make it into a X-bike like the Luath is supposed to be)