Bike for an 8 year old girl

Macdory
Macdory Posts: 113
edited July 2012 in Family & kids cycling forum
Hi,

I've been stalking these forums for a while, and I'm now looking for some help.

I'm looking to buy my daughter a new bike, which she will use to go on some light trails with me, and to and from school.

I'm considering the Giant Areva 2 Junior 20 2012 <http://www.wiggle.co.uk/giant-areva-2-junior-20-2012/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=uk&utm_content=Giant-Giant_Areva_2_Junior_20_2012-White%2fPink>

She is a little small for her age, and the Giant seems to fit her better than the Dawes bike she tried (ignoring the irony in the name).

I'm looking at spending no more than £200 - She was talking about wanting a suspension bike, but the ones around this price range do not have any dampers (from what I have seen) - I would rather her have a lighter bike, than ride something that is like a pogo stick, and she has bought into this idea too.

Would you recommend getting the Giant, or is there a better bike for similar money?

Comments

  • Mike Healey
    Mike Healey Posts: 1,023
    Prepare for avalanche of Islabikes suggestion. A Beinn 20 large costs £249 new, but you may find one cheaper on http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=islabikes

    No cheap (aka useless) suspension forks and everything properly porportioned.

    I'd suggest checking http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/p ... rt_web.pdf to make sure you've the right size first, tho'.
    Organising the Bradford Kids Saturday Bike Club at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre since 1998
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/eastbradfordcyclingclub/
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/eastbradfordcyclingclub/
  • Macdory
    Macdory Posts: 113
    Thank you - given the price is the same, would you recommend the Islabike over the Specialized?
  • Mike Healey
    Mike Healey Posts: 1,023
    Macdory wrote:
    Thank you - given the price is the same, would you recommend the Islabike over the Specialized?

    Yep. Altho' my preference is for the Islabike, you might want to check on the resale value of the Spesh, even tho' I believe the Isla resale value will be proportionately greater. There's also the fact that Isla does a greater range of sizes, so fitting is a bit easier.

    From our Kids Club experience, both parents and offspring, we've found no downside to our choice of Islas as club loan bikes. The downside is that she may enjoy herself so much on one that you will find yourself hammering the plastic until such time as she stops growing.

    On the subject of sus forks, apart from the pogo effect you've already mentioned, learning on rigid forks teaches them to look ahead and learn to read the surface and develop bike handling skills at lower speeds. Sus forks tend to give them more confidence than their skills might be able to handle. Result: they crash at higher speeds :(
    Organising the Bradford Kids Saturday Bike Club at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre since 1998
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/eastbradfordcyclingclub/
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/eastbradfordcyclingclub/
  • Macdory
    Macdory Posts: 113
    I managed to get the Giant bike. Took delivery today.

    My little one is well pleased :)
  • Macdory
    Macdory Posts: 113
    edited July 2012
    I took her for a ride yesterday - just to a small nature reserve. However, where she was previously struggling to get through the sandy bits and some of the lumps and bumps on her old bike - she was able to just ride through, over and under everything and thoroughly enjoyed herself. It's ~1.5 miles away, and she was happy on the road part too - now I'm looking forward to taking her a little bit further and possibly to Trent Valley which runs parallel to the River Trent.

    The Giant 20" Areva comes thoroughly recommended by the Macdonald clan :)
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Its amazing what a difference a good bike makes. Really glad to see another child getting into cycling.

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