Kids Bikes

[Warnie]

I've got 2 girls one aged 8 and the other 11, both are small for their age so would be looking at a 20in and a 24in wheel. They currently ride their bikes just in the street and perhaps once a week down the cannel when I take them. So only looking to spend a max of £120 on each, as they just don't get the heavy use that I used to give my bikes at that age.

Halfords have some deals on Apollo bikes apparently with 50% off http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

Would these be ok for light use? and does anyone know any cheap deals going that can better this?

[mad4amanda]

Honestly at that amount of use I would be looking at a pair of BMX type bikes as street bikes . What are they riding now?
Halfords Apollo bikes are ok better than most from toys R us and Argos but still quite heavy which discourages use. I would go basic avoid anything with suspension and too many gears, disc brakes at that age and try and do a deal based on buying 2 .
Have a look at the junior Pendleton range they are not much more and you should get 2 for around £250 using a voucher or deal.
Halfords Bikehuts vary enormously in the quality of staff and hence the service so shop around a few and look for ones that make you comfortable

[richardxjr]

Decathlon, or secondhand. Apollo = BSO, all of them.

[mad4amanda]

But some of the decathlon kids bikes are very poor as well.

[Engineer1]

Something heavy they ride is better than the mechanically marvelous but unridden bike in the shed

[mad4amanda]

but we used to get so many kids bikes bought back after Christmas because they were so heavy but looked cool . The Kids struggle to handle the weight especially under 12s.

You could tell the parents this, but the dads wanted something with full suspension 21 gears and disc brakes and the mums wanted it in pink if for a girl or blue for a boy !

A compromise is something like a specialised Hotrock or similar.

Edited by mad4amanda on Thursday 5th December 15:50

[richardxjr]

I trawl ebay for something Ali framed from a recognised brand that's not too far away. Specialized, Scott, Kona, Ridgeback, Islabikes. Own name brands that are alright include Halfords' Carrera and Evans' Pinnacle.

You'll likely be in a bidding frenzy this time of year though!

[Mr Will]

Engineer1 said:

Something heavy they ride is better than the mechanically marvelous but unridden bike in the shed

People keep saying this and while it is true, I have yet to see any evidence that it is likely to happen. The bike that they will ride the most is the one that they enjoy riding, not the one that catches their eye in the shop because it has their (current) favourite cartoon character on the stickers but rides like a heap of junk.

[Patch1875]

Think I'm going to go for this for my 7yo daughter. Bit pricy but the cheaper ones seem to weigh a tonne due to the steel frame.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/ho...

[mad4amanda]

Interesting read over 4kg difference in weight between the best let alone the rest!
http://www.bikeradar.com/beginners/gear/article/be...

[Mr Will]

Patch1875 said:

Think I'm going to go for this for my 7yo daughter. Bit pricy but the cheaper ones seem to weigh a tonne due to the steel frame.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/ho...

It's a good bike, but unless you can get a deal I'd be very tempted to try and find the extra £50 for an Islabike - A quick glance at eBay suggests that they are selling second hand for at least £75 more than the Specialized which means that as well as being 2/3rds of the weight it should work out cheaper in the end.

[SixtySpeedTwin]

Santas got this 20" Felt for my son in orange. Its a really top quality bit of kit compared to most kids bikes. I was fortunate enough to get it for 189 in the sale about a month or so ago.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-q20-s-2013/

[boyse7en]

SixtySpeedTwin said:

Santas got this 20" Felt for my son in orange. Its a really top quality bit of kit compared to most kids bikes. I was fortunate enough to get it for 189 in the sale about a month or so ago.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-q20-s-2013/

Got an immaculate secondhand one of these for my 6 year old daughter last year (£95 on eBay). It is a little but big for her then but the light weight means she can still handle it well. She's seven now and will do 10 miles plus on it without complaints.

Light weight, and light controls are important, as kids haven't got the hand strength so really haul on the brakes. I think gears are vital, but we live in a hilly area so without them either she wouldn't get up the hills, or would be spinning like a Magimix on turbo on the downs.

The other thing is that an Apollo will be worth very little in a year or two's time, a named brand Felt, Spesh, Islabike, will always sell at a premium so you will get some of the extra purchase cost back

[richardxjr]

If anybody bought a s/hand 24" bike these'll help spruce it up.

Unbelievable bargain proper Schwalbe folding tyres £4.99ea delivered. They are real, with the white outline lettering just like Dad's Nobby Nics etc. Mine just turned up, possibly my best bike bit bargain to date

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331064506927?ssPageName=...

Edited by richardxjr on Tuesday 10th December 17:25