With the holidays around the corner and the kids sprouting like weeds, it is time for a new bike for the older of two kids.
I’m currently looking at a 20 inch bike for a six year old girl. Reality is 90% of the riding will be around the neighborhood or on bike paths. There is a slight chance she might actually go off-road on basic mtn bike trails before she outgrows this.
IMO it is crazy stupid to buy a six year old a $500-$600 bike (yes they make em). Nor do I want to buy a $50-$100 POS.
Right now my eyes are on a hotrock 20, which I might be able to get used for around $200. Other option is to go to BD at $200 with very similar components as the hotrock. Or do I just say screw it, I survived on a cheap huffy, so can she.
With the holidays around the corner and the kids sprouting like weeds, it is time for a new bike for the older of two kids.
I’m currently looking at a 20 inch bike for a six year old girl. Reality is 90% of the riding will be around the neighborhood or on bike paths. There is a slight chance she might actually go off-road on basic mtn bike trails before she outgrows this.
IMO it is crazy stupid to buy a six year old a $500-$600 bike (yes they make em). Nor do I want to buy a $50-$100 POS.
Right now my eyes are on a hotrock 20, which I might be able to get used for around $200. Other option is to go to BD at $200 with very similar components as the hotrock. Or do I just say screw it, I survived on a cheap huffy, so can she.
I bought my kid nice, but not ridiculous, bikes in the $200-$350 range, If you can take nice pics and write a good ad including a believable explanation why this particular used bike is a better value than a new POS Walmart ride, you can get reasonable money for quality kids bikes on Craigslist/FB. I had more money invested up front, but after he outgrew them and I re-sold them, I ended up not spending any more than I would have on disposable Huffys.
With the holidays around the corner and the kids sprouting like weeds, it is time for a new bike for the older of two kids.
I’m currently looking at a 20 inch bike for a six year old girl. Reality is 90% of the riding will be around the neighborhood or on bike paths. There is a slight chance she might actually go off-road on basic mtn bike trails before she outgrows this.
IMO it is crazy stupid to buy a six year old a $500-$600 bike (yes they make em). Nor do I want to buy a $50-$100 POS.
Right now my eyes are on a hotrock 20, which I might be able to get used for around $200. Other option is to go to BD at $200 with very similar components as the hotrock. Or do I just say screw it, I survived on a cheap huffy, so can she.
Hotrocks are like the Schwinn Stingray of today. Prolific, work great, durable enough to pass from kid to kid to kid. In my experience, you can’t go wrong with these bikes. Get it now for elder child and I guarantee both kids will get full use out of it. If you want to get younger kid their own new bike, you can sell a Hotrock in about 5 minutes on any parenting facebook site.
Buy quality, used - and you’ll be able to sell it on for minimal actual cost. Buy a big-box Bike Shaped Object, and it’ll go in the bin when she outgrows it.
We went with a Raleigh Jazzi 16" for my 4 year old because it was the middle ground we were looking for - not a cheap box store bike but also not a Woom (man I wanted to get her one of those, but just couldn’t justify it for a 4 year old.) It was about midway between the two on weight as well. Looks like the 20" clocks in at just a pound more at 21.5.
She’s had it for 8 months and it has held up really well and she’s taken a fair number of spills on it. I anticipate being able to pass it onto her younger sister. Wouldn’t hesitate to get the same brand in the next size up.
I bought a pink Hotrock 20 for my 7yo. As far a size goes it fits well. Had to slam the saddle fwd and the seat is set low but it fits well and she has room to grow on it. It’s pretty good quality built.
With the holidays around the corner and the kids sprouting like weeds, it is time for a new bike for the older of two kids.
I’m currently looking at a 20 inch bike for a six year old girl. Reality is 90% of the riding will be around the neighborhood or on bike paths. There is a slight chance she might actually go off-road on basic mtn bike trails before she outgrows this.
IMO it is crazy stupid to buy a six year old a $500-$600 bike (yes they make em). Nor do I want to buy a $50-$100 POS.
Right now my eyes are on a hotrock 20, which I might be able to get used for around $200. Other option is to go to BD at $200 with very similar components as the hotrock. Or do I just say screw it, I survived on a cheap huffy, so can she.
Those $50 POS bikes are actually pretty awesome. I bought several of them for my girls as they grew. We donated them when they outgrew them. I would do that over again, every time.
Yes they are heavy. But, they are not massively heavier than bikes that cost 2x to 3x more.They are usually styled way better for kids with colors, decal themes, and streamers they love.They are disposable, and this is a good thing. If you buy a nice bike, you will lose more then the cost of a “POS” bike if you think you are going to sell it in a couple years.You have to spend a lot more to get a material difference in quality and performance (especially with a single-speed bike).
The exception… buy a better bike when your kids are done growing and are getting a bike they might have for a while.
At that age, prioritize weight. Those heavy kids bikes are jokes and the makers should feel bad. Get the lightest one you can afford.
This is good advice
my son at 6 years old had a Spawn Mtn bike which was light and awesome - he loved riding that bike (to be fair, we were riding the single track mtn bike trails in Whistler so maybe overkill for you)
Craigslist (or any other used marketplace) is going to be your best friend.
In the beginning I bought my daughter quality bikes brand new. Her first was a 16" Trek Mystic. Looking back, it wasn’t a wise financial decision because even the quality ones were still heavy, saw little use, had crappy components and were too small the next year and didn’t fetch much on the used market when sold. I think after the first 3 or 4, which were all new purchases and probably about the time she needed more than 1 multi purpose bike, I switched to buying used, quality bikes on Craigslist. This was great because when she outgrew the bike, I could sell it for the same price, sometimes more after a year or two of use. She is 14 now and has had nearly as many bikes with 3 currently in the stable- a carbon QR Tri bike, carbon Giant Gravel bike and Specialized aluminum 26" dual suspension beast that she rips on. It also helps that her dad is an exceptional and talented bike mechanic.
I currently have a Giant XTC Jr. 24, XTC JR. 20, and I think a 20" Animator (doesn’t appear available now). I’ve been fairly happy with them. Probably would get the next model up if I did it again for the better shifting. The performance difference versus a Walmart bike is noticeable to the kids (and adults when you try to pick it up).
In my case, I have 6 kids that will cycle through the bikes so longevity is worth it to me.
Vitus 20" from Chain Reaction. On sale, pretty light compared to most, TRIGGER SHIFT. The last piece is important as I despise the hard to rotate shit kid’s grip shifters. Our youngest can finally ride geared bikes thanks to this bike.
Vitus 20" from Chain Reaction. On sale, pretty light compared to most, TRIGGER SHIFT. The last piece is important as I despise the hard to rotate shit kid’s grip shifters. Our youngest can finally ride geared bikes thanks to this bike.
Buy quality, used - and you’ll be able to sell it on for minimal actual cost. Buy a big-box Bike Shaped Object, and it’ll go in the bin when she outgrows it.
We gave my boy’s first bike away when he outgrew it. Or actually loaned it - the family currently using it can either give it back to us (and we’ll give it to someone else) or they can give it away with a proviso that that user doesn’t throw it away unless it’s truly beat. Pass them along.
Based on the info there him a Guardian Original mainly for the braking and gears, but the site gives enough info if you have other decision-making criteria.
Weight is important. But if they’re going up/down hills, brakes that they can use safely are pretty important too, as are gears.
Vitus 20" from Chain Reaction. On sale, pretty light compared to most, TRIGGER SHIFT. The last piece is important as I despise the hard to rotate shit kid’s grip shifters. Our youngest can finally ride geared bikes thanks to this bike.
Unfortunately, this bike will still be too big for my son next year. He will be 3 in March and is currently riding the Woom 2 (i.e.14 inch), and it seems difficult to impossible to find a bike with gears that will fit him next summer.
I would expect grip shifters to be less complicated for kids than trigger shifters though…