Originally Posted by
TashW
My daughter learnt to ride on an Isla bike as I wanted something super lightweight for her as she is very slight.
She now needs a bigger bike (24”) and wants gears, so I’ve been looking at options. I can’t afford another Isla or similar and now she is very competent I think she’ll be ok on a slightly heavier bike.
I’ve found this: Giant XTC Jr 2019 24inch kids aluminium frame hardtail mountain bike
The manufacturer doesn’t seem to have published the weight anywhere so I wondered if anyone knows if it’s an alright bike? And if it is lightweight?
I have someone offering me a Frog bike the same size and about the same price, but obviously second hand (and in a colour she won’t want!)
I just want something she can hop on and ride, with easy gears to learn with, and lightweight enough so riding on grass etc isn’t a problem as she’s not very big at 7 years old.
Advice gratefully received!
well this is a little late on response. But for maybe anyone else who comes into this for research i can’t say enough about Woom bikes. My son 6years old is on a Woom 4 weighs 16lb. I couldn’t find anything lighter. Good build quality SRAM 8 speed very adjustable in handlebars and seat so it will fit the child as they grow. They make rear racks, frame bags, bells, the bikes can carry 2 bottle holders! (Amazing on a kid bike), fenders can be fitted for rain. It’s customizable for how your child will want to use it.
For long rides i put on some slick tires and keep weight down, for his everyday commute to school we put on the fenders for rain, rear rack to help haul stuff around. Then on weekends he want to just ride we can take it all off pretty easy and throw on the any terrain tires it came with for trail riding. He is 6, but with it his speed improved usually around 11mph, and he has gone 20 miles in a day. With that said winter came in and now he just sticks to 5-8 mile rides. But when spring hits he would like to go on some bike packing trips, so the frame bag, rear rack, 2 bottle holders is a good option for that.
I don’t and won’t expect him to carry much. I have a topeak trailer that i will load up with everything but will let him carry some snacks, his water, and maybe something light on the rack.
With all that being said, it is a 1 bike job for a kid. Does what you want it to do, very stable and built machine. High resell value so when it comes to upgrading you can sell it to get a new one OR Woom has a buy back program so you trade in the old and get a new. Check them out!
we were looking at Giants ARX, but again the weight. 16 pounds vs 22 pounds i believe. Small kids 5 pounds makes a pretty big difference. Probably like 20 pounds as an adult equivalent.