NyoGoat

Why don't I see any reference to cannondale kids bikes anywhere on the internet? I just bought a (used) trail 20 6 speed bike for my kid and I can't find any reviews or comparisons anywhere. I don't need the approval of the internet for my decision, but I do like to geek out and read all about it. All I can find are details on the Cannondale site.

Kids bikes don't get the same attention as "big kid (adult)" bikes, probably for good reason. But I still want to geek out.

mel2012

From a weight to price ratio standpoint, if you were buying it new, the Cannondale is not a good value, since it comes it at least 25% higher weight than many of the competitive bikes (let's face it, in a 20" bike, there is no need for a suspension fork). Two Wheeling Tots has a good comparison chart of 20" bikes:
https://www.twowheelingtots.com/peda...arison-charts/


But if you got it cheap, it's likely you wouldn't do much better in the resale market, since most of the other superior offerings have relatively new to the market and hard to find resale. My favorite bike that's been on the market a while and can occasionally be found used at a low price is the Hotrock street, but more frequently parents get sucked into buying the suspension fork version, which is about the same weight as the Cannondale Trail, or the single-speed coaster brake version.

Darth Lefty 

If that's your complaint, there is a version without the suspension fork.
Street 20 Kids Cannondale Bicycles

The Cannondale offerings look fine to me, about par with offerings from other big bike brands. I like their styling better than Trek. But I think the Riprock bikes from Spec are cooler.

The boutique mail order brands (Islabikes, Cleary, Woom, Pello, etc) and BMX brands (Redline, Haro et al) do offer meaningfully different alternatives.

In the last year or so I've grown tired of the anti-cheap-suspension-fork evangelism on Bike Forums... they do work, just not as well as a fancy one, and they are heavy, but not that heavy, they're durable and simple, and if your kid wants to do manuals and bunny hops, then they will be fantastic.

mel2012

Fair point, I'd forgotten that there is a 20" Cannondale Street (which, per bike24, weighs in at around 21 lbs) which would be comparable to the Hotrock Street 20. The 24" Street with the lefty fork is, to my mind, a bizarre offering, especially since it is 30 lbs.


Re: the suspension fork, I evaluate "not that heavy" relative to a child's weight, not in absolute terms. When my son started riding his 20" Islabike when he was 4, he weighed around 35 lbs. We almost never ride "off-road" so a suspension fork that adds 5 lbs to the bike makes no sense for us. Whether it "works" or not isn't my issue, it's that they're totally unnecessary for 90% of kids bikes. Interestingly, when we did try to do light off-roading last summer while camping, it was much easier for my son on the Islabike than my daughter on a heavy and hard to handle 24" Novara Pixie mountain bike with a suspension fork that was a hand-me-down from my niece. My daughter would probably have been better off on her Hotrock Street even with its slick tires.

Darth Lefty 

Yeah, that Pixie isn't a good one. It's also got a super heavy one-piece crank. Their newest offering has a 3-piece crank and name-brand fork and has lost weight, but it's still Tourney-level on the components. The bike shop brands have been reacting in recent years to criticism and market pressure. But not all of them and not quickly. A new bike shop just opened here selling Jamis and their kid bikes look like utter junk. If you're an executive it's got to be hard to decide whether to offer bikes to compete with Walmart or with Woom.

I'm looking at the newest Hotrock 12 for my little guy because it looks like he'll be ready to pedal before he's big enough for a 16er, and it has some nice revised features like a low handlebar, long cockpit, and something innovative for the size, a crank-forward frame that allows more leg extension pedaling but still flat-foot seat height, just like an Electra. For price it's 4x a Walmart bike and 1/2 an Islabikes