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Bike for 9 yr old: Woom, Islabike, Giant Liv

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Bike for 9 yr old: Woom, Islabike, Giant Liv

Old 06-30-16, 11:57 PM
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ladybelle
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Bike for 9 yr old: Woom, Islabike, Giant Liv

My daughter is 9.5, is 4'10 with about a 27" inseam. She is strong and a decent rider. She tried the Giant Liv Alight, I believe, with 13 inch frame and 700c wheels with the seat almost all the way down. She was able to get on it and pedal, though her feet were mildly on tippy toes.
Im looking for a decent bike, gender/color is unimportant, in the $300 to $600 range that will last her, fairly lightweight, possibly with good resale value, and that she can use for mostly riding on street bike paths and grass. I liked the trade program with woom, but i believe she will be at the highest size anyways.

Would love any advice on any appropriate bike models.
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Old 07-01-16, 09:32 AM
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I just picked up a Liv Alight 2 about 4 weeks ago and I've been extremely happy with it so far, and would recommend it as comfortable, light, quick and fun.

I've been using mine to commute to work, 18-20 miles round trip, a couple times a week. I've been extremely pleased with it's responsiveness, ease of control, and zippy pickup from a stopping position (which is nice when I want to merge into traffic, for example). I have always found gear shifting confusing, and so I liked the simplicity/ease of use of the stock shifters.

I take a combination of urban roads, paved bike paths, and occasionally gravel paths. It does fine in the grass and on the gravel. Not as "grippy" as a mountain bike, but the tires that came with the Alight are perfectly adequate for anything I need to do on a daily basis. The aluminum frame is very light (which was something I was looking for as well). Mine is the Medium frame, and I can easily lift the bike with one hand. Also I dig the 700c size!

I haven't seen much talk about them, and I wonder why not. I think it's a real winner, at a great price (I paid $460 at local bike shop), and they're made by Giant.

I can't suggest anything about fitting.... I just went to the bike shop and let them fit me for a bike that was the correct size. I feel certain other folks here will say "choose whatever she feels most comfortable with and keeps her riding the bike". But I can at least say I've been riding the Alight for a few weeks now and I dig it, and would commend it to you as a very good bike.
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Old 07-07-16, 02:18 PM
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I love Islabikes and have heard great things about Woom as well, though I have yet to see one in person. You don't mention which model of the Alight your daughter tried, but I'm going to guess that all of them are significantly heavier than either the Beinn 26 large or the Woom 6. Depending on how much your daughter weighs and how comfortably she is with a heavier bike, this would be a factor to consider.


I also think the 1 x 8 gearing is easier and more intuitive for kids than a triple chain ring.


Was she comfortable with the brake reach and size on the Alight? The Islabike brake set up really lends itself to one finger braking straight out of the box, which is nice.


We still have our original Islabike but what I've heard from friends who have sold theirs or bought used is that they hold their resale value very well -- like 60-75% of original sale price depending on condition. I would guess the Alight would be more like 30% of original sale price. That said, it's a much less expensive bike upfront and if she likes it and is comfortable riding it, that's really the most important thing (which is how we ended up with a $100 24" Specialized Hot Rock for our daughter rather than jumping to the next size in Islabike, though we plan to eventually get her a Beinn 26).
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Old 07-07-16, 02:25 PM
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I love Islabikes and have heard great things about Woom as well, though I have yet to see one in person. You don't mention which model of the Alight your daughter tried, but I'm going to guess that all of them are significantly heavier than either the Beinn 26 large or the Woom 6. Depending on how much your daughter weighs and how comfortably she is with a heavier bike, this would be a factor to consider.


I also think the 1 x 8 gearing is easier and more intuitive for kids than a triple chain ring.


Was she comfortable with the brake reach and size on the Alight? The Islabike brake set up really lends itself to one finger braking straight out of the box, which is nice.


We still have our original Islabike but what I've heard from friends who have sold theirs or bought used is that they hold their resale value very well -- like 60-75% of original sale price depending on condition. I would guess the Alight would be more like 30% of original sale price. That said, it's a much less expensive bike upfront and if she likes it and is comfortable riding it, that's really the most important thing (which is how we ended up with a $100 24" Specialized Hot Rock for our daughter rather than jumping to the next size in Islabike, though we plan to eventually get her a Beinn 26).
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Old 07-21-16, 07:58 AM
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A couple thoughts:

There is no reason a 9 YO needs 700c wheels - even shorter adults are usually better off on a bike designed around smaller wheels. Short elite MTB racers don't use 29" wheels because they simply aren't a good fit for smaller bodies.

Only touching your toes to the ground when on the saddle is an indication that the bike fits OK, unless it is a 'crank forward' or semi-recumbent bike.

A bike that fits her at nine will likely be too small when she is 11 or 12, and a bike that fits her when she is 12 is probably too big for her at 9. Get her the bike that fits her now and trade/sell it when she needs a bigger one.
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Old 07-21-16, 09:30 PM
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Alternate to the Alight - looks the same, but with appropriately sized wheels:
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-ca...specifications

The problem with that, the Woom 5 (although the 5 City looks very nice), and most kids bikes are the twist shifters. I hate them.

I see all kinds of almost new 24" and 650C bikes for sale used though - probably similar in your area. She may not use it long, it's a good space to buy used in if you can find it.
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Old 07-26-16, 10:34 AM
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I bought the Isla Beinn 24 a year ago for my then six year-old, and couldn't love it more. It's light, really solid-feeling and all the components are so thoughtfully done. The kid also loves it. Took five minutes to put together and their customer service (U.S. distributor is out of Portland, as I recall) was really helpful in choosing a model and sizing etc.
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Old 07-26-16, 11:02 AM
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Fuji makes a roadbike model that works well for most kids...I got one for my youngest grand daughter a couple of years ago...I forget the model name, but that should not be hard to find...just check the fuji site.

ok, just checked, they have two models. the ace 24 and the ace 650.
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Old 07-26-16, 11:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Wilfred Laurier
A couple thoughts:

There is no reason a 9 YO needs 700c wheels - even shorter adults are usually better off on a bike designed around smaller wheels. Short elite MTB racers don't use 29" wheels because they simply aren't a good fit for smaller bodies.

Only touching your toes to the ground when on the saddle is an indication that the bike fits OK, unless it is a 'crank forward' or semi-recumbent bike.

A bike that fits her at nine will likely be too small when she is 11 or 12, and a bike that fits her when she is 12 is probably too big for her at 9. Get her the bike that fits her now and trade/sell it when she needs a bigger one.
True. When my son was about that height, we got him a used Trek 800, solid fork, 13" frame, 26" wheels, 1.6" GEAX streetrunner tires, 3 x 7 gearing. The seat was slammed all the way down when we first got it. A couple of years later, the seat was close to the minimum insertion point. It was a little heavy, but perfect as a first adult bike for a growing child.
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Old 08-22-16, 07:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Wilfred Laurier
There is no reason a 9 YO needs 700c wheels - even shorter adults are usually better off on a bike designed around smaller wheels. Short elite MTB racers don't use 29" wheels because they simply aren't a good fit for smaller bodies.
Yup, my wife's 5'1" sister-in-law fit perfectly on a 24" (540mm) wheeled 'kid's' road bike I happened to have so she's now using it for triathlons. I put a full Tiagra 4700 group on it and some Schwalbe One (wheelchair!) tires to make a nicely scaled down race bike out of it. My research on that particular wheel size showed that it is quite popular for Japanese woman's bikes, a nice middle ground between a 650c (571mm) wheel (common for normal sized adults in tris) and your standard 24" (507mm) wheels.
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Old 08-25-16, 07:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Viich

The problem with that, the Woom 5 (although the 5 City looks very nice), and most kids bikes are the twist shifters. I hate them.
Easy enough to fix.

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Old 08-26-16, 05:44 AM
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Originally Posted by XCSKIBUM
I replace components on bikes all the time to make them better for me. And that looks like a great deal on a perfectly good shifter, but using a SRAM shifter means changing to a SRAM RD - different cable pull. Using a Shimano trigger would be the way to go, but you also missed the fact that it's a 7 speed - fairly crucial to match that. a $12 shifter that needs a new wheel (maybe - specs say cassette, but I'm suspicious that it's a freewheel), cassette, and derailleur really isn't very cheap.

Maybe this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Acera...+speed+trigger
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Old 08-28-16, 06:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Viich
I replace components on bikes all the time to make them better for me. And that looks like a great deal on a perfectly good shifter, but using a SRAM shifter means changing to a SRAM RD - different cable pull. Using a Shimano trigger would be the way to go, but you also missed the fact that it's a 7 speed - fairly crucial to match that. a $12 shifter that needs a new wheel (maybe - specs say cassette, but I'm suspicious that it's a freewheel), cassette, and derailleur really isn't very cheap.

Maybe this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Acera...+speed+trigger
Woom uses SRAM X4 rear DR on the twist shift versions, at least on the 4. They use Shimano on the trigger shift option if you buy direct.

I got this information directly from Woom when I explored my options with an Amazon pruchase.
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Old 08-30-16, 10:16 PM
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Originally Posted by XCSKIBUM
Woom uses SRAM X4 rear DR on the twist shift versions, at least on the 4. They use Shimano on the trigger shift option if you buy direct.

I got this information directly from Woom when I explored my options with an Amazon pruchase.
Fair enough, I thought you were referring to the Giant Escape Jr (24").
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Old 08-30-16, 10:35 PM
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if you have a 9 1/2 year old kid, the first thing you do is find a really nice used bike and see what they end up doing with and to it.


You should expect a possible growth spurt soon as your girl becomes a teenager and probably 5' 6" or more (especially if she is active and eats well).


Otherwise expect to buy another bike sooner than you think.
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