Childrens bike recommendation

[reszo]

Hello all - looking for recommendations for 2 24' bikes for my kids as they have well and trully outgrown their old ones. My budget is preferably <$400 but I could stertch to $500 if necessary. I have looked at the Apollo Cougar/Panther and Avanti Black Thunder, but they all look similar to me. Gears are a must as we ride a few days a week through the local national park. A road bike would be cool, but have not come across any in my price range.

I am located in Sydney (Chatswood) but dont mind purchasing over the phone.

Thanks

[mirz]

Checkout byk range as well:

http://www.bykbikes.com/kids-bike-range ... -bike.html

Or malvern star

[AlMac]

My kids have had Giants in that size which I've been happy with.

Road bikes in 24 inch wheels (650cc) tend to be round the $1k mark.

[Dedot]

Just purchased a trek 24" and 20" for my two boys. They are happy about it and finally got a proper bike.

As far as small road bike, have you check Fuji? I have seen a 24" fuji road bike. Also I have seen a 10/12 yr old boy riding a giant 650cc road bike. I was impressed, he was climbing up a steep hill with a back pack too. His parents must be a cyclist(s).

[avikone]

We have also been shopping for a 24" for our tall 8yr old son. Weight was a consideration for us as we live in a hilly area. We found it difficult to find a bike that was not a BMX nor a mountain bike - we won't be doing any off-road biking. I found the http://www.bikeexchange.com.au site helpful to compare a lot of 24" models and prices.

We considered a Fuji Ace 24 $499 but this has racing handlebars so wasn't really suitable for recreational riding although we loved that it was lightweight and we didn't really want to spend that kind of money.

A friend bought a Giant XTC Jr 1 24" for $349 from http://www.innercitycycles.com.au - in Glebe, pick-up only. 7 gears which is plenty for that age group.

Hard to find out the weight for Giant bikes.

We settled on an XDS Lite Extreme 24" $299 from http://www.cellbikes.com.au in Stanmore. I think they offer free shipping. It's listed as 11.6kg.

[thejester]

Bikes with riser style or BMX style handlebars are better if you want a bike for the child to grow into. They can be tilted backward so small child can reach them and placed more upright as the child grows.

[gdt]

I ended up getting a 24in MTB bike and putting less knobbly tyres on it. She rides it to school, and the high tech tyres were worth it for the number of punctures they stopped.

Had real trouble finding a bike, and the one we got is still not great (too much heavy bling, like front shocks which are too cheap to work well). In retrospect, if I had to shop again I'd get a Byk.