New 20inch bike for tall 5 year old.

[greenyj]

Looking at getting this bike for my son who's already a fairly decent bike rider.

https://www.bicyclesonline.com.au/2019- ... ntain-bike

I have the adult version and am a big fan..

Anyone got one of these for there kid? Or can recommend something better?

[bychosis]

Weight 13kg according to the link. That’s petty heavy for 20”. My youngest son has a giant 3spd rigid 20” bike. I rate it over the previous sons 6-7spd with suspension designs. Three speed is usually enough, coaster brake is easier for little kids with lower hand strength.
I’d recommend looking at a full rigid bike, the suspension forks on these 20” bikes are for looks not function.

[Sparx]

Or can recommend something better?

That looks like a decent, if somewhat heavy kids bike, though that is pretty standard to be honest. As mentioned the forks will not do much but sometimes the kids enthusiasm for having a squishy bike can offset that.

You can of course get better bikes but just like adults bikes the cost does become an issue....

https://www.commencal-store.com.au/meta ... 2x26304591

[P!N20]

Disc brakes, shocks and six speeds always says to me they're trying to appeal to the adults more than what the kids need. Having said that, you're probably in the best position to determine what your son requires, so if you think it ticks all the boxes, go for it!

[Trevtassie]

Poor little bugger, that bike probably weighs more than he does!

[bychosis]

Disc brakes, shocks and six speeds always says to me they're trying to appeal to the adults more than what the kids need.

Lots of this, and kids get drawn into it becuase they can see what Mum and dad have and pester power kicks in.

You don’t rally need any of those extra features unless you are riding pretty serious trails, and if you are doing that you probably want to get quality gear which is way above that level.

[Mububban]

Agree with the above - I've taken my son riding proper MTB trails since he was on a 20" bike and if it weren't for that, I wouldn't bother with a heavier MTB with suspension. Those 40mm coil forks are hard for an adult to compress. Kids hardly ever compress them.

My son is on a 24" MTB now and even when backed off as much as possible, his coil fork is hard for him to compress.

If you're only riding on bike paths and footpaths, I'd save weight and go for a rigid fork bike, maybe 1x7 if hilly/rolling but if it's fairly flat, the 3 speed internal hubs have good gearing.

[dare007]

I always get my kids the Specialized kids bikes, but the Commencal's look great