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So, MiniGuru #1 is due a bigger bike soon and this is top of the list:
She has declared she doesn’t want a black bike because that’s boring and would prefer pink (vetoed by MrsGuru), purple, blue, green or rainbow coloured. Or clear (WTF?!!)
So this bike needs blinging up - I was thinking some colourful custom decals and maybe some mutilcoloured stickers around the rims. Your suggestions please and recommendations of where to get them from!
slikgraphics.com is one that usually comes up. not used them myself. have got some canyon decals from dnfive.co.uk - good price and quality
Probably depends on your patience, but that doesn’t look an impossibly hard frame to do a full vinyl wrap on if you wanted to take it all the way.
Personally, I kind of agree with her. Black (or red!!!) is boring. I wish the people making bike industry colour decisions would be a bit more adventurous - including importers and distributors.
Worth considering spending a little more on the bike to get something better thats already a sweet colour and means you wont have to spend money and time on decals and parts bin swaps to drop some weight from the big brands offerings.
The suntours on the riprock arent really any use with plus tyres but push the weight to some 26lbs.
This however is 21lbs, and already purple.
[url]
https://spawncycles.com/raiju-20 [/url]
Im not financially involved with spawn, but my kids were early brand adopters and i really like what they are doing.
Actually it isn’t a cost related decision (though I don’t fancy doing a complete custom build), it’s that I think plus tyres are the perfect thing for the rooty greasy trails we ride. I’m not expecting the sus fork to do much bar possibly save her when she gets it totally wrong. But being able to run like 5psi or something should make it much less of a rattle fest in the dry nor slithery in the wet.
Still interested in other suggestions though!
Your heading for tears with that bike. It's 12kg, which is 50% heavier than the STW favourite Islabike. Sus forks and big tyres are pointless for 5yo, weight is everything.
Why are big tyres pointless for five year olds?
She has an Islabike at the moment - but they don’t make mountain bikes and she likes mountain biking.
I think the big tyres on a rigid fork are ideal. I bought the youngest a 20" spark plus and it worked really well aside from him not wanting 'fat tyres' because non of his mates do...
He now has that same bike with a brood carbon lowered sus fork, light wheels and 'regular' tyres (saint/xt 10spd and carbon bars just because) but i really liked it with the plus tyres and the 2.6 kendas really arent much heavier than regular wire bead tyres specd on other price point bikes.
Id suggest she will struggle with the 26lb weight moving up from a sub 20 isla kids 'hybrid'
Put 20" conti explorers on a isla Beinn 20 and it's a "mountain bike". You can run them at very low psi when a 5yo girl weighs around 20kg. Kids this age don't benefit from the bigger fat tyres which are just adding weight and weight = shorter rides and tears.
Just to add, the boat anchor wheelset that came off the spark plus are now on an old nitrous jr20 frame and they fit fine.
Those specialized plus tyres are available aftermarket so i would absolutely expect them to fit in the Raiju and they do fit in spawns rigid fork, i just checked with the kendas.
That suntour fork is 40mm non damped coil sprung at 2kg. Its only purpose is imo 'aesthetic' and based on the bounce test of other kids bikes with cheap sus forks it will probably be seized after 6months :/
You could add functionalty down the road with a budget spinner grind or a better brood/ride alpha fork if she gets into trails that require some squash.
My son has the Riprock and loves it. He doesn't struggle with the weight which doesn't seem to cause any issues... but then I had a Grifter when I was a kid which is still the heaviest bike I've ever picked up.
The suntour fork is useless though. It works when I'm riding it but doesn't really move for a child. Can you take the spring out of one leg anyone?
Just been out bike sizing. The Riprock 20 is too big. Might be just about ok with narrower bars, a shorter stem and a straight seatpost but even then it feels like too much bike for her. The sus fork doesn’t seem to move under her weight, not sure any hits will be big enough for it to help.
Tried quite a few non-plus 20” bikes and eventually happened upon a hybrid in Halfords which she was very happy riding.
That’s very similar to the Spawn Raiju 20 (but heavier and with less tyre clearance). Not sure on the angles but it suggests the Raiju may be a very good choice!