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Have been thinking/looking at what do about the next bike size cycle for the 2 kids.
He'll be ready for a 20" geared within the next 6months I reckon. She'll be going 24" next (and could do now!)
The plan was to get her a new one, move the SDG kit over to it, and for him to have her Frog 55 (purple) and get him a set of SDG kit.
So have been thinking a frog 62 for her next, BUT not sure a hybrid type is any good for her now as we do a fair amount of trail riding (Haldon and Lanhydrock atm) so have been looking at other options. Didn't realise Frog did a MTB 62 which looks really good but £650 is a bit more than I anticipated!
So, anyone have any other suggestions for me to look at? Thinking of a hardtail to give her a bit more comfort and maybe help on some more challenging trails, disc brakes and not stupid money. (Have also considered Hope academy/Bike club options too)
TIA
Raleigh Performance 20 for the smaller option, if needed.
Light, fast, simple fun. At that size/speed suspension is just added weight, and the same could be said for discs. Vs are more than good enough.
I thought Frog's were light until I weighed our 55, which comes quite a bit heavier than advertised (9.1kg with pedals & mudguards).
I went through the same thoughts and ended up splashing on an Isla 24, it is a lot lighter and comes up fairly true to quoted.
The smaller daughter now has the Frog 55 - which i've stuck an 11/34 cassette on. Also dropped 300g by going with a chinese carbon seat post, chinese ti skewers, dropping reflectors & dork disk.
I've been trying to move them more towards off road, but we seem to spend most of our time riding cycle paths (granite way, drakes trail etc).
Bigger tyres might give you what you need without the cost / weight penalty?
We bought a cannondale cujo24. 24" wheels but 2.6 wide. As a fat bike it looks cool, almost jealous but the extra volume was more beneficial over cheap suspension forks. It's been a few trail centres Wales and lakes and he enjoyed it. At lass they grow and we are looking at big bikes now
My 4yo twin boys have early rider seeker x16 and I’m mighty impressed with them so I’d imagine the bigger ones are also good. Big volume tyres are like light suspension for them and they handle pump tracks and bmx tracks well
the extra volume was more beneficial over cheap suspension forks
This is where I am at the moment , looking at 24 inch bikes for the boy buy unsure of the benefits of a suspension fork for kids .
You can run the pressure low enough , as kids don't weight much. Kids suspension at the cheaper end of the bike spectrum doesn't work like proper suspension it cant for what it cost. Plus fat bikes look cool
+1 for the Cujo.
I managed to get hold of a 20" wheel Cujo for our 4yr old at Christmas after moving up from his 14" wheel Frog, and he seems to love it.
I wouldn't look passed a 2nd hand Orbea MX20/24. Best geometry and hydroformed tubes make it look like they've actually put some effort in.
Here's a pic of my daughter's complete with a dinky stem and the SDG in pink (natch)
riprock 24 is a big tyred bike for kids. I recon fatter tyres make more of a difference than boingy forks for a kid going over normal rough terrain. I recon my 4 year olds 16" riprock has maybe 5psi in it
edit : I think trek roscoe maybe does the same thing in 24" wheels - they def do a 20"
Thanks for all the input guys, hadn't though of larger volume tyres.
The Frog MTB 62 looks like it might (?) have a fairly decent fork!
@Speeder, that looks ace, and mine has the Pink SDG kit too so helpful to see what it would look like
May be waiting til June for here 9th Birthday so will have a think about the options and see what's available.