Which bicycle for 7 year old?

[davidll]

Hello,

Am looking for some advice re the choice of bicycle for our 6(almost 7) year old daughter. We have decided that a hybrid bicycle is the one to go for and have narrowed it down to a Carrera Abyss from Halfords. https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/junior-bike...

Or the B’Twin original 500 hybrid from Decathlon https://www.decathlon.co.uk/original-500-hybrid-bi...

Both have 20 inch wheels and our daughter likes both. Would appreciate your thoughts on them and especially on the quality of the parts, durability etc

Thank you

David

[troc]

Would be worth checking to see if there’s a second hand islabikes beinn available in your area (eBay/gumtree) or check the islabikes website.

You’ll get better quality parts and a bike properly sized for a 7 year old rather than just an shrunk adult bike.

(Frog bikes also good)

[davidll]

Thank you for this. Both Islabike and frog came up in my research. However, unfortunately can’t find either at a reasonable price currently locally. Hence, looking for a new alternative.

If anyone has thoughts on the 2 bikes and their merits would be much appreciated

[Deerfoot]

I`d still hold out for a used Islabike, for example the Islabike Beinn is 8.1kg, the B`Twin linked above is 12.8kg, that`s quite a difference for a 7 year old..

I paid around £200 for my daughter`s used Beinn, I suspect I`d not get much less for it now.

A friend of ours bought his son a Wiggins bike, it looks OK too.. It`s 8kg.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Junior-Bradley-Wiggins-...uwAAOSwlTBdUEWU

[wildgfish]

I'd also suggest looking at the Go Outdoors range:
https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15907231/wild-bikes-w...

Same designer as the Bossnut (Best sub £1000 full sus bike) and aiming to compete with Islabikes and Frog.

[SwissJonese]

Personally I would go for 2nd hand at that age unless she wants to ride loads (because you will change it again in 1-2years). So many around that have hardly been ridden. Look at Cube, Ridgeback, Giant, Specialized etc so many choices.

For example I picked up a Carerra 20" MTB for £40 that had been used about 3 times, like new and I bought my son a ridgeback bike for £30 again like new.

My daughter is quite small so currently rides a Marin Hidden Canyon to school which is stunning.

I've converted 2 Carrera bikes to full suspension MTB and the frames are really strong and light (aluminium). The component are fine for this price bracket and dirty cheap if you need to replace.

Personally I wouldn't touch that b-twin the ergonomics look awful and would knock her riding confidence if they just don't fit properly.

[boyse7en]

My advice would be to buy an Islabike Beinn 20 secondhand.

It comes in small and large frame sizes, so get whichever one depending on the size of your daughter.

I got one (small frame) for my daughter's 7th birthday and paid £180 for it. It was a nice bike - lightweight, good handling.

Sold it last month as she had grown out of it at age 10. Got £200 for it

[Mammasaid]

We've got a Ridgeback Harmony, that my daughter's grown out of, it's available to buy if you want (we're up in Cumbria)

[louiebaby]

wildgfish said:

I'd also suggest looking at the Go Outdoors range:

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15907231/wild-bikes-w...

Same designer as the Bossnut (Best sub £1000 full sus bike) and aiming to compete with Islabikes and Frog.

They seem nice and light. I'll have to consider when my eldest grows out of his Islabike Beinn. (Which has been excellent, and cost £120 in very good condition.)

[lufbramatt]

Deerfoot said:

I`d still hold out for a used Islabike, for example the Islabike Beinn is 8.1kg, the B`Twin linked above is 12.8kg, that`s quite a difference for a 7 year old..

I paid around £200 for my daughter`s used Beinn, I suspect I`d not get much less for it now.

A friend of ours bought his son a Wiggins bike, it looks OK too.. It`s 8kg.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Junior-Bradley-Wiggins-...uwAAOSwlTBdUEWU

12.8kg? that's about 28lbs... the same as my adult sized full sus mountain bike! how do they make them so heavy!?

[soupdragon1]

Vitus 20. Its basically the chain reaction/wiggle version of the Isla Bike. 9kg so still quite light, but a bit cheaper than an Isla bike

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-20-kids-...

They were previously called Verenti before changing the name to Vitus. I picked one up on gumtree (a verenti) for my daughter for £80 and its great. Straight away, she was riding with confidence and you could easily see how easy it was to handle. Good way to get them into using gears too.

[C0ffin D0dger]

Frog Bikes are ace for this age group. Couldn't be doing with the grip shifts on a Isla. My daughter (6 but tall) is on a Frog 55 and loves it.

Either get one secondhand or buy new and keep in mind that you'll get £200 for it secondhand when your daughter has grown out of it.

[davidll]

Hi all,
Thanks for all the really helpful replies. Certainly food for thought. Will have another think before making a decision.
Thanks
David

[The3rdDukeofB]

Don't know how hardy, or how girly you want (she wants?) - but my 6 year old adores her Bobbins bike.

Gears, style, basket for the dolls, whats not to like.

https://bobbinbikes.com/

(sourced off of ebay at half price)

[chrisch77]

As per comments above, I would be very wary or buying a brand new bike for a 6/7 year old as they will outgrow it within two years and cheap new bikes are heavy as f###.

Second hand Islabike or Frog would be perfect and can be picked up from around £120 (yes lots are advertised for much higher prices so ignore those) - the thing to remember is that you will be able to resell an Isla or Frog for what you paid for it in 2 years time whereas a Halfords special will be worth peanuts secondhand.

Facebook has buying/selling groups for both Isla and Frog bikes so would be worth joining if you want to find one. I would also question if a 20” wheel bike is too small for a nearly 7 year old - my youngest is 7 and admittedly tall for her age (now about 129cm) but had outgrown a Frog 52 before her birthday in April and now has her sister’s Friday 62 (24” wheel) that should be fine until she is 9/10.

Good luck with your search!
Chris

[davidll]

Many thanks again,

re the bobbin bike; I suspect that will probably go for a less "girly" bike(although had previously considered the decathlon one).

am looking at islabike and frog second hand currently....

re the wild bikes from go outdoors...any thoughts on these as to how they compare to the two more established brands?

[davidll]

Thanks all,
Have bought a second hand frog bike which does look much better than the Halfords stuff I have seen.
Am sure that my daughter will love it
David

[maccas99]

Well done, we have a couple of Isla Bikes and a Frog for our kids which they love. You've made the right move as you will get back what you paid for it, if not even more! Enjoy!