# Light kids bike?



## kaw550 (Jul 8, 2004)

My son has become obsessed with bike riding. He is seven and is riding a 6sp full suspension bike from Wal-mart. It is great for street use but it is a tank. 

I would like to get him something light. Has anyone compared the weight of kids bikes?
I think he will need a 20" bike for at least another year.


Most of the shops around here do not have 20" mountain bikes so it is tough to compare.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

My daughter just 7 is a little small so not all of the choices were ideal for her. Of the popular name brands a Fisher and Specialized seemed to have the nicest design and features. She fit best on the Specialized and it did not hurt to find a last year's model on closeout.

The Specialized has a chain guide. Yes it makes noise, but as time passes I see why the bike shop owner said he liked them so much. Her chain never comes off and I can't say that for her other bike we keep at her grandfather's cottage and for the kids in the neighborhood without that feature.

I would not rule out used bikes. Her first few were used, and the one we have at her grandpa's cottage is a slightly order but all steel Specialized that rides and works well with it's tuneup and fixup.

My wife first criticized the idea of getting the kid a nicer bike but after a progression of used and cheapies it was obvious that she did better with the lighter and well designed bike. We don't waste money on restaurants and high fashion so the premium on the bike was easier and having your child ride better and enjoy it is rich beyond compare. Going from the Wal-Mart type also put her to the front of the pack when riding with other kids who are usually bigger and older than she is.

While lighter than most in the category it's still relatively heavy for small child so keep that in mind when you ride an adult bike with the child.

Good luck.


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

I got a similar full suspension 6-speed 20" from Wallmart for my kids. Just this year my daughter got a 13" frame, 26" wheel Hardrock (30 lbs). The Hardrock is at least 5+ lbs lighter than the Wallmart bike. I can only assume a 20" or 24" Hardrock would be even lighter.


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## tlcrouch355 (Aug 2, 2008)

My son just turned 8 in July. We got him a KHS T Rex 24". It is around 28 lbs. He can handle it pretty well.


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## CaseyS (May 8, 2008)

I have my sons diamondback octane 20 under 25 lbs with some more to go once I get rid of the steel OPC crankset. Stock weight came in under 28 lbs. I spent about $225 on the bike and probably $200 in upgrades to get it to that point. The reason for the diamond back was a shorter standover, and a shorter top tube than others we compared to (trek, raleigh) If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten the Ibex alpine 320.

Diamondback Octane 20

Ibex 320

Ibex is out for the season. New arrivals should be in before Xmas.


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## MichauxBella (Mar 31, 2008)

At 7 he should fit a bike with 24" wheels without much trouble. Check out the Kona Kula 2-4 my husband posted a few days ago.


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## dd61999 (Aug 5, 2008)

I believe weight is very important with kids

When my 8 year old son and his friends join me in the trails, the kids are always swapping bikes and I notice when they are riding the light BMX bike they do a lot better than the heavier mountain bikes even with gears.

It was this observation, I decided to spend the money on a lightweight racing bmx for my sons next bike.

I think weight is more important for kids especially since some bikes weigh half as much as they do.

Imagine if we rode around on bikes weighing 90 lbs!!!!!

By the way the BMX weighs less than 14 pounds


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## Turbs1 (Jun 17, 2008)

*Light bikes*

I have also had the issue with trying to find a decent light bike. My son turns 6 soon but he's quite small for his age. We went down the line of buying a racing bmx bike. I've swapped the thin wheel for standed bmx ones and fitted cheap knobblies on. Had to make a small bracket for the front brake. The only thing left to do is change the gearing so he can ride uphill a bit further.

His is the white redline


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## devinjo (Aug 4, 2005)

When my son was seven he started out with this bike... A Giant MTX 125 .

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/kids/1290/29391/

The lighter bike made such a big difference for him. He is 9 now and rides a Specialized 
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=32276


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## Fabulous (Jan 20, 2008)

*Scott*

they make a hardtail and a fs version. We just got my son the Spark 24 for his birthday and I saw an immediate improvement in his confidence level. He was taking on logs last weekend that he never would have dreamed of attempting on his 24" Trek hardtail. :drumroll: The suspension is actually tuned for kids' lighter weights instead of being dead weight!


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## jtmartin57 (Jul 11, 2006)

*Good info all,*

I'm in the market for a 20" geared mt. bike for my 6 yo. I'm considering GF, the Big "S" and this bike: http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/bikes/08_bikes/08x20.html


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

Try a Carver


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## maffud (Jul 23, 2008)

My son is about to turn eight, and he has been asking for a mountain bike for months. I was considering getting him a 24" bike, but I came across a 20" Kona Makena in craigslist at a good price so I picked it up. He has a 20" BMX bike already, and if anything it still looks a bit big for him. I know he could ride a 24" bike, but I am thinking that the lighter 20" aluminum bike will be a better start for him. It has a token front shock, but it's the 6-speed gearing that I really wanted. He should be able to throw this bike around with confidence right away. I am looking forward to our first real trail ride together. Unfortunately, the bike is now sitting in the shed until his birthday at the end of the month. The waiting is the hardest part...


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## RFix (Aug 8, 2006)

My son has the 20" Ibex, hard to go wrong for the price. We have a few Trek's and a Specialized on our street, the Ibex is equiped with better components and ends up being lighter for less $.


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## HardyWeinberg (Aug 3, 2007)

The mendoza line for (available today) geared 20" bike seems to be in that $250-ish area...

http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/youth/rowdy/


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## Bikemonkeys (Dec 3, 2005)

It's funny that bike companies can make a light 10-15 pound BMX bike for 4 year olds but they can't make a mountain bike for little kids. Even Redline, Haro, Felt and a few others make them under $500, cheaper for steal frames. 

I just got my 5 year old daughter a Trek 20 inch 6 speed mountain bike. Nice and girly but just like their boys version. It's her cheapest bike, price is on par with her 16 inch Redline freestyle bike, but the quality isn't as good and nowhere near her 20 inch BMX Redline Proline race bike.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

A few weeks ago, while riding on one of our favorite trails, my buddy and I came across a father and son. The father was on a 4000 dollar Stumpy FSR with SPDs, a Camelback, riding shorts... The works. His son, who was visiting from out of state was on a heavy department store bike and wearing regular shorts and sneakers on flat pedals. The kid had no Camelback. The guy was berating the kid for being out of breath and not being able to keep up. You don't know how bad I wanted to crack that freakin' idiot.

My little guy is four. I can't wait to get him on that little FS Specialized or something else cool. We just bought him a Schwinn Gremlin with training wheels. It weighs MORE than my Stumpjumper 29er.


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