like kids 20" bike

kuro_man

I was going to buy an Islabike Beinn small (again!) but I see they have increased the price by £50, so it will be around €400 by the time its delivered.

Any good alternatives?...the cube kid 200 looks good but at 10.5kg its 2.5 kg heavier than the Beinn. The Giant xtc lite 20 also looks good, but they don't publish weights, anyone know how much they weigh?

BostonB

Parcel Motel any use for the Islabike?

From this I reckon about 10kg for the giant.

I was going to suggest this cuda but its 11kg.

07.8kg Islabike 7.8kg €352 + Del
10.0kg Giant XTC JR €249
10.5kg Cube Kid 200 teamline 10.5kg €279
11.0KG Cuda Mayhem €215

kuro_man

Thanks.

Islabike's delivery to NI is not much cheaper than ROI, so parcel motel won't help much. Good chance to box is too big too.

Found this one too:

9.9kg Felt q20-r €288

The Giant looks like the best value so far. Is 10kg too heavy?

smacl

There was a similar thread on this a while back. From memory, of the weight difference between the Cube and Islabike, 1kg was down to tyres. Having fitted lighter slicks to my own kids bikes, it makes a big difference to weight and performance over the stock knobblies on most kids bikes.

kuro_man

thanks smacl, I just found your old post. What tyres did you go for in the end?

BostonB

kuro_man wrote: »

...The Giant looks like the best value so far. Is 10kg too heavy?

Too heavy for what? Most kids have steel bikes which weigh a ton. Seem to get around alright. Its really a question of budget at the end of the day. Money no object we'd get the lightest one. I agree though the Giant is the best compromise.

Only problem with slicks is once you head off track on wet grass or mud. Theres no grip. Depends what the main use is going to be though.

smacl

kuro_man wrote: »

thanks smacl, I just found your old post. What tyres did you go for in the end?

I ended up with Michelin Dialblos, purely on price (€8.60 each on clearance on CRC). If I was focussing on weight rather than trying to save a few bob, Durano folders would have been the choice at (190g for the 20" or 195 for the 24")

kuro_man

Much obliged. Going to get the Giant & see how he goes. I will swap the tyres if needs be.

check_six

My lad got a Specialized Hot Rock and is very happy with it, although I seem to remember it was on the expensive side.

I think we were looking at 20" wheeled bikes at the time and we ended up with a 24" wheel bike. I wasn't sure that my son would be able to manage the bigger bike, but the guy in the shop reckoned he'd be grand. Two minutes of cycling up and down on the bike and he took to the bigger wheel with no problems. I'm pretty happy the bike shop guy talked me into it.

Also, beware the brake levers on some kids bikes! We spotted one really nice bike from a major manufacturer which had brake levers that looked like they were from an adults bike. I could barely reach them, and my son certainly couldn't!

The Giant you spotted looks good, by the way. The tyres idea from Smacl is very interesting too.

hectyc

kuro_man wrote: »

Much obliged. Going to get the Giant & see how he goes. I will swap the tyres if needs be.

Did you end up getting the Giant XTC Jr 2 Lite?
Wondering how you found it compared to your Islabike Beinn 20

sadly, seems the 'Lite' model is discontinued for 2014 - I say it was doomed by Giant's idiotic policy to not provide bike weights - and more so for models whose design & raison d'etre is to weigh less!
You'd think Giant would be big enough to control their manufacturing & suppliers and be able to produce a standard configuration that can be weighed...

C3PO

I would also 2nd the Specialized Hotrocks - we've had various different sizes in our house and they've been great! Feel lighter than everything bar the Islabike!

kuro_man

Went to the giant shop, wasn't impressed. Salesman kept telling me 20" was the frame size!
Ended up with a Felt q20-r. Not as light as the islabike but it seems fine. 8 year old has no problems on it.

lismuse

Probably too late now...... but look up Frog bikes in the UK, they are on sale for the last month or so. They make a lightweight aluminium range of bike for kids up to teens. I got the Frog 55 for my almost 7yr old and he loves it. It weighs 8.9kg , has 20 inch wheels and a 7 speed shimano drive train. Size wise the bike will do him for another 1 to 2 yrs. He covers a 16km route with ease and has even cycled 21km on one occasion . It cost 320 euro delivered from the UK but they have a few shops selling them here now I see.