Help in choosing 24 inch bike

[ConfusedMama]

Hi there,
I am new to this forum. My 8 year old daughter, 130cm, wants to upgrade from her BYK-450 (20 inch) to a 24inch. She has asked Santy for a turquoise bike (with a gold bell and basket but Santy may not be able to deliver on those things!!) I'm not going with a BYK e-540 as I am waiting for her older sister to outgrow hers to hand down to the 8 year old but that won't be happening for a year or 2.

So I am looking at either the Radius Lynx 24 inch or the Reid Viper 24inch or 99 bikes's Pedal Crush. There are all similar price points, with the Radius being more expensive so looking for advice from anyone who has experience of these bikes.

She normally does path cycling ( some hills) but may want to do some light off-trail cycling in future.

Thanks,
ConfusedMama

[10speedsemiracer]

Could Santa manage $439 ?

The Polygon Premier 24 is an option, and has a splash of green in accordance with daughter's wishes. Simple components, child-friendly braking levers and decent adjustability in sizing, this will be very similar in quality to the Byk line of bikes, and likely better than the 'Pedal' , Radius bikes which are very entry-level. The 'Pedal' bike is a heavy hi-ten steel frame, so will be significantly heavier.

The Polygon actually has some decent components in the mix and is sort of similar to the Reid Viper, although the Reids are out of stock (Viper 24) in all sizes. Importantly, the Polygon (and Reid) both forego the usually fitted front suspension fork which is near useless at this level and for this type of bike. This is a good thing. Polygon claim the bike weighs in at 10kgs, which is quite good.

[MattyK]

Similar, if you can find stock:
https://neobicycles.com.au/bikes/24/neo ... 4-7s-girls

A bit more, but nice bikes (we have an older model of it):
https://www.scott-sports.com/au/en/prod ... rigid-bike - https://www.bicyclesuperstore.com.au/sc ... -2021.html
https://www.bicyclesuperstore.com.au/sc ... -2021.html

The Radius is a fairly low end bike and if you want to off-road it (or even get up steep hills) I think the lack of low gears will soon be a problem

[ConfusedMama]

Gosh!!

Thank you all for such quick replies. I really appreciate it.

So it seems, of the original 3 I mentioned, the Reid Viper may be best...if one could be found that is...would I be correct? The tyre on a Viper is probably more suited to road but I guess at this age it would be fine too for light off-road messing around.

I will definitely check the other bikes mentioned to see if Santa can stretch her budget!!

[10speedsemiracer]

Gosh!!

Thank you all for such quick replies. I really appreciate it.

So it seems, of the original 3 I mentioned, the Reid Viper may be best...if one could be found that is...would I be correct? The tyre on a Viper is probably more suited to road but I guess at this age it would be fine too for light off-road messing around.

I will definitely check the other bikes mentioned to see if Santa can stretch her budget!!

I'd lean toward the Polygon, and the Apollo Neo 24 linked by MattyK, as both being a step up from the Reid but the Reid would do the job fine.

[Ws2KT]

The 'Pedal' bike is a heavy hi-ten steel frame, so will be significantly heavier.

Out of interest where did you find this information? I'm struggling to find any specs of the Pedal brand online.

[MattyK]

^ https://www.99bikes.com.au/bikes?manufacturer=2084

99 Bikes' house brand, focused on the entry level.

The 24" girls bike appears to be an alloy frame according to the spec list.
https://www.99bikes.com.au/pedal-crush- ... -pink-24-g

[10speedsemiracer]

The 'Pedal' bike is a heavy hi-ten steel frame, so will be significantly heavier.

Out of interest where did you find this information? I'm struggling to find any specs of the Pedal brand online.

I'd checked the spec on the 99Bikes site, but oddly, the frame is now listed as Alloy (?) when previously it was Hi-Ten steel (I'm sure it was..).
This is where it gets interesting though. PedalBikes.com.au list a RRP of $329 for the Crush24, whereas 99Bikes claim a "Full Price" (whatever that means...) of $399. So $70 above what the Brand recommends as a Retail Price...
Hmm, seems like an attempt to exaggerate the perceived saving when they sell it at it's actual expected sale price of $299.

This is something Amazon have been pinged for previously, and seems to be par-for-the-course with 99B and their "Members" pricing etc.

[Mububban]

Could Santa manage $439 ?

The Polygon Premier 24 is an option, and has a splash of green in accordance with daughter's wishes. Simple components, child-friendly braking levers and decent adjustability in sizing, this will be very similar in quality to the Byk line of bikes, and likely better than the 'Pedal' , Radius bikes which are very entry-level. The 'Pedal' bike is a heavy hi-ten steel frame, so will be significantly heavier.

The Polygon actually has some decent components in the mix and is sort of similar to the Reid Viper, although the Reids are out of stock (Viper 24) in all sizes. Importantly, the Polygon (and Reid) both forego the usually fitted front suspension fork which is near useless at this level and for this type of bike. This is a good thing. Polygon claim the bike weighs in at 10kgs, which is quite good.

We may be getting one of these 24" Polygon Premier bikes to review for the forum, stay tuned