bike recommendation for 7 years old

[MattyK]

You can get a ByK e450 with a 3 speed hub now. Not on their website, but check stockists, bikeexchange, etc.
eg: http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/bicycles ... /102169253" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or add a 3-speed hub to one, eg: http://www.granprixbicycles.com.au/revi ... 3kids.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PS can mods move this to Kid's Bikes section?

[__PG__]

My son has been riding since he was 4 and even 'competed' in a few cyclocross races last year on his old steel bike with 16" wheels. His sister got a 2nd-hand Byk 350 for Christmas and he was a little miffed that she now had a bike bigger than him

So for his 7th birthday I got him a Byk E-500. It has 24" wheels and a SRAM 16-speed gears. It's taken him a while to get used to the new riding position (much longer reach) but this bike should be good for at least another 4-5 years.

He's enjoying playing with the gears (rear derailleur only for now) and he seems to understand the basics (i.e. always keep pedalling when changing gears, change down when coming to a stop).

We looked at the Mountain Bike version of the Byk E-500 but was put off by the additional weight. He's not going to hit any downhill trails in the foreseeable future anyway. We thought about the Giant but the Byk had a better specification. The SRAM shifters and derailleurs look pretty good.

Some things you take for granted. It will take them a while to get used to a bigger frame. My son dropped the E-500 in the store the first time he tried to ride it! Also you forget how much thumb effort it takes to change gears.

[BrisVegas]

You can get a ByK e450 with a 3 speed hub now. Not on their website, but check stockists, bikeexchange, etc.
eg: http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/bicycles ... /102169253" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cheers, didn't know that you could get bykes in 3-speed now.

I decided to grab a Giant Veer 24" for my daughter. It should do her for a few years.

[Zynster]

I decided to grab a Giant Veer 24" for my daughter. It should do her for a few years.

What's your impression of the Veer? It seems very similar in spec to the Fourty 24" but cheaper.

[ft_critical]

I couldn't go past this in 20" for my turning 6yo. Has Altus gruppo rather than the Tourney Revo Shift on most bikes. I looked at the team edition, like TLL said, who needs a fork for the weight penalty. But +$100 and freight from Spain... No, that is too much.

This looks amazing in the flesh.

[Zynster]

I've just bought a new bike for my 7yo. It was a really hard choice. I narrowed it down to these three:

Avanti Blade Jr - 24" wheels, 21 speed flat bar, alloy frame, V brakes, twist shift. rrp. $489 (best quote $420)

Fuji Absolute 24 - 24" wheels, 7 speed, flat bar, alloy frame, dual pivot brakes, twist shift. rrp $499 (best quote $446)

Fourty Bikes 540 - 24" wheels, 3 speed hub gears, riser bars, alloy frame, dual pivot brakes, twist shift. rrp. $399 (best quote: $375)


I ended up picking the Fourty 540 for the following reasons:
1. Hub gears will be better for a first geared bike. Harder to damage - no derailleur , change gears while stopped. Simple.
2. Fatter tires. Both the Avanti and the Fuji have thin racing tires.
3. Looks funkier. I got the black frame with white wheels.
4. Better price.

The Fuji was a very close second.

I'll post a review with pics when it arrives.

[troyww]

Fourty Bikes 540 - 24" wheels, 3 speed hub gears, riser bars, alloy frame, dual pivot brakes, twist shift. rrp. $399 (best quote: $375)

http://www.tbe.com.au/products/fourty-b ... ck/176823/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
$329 at TBE .

[troyww]

Took my 7 year old son to try a few bikes out so that he would know what to ask Santa for . He tried a couple of 24" giant xtc/veer bikes but loved the Fourty bikes so we now have one hidden in the shed till Santa drops by .
I would of liked for him to of tried the Fuji Abosolute 24 but the couple of bike shops that supposedly stocked them were really unhelpful about taking one for a test ride and was just too hard in the end .

[Dazz]

Thanks for info in this Thread. Might try to look at the Forty for my 6 YO. Have had a look at the veer and seemed ok, really keen to find the Fuji ACE 20 to look at but can't find one.


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[Zynster]

My 7 yo is barely big enough to ride the 24" Fourty. He's fine once riding, but doesn't have any stand over clearance. He's average height for his age.

[Vadz]

My two boys (7 and 10) are just on cheap kmart-type bikes at the moment, but we're all only just learning and was looking around for something cheap and they are having a great time.

My 7yo is on a Huffy 20" 6-spd and my 10yo on a Kend 24" 18spd - only reason why I got them was I picked them up on gumtree for $50 for the pair... figured they could trash them before I get them something better. Both bikes fit them really well at the moment (though it won't be too long before the 7yo needs to move up,seat is already most of the way up)... and while the bikes are really heavy, they absolutely love them (my 7yo loves having gears) and we've done over 100km on them over the last 4-weeks and they haven't missed a beat (including some hard breaking downhill on the 24").

They do occasionally get off their bikes and walk up a hill if their legs are a bit tight (like the day after swimming 9 events at swimming carnival), but if you're just riding casually with your kids I wouldn't worry about the extra weight too much - we did a 13km ride yesterday, about 4km of that off-road and my 7yo kept up fine and really loves his bike.

[tempestv8]

My boy is 6 1/2 years old and I bought him two 20" bikes in as many weeks.

The first was a Giant 20" Veer. It has an alloy frame with a steel rigid fork. It had a Shimano 3 speed hub with coaster brake.

Then I bought an Apollo Neo 20, which comes with an alloy frame and alloy rigid fork, and a 6-speed derallieur (Shimano Tourney)

I intentionally avoided mountain bikes as I did not want the additional weight of forks with suspension.

If weight is the main criteria, the Apollo Neo 20 is definitely lighter compared to the Giant Veer 20. I don't have scales, but I'd say the difference could be up to 1 kg, which is very noticeable to my son on hilly ascents.

However the Giant's rear coaster brake is much more effective at slowing down safely compared to the Neo's rear V brake. The latter requires more effort, and my son's hand strength is not as strong as his leg strength. He feels more in control with the rear coaster brake of the Giant. I can see why coaster brakes are more prevalent in smaller bikes.

I rate the Apollo Neo over the Giant Veer simply due to the lighter overall weight.

I have not compared to a Byk 450 so I don't know how it compares to an Apollo Neo 20, weight wise.

The Byk 450 was one of the considerations when I was researching for a 20" bike.

[tempestv8]

Just got back from the bike shop, as I'm now eyeing the 24" hybrid bikes.

I put the ByK E540 against the Apollo Neo 24 on the digital weighing scales, bot being rigid bikes.

Both are pretty much bang on the same weight at around 11.1 kgs.

I also looked at the XDS Boss 8S with cable operated disc brakes and rigid forks. These are all in the same ballpark at 11 kg. Very nice bike indeed, with more aggressive looking offroad oriented tyres and hydroformed frame. There is also a XDS Boss 8S with hydraulic disc brakes and what appears to be slightly wider tyres, and in this guise, it weighed in at 11.5 kgs.

The bikes with front suspension forks like the 24" Cannondale Trail Boys Bike are clearly heavier, and it appears the additional 2 kgs are mainly in the forks. Such a big weight penalty, to have suspension forks!

The Specialized Hotrock 24" (front suspension, v brakes) came in at 12.8 kgs and the Giant XTC 24 Jr (with disc brakes, and adjustable rebound on the front forks) was about 13.5 kgs.