Bikes for kids / children / very small people

Squish is an excellent brand, easily as good as Islabikes and frog. My boys had a Squish 20 until recently. Decent spec and very light.

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Yep, Squish are pretty good

Sorry for the cross thread spam, I've got a Cnoc 14 for sale here:

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/392353/#comment17218943

And I've also got a Wiggins 16 available that's in excellent condition that's free as it was passed down to my son for free.

Rep

Read the last 3 pages.

I will be selling a giant arx 20'' in north london
Bombproof, economical and with better geometry than more expensive others.
stock pic for now [](https://www.jejamescycles.com/content/products/giant-giant-arx-20-kids-bike-sapphire-2022_3979828.jpg)

Not sure if this has come up here yet. A little over a year ago, I installed the Microshift Advent super short shifters and derailleurs on my boys' bikes. The boys are now 8 and 6, for perspective. These components are meant for 8 sp cassettes with a large cog up to 38t. I left the stock 5 and 6 sp freewheels on their bikes and adjusted the limits accordingly. Here's my long-term, no maintenance, often stored outside, review.

The derailleurs are chunky, but solid. They have a "clutch" That can be switched on and off. The limit screws are all nice 3mm rather than Phillips. I like that. There's very little plastic on the derailleurs and they feel like a significant upgrade over common Tourney so often found on kids bikes.

Speaking of upgrades, I opted for the nicer of the two shifter options. They're trigger type shifters and feel really nice for such a budget component. The throw is very light and not too long for small hands. An enormous improvement over the Tourney twist shifters that take big kid hand strength to operate.

Install was very straight forward. No tricks, just install derailleur, shifter, cable, chain, and set limits. These are meant to be 1x and that's how I set them up. Shifting is crisp and easy straight away.

In use: My boys immediately noticed that they had an easier time shifting than before. We are fortunate to live on the same street as 13ish other young kids who all run free, play together, and bike -alot-. Kids being kids and living in a very quiet area, the bikes are regularly dumped in the yard only to be picked up again the next day to be ridden again. Rain or shine. These bikes are not babied in the slightest. They experience torture from kids and Mother Nature regularly. From longer around town rides, to jumping ramps in the street, I don't think either kid has dropped a chain yet. I call that a win. After all this time, I just did the first tune on them. New chains and cables. A bit of lubrication on pivots and shifter internals. Both derailleurs are in great functional shape, though they show the scars of hard use. One shifter is crisp and perfect, while the other is missing one index that seems not to affect its performance at all. They're back up and running and the boys are still happy with them.

All in all, I would absolutely recommend these bits as a low maintenance, budget option for anyone, but especially kids. Shifting action is way better than the common kid bike parts, and longevity seems to be there. Even in the face of utter neglect.

Thanks for sharing.

Did the tow thing again today - such a joy

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After a bit of searching and researching, i grabbed a bargain hoy bonaly 14 off ebay as first pedal bike. After cleaning off dust I adjusted the breaks, oiled the drive train and cleaned it up, looks almost new very happy with quality and build of it.
Looks great, especially as I got one without the full chainguard.

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Just bought my son his first road bike and he’s struggling with the downshift. Was considering the Microshift shifters myself. His bike currently has a Shimano sora RD, would this be compatible with the new shifters?

Late reply, but thanks for the info! Will keep a look out for it when our girls are going to need geared bikes.

Is he on flat bars or drops? Microshift makes shifters that are compatible with the sora der for either, but the ones I have for my kids are only compatible with the Acolyte derailleurs that I installed.

Their flat bar shifters for shimano derailleurs have a shorter throw than shimano, but not any easier IME. Their shimano compatible drop bar shifters are a solid replacement option for budget repairs, but not easier than shimano to shift. Different, but not easier.

No problem. Thought that experience could be useful to other bikey parents out there.

He’s on drop bars. Does your kids have the R9’s? What would you suggest for easier shifting for my son?

My kids are on the acolyte super short 8sp mtb group.

The R9 would be the microshift bits compatible with sora, but like I mentioned, I don't think they're much if any easier to work than the sora shifters. Maybe some bar top thumb shifters would do the trick for your son? Something like these might be easier to operate and will fit many drop bars. Not indexed, but friction is really easy to get used to. Otherwise, some thumbie pods with 23mm clamp dia for Shimano 9sp bar ends can be found and those bar ends will index really well for sora rear derailleur. Front is friction.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gear-shifters/diacompe-ene-friction-thumbshifters-pair-silver/?geoc=US

I'm after a 24" or small 26" for my lad who has outgrown his 20"Isla - anyone have anything available ? - ignore - sorted

Little one is 8 months and very active so I want to get him in a bike seat and go for some rides.
What are the go to ones? I like the idea of having him up front on the stem mount ones but not sure if I have enough steerer for that.

From 14" to 20" is working out ok. Cutting that steerer anytime soon.

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Just listed a well loved but still ripping 20 inch mountain bike - Orbea MX20.

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Picked up first pedal bike for my little person . Will let her pimp it out later

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Strong start. Local classifieds?

And speaking of Early Rider, anyone on here with Belter 20"? The 4-speed hub seems ideal but I've never seen one in the flesh. The Seeker 20" is probably too moutainbikey for our needs.

I think @NurseHolliday 's kid rides one of those

We've got the older Seeker with 3sp hub gear and big mechanical discs. Good bike, hub gear works beautifully, but previous owner had it serviced just before he sold it. Smaller hands might struggle with the grip shift but Ezekiel's been great with it aged 6 onwards.

Yep, 5min ride from home and €160 vs €450 new felt like a no brainer.

Youngest just got onto 24 inch wheel second hand ghost Mtb and it’s made a huge difference! But what kind of a psycho puts 2x gearing on a kids Mtb?!
Thinking maybe box 1x8 group set like the eldest has on his vitus, or would old shimano 9 speed work on 8 speed hub?

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