Thinking of buying this for my Daughters 7th birthday...

[Pebble]

These are the current rides, Matilda's bike is my Sons old 16"er for which she chose the colours (I think it was meant to be purple and yello but the yellow came out orange or something) and I painted it, albeit not a great job though. Funny thing is after buying a pink seat (not on there any more) the pink stuff and white tyres and the paint it probably cost almost as much as buying here a new bike anyway lol



The bigger handle bars which are off my sons bmx give it a bit more stability, as I said she's tall for her age so probably should have got a new bike sooner, but she's also not a hugely confident rider so was more comfortable sticking to what she knows!

 

[TBay]

I picked up a Scott Scale Jnr last year for my 7 year old son.
http://www.scott-sports.com/us_en/product/10066/56126/218027
He loves it and it has given him a new found confidence on the bike compared to his old bmx . He can now ride the single tracks with me along the yarra here which is great fun for both of us.
Picked it up on special for about $460 i think, decent shimano spec, a half decent front fork and weighs in about 10.8kg. Fairly neutral yellow colour also
One thing I think is very important is to make sure you don't get your kids a bike that they can "grow into". They will enjoy riding a lot more if they can control the bike they're on.

 

[Pebble]

I picked up a Scott Scale Jnr last year for my 7 year old son.
http://www.scott-sports.com/us_en/product/10066/56126/218027
He loves it and it has given him a new found confidence on the bike compared to his old bmx . He can now ride the single tracks with me along the yarra here which is great fun for both of us.
Picked it up on special for about $460 i think, decent shimano spec, a half decent front fork and weighs in about 10.8kg. Fairly neutral yellow colour also
One thing I think is very important is to make sure you don't get your kids a bike that they can "grow into". They will enjoy riding a lot more if they can control the bike they're on.

I do agree with you but my daughter was never keen to ride much so I'm not really looking at spending more than $300. We live rural so I can't even ride to school with them as they have to catch a bus.
I think in some situations it's fine to buy them a bike to grow into, it depends on the kid...like it was fine to get my Son his bmx when he was 7 because he was confident enough in riding and could manage to ride it for the sort of riding he does. And if we ever did sell this house and move into town well by then his bmx will still be decent and perfect if he was into the whole skate park scene or whatever.
With my daughter it's a bit different, buying something too big that would make her even less confident certainly wouldn't be a good way to go, but I also have to consider that whatever we do buy isn't likely to get a huge amount of use either. I guess she's the sort of kid who probably wouldn't miss not having a bike, hopefully buying he a new one that does fit her well might inspire to ride a little more often, because I know her brother would ride a lot more only if she would ride with him!
I do agree though that if I was going to take them both trail riding with me regularly then they'd probably both end up with mtb style bikes and they'd have to be sized pretty right.

 

[No Skid Marks]

Do you have a local tip with a recycling section where there's used kids bikes? I always just get kids bikes from there, usually a huge variety.

 

[Pebble]

Do you have a local tip with a recycling section where there's used kids bikes? I always just get kids bikes from there, usually a huge variety.

Yes but in a small town there isn't that much variety, no doubt anything decent gets snapped up pretty quick. I have kept an eye out for bikes in general (my Husband doesn't often take me to the tip though :biggrin: ) but most haven't' been much good...not really worth fixing up. We did grab a 3 seater lounge and 3 chairs that were in great looking nick last time just as someone was about to drop them off! Geez something that good should have at least gone to the local Op Shop, probably in better condition than our 5yr old lounge!

Anyhow after a visit to South West Cycles yesterday she's got a bike! Got a great deal too as I've brought my STP off them before and also Jameses BMX.
Now not exactly the 20" that I thought would have been good, she would have outgrown it way too quick (tall for her age). So we ended up with a Giant Areeva 24". Wow it looks awesome, the frame build looks like any Giant mtb design and quality wise, best of all it seems to have given her new confidence to ride..using the brakes better than she ever did on the old bike (she used to always panic an put her feet out rather than braking). It's great, happy daughter and certainly happy Mum.

I haven't taken the scales out as yet but it feels lighter than her 16"er, it feels reasonable in that regard...wight for size kind of thing. The seat is right down at the moment so she can reach the ground. It's odd seeing her ride with such big wheels lol.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bikes/model/areva.2.24.girls/10452/52928/






Yes naughty ...no helmets, they were that keen to ride they forgot to put them on at first!

 

[indica]

She looks well stoked... nice one!

 

[harmonix1234]

Look at that face Chuffed! That bike looks rad. Good choice

 

[Pebble]

Today the two even took their bikes down the trails in the bush that I made for them to play on and me to ride on some time ago (they're not that great but have a few tiny jumps which are more like small rollovers). It's great to see. LBS wasn't wrong when he commented that a good bike makes quite a difference.

 

[bluesmurf]

We have just bought my soon to be 7 year old daughter the 24 inch Giant Areva. 21 gears, suspension fork, and canti brakes. I spent just over an hour on a 7klm blue trail with her yestarday and she had a ball. There were a few minor stacks, one major one but she came up to me yesterday afternoon and said "dad, I am glad we did the big loop today, I had fun". Made my day:tickled_pink:

To the OP, if you have the slightest chance of doing any type of MTBing with your daughter then get a bike with gears. My daughter spent the day in granny gear yesterday but it meant she was able to do some of the climbs.

Just read the rest of the posts, doh, you have already got the bike:focus:. By the look of the photos your daughter is as happy as mine was yestarday

 

[daddyrat]

I got my girl, who is now 8 a giant 150 20inch last year second hand of e-bay. I paid $120. It was in very good condition and boosted her confidence and ability big time. We now ride a full on BMX track and recently started on my local single track. Am now looking for a second hand 24" mtb with good parts. I would not buy new due to the kids growing out of them so quickly. I would spend a little more money if the parts and frame warrant it since the kids get that much more into it. It takes me a fair bit longer to get around the track now, but imagine, you're riding it with your daughter. PRICELESS:biggrin:

 

[Pebble]

Bluesmurf yes sounds like both our kids are well stoked with their new bikes.

Daddyrat, her last bike was a hand me down (my Sons old one) so it's nice to get them something decent and new from time to time. I agree with the whole 2nd hand thing because they do grow out of them mighty quick, but when you know something will last a fair while (I think this bike could last until she's like 12 yrs old which is pretty good value for money).

Hmmm now I can see I might have to get myself a bike again unless I want to be running behind the kids when I take them for rides as they'll both ride faster now! Hmmmm that could take some convincing the other half considering I sold everything off not that long ago...crazy early mid life crisis and I"m not even 35!

 

[flamin'trek]

Hmmm now I can see I might have to get myself a bike again unless I want to be running behind the kids ...

No way I can keep up with my kids (4&6) on their bikes, or even scooters without wheels, but I'm not much of a runner.

You'll have to get a bike to 'keep up', but get a good one so you can use it properly from time to time.

I've purchased a 2nd hand Giant MTX150 for my 6 year old while the 4yo is riding on found/inherited gear until he will fit a 20" bike then its upgrade time.

 

[Pebble]

No way I can keep up with my kids (4&6) on their bikes, or even scooters without wheels, but I'm not much of a runner.

You'll have to get a bike to 'keep up', but get a good one so you can use it properly from time to time.

I've purchased a 2nd hand Giant MTX150 for my 6 year old while the 4yo is riding on found/inherited gear until he will fit a 20" bike then its upgrade time.

I just need to figure out what sort of riding I want to do, DH isn't for me as I found out this year, XC was getting boring and I wasn't really motivated just to ride the 15km into town and then home again in my spare time on weekends when I could be doing other stuff or just spending the time with my kids and Husband. I gave bmx a bit of a go but I'm too much of a chicken for jumping or going down the steep bowl at the skate park in town.

Oh well as long as I don't opt for a Kmart bike or road bike it will be alright! I reckon the next bike I get could be relatively affordable and pretty ordinary, however I also know that the first thing I'd be inclined to do is upgrade stuff lol....when it comes to bikes I don't think I can leave things the way they are even if it's new! Come to think of it I think I fiddled with my past bikes more than I rode them, that's changing things on them or even just staring at them thinking of how to improve it next.... I think I'm a bike fanatic not a riding fanatic!

I already want to buy new pedals for my Son just so I can put the pink ones on my daughters bike! Anything else I'm just going to have to control myself....for now!

 

[Tacky Monster]

I bought my 6 year old a specialized hot rock 20 (from Santa for Xmas). It was about 11.1kg off the shelf but as most parts are compatible with adult parts I shaved nearly a kilo off the weight. The stock bike weighed the same as the GT Zaskar, so I figured I may as well get the one with suspension if adding no extra weight and the specialized was much cheaper. The giants seemed pretty heavy so I didn't go down that path. Considered a bmx but the skinny wheels and tyres turned me off that option. Most of the parts I changed I had lying around the garage and I purchased a couple of items like bmx seat and stem. I had to take the front brake off for the meantime (without the front brake shaved off well over 1kg but not including that as it is going back on) as she is so use to using that brake only that she was crashing a lot with her front wheel washing out and no matter how many times a said to use both brakes she would pull on the front. I will put the front brake back on when she is more confident. Possibly got some more tweaks to make such as changing axle bolts in wheels for lighter ones which a friend is going to help me out with.

She is still not quite as confident as she was on her old bike on mt bike trails (but hasn't had many rides yet). It is a lot bigger than her old but with some more riding and more growth she will be flying. We need to practise standing up which she is confident doing on tar but not off road. Have attached some pics, a couple taken at the local school and the other on the famous snake trail at Mogo, which she was nervous about going down but said she had a good time and was glad she did it.

Only problem was Santa got all the credit!

 

[steve24]

Great looking bike. How is she managing with the gears?

I would be keen to know what you swapped for the 1kg drop.

A little alloy/ carbon rigid fork would be good....

 

[Tacky Monster]

She manages the gears fine. We have worked out what gear works well where, so I tell her to change into number X and she does it.

Changes I made include:

BMX seat & cut seat post standard 27.2 alloy mtb (-255g)
tubes (-70g total)
Cut carbon bar (-410g)
Seat clamp (-50g)
Stem (-70g)
Plastic reflectors & replaced spacers with carbon (-45g)

Individual part weights are approx +/- 10g (some changes were made at shop & some at home) but starting bike weight and final are accurate - started at 11.1kg and ended at 10.2kg with both brakes.

 

[Pebble]

If I was to want to lose weight in a hurry I'd be tempted to change the fork, but really it's not as crappy as I thought they might be.
Yeah shame I don't have any spare mtb parts lying around any more, I'm sure she'd have a new seat post / seat clamp and stem by now at least
But really the only thing I'd like to change is get her a nicer set of pedals...probably some girly colour like pink.

 

[No Skid Marks]

Are the rear end on these kids geared bikes 135mm wide?
I might get one and chuck a 7 or 8 speed Alfine/Nexus in it for my girlfriends 6 year old when she steps up to a mini MTB.

 

[Pebble]

Are the rear end on these kids geared bikes 135mm wide?
I might get one and chuck a 7 or 8 speed Alfine/Nexus in it for my girlfriends 6 year old when she steps up to a mini MTB.

Not terribly helpful but I am assuming so considering they have a cassette, derailleur etc on the back.

 

[Bluemutt]

My Daughter is about to turn 7, I bought her a Giant Avera and it has improved her riding out of sight compared to the 16" Bmx she was on.

First ride was on a bike path to adjust to gears and front and rear Vee brakes, second ride was dirt double and single track, sweet!

She just keeps asking me to go riding!