Commuting - Children's City/Country Bicycle Choices?

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Rick Smith
11-26-07, 05:56 PM
I'd like to get my 5 year old daughter a new bicycle this year. She's about 45" tall and would like her bicycle to have fenders, a rack for a basket and brakes on the handlebars.

Does anyone know companies that offer city/country bicycles to this age group? I expect that she'd be riding 20" wheels.

Thanks for any help provided!

wahoonc
11-26-07, 06:04 PM
May have to build yer own...My daughter was about that size when she got a GT 5 speed bmx bike. IIRC it had 20" wheels, we put clip on style fenders on it, but she kept taking them off...preferred getting dirty:rolleyes: I don't really know of any manufacturer making a child's version of the adult middle weight.

Aaron:)
HardyWeinberg
11-27-07, 10:45 AM
Giant seems to put a basket on their girl's bike (http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/kids/1293/29410/)and fenders on their boy's bike. (http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/kids/1447/29405/)

My mom got my son the 16" boy's version when he was 4, he's just about perfect for it now, coming up on 6.5, it will surely see him through this coming summer, raising the seat and pushing the bars up. It's his daily driver going to 1st grade.

REI seems to do the same gender split fenders/baskets, but their 20" girls' bike has one fender, no basket:

http://www.rei.com/product/760876

it also has handbrakes plus a coaster, if I'm reading it right.

I've been skimming bike info looking for something for my soon to be 3 yr old, she only cares about the color, I don't know if I want 12" (which would fit now) or 16" wheels (which she'd grow into and would eventually last her a bit). I also don't know if I want another brand-name bike like my mom got my son, or just a target bike. I had to build the Giant bike same as I would any x-mart bike. It was cool that the Giant bike fit a kickstand I had lying around once the training wheels came off though. I've heard that a la carte parts compatibility (or lack thereof) is the real hidden story of dept store bikes. The target bikes seem to be starting around $40, so for me, once I'm past the size of a single $20 bill (plus tax), the leap to a c-note doesn't seem so far.