storckm

Within the next year or so, I'll be needing to buy a 24" bicycle for my oldest daughter.
The best fit for our riding (and my preferences) would have the following characteristics:
Drop or moustache handlebars that can be raised above the seat if necessary
24" wheels with 1-1/4"-1-1/2" smooth tires
Room for fenders
One chainring and a cassette or multi-speed freewheel hub
Sport-touring geometry
Decent quality steel
There are a few aluminum framed 24 inch wheel bicycles out there, but I don't see anything steel that's especially good quality. And the bicycles I do see are either more or less mountain bikes (although we could change the tires and perhaps handlebars), or else road racing bikes.
Ideas?

cycleheimer

5+ year old Trek MT 220 is a good bet, but it is a mountain bike. They usually don't ride the 24" bikes for more than a year or two.

wrk101

+1 MTB. Also consider an XS frame with 26 inch wheels. Lots of good ones out there. Convert to drops and barcons if you want, or just use trekking bars.

storckm

I measured her inseam, and it's 24" right now. Probably a bit small for even the smallest 26" bike, but it seems like she'll be too big for her 20" within the next year or two. Should I wait until she's big enough for a small 26"?

SteveSGP

I found this little 24" wheel Giant at Goodwill and redid it for my daughter, they're out there if you look around.

randyjawa 

This West German made kids bicycle was donated to our Bicycles for Humanity chapter. We don't send this sort of bicycle to Africa since it would be impractical for road conditions there.

Send a PM in interested.

XLR99

I'm guessing that those pics weren't from today Looks like a great bike for her!

If you want to go more hardcore C&V, there's always the Space Rider (see avatar) or Colt. Certainly not light, but stone ax simple and hard to kill (This may be less of an issue with a girl, though).

tizeye 

Probably your best bet is looking for something used where you are more likely to find an old steel bike, then rebuild it. New, I really wonder if it exists. You have so many limitations in your desirable specs. Don't get me wrong, I ride a steel bike and can appreciate it, but that rules out aluminum which mosts of the kids bikes are. Plus, the steel has to be higher quality - which rules out HiTen, which is probably a good thing as I still remember my progression from a Huffy HiTen 10sp to my Reynolds 531c that I still ride 20+years later. But, in new kids bikes, if they are steel, they typically are HiTen. On a quick review, the only CrMo I saw was a Fuji Classic Track fixie, XXS listed under their "kids" bikes. The didn't want mountain bike or road racer, which basically leaves a cruiser style. That effectively leaves the Fuji Sanibel 24g (HiTen Cruiser), Jamis Comet 24 (Alum with fenders) and Giant Goss (Alum Cruiser)

Suggest look at other offerings and how will best meet the needs of daughter without all the exclusions.
Giant: Bolder Jr (HiTen MTB); Arena 24 (Alum flat bar)
Trek: MT200 (HiTen flatbar knobbies)
Jamis: x.24 (Alum MTB)
Fuji: Ace 24 (Alum, Road, dropbar); Dynamite 2.0G (Alum MTB)
Specialized: Hotrock 24 (Alum, comes in both MTB and "street" versions)

Bianchi and Cannondale don't offer kids bikes, but my all time favorite - what every kid needs.
Pinarello FP0 kids aluminum road bike.

surreal

buy her a bmx bike. she's too young to get all tweedy...yet. X)

-rob

seriously, bmx bikes tend to be steel and ultra-durable. your preferences may or may not suit hers. and, to be honest, she might hate bmx bikes, too. what did she tell you, when you asked her opinion on her next bike?

pps- i've seen several 24"-wheeled kuwahara mixtes listed on CL and ebay in the past year or so. They're usually black and red. That might be a good choice, depending on your daughter's preferences

buldogge

When I was riding my Reus from A'dam to the beach at Zandvoort...I came upon a dad and son riding together...kid appeared to be 8-10yo...both on modern Colnagos!

I actually had to let them pass me by as I waited for my buddies on rental dutch city bikes to catch up..they were dying from the one "hill" in the Netherlands (dunes) we had to crest to get to the beach...

SteveSGP

Um, yeah. We got twenty inches of snow Friday and into Saturday

I'm actually planning on moving her to a nice little Fuji with 27" wheels in the spring, this was a good one for her as a transition bike but she's growing like a weed and the Giant will be too small by next year so it'll get stored for her little sister to ride in a few years.

roccobike

There are plenty of 24 inch bikes out there, but limiting your search to steel is really going to limit your options. They are out there, but you'll have to search. You might want to wait until the spring. If the child grows an inch or two, it can make a huge difference and they might be ready for an extra small adult bike which is easier to find.

sailorbenjamin

+1 on the Trek 220. I flipped one this spring and wish I hadn't. I was pretty impressed with it but my older daughter just doesn't care about bikes.
There was lots of room to move the seatpost up and down so there was a really broad range of sizes that could ride it and the components were high grade.

Sixty Fiver

20 inch wheels are working fine for my 13 year old... and will continue to work unless she grows to be over 6 feet tall.

cudak888 

What is that frame badged, curiously? Globus?

-Kurt

roccobike

I've had two Trek 220s pass through my hands. They are very rugged, well built bikes that can take lots of abuse. If you are willing to go the MTB route, and if you can find a used one for $100 or less, it would be a good choice. Consider that if you buy it for a good price, you can flip it in a year or two for what you paid. I would still consider the extra small full sized bike, but the 220 is a very good bike.

wahoonc

+1

This has become my default answer to people that have fast growing children and need a decent quality bike that fits a wide range and can grow with the child. Dahon (and others) makes some decent folding bikes with 20" wheels that will fit a wide range of riders. You can spend a few hundred dollars one time and it will be usable for quite a few years, rather than to have to keep upgrading bikes as they grow. Once they hit a plateau you can consider getting a fixed frame size if they need a different style of bike.

Aaron

rhm

I would also suggest looking at folding bikes. The typically have 20" wheels, and are designed as a one-size-fits-all frame. So the seat height and handlebar height are very adjustable. I ride one 18 miles every day, and I'm 6' tall. And anyone in my family can borrow it (but they better ask, first).

alr

When I was a kid in the '80s, I rode a child sized Raleigh 3 speed-- I am guessing it was a space rider. It had both a coaster brake and a hand brake-- it was a perfect in between bike for me at the time and easy to ride and change gears.

storckm

Thanks for the advice.

I asked her what kind of bike she wants.
"A red one."
She also told me that she doesn't want drops or multiple gears. She's expressed interest in fenders and lights, though. She also seems to like smooth tires, and hasn't done any real off-road riding.

I think I had a three speed too, when I was maybe ten. I don't think it's around anymore, though.

Glennfordx4

You could always keep an eye out for a girls bike like this, 1979 Schwinn 24" wheels 3 speed, fenders, I paid $2 for this at auction and I am just about ready to put this one back together after a good cleaning and rust treatment it is going to be a sharp little bike. And yes I know the front fender is on wrong this is as bought.

escii_35

So kiddo



does not do



on this?




The culprit did not want their pic taken but he was ok.