Choice of bike for 7yo

[GregPankhurst]

My 7 yo daughter Chloe has outgrown her 16 inch BMX, and I'm musing what's the best choice for her next bike.

At this stage I'm not worried about encouraging her to get into anything specific such as road cycling or track, rather just get her a bike that she's going to find comfortable and enjoyable to chug along the Cooks River path and the suburban streets of Marrickville.

Am I better off sticking with the simplicity of a single gear at this stage, or should I be introducing the concept of gears? And should I be going hand brakes or foot brakes? Interested to hear what's the best choice at this stage

[Lizanne]

... if i were a 7 yo girl i would be eying off this
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bik ... 361/58362/

i was checking it out in the Giant Sydney store last week.
it features a 3 speed internal hub, so almost a single speed, and great for maintenance.
and it's pretty!

[timothy_clifford]

... if i were a 7 yo girl i would be eying off this
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bik ... 361/58362/

i was checking it out in the Giant Sydney store last week.
it features a 3 speed internal hub, so almost a single speed, and great for maintenance.
and it's pretty!

But its not pink!

[GregPankhurst]

Just to close the circle on this topic (in case anyone else has a similar query) I ended up buying a Byk bike, a company that specializes in kids bikes. They've got a range that spans 2yos thru early teens, and there's a bit of quality to them.

Chloe ended up with the E-450x7, which is a 7 speed rig (http://www.bykbikes.com/kids-bike-range ... -bike.html). 2 days post-delivery from Santa she's well and truly got a hang of the thumb shifters and hand brakes, and it seems very well put together - crisp shifting, excellent brakes, and most importantly, she loves it. Think we've already racked up 50km along the Cooks River.

At $430 it's probably over the odds for a kids bike, but given it'll end up being handed down to punk #2 in a couple of years time, I reckon it's well worth getting something that will last.

[Philip]

Good choice, my 5 year old has the Byk 350. She also loves it and just today clocked up her longest ride to date of 15km. She'll soon be waiting for me at the top of the hills.