20 inch bikes

My tall 6yo (will be 7 in a few months ) desperately needs a new ride as she looks like a giant on her 16 inch bike. She got rid of the training wheels a few months ago and can ride pretty far now with decent confidence , but still occasionally struggles starting up.

I wanted to get her a decent 20 inch bike ,but given her size I don't see this lasting more than a year or so most likely , at which point she may be able to move up to her brother's 24 inch+ Cannondale Cujo .

The dilemma is we want her to be able to do easy singletrack with us soon, but at the moment based on her skills this will be used more around town and on basic gravel paths. I originally was trying to find a used Woom Off 4 or something similar but haven't had any luck, and then questioned if a more full MTB setup like this makes sense or would it be too tiring / slow around town. But on the other hand would a regular Woom 4 or something similar be useless on any real trails?

Any thoughts here?

Trek Roscoe with the oversized 20”tires worked well for my kid around that age. He rode it on trails/singletrack and around town etc.

I would continue to look for a Woom Off 4. It will be great for town and trails and has excellent resale value.

A regular Woom 4 is fine on a gravel path, but not great on real MTB trails. I believe it has has a twist shifter rather than triggers.

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Originally Posted by funkendrenchman

I would continue to look for a Woom Off 4. It will be great for town and trails and has excellent resale value.

A regular Woom 4 is fine on a gravel path, but not great on real MTB trails. I believe it has has a twist shifter rather than triggers.

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I agree the Off 4 is worthwhile, I don't think I'd bother with the "air" at this step.
I also agree the regular Woom 4 is a bit under-gunned for the average youth rider of today.

I wouldn't bother with Spawn etc unless kids are already ripping trails.

The Woom Off 4 does look great, just $$$ new, and with her already at 47+ inches tall not sure how long it would last before needing to go up to a 24in bike.

For those of you using similar bikes as the kids around town bike too, did the tires last or get chewed up quickly?

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Originally Posted by Duffman

The Woom Off 4 does look great, just $$$ new, and with her already at 47+ inches tall not sure how long it would last before needing to go up to a 24in bike.

For those of you using similar bikes as the kids around town bike too, did the tires last or get chewed up quickly?

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They last fine as long as they're not skidding for fun.

20 inch? gotta go with a mongoose…


Attachment 496425


it gots a chrome-moly frame.




fact.

See my 20" build here. Basically take a Kona Honzo 20 and remove all the heavy stuff... :)

The Woom 4 idea is best, as they have awesome resale value.

With that said, my daughter was that size/age right as the covid bike boom started and I ended up buying her a Cannondale Quick 20" which is in all aspects advertised as a hybrid bike, but I threw on 20x2.0ish tires and it worked great for around the neighborhood as well as lightweight singletrack. Think Raleigh also has a pretty decent bike that size too. Ended up selling her Quick after about 18 months when she got onto a 24" bike that she's still riding.

Most kids IMO don't need big discs etc on 20" size yet, unless they are really hitting some serious singletrack. She's 11 now and hitting small dirt jumps, raced BMX a bit, and starting NICA MTB as a 6th grader, so don't think that held her back. All while being near Woom/Prevelo level weight and decent geo.

So no more IMBA discounts on the Woom Offs as of about a month ago. Boo.

Looking at these 2 bikes now, good deals on both. I'm not that familiar with kids geometry ,but 2 my dumb eye the Rocky Mountain Edge 20 seems to be a bit longer/ bigger for better or worse . Parts are better on the BMC but at her level I don't know how much it matters. All in shipped the BMC is about $150 more. But most importantly is fit , geometry, and weight.

https://us.bmc-switzerland.com/produ...eometry_4FHfYA

https://bikes.com/products/edge-20-22

Have you looked at Spawn bikes? My kid instantly improved when we upgraded her to those.

Yes, the better bikes are expensive, which is tough to swallow for such a small thing that won't be ridden long, but IME they hold their value really well.

Have you looked at Spawn bikes? My kid instantly improved when we upgraded her to those.

Yes, the better bikes are expensive, which is tough to swallow for such a small thing that won't be ridden long, but IME they hold their value really well.

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Originally Posted by Danno

Have you looked at Spawn bikes? My kid instantly improved when we upgraded her to those.

Yes, the better bikes are expensive, which is tough to swallow for such a small thing that won't be ridden long, but IME they hold their value really well.

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Shes kind between sizes on Spawn. The 20 inch is a small frame for 20 in and hard to justify ,may not last 6 months

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Duffman

So no more IMBA discounts on the Woom Offs as of about a month ago. Boo.

Looking at these 2 bikes now, good deals on both. I'm not that familiar with kids geometry ,but 2 my dumb eye the Rocky Mountain Edge 20 seems to be a bit longer/ bigger for better or worse . Parts are better on the BMC but at her level I don't know how much it matters. All in shipped the BMC is about $150 more. But most importantly is fit , geometry, and weight.

https://us.bmc-switzerland.com/produ...eometry_4FHfYA

https://bikes.com/products/edge-20-22

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That BMC looks pretty good and well worth the extra $150.

Speak makes a 22 now but $$$. My almost 8yo just moved from a spawn 20 to a woom off air 24. The spawns are burlier but heavier. For a xc and around town riser the woom is better imo. For a strong trail rider I would go spawn or prevelo. Resale is crazy high in all these, I bought the spawn used in 21 for $1k and sold it this spring for $800.

T.odd Jr is 6 in a month, and on the small size, we just got a Specialized Riprock 20" for him and are very happy with it. He was on a commencal Ramones 14" prior and he was so comfortable on it I was nervous the jump to 20 would be too unwieldy, but he's takenn to it very quickly!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Danno

Have you looked at Spawn bikes? My kid instantly improved when we upgraded her to those.

Yes, the better bikes are expensive, which is tough to swallow for such a small thing that won't be ridden long, but IME they hold their value really well.

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Our friends got the Spawn 20” a month ago for their 5y/o. It’s sweet and will be a great next bike for our boys. They turn 5 next month and have been on Spawn 16” bikes from Mags here for a couple years.

Good to know on the smaller frame size. Makes sense. The Spawns seem to have a bit more BMX look and feel to them

Bump. Ended up checking out the Spawn again: a bit heavy and tall stand over for our soon-to-be 5yo. Checked out the Rocky at a shop and it seemed slightly longer and taller. Checked out the BMC and it was the ticket. Lowe stand over and a little bit smaller than the other two overall, but I think it will serve us well. Two are showing up tomorrow!


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The BMC is such a great value kids bike. Great parts and a fairly light frame. Hard to beat.

We succumbed to logic and grabbed a closeout cheap Specialized Jett 20 for the 6yo , realizing that most of our riding at the moment with her as she's still learning is on pavement or well manicured paths ,dirt or gravel. She is flying around doing some miles with us now and the stock 2.1 path tires are great for soaking up bumps. Right at 19.4 lbs w all the reflectors , dork disk, kickstand, etc. Plenty of frame clearance for much bigger knobbies, could def get a 2.3 or 2.4 in there . Tons of adjustability with nice low stand over also.

For less agro kids in less mountainous areas this is a great 1 bike choice for pavement and trails. Most limiting factor being the V brakes vs Discs. But a fantastic entry level ride and I think way more versatile than the original Woom 4 with only a small weight penalty