Hi to all
I'm really hoping someone out there can help me in my search for a good quality bike (Islabike Beinn etc) for a single parent struggling to match a tight budget with the above aspiration..!
My daughter is 10 - about 143cm tall, quite slim and light for her age. In her early years, she had a succession of cheap, secondhand, pretty heavy, no gear bikes that all served a purpose but for her 9th birthday I managed to find a secondhand MX20 that I could afford.
After her previous bikes, she's really loved having a lighter (although still relatively heavy - for her) bike with gears that she can really enjoy. However, she's (inconveniently and expensively! :roll: ) put on a growth spurt and now needs a much bigger bike. Frankly, she looks a bit ridiculous riding around on what now looks like a very small bike even with the seat post at its highest!
Her inside leg is c.62cm so perhaps even a very small adult bike with a 13" frame would be in the right sort of ballpark? I initially thought a 24" bike would be big enough but I now reckon a 26" one she's both ready for and can "grow up with", so to speak.
I'm having real difficulty finding a suitable bike (lightweight, geared, good components etc) for her. I've tried eBay, Gumtree, local bike shops and local ads - all to no avail so far. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas or perhaps even have a bike themselves that they or their child(ren) no longer need that would fit the bill...?
All suggestions/ideas/recommendations/bike offers very gratefully received.
Many many thanks to all who respond...
PS. I'm based in SW London but am also often in West Yorkshire
I'm really hoping someone out there can help me in my search for a good quality bike (Islabike Beinn etc) for a single parent struggling to match a tight budget with the above aspiration..!
My daughter is 10 - about 143cm tall, quite slim and light for her age. In her early years, she had a succession of cheap, secondhand, pretty heavy, no gear bikes that all served a purpose but for her 9th birthday I managed to find a secondhand MX20 that I could afford.
After her previous bikes, she's really loved having a lighter (although still relatively heavy - for her) bike with gears that she can really enjoy. However, she's (inconveniently and expensively! :roll: ) put on a growth spurt and now needs a much bigger bike. Frankly, she looks a bit ridiculous riding around on what now looks like a very small bike even with the seat post at its highest!
Her inside leg is c.62cm so perhaps even a very small adult bike with a 13" frame would be in the right sort of ballpark? I initially thought a 24" bike would be big enough but I now reckon a 26" one she's both ready for and can "grow up with", so to speak.
I'm having real difficulty finding a suitable bike (lightweight, geared, good components etc) for her. I've tried eBay, Gumtree, local bike shops and local ads - all to no avail so far. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas or perhaps even have a bike themselves that they or their child(ren) no longer need that would fit the bill...?
All suggestions/ideas/recommendations/bike offers very gratefully received.
Many many thanks to all who respond...
PS. I'm based in SW London but am also often in West Yorkshire