Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)

Christmas is coming, time to look at bikes

MTBReviews 2003 Kid Bikes. Has the best listing of kids bikes. Shopping for bike is starting. They need a good 20 inch wheel mountain bike with gears. Here’s a quick review of some of the major ones. I’m looking for aluminum frame, 7-speed, 20 inch wheels in a hardtail:

• Marin Hidden Canyon. This got the nod in Bicycling Magazine. $219 7-speed, suspension fork and side-pull brakes. REI should carry it, but it is not on their site and you can also find at Velo Bike.
• K2 Zed. This one also meets all the specs at $220 list price. It has a 7005 aluminum Unigender frame, Spinner Exceed-210 fork with 50mm of travel, 7-speed Shimano Tourney/SRAM GripShift with double chain guard cranks. We can go to REI to get it at $219
• Giant MTX 125. Similar to the K2 in specs with ALUXX aluminum Lite Beam frame, Shimano Tourney and Sram MRX 7 speed shifters. You can find them at Performance Bike Shop, Velo in Seattle. And while you’re there, admire the TCR Composite Team, which is a replica of the ONCE/Eroski bikes that did so well in the Tour de France.

There is also a road bike to consider at H.H. Kid Road Bikes. Wow, there is actually someone making high quality road bikes for kids. Nice find. This is a 20 inch wheel with a frame. I wonder how you build it up?
There are some other choices as well, but these are steel frames:

• KHS Raptor. Hey does everyone get their bikes from the same place. This has nearly the same specs, but is steel. $205 SRP. Heavy-Duty TIG-Welded Frame, Mozo M-20 Suspension Fork w/MX Front Fender, SEC Twist Shifter and Shimano 7 Speed Freewheel
• Haro V20. Steel though. SR Suntou XCC suspension fork, SRAM MAX shift levers, WTB threadless aheadset. THe threadless headset is pretty cool.
• trekbikes.com: Kids. It is too bad Trek doesn’t make anything like this.