My daughter turns 9 in march and her biggest wish is a drop bar / gravel bike. (wherever she got that bug from… ) Until now she had a nice and rather light alloy flat bar bike with 20” wheels. Looking around for 24” gravel / allroad options I found some models. But although they claim to be kid specific I have some concerns I wanted to ask you guys about.
Of course it makes sense to build a kids bike quite robust, but even the expensive models come in at 10-11kg, which is a lot to handle if your own weight is about 25kg. Secondly - and more importantly - I’m sceptical about the brakelevers and shifters. Are there models that do work for very small hands? Are suicide brakes an option or to be avoided?
I see the Academy model uses Microshift shift/brake levers, which is what I was going to suggest as a place to look for short-reach levers; and TRP Spyre mechanical brake calipers, which I use and like (I do use metallic/sintered pads).
I see that this one uses Shimano GRX levers and hydraulic brakes. As long as the lever reach works for small hands, the advantage of hydraulics is that one needs less hand strength to operate than with mechanical brakes.
The only levers she can comfortably use are DI2 / AXS levers. The squeezing action of the brake is fine, it is the twisting action of the mechanical shifting that creates difficulty.
“…TRP Vistar drivetrain. TRP stands for Tektro Racing Products. Finding electronic gears on a childs bike is really something special…. these are especially designed with kids’ hands in mind, with a reach that’s 35% shorter from the drops and 30% shorter from the hoods. The outer hood diameter is 20% smaller overall, and the lever’s flared shape further improves ergonomics for small hands.
) Until now she had a nice and rather light alloy flat bar bike with 20” wheels. Looking around for 24” gravel / allroad options I found some models. But although they claim to be kid specific I have some concerns I wanted to ask you guys about.