There’s nothing quite as special in cycling as when you give the gift of a bicycle to a young person. Whether it’s your child, niece, or nephew, we love to see more kids on bikes and experiencing the many health benefits cycling offers someone from a young age. The independence a bicycle grants is also an important stage in development and we have a large range of bikes, from strollers to trail shredders. To help you find the bike that is best for your child, this article tells you all about the Specialized kids’ bikes we have in our stores.
Starting early is key and there’s no better way to develop your young one’s balance and joy for the bike than with a Hotwalk balance bike. Ideal for ages 18 months to 4 years old, the bike is designed so that your little shredder can scoot around using their feet and not get bogged down in gears and pedals.
The redesign of the Hotwalk features a longer wheelbase to make it even more stable for scooting, and a size range based on inseam not age. The Hotwalk is pretty bullet proof too. Dropping it is all part of the learning process, and a tough A1 Premium Aluminium frame with 12-inch alloy wheels can take plenty of abuse. Not only that, but the tyres will never go flat thanks to being totally airless. Get this, there’s also a carbon version! Aero is life.
With a single gear, pedals, a front brake and stabilisers, the Riprock Coaster is the perfect first bike for a toddler. The robust aluminium frame can take all the bumps and scrapes that it may face along the way, so it is the perfect bike to teach your child how to ride, and eventually say goodbye to stabilisers. The Rhythm Lite Tires are good enough for most terrains, paths and parks included, and with no gears, it is a great way for your child to learn the basics of braking and handling. A handle underneath the saddle puts you back in control if these lessons take a little longer to learn.
The Coaster’s older sibling, the Riprock 20 and 24 are comfortable and cool looking bikes. It’s your child’s first mountain bike and includes all the features you would expect from a Specialized MTB just scaled down. Modern geometry, robust tyres, hydraulic disc brakes, a wide drivetrain and internally routed cables make it the perfect bike to inspire younger riders to take on the trails. Specialized believe that comfort is the key to riding freely, so the designers used data to analyse everything from how a child sits on a saddle to how they grip the bars to make sure the Riprock would boost younger riders’ confidence.
The worry of most parents is that their child will grow out of their bike far too quickly, which usually results in sticking them on an oversized bike far too early. This doesn’t help anyone. That’s why Specialized designed the Jett with growth spurts in mind.
A kid’s arms and legs grow more rapidly than their torso, so Specialized reimagined a bike with child-specific touch points and uniquely adjustable areas to extend the life of the bike. These include an adjustable handlebar to allow kids to fine tune their reach, cranks with two holes to accommodate different pedal positions, and a long seat tube to allow for plenty of wiggle room when finding the optimal pedalling action. Thanks to the A1 Premium Butted Alloy frame, it is also one of the lightest bikes on the market and can be lifted by your child, so no more lugging a heavy kid’s bike home from school.
No matter what age the rider, Specialized helmets are designed with the same safety measures. So you will find the MIPS system being utilised on all of our kids’ helmets, giving you peace of mind when watching your young ones ride away from you. Not only that, but the Shuffle helmets even have an integrated LED strip on the back so that you can easily keep your eye on them from afar. To find out more about the benefits of MIPS, check out our earlier article What is MIPS with ANGI?
…
To find out more about our range of kids’ bikes in time for Christmas, come down to one of our stores, get your child fitted on a bike and start them on the joys of riding. Speak to one of our friendly staff members, get a feel for which one is the most comfortable, and learn all about the innovations we are making at Specialized.
