This Giordano Libero 1.6 Boys ‘Junior’ Road Bike is a great introduction to road riding & racing….
This Giordano Libero 1.6 ‘Boys’ Frame Road Bike is best considered by those who are seeking a high quality road bike for their young children for the purpose of road training, racing or triathlons.
In the 17″ or 15″ (girls) frame sizing, this road bike is best suited for youngsters aged 8-13, or from 4′-5′ tall.
(I say that because much older or taller than that, and probably a extra small frame size, ‘normal’ 700c size wheel road bike would be suitable.)
Finding Junior road bikes isn’t easy – they’re scarce, and rarely stocked in most LBS (local bike shops). Even at ‘big city LBS’ they frequently only stock 1 or 2 models of Junior Road Bikes, if that.
When you think of it, Walmart (& other mass retaliers) only offer mountain style bikes in the 24″ wheel size.
Those bikes are usually cheap, heavy & suited to neighborhood jaunts or light trails – NOT for serious road use.
Our 3 small girls (aged 8, 9 & 11) had those ‘heavy’ Walmart moutain bikes, but couldn’t keep up with my older two children & I on our faster road bikes, so we got them these Giordano road bikes (this exact one & two smaller 15″ ‘girls’ frame Giordanos), and they couldn’t be happier.
These bikes feature a light weight, high quality wheelset with quick release axles front & rear, making for efficient pedalling.
Importantly, they also feature Shimano 2300 brake lever shifters, which integrate the shifting & brakes together in one control – just like all high end road bikes do today.
Out of the box, the Giordano weighs 24 #, which is a good 10 # less than those heavy mountain bikes. Additionally, as they roll on smoother, lighter tires (moderately wide 32c Cyclocross tires, best suited for dirt trails / road)
It also features a smaller, 165mm ‘youth’ road crankset, and a good range of gears, 16 speeds, with a 42/52 front chainrings & 11-30 tooth rear cassette / freewheel – which helps on those steeper grades & yet provides plenty of higher range speed for flats & downhills.
These effeciencies add up to a much more positive road riding experience – now our family of 7 can cycle together and we can keep together as a group much easier.
This boost in ‘roadability’ has even encouraged our 11 year old to consider some road races next season, like her older brother & sister.
Yes, there are ‘higher-end’ Junior Road Bikes out there (Felt, Pinarello, Blue, etc) but they’re about 3 times the price, which makes little sense (to us) when our little ones will outgrow the bike in (most likely) 2 seasons.
The only ‘mod’ we did on this bike is to switch down to the thinner, lighter 24″x1″ (25-540 metric size) Kenda Kontender Iron Cap (‘racing wheelchair’), Road Racing Tire, to lessen road resistance.
Besides losing over a pound of weight compared to the stock tires, this simple change to a thinner, true Road Bike Tire change gave a significant boost in performance & feel.
(If your riding routine included unpaved dirt roads, the stock tire may be better.)
Those far more expensive bikes are in the 20-21 # range, costing up to a thousand dollars.
With the lighter road tires, the Giordano Libero 1.6 now weighs 23 #, with similar features as these more expensive bikes, for one-third that cost !
This Giordano Junior Road bike is truly a great value.
This bike is available at Amazon.com, as of December 2012 for $ 345
See you at the (Junior) races !
More info at http://www.usacycling.org/lajrs/
PS: If you see our poll on Family / Junior Road Cycling herein, thank you for taking the time to vote in it !
PPS: To receive automatic updates of more reviews along these lines, please ‘follow’ this blog……thanks, East Texas Rider
affordableroadbikereview 
Nice review! These are some snazzy-looking bikes. Thanks for sharing. I definitely understand your thinking given the rate at which young ones grow.
For sure, Diana. Once they’re done growing, spend the big $$$ on a nicer bike that they won’t outgrow.
It would be helpful if Walmart or other mass merchandiser stores would offer these Junior sized 24″ road bikes.
For now, all they stock is those heavy mtn bikes – they assume they’re all folks would want – apparently !
Our little girls got strong from pedalling those heavy mtn bikes – they fly when they use the Jr Road Bikes……they’re 10 # lighter, at least.
Regards, D / ETR
Great review and very helpful information, Thanks! We bought the Denali 24 for my Daughter who is small for her age (12) last year, and the Giordano 24 for my son who just turned 10 and is very excited to start juniors racing this year. Overall the money difference between the Giordano and GMC seems well worth it, and with a few adjustments and improvements I’m quite happy to have my son show up to race on the Giordano.
Both the Giordano and GMC are made by Kent, and appear to have identical, slightly heavy (but also probably bombproof) aluminum frames. The differences are as noted above and generally the assembly of the Giordano seems to have received more attention (wheels truer out of the box etc.) In addition to the combined shifters/brake levers and quick release wheels, here are some other differences:
Giordano has threadless modern headset/steerer while GMC has quill style,
Giordano has double chainring that is a bit lighter than the triple chainrings on the GMC but provides less of a gear range.
Both require a good deal of attention to adjusting the brakes, both tension of cable and position of pads. Both have rather long pull reach on the brake levers for smaller hands. (I replaced the GMC levers with inexpensive (Tektro) shorter pull women’s specific design levers.)
Overall, the Giordano is worthy of a few upgrades for more serious road racing/riding while the GMC is probably best as just an ‘introductory’ type bike. Luckily my daughter has grown a bit and we can now get her on a small frame with full 700 wheels.
A few notes on getting the Giordano ready for Juniors Racing:
Tires/Tubes
I shopped carefully for the Kenda Kontenders you mentioned, and was able to source them on the internet for less than $12 each. Others should note that finding 24×1 inner tubes locally might be hard or impossible – so I ordered several extra at the same time. The only hitch we encountered was that the 24×1 tubes came with standard 40mm schrader stems. Because the rims on the Giordano have a little aerodynamic depth to them, the 40mm stems were just barely long enough to work. A 60mm stem (presta or schrader) would work better, and I will look for them next time.
Gearing
The stock gearing for the Giordano out of the box is non-compliant for Juniors racing under USAC and most local association rules (I don’t know anything about kids triathlon rules). A quick search for juniors gear restriction will let folks know what I’m talking about. Even with the 24 in wheels, the 52/11 gear ratio and bigger tires rolled out over 29′. (max is 26′). We replaced the rear cassette with an inexpensive Shimano HG50 13-26. We did a half rollout (too much snow outside for the full thing this weekend) and it looks like along with the much narrower tires this did the trick. If not we should be able to lock out the 13 as a last resort.
Stem.
The included 90mm -10deg rise stem on the Giordano had my son a bit too stretched out, even with the seat pretty far forward. We replaced it with a shorter stem with 25 deg positive rise to shorten the reach.
Making all these changes also made for a nice father/son project.
More room to improve:
One other area we will likely work to improve the Giordano is the brakes. IMO the brakes are the weakest component on both the Giordano and the GMC, and good braking is pretty important for having a kid feel confident on a bike. The included brakes (the clamping caliper part – not the levers) are tough to dial-in and don’t provide a lot of stopping power. In addition, since the Giordano has quick-release wheels, it really should come with brakes that have a quick-release mechanism as well – otherwise you are left forcibly yanking the wheel out (at least with the fatter tires).
I hope this info is helpful to anyone else considering the Giordano for an introductory racing quality bike at a big savings (and only minor weight penalty) vs. much more expensive offerings.
Hi Mark:
Sounds like we’re on “the same page” in terms of Jr. Racing. Best wishes to you & your son as you embark upon the challenges & enjoy the rewards of USAC racing.
My wife & I just spent last hear ‘learning the ropes’ and helping our 16 y/o son enjoy his first racing season.
12 races later he ended up 1st in Texas & the USA for beginning (“Cat 5″) age 16 racers.
We attribute this to the Blessing God has placed upon us, as we have trained & raced in faith — and had much wise counsel from our local riders & racers & coaches here in East Texas. Truly a collaborative effort !
He hopes to go futher, hopefully to Nationals in WI this summer, and his little 11 year old sister will join him this season as a new racer.
The 24″ wheel, 17.5″ Giordano Libero 1.6 is going to be her racing bike. It’s her training bike too !
Ok, now thanks very much for your great comments on the Giordano review. Let me try to respond to what you’ve mentioned:
Love your suggestion on the cassette – I’ll try to grab one myself. Up to now, we’ve mainly just adjusted the rear derailuer limit screw to lock out the higher ratio cogs**. My son raced all last year with this method. We just bought a spendy Jr. gear Cassette in 10 speed
(** 52×14, ie Large front Chain Ring x Smallest Rear Cog, being the largest combo usable to keep below the 26′ roll out (bike travel per one crank rotation) limit for junior gearing…but this is assuming 700c wheels, not the smaller 24″….and we’ve not yet configured the JR bike for Jr gear limitations…so thx for your cassette suggestion…)
You are correct about the overall quality level being higher on the Giordano vs the simplier 24″ Boys Denali. The more seriously one will pursue road biking, the more sense paying the extra for the Giordano 1.6 makes.
On tubes, we found the 24 x 1 3/8” to work perfectly fine. They’re so much more commonly available !
Just try to inflate carefully and not fold the tube upon insertion into the tire / rim assembly. I always inflate in gradual ‘stages’ to help ‘iron out’ & prevent pinch flats (when tube is pinched internally). Another simple, often overlooked suggestion: Try to work the tire / tube assemply on the rim by hand – try to never use tools, if possible.
Do you mind sharing the link where you found the tires for $ 12 each ? I paid twice that at elsewhere !
There is an appropriately short stem that made the reach more manageable, as the stock one was just too long. Here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00427T756/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
On the brakes, I was able to ajust them by just applying a bit of bike specific grease on the spring pivots / contact points on the back sides. I also ditched the stock pads & upgraded to the metal backed ones with the red “cool stop” rubber inserts – this made the brakes actually function like higher quality brakes !
Also, with the thinner 24×1″ racing tires, the lack of the quick open cam on these brakes isn’t noticed. The tire / rim readily slips out with ease.
Your comment about the ‘snow outside’ makes me think you’ll be doing your racing up North.
Here in East Texas, we don’t get much snow ! (But we race in freezing conditions: Last weekend, it was 27 degress when the kids AM Time Trial began !)
PS: If you’d like to ‘side chat’ – I can send u my direct email address, simply reply with your permission.
I’m happy to answer any questions you may encounter about Jr. or adult USAC racing, if I’m able. We learned a lot in our rookie season !
Best Regards, David / EastTexasRider
David –
Awesome results for your son!
Here is the link for the tires: http://www.indemedical.com/Kenda-Kontender-Sports-Wheelchair-Tire-_p_1215.html
We are in bike Mecca- Boulder Colorado- not too far north, but it is always a roll of the dice weather wise this time of year. Our first time trial of the season is next Saturday.
Feel free to shoot me a direct email. Last year was my rookie season of racing – at the advanced age of 44! This will be the first year for my son, daughter and wife.
-Mark
Hi David:
I’m just about to get a Giordano Libero 1.6 with 24″ wheels for my son. Because it’s not available in stores anywhere here, I won’t be able to have my son try it since I will order it online. I can’t find specs anywhere. Would you be able to provide they standover height for this bike? i.e. ground to top-tube? My son is 4’2″, and has an inseam of 22 3/4″. Thanks in advance!
Hi Pat:
Great news on your plans to provide your son an actual Junior Road bike !
It is really important, I can tell you firsthand:
We raced this past weekend at the Cyberknife of Texas (Tyler, Texas) Stage Race, featuring an 18 mile road race, 5.8 mile time trial & 30 minute Criterium.
I was amazed to see these little juniors on bikes that were simply too large for their little bodies to propel. The problem was the adults were (unwisely, to me) expecting them to use 650c wheel bikes on small ‘adult’ frames (like 48 or 50c size).
(650c wheels are in between 700c Std road bike wheel size & 24″ Junior size, but closer to the former. Fine for diminutive adults, still to big for little ones, IMHO.)
Funny thing was, they were Specialized, Cannondale & Trek, all nice quality & expensive bikes. They probably spent an average of
$ 1000 – 1500, buying quality, yet a truly bad fit for the kids !
What makes sense to me is to buy the reasonable quality, tough & bulletproof Giordano 1.6 or Boy’s Denali (actual) 24″ bike for far less, around $ 350 for the former, and as little as $ 180 for the latter.
Once they are grown, that is the more advisable time to buy them a more expensive carbon bikes !
OK here is the #s you asked for – & my girls sizes for comparison:
Girls Frame Giordano: 25.5″ stand over
(15″ frame size)
Boys Frame Giordano: 26.5″ Stand Over
(17.5″ frame size)
**Boys Denali: 26.5″ Stand Over
(17.5 frame size)
Measured just in front of the saddle nose @ top tube.
Our girls measure:
8 year old: 53″ (4ft 5in) 24.5″ inseam – she rides Girls Giordano
10 year old: 53″ (same) 26″ inseam – she rides Boys Denali
11 year old: 54″(4ft 6in) 25″ inseam – she rides Boys Giordano
Your boy is just a bit shorter than our girl, and with a 23″ inseam, the girls frame Giordano might fit best.
What might pose a problem: the bike is pink & white.
I do think if he’s adept at riding other bikes already, he could fit the slightly larger frame Boys Denali or Boys Giordano, the difference being only an inch.
The good think is, with the 24″ road wheels, he’ll not be far from the ground, and the cranks are smaller too, so the fit will be much more appropriate whichever bike you choose.
**Note that the Boys frame Giordano & Denali, are the same size frame exactly. The bikes are identical, frameset wise.
The main difference is the component level upgrades: namely: brake lever shifters, quick release wheels & cassette gear cluster on the Giordano vs twist shifters, bolt on wheels & freewheel rear cluster, not cassette on the cheaper Boys Denali.
The gearing range also varies, the Denali has a triple chainring – mountain type gearing, the Giordano has double chainring, road type gearing.
It’s worth noting that the Giordano comes in two sizes, 15″ and 17.5″, but the Boys Denali, only in the 17.5″ size.
I strongly advise the Giorano if you’re very sure your kids will enjoy road biking, The upgraded parts alone are more than worth the price difference.
On the other hand, I strongly advise the Boys Denali if you’re not sure your kids will keep road riding – it’s half the price !
I’d say it’s the perfect Junior bike for kids doing a T-Shirt ride or the MS 150, who may not ride more beyond that.
PS: I have reviews on both the Boys Denali & Giordano Boys frame bikes, under my ‘Amazon’ reviewer name, EastTexasRider.
Sorry, didn’t do a review of the Girls Giordano – mainly because it’s identical to the Boys frame Giordano, the only difference is the shorter frame size…..so the review comments apply equally.
Please do post back a comment when y’all get the bike & your thoughts on it, how it works for your boy.
If you decide to have him do Junior Racing, I’m happy to answer any questions in that regards, if I’m able.
We have 3 juniors racing, so we’re learning more all the time.
If you have pics too, maybe we can make a post showing all our kids riding or racing the bikes – IDEA !
Best Regards, David / EastTexasRider
Hi, thanks for the detailed review. Thinking to buy this bike even though my son (11 yr) will not do any serious biking. The reason I am considering this because he joins Boy Scout and they are doing 20+ (first year scouts) mi a day in gravel path. I do not want to buy him cheap Walmart mountain bike because I think it is too heavy (he is not the most fit person, the reason why I signed him up for BS). So my question is: will this bike handle gravel road (maintained path)? I have seen road bikes in this path before. Do I need to change the tires to something thicker (opposite what you had done)? Is it possible to even do that? If so could you give me a hint where/which brand to buy.
Second, how difficult is it to build this bike? I have not dealing with bike at all. MY LBS asking for $80, which I think it’s decent.
The problem is that when I asked the LBS how much it is to change it to flat bar (like you had suggested), they asked for $250+. Is it that difficult? Do you have any YouTube video when you change the drop bar to a flat bar?
My other option is to put inline brake (the brake you put on the flat part of the drop bar) on the drop bar (not sure if this is better than flat bar). The LBS is asking for another $100 for that (labor and parts) . You can see, the price starts to add up.
The LBS is suggesting Diamond Insight 24″ (http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1128926_-1___000000)
What do you think about that?
THANK YOU!!! Laura
Hi Laura:
Congratulations on planning on your son beginning riding. As well as being great fun, it’s a step towards greater health.
Besides our decision to ‘kill our TV’ (ok, well, turning off cable…), our family taking up riding together has been a huge blessing.
We try to ride together 2 times a week….with 7 of us, it likely resembles getting a whole ‘scout pack’ out on bikes !
But however y’all ride, good job on embarking on the cycling efforts.
Now to the equipment questions:
In short, the Diamondback Insight is a super choice.
If you can get that bike for $ 251 @ Performance Bike, with assembly, warranty & support, that is a steal ! **
Here’s why:
If you would be getting a Junior Denali (or the more nicley equipped version of ‘Giordano Libero 1.6’), then changing the Road style handlebars (aka “Drop Bars”) to a flat bar, you would be throwing money away: Changing bars involves quite a few parts to be changed, therefore the cost is high.
If you already owned it, maybe.
But to buy it for a new price & pay yet more to change it, is just not cost effective.
The only way the Denali Jr / Giordano Libero makes any sense is if he’s going to do long distance Road Riding – for which it is designed.
(Our 11 year daughter just did a 31 mile road race on hers, averaging 15.5 mph …)
But for gravel paths, fireroads & light off road, the Diamondback Insight 24″ kids bike is ideal. It would also have decent gearing for efficient road riding, too – just lacking the more aero positioning that ‘drop bars’ provide.
We have a Diamondback Overdrive V 29er Mens mountain bike – and the quality level is excellent – from the specs & pictures on the link you provided, this 24″ Insight looks very closely related – they look like 2nd cousins !
And yes, the tires on this bike would be great for light off road use – they’re the same ‘dual tred 24″ x 1 3/8″ tires as on the Denali / Giordano bikes.
On loose surfaces, air ’em down to 30-50 psi, hard pavement, air ’em up to their max (prob 80 psi or so)
Thanks for your comment & best wishes
David / East Texas Rider
** And the bike will ride so much nicer than a typical heavy, cheap Walmart $ 90 kids MTB special, it’s going to raise the ‘enjoyment factor’ of riding significantly.
PS: Found it listed at Amazon….with yet more reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Diamondback-Insight-Performance-Hybrid-24-Inch/dp/B008AFXTJ6
THANKS!!!
Great reviews! I’m really on the fence here. My daughter is about to turn 9, and I’m ready to upgrade her bike to a road bike (she already does kids triathlons. I’m afraid she may outgrow the 15″ frame too quickly being on the taller side, so was leaning towards the boys version (plus, she isn’t a “gotta have pink” type of girl anyway). Problem is, as of the writing of this comment, I can’t seem to find the 24″ Boy’s Giordano Libero 1.6 anywhere? All the 700c versions are available online, the girl’s frame in 24″ is available, but nothing for the boy’s. Do you know if they have discontinued the 24″ boys (thinking it might be too close to the smallest 700c perhaps?). Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanks!
Hi Tom:
Thanks for your comments. I just checked Amazon.com and you’re right, they don’t currently show a listing for either of the 17.5″ Boys Giordano or Denali 24″ wheel road bikes.
How tall is your girl ?
I just measured our 10 year old, she is 4’7″.
The 15″ Pink / White Girls Frame Giordano bike fits her very nicely. I believe she can ride it until 4’11” in height.
http://www.amazon.com/Giordano-Libero-Girls-24-Inch-Wheels/dp/B0060PI1OQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1392348773&sr=8-3&keywords=giordano+libero+1.6
So, it may be able to work. What is she now riding ?
You might try calling Kent Bicycles in New Jersey, they’re the Mfr / Importer, so they could say if more are going to be available in the future. It would be a shame to lose an affordable option for our kids to ride nice road bikes.
My girls tear it up on these bikes. Kara rode the Red / White ‘Boys Frame’ Giordano in 18 races last year. Worked very well ! Trained over 2000 miles on it, nothing broke, period.
Just before the Texas State Road Championships, we upgraded her to a Carbon Fiber bike, a very small frame 700c wheel bike, that I located on Dallas Craigslist.
It is an XS (48cm-19 inch) Fuji Comp SL bike. It was purchased for a short woman, under 5′ tall, who became pregnant & didn’t want to ride anymore. (bad idea, but good for us !)
It was NIB, new in box, got it for $ 950, a great deal.
And it was a nice performance upgrade over the Giordano bike. Keep in mind, it felt that way to Kara (our 12 year old) because she had logged many training & racing miles on the (slightly heavier) Giordano.
Now, her younger sister has inherited the Giordano & will do 7-15 races on it this year. The only parts it needed is a new chain !
Tom, let me know if this was helpful – best wishes for you & your girls racing success ! ?
Best Regards, David in East Texas
PS: Do you mind sharing what region / state you race in or races you like ?
David, very helpful indeed, thanks! My girl is only 8 right now, birthday in May. Right now she is 4’5 1/2″, with a 24″ cycling inseam (in stocking feet). She is by no means a giant, but fairly tall and slim for her age. My family doesn’t do any pure road racing here, South Carolina has some good events though. Primarily triathlon for our family, with some running events thrown in for good measure (my girls are primarily swimmers). The last two triathlons my oldest did were raced on a single speed big box store bike. They got the job done, but didn’t hold a candle to some of the more advanced bikes on the course.
Once she starts riding more, we’ll see what she prefers. I have more of a cycling background (not bike racing though, more recreational until picking up triathlon). I also love tinkering with bikes and try to do my own work. Most fun I had was building one up from the bare frame. To that end, I’m already looking ahead to how we might modify this bike once it gets here.
I did have a few specific questions for you (and feel free to contact me through my regular email address). Are the handlebars standard or short reach? I have a spare 1-1/8 – 26.0 stem in my parts bin, and was thinking about swapping out the 40cm 25.4 bars for 38cm 26.0 bars, preferably with a shorter reach and drop (say around 75mm reach?), unless the stock bar seems okay for her. Would also let me use readily available in-line levers, which I was planning to use until she gets used to drop bar riding.
I’ve also heard some concern about he brakes, so was looking at some stoppers on line, but from the pics these seem to be nutted versus recessed, and I couldn’t tell if the calipers would be standard or long reach (40mm+?).
Sorry for so many questions, as you can tell, Dad gets into these things!
Thanks for the help!
Tom
Hi Tom:
Great to learn more of you & your girl. It’s a fun thing to watch the kids compete – I feel blessed & overwhelmed, (occasionally) to have 4 juniors (1 18 year old son & 3 girls ages 11-13) doing road racing in our family.
To that end, I’m also the Assistant Junior Road Racing Coach with Northwest Cycling Club, out of Houston.
FYI, here is some info on Junior Road Racing: http://www.usacycling.org/juniors/
It sounds like your daughter is almost exactly same height as Abby, our 10 year old who rides the Giordano 1.6, in the 14.75 (15″) girls model – and the only one Amazon has in stock, at least currently. The bike fits her perfect, and will for some time to come.
The main thing mods we did to make the bike ‘work’ for her were three fold:
1) Shorter Stem – pretty much mandatory mod. It comes with a 100mm stem. It needs more like a 60-70mm stem. Amazon has them, I think we got here the one from HL Corp in either 60 or 70mm – it was like $ 15 or less. Now the bars are 1-1.5″ closer !
2) Inline brake levers – adding in the accessory in line brake levers, to the inside flat part of the top of the bars means she can brake without having to reach forward, but doesn’t change the function of the main Brake Lever Shifters.
I can’t recall the width of the bars, but it’s acceptable enough.
3) Swap out the fatter ‘cyclo-cross’ type 38mm wide tires for the Kenda 25mm (24×1″, btw, 540-25 sizing, NOT 520 !!) ‘Racing Wheelchair Tires’ – they’re Kevlar flatproof, we’ve only ever got 1 flat on 6 tires in thousands of miles.
Way more efficient on the road than the stock tires. BTW, I give the link, I think, in the above Post, to the “IndeMedical” site that has the best deal on those tires. Got ’em in gray tread color for round $ 12 ea. I strongly suggest the standard 24×1 3/8 tubes (Bontrager, etc) with Schrader valves, too. They’re much more robust than the way harder to find 24×1″ tubes, (more rubber & thicker), besides the rims are drilled from Schrader anyhow.
On the Brakes, I made them work waaay better by simply greasing the point on the back where the spring slides on the caliper arm & tighening the mount bolts securely, and installing better brake pads, metal backed KoolStops. (Not quite SRAM or Dura Ace, but they do stop the bike quickly !)
Overall, its a very solid bike, and 1/2 the cost of other ‘Junior Road Bikes’ like the Fuji Ace 24 or Redline Junior bike or Blue or other higher cost options.
It’s only 2# heavier than those bikes, which is could actually be helpful because it makes them a bit stronger, and it’s still 23 # which is roughly 10 # lighter than those 24″ Walmart Mountain bikes that many kids kick around the neighborhood on.
When the day comes you put them on a full carbon bike, they’ll fly !
Tom, hope this is of helpful encouragement to you & your daughter.
I plan to post a picture of our 3 girls on their respective bikes very soon.
(The first road races of the season are this coming weekend, so it’s a hectic week !!)
If you follow my blog, you’ll get an update when I do.
Warm Regards, David
But for gravel paths, fireroads & light off road, the Diamondback Insight 24″ kids bike is ideal. It would also have decent gearing for efficient … iinsightd.wordpress.com