Kids bike comparison...thoughts?

[Titan Racing Bikes]

6 minutes ago, DJuice said:

I showed him this bike one evening. Next day on school run he told my wife he is getting a new bike...which was news to her...

A man of taste. You've raised him well. 

[ChrisF]

6 minutes ago, Titan Racing Bikes said:

A man of taste. You've raised him well. 

 

When we went to he local bike shop to buy Maritz's 24" Titan (back then it was still TITAN), they had a couple of different models in stock ...

 

Choice came down to the V-brake vs disc brake options.

 

I thought I would give him the option of choosing the one that put the smile on his face ... nudging him towards the disc brake model.

 

 

Turns out the frame welding on the other model was nicer .... JIP, he chose it base on the texture of the welding.

[Kuys]

Id probably go for the Titan as it its R4k cheaper, and rather spend the extra money on a better fork. 

Ive bought old 26" Fox forks for both my daughters and reduced travel to 60-80 ish. And it works great for them. You can typically get one for around R2500-R3000.  

Up to 20" I would stay rigid, but from 24" they start riding more obstacles and drops and the forks really make a difference for them. 

 

 

[badiejb]

My 8yo daughter has access to bicycles. She got one before she was born and ever since then she had great bikes and access to new bikes. She is pretty fortunate (so are we) but what I would say here is that kids choose to ride or not. Some days she looks at the bike and does not want to get on it. other days she is stoked to ride, albeit only around the block before returning home. She currently has the 24' Riprock with 'fatty' style tires and the 24' Riprock with the rigid fork as in the OP's original question. Some days she choses the pink one and other days the green one, but she doesn't know or truly understand the difference, which there are plenty. 

What it comes down to in my opinion is buying your kid a bike that they want to ride, because that is the one that will get them riding. It might be the 2k Makro bike or the 14k bike but I would buy the one that they love at this age. 

And yeah I do work for a bicycle brand and have access to product, but I have learned that until the day she decides she wants to race a bike, I am not going to convince her to ride by buying her the product that I believe is the best. My 2c, sorry I did not answer your question. 

[Iwan Kemp]

14 minutes ago, badiejb said:

...
What it comes down to in my opinion is buying your kid a bike that they want to ride, because that is the one that will get them riding. It might be the 2k Makro bike or the 14k bike but I would buy the one that they love at this age. 

And yeah I do work for a bicycle brand and have access to product, but I have learned that until the day she decides she wants to race a bike, I am not going to convince her to ride by buying her the product that I believe is the best. My 2c, sorry I did not answer your question. 

Some wise words. When we bought our daughter's 16", which was two years ago or so, I could get a good discount on a brand or two, but she wanted a pink or red bicycle. So a Scott Contessa it was. 

When we bought the 20", earlier this year, I showed her the purple Titan Racing Calypso 20" Disc and she liked the color. Granted I did not show her ALL the bikes, but she liked the color. No amount of arguing or persuading would have convinced her to go for the SE. When she saw the Junior Trail she fell in love cause a) it has pink in it and b) it has two colors. She is not a trail rider so the heavier bike would not make sense for her, and, again, the air fork and lighter weight of the TR SE would make more sense, but a black bike ain't gonna happen.

For me it's more important that she rides, and that she enjoys doing it. So unless I nudge her in a direction by only showing her a select few options, logic is not going to win the day.

[Trashy]

3 hours ago, Titan Racing Bikes said:

A man of taste. You've raised him well. 

Now that you're here...

What is the actual weight difference between the 20" Hades and the SE version?

I'm keen on the SE but a 30% price premium is a hard sell.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Trashy

[Shebeen]

2 hours ago, Iwan Kemp said:

Some wise words. When we bought our daughter's 16", which was two years ago or so, I could get a good discount on a brand or two, but she wanted a pink or red bicycle. So a Scott Contessa it was. 

When we bought the 20", earlier this year, I showed her the purple Titan Racing Calypso 20" Disc and she liked the color. Granted I did not show her ALL the bikes, but she liked the color. No amount of arguing or persuading would have convinced her to go for the SE. When she saw the Junior Trail she fell in love cause a) it has pink in it and b) it has two colors. She is not a trail rider so the heavier bike would not make sense for her, and, again, the air fork and lighter weight of the TR SE would make more sense, but a black bike ain't gonna happen.

For me it's more important that she rides, and that she enjoys doing it. So unless I nudge her in a direction by only showing her a select few options, logic is not going to win the day.

Very important they love their bike! for hand me downs you can solve the colour issue with Rustoleum. For this level of bike it is worth it stripping and rebuilding every now and then anyway!

the next time it was tradeup and shift, he was happy to ride it like it is, made my job easier.

 

it helps that i have a big print of Robbie Naish windsurfing down a huge wave in the 80s up in the bathroom. he only used pink sails.

 

 

 

 

 

[MORNE]

1 hour ago, Help.Me. said:

I have a Gravel Bike , and when I need a full Body Massage I take THAT animal for a ride............

edit:yes. wrong fred🤪

Edited September 13, 2022 by MORNE

[Trashy]

4 minutes ago, MORNE said:

I commit the act of cycling when im on my gravel bike. I f@&k around and have fun on my mtb. I enjoy both.

I think you are lost!

[MORNE]

55 minutes ago, Trashy said:

I think you are lost!

yup, thats also what the dominee said when i walked out of sunday school in 1999.🤷‍♂️

Ok i'll contribute: id go with the spez. a kid doesnt need a 1.5kg boat anker on the front of a relatively light bike otherwise.  It's not going to be good at damping anyway so why bother. I'll choose a rigid fork over a crap susp fork any day of the week. . It's going to be a much nicer handling bike imo. The spez will also have better resale value on here. Fact.

Edited September 13, 2022 by MORNE

[Shebeen]

10 minutes ago, MORNE said:

yup, thats also what the dominee said when i walked out of sunday school in 1999.🤷‍♂️

Ok i'll contribute: id go with the spez. a kid doesnt need a 1.5kg boat anker on the front of a relatively light bike otherwise.  It's not going to be good at damping anyway so why bother. I'll choose a rigid fork over a crap susp fork any day of the week. . It's going to be a much nicer handling bike imo. The spez will also have better resale value on here. Fact.

R14k for a 6 yr old's bike, that is the money is no object answer for sure.

You will hemorrhage value on that, in 2 yrs time it won't sell for anything over R8k.

 

 

[MORNE]

6 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

R14k for a 6 yr old's bike, that is the money is no object answer for sure.

You will hemorrhage value on that, in 2 yrs time it won't sell for anything over R8k.

 

 

i didnt say it wont hemorrhage value...i meant it will probably sell easier relative to the other one if they are similarly specced. #brandloyalty and all.

PS. the answer is always BMX 😁

Edited September 13, 2022 by MORNE

[OVERDRIVE]

18 hours ago, Rolf Hansen said:

I cannot imagine that they are similarly priced?

I am in two minds about the fork (suspension or not) but I found with my youngest the weight of the bikes was by far the most limiting factor. He had a Titan Hades 24D and it was a very solid bike but ridiculously heavy for such a small bike. I would imagine there would be a significant weight difference between the two forks.

I'd go for the one that is the lightest if there is a significant difference.

Good point, but when the skill gets there maybe the fork a good addition?

[OVERDRIVE]

13 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

 

Both have trigger shift gears ... GOOD !

 

The photos suggest the Riprock has a lower standover height .... this may be important for the first month

 

 

Would be interesting to compare the weights ....

 

 

Ultimately it comes down to cost.  Our Titan 24" was used for 12 months !!!!  They grow through these bikes in record time ....

 

 

Yes, our Titan 24" was replaced by yet another Titan.   

I delayed the move from 16 to 20 and regretted it. But does one now wait for a 24 or a 26? Especially when they do grow like that…

[OVERDRIVE]

9 hours ago, Grease_Monkey said:

Have you considered the Scott Scale 24"? Pretty well specced and priced. 

https://www.thehangerbikeco.co.za/products/scottscale24discblue

 

They also have a Roxter which is the same bike, with a rigid fork and slightly higher volume tyres. 

 

Give me a shout if you are interested  - full disclosure, I work at the shop to which I posted the link. 

Ooh this is a nice bike I’ll say! 

[OVERDRIVE]

8 hours ago, Bub Marley said:

Agree regarding trigger shifts. 

 

My son has that revoshift nonsense and its so stiff to change gears its riduculous to expect a child to turn that. 

Those things need to be banned. Really 

8 hours ago, badiejb said:

My 8yo daughter has access to bicycles. She got one before she was born and ever since then she had great bikes and access to new bikes. She is pretty fortunate (so are we) but what I would say here is that kids choose to ride or not. Some days she looks at the bike and does not want to get on it. other days she is stoked to ride, albeit only around the block before returning home. She currently has the 24' Riprock with 'fatty' style tires and the 24' Riprock with the rigid fork as in the OP's original question. Some days she choses the pink one and other days the green one, but she doesn't know or truly understand the difference, which there are plenty. 

What it comes down to in my opinion is buying your kid a bike that they want to ride, because that is the one that will get them riding. It might be the 2k Makro bike or the 14k bike but I would buy the one that they love at this age. 

And yeah I do work for a bicycle brand and have access to product, but I have learned that until the day she decides she wants to race a bike, I am not going to convince her to ride by buying her the product that I believe is the best. My 2c, sorry I did not answer your question. 

Still, some awesome points. Thank you 😊 

6 hours ago, Trashy said:

Now that you're here...

What is the actual weight difference between the 20" Hades and the SE version?

I'm keen on the SE but a 30% price premium is a hard sell.

@Titan Racing Bikes will take this one 😊