Hoy Bonaly 16in children’s bike
Price £260, evanscycles.com
Frame alloy 6061
Colours red or green
Weight 6.3kg
Gears single speed
One of the many truisms about raising kids is: “Learning to be a parent is all about learning to let go.” It’s particularly useful for the sloppier breeders among us, because it makes us look like we are “parenting” as opposed to simply being distracted, careless or drunk. But there are times when it is uncannily literal, and one such occasion is when you are teaching your kids to ride.
I have three children and, as is the way of these things, have a very clear memory of teaching one of them to ride – I just can’t remember which of the three it was. So, to save an argument later, I’ll plump for the youngest as all the other stories seem to be about the older two anyway.
We took Vita to our local park, she’d been wobbling on a balance bike for weeks and it was time for her first proper ride. We walked to the top of a long grassy slope. My wife had the camera. We lined her up. Feet on pedals, hands on bars, bottom on saddle, stabilisers off.
“Don’t forget to brake at the bottom,” Juliet said at least four times. I put my hand under Vita’s saddle and started to push her across the grass. Her little legs began to spin. After a few steps I stopped and my wife and I watched her whirr off down the hill and into the distance, blonde hair eddying behind her, shrieks of joy floating over her shoulder. We’d let go… I then spoiled the moment by guffawing, but really I wanted to weep.
Learning to ride is one of the great rites of passage – both for parents and children. You are launching them into a sport/hobby/pastime that will last a lifetime. My 85-year-old mother-in-law rode her bike to school in Somerset as a seven-year-old and almost eight decades later is still riding. As with anything child-related, the expense-to-time ratio can be steep. But don’t scrimp on their first bike. Buy a decent one because it’s the bike they’ll remember forever. I could happily tell you everything about the bike I learned to ride on.
Cheap kids’ bikes break quickly, are hard to ride, often don’t work properly and are usually too heavy for scrawny limbs. One man who does not have scrawny limbs is Sir Chris Hoy. At his peak his monumental thighs were 27in in circumference – each. Working with Evans Cycles, the Olympic champion has recently updated his bestselling bike range. It now includes two essential designs – the Bonaly and Meadowmill. They cater for children from age 4 to 16 and offer a selection of bikes to suit multiple ridding terrains.
Named after the area of the Pentland Hills where Sir Chris Hoy first rode his mountain bike, the Bonaly is Evans Cycles’ best-selling children’s bike. Building on the success of previous models, the updated range comes in 16, 20, 24 and 26 inch wheel sizes and now offers a completely redesigned lightweight frame and child friendly components.
A perfect all-round ride for a young rider gripped by the thrills of fast bikes, the Meadowmill is named after the cyclo-cross circuit where Sir Chris Hoy raced early in his career. Aimed at young riders who are looking to ride on a multitude of terrains the Meadowmill isn’t just a cyclocross bike, with drop down handlebars and lightweight aluminium frame they also make fine road bikes, at home on the bridleways and quiet tracks that make up any young explorer’s ride.
Understanding that a child’s bike is a much greater percentage of their weight than an adult’s bike is means that these bikes have lightweight frames that balance strength and comfort. Internal cable routing creates a clean aesthetic and keeps wires away from small hands. A set of updated child-friendly components also help to offer a better experience when learning to ride. A new “Q factor” crankset has been designed to ensure junior riders’ legs are closer together and that pedalling is efficient and smooth. The crankset lengths are size specific to limit any overstretch of legs, and also ensure pedals don’t clip the floor when cornering. Size-specific handlebars are used to suit the different shoulder widths of children, ensuring confident handling. In addition to the new lightweight frame and finishing kit, low-spoke wheels and super light foam padding for saddles all help to reduce weight and improve comfort whilst on the bike.
You can’t stop them riding away, but at least you’ll know they’re doing it on a bike you can trust.
Cool kit
Aeron LAB is dhb’s top-level cycling collection: for when speed is of the essence. dhb Aeron LAB top £70, wiggle.co.uk
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166
