Initially we had purchased my oldest daughter a Raleigh 24" mountain bike called the Lily. We bought it used from a local bike shop it was a prior rental. We purchased the bike for $150. Easily within our budget. It was a great starter bike for us to begin off road riding together. The bike did have some short comings though. It was a large leap up from the cheap Walmart bike my daughter had previously been riding. I would recommend this bike for a family looking for a starter option. It is a great bike for introducing gears and brake levers. It was great on paved trails and worked well. Once we started riding off road is where the bike shortcomings were apparent.
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| v-brakes |
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| 7speed cassette |
The twist grip shift did not work well for my daughter. She struggled to shift it prior to going uphill or on a downhill. She stated "it was hard to hang on and shift" Also the brakes aren't the greatest hard to adjust and lack good stopping power. The brake levers aren't the most comfortable and hard to get into the right position. The gearing also does not seem to be set up for mountain biking. The bike is geared as a 1x7. The cassette has a large granny gear, it makes a large jump on the last gear. My daughter would spend a lot time in the largest gear and would find it hard to shift into the higher gears to keep up her momentum. Several times after crashing the rims would be bent. The bike did not seem to hold up to the abuse we put it through. The off road trails we ride on are rocky. Being on the skinny tires my daughter ended up getting bounced around on the rocks a lot.
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| twist grip shifter |
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| Thumb shifters |
We have currently updated my daughter to a fat bike. We purchased it new from a local bike shop for around $600. The bike we ended up getting was the Framed Wolftrax 24." The bike fits my daughter well. The brakes are improved, better stopping power. The mechanical disc brakes are much improved. My daughter likes the thumb shifters according to her she can hang on to the handlebars and shift. The gearing is 1x10, the cassette is well spaced and seems to give her all the range she wants or needs. I was surprised at how much faster my daughter became on this bike. Suddenly she was keeping up with me much more easily and our overall speed increased. Living in Minnesota it also opens up winter time riding for us. Instead of renting we now can just take off from our house and ride.
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| 10 speed cassette |
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| new framed wolftrax |
Either bike is a great improvement over a Walmart bike. If you primary goal is to ride off road or you would like to ride in snow I think fat bike is really worth the money. If you primarily want to ride on paved trails or around town the Raleigh bike was great. It works well and is a great way to introduce you child to gears and bar brakes. Keep an eye out and you can find a great deal on a kids bike to get out and ride with your family.
