A new kids mountain bike range has been launched this week by Squish Bikes. The 24″ and 26″ wheel Squish MTB both retail for £429.99 and appear to be well specified for the price point.
The bikes have been designed with junior riders in mind, with features including:
- Tektro M-280 Mechanical Disc Brakes with 160mm rotors operated by two finger operated easy reach levers
- SR Suntour XCR-Lo Air Suspension forks which can be adjusted to suit as the rider gains weight
- Single 32T chainring at the front, meaning no complicated gear changes
- 8 speed Shimano RD-M310 derailleur and 11-32T cassette, which is operated by a Shimano SL-M310 rapid fire shifter with optical display
- Lightweight triple butted 6061 alloy frame
From the specification it’s clear that Squish have gone with well known named brands where it matters – brakes, hub and suspension – whilst keeping the costs under control on other areas. For example, the tyres are specified as a “lightweight junior multi-terrain tyre”, which will be easy enough to swap out if you have a preferred alternative.
The 8 speed 11-32T cassette should be fine for gentle undulations, but we suspect it may require some out of the saddle effort to get to the top of more steep inclines.
The orange 24″ wheel bike is built around an 11″ frame, and weighs in at just 11.4kg, whilst the bigger green 26″ wheeler has a 13″ frame and weighs 12.5kg.
With these bikes Squish are following in the footsteps of other kids bike brands Frog and Islabikes, who both make hardtail kids mountain bikes. This is a growing market – with 30% of adult bikes sold being mountain bikes, it’s not surprising that there’s a huge demand for decently specified kids mountain bikes too. Price wise, at £430 the Squish MTB is significantly lower than both the Islabikes Creig (£800) and the Frog MTB (£590 – £610), which should make them more accessible as an entry level kids mountain bike.
Squish Bikes are only sold through a network of independent bike shops, and the first batch of the MTB’s should be in the stores this week.
I’d love to hear what you think of these bikes – do please leave a comment in the box below. Thanks!
Other posts you many be interested in:
- Buying a kids mountain bike – things you need to know
- The best kids 24″ wheel mountain bikes
- The best kids 26″ wheel mountain bikes
- The best full suspension kids mountain bikes
- Review of the Squish 18 kids bike
- How we became a mountain biking family in just one year
- The Swale Trail, Yorkshire Dales – a family mountain bike trail of two halves
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