Bike choice for tall 7 year old

[discomute]

Hi everyone my daughter is turning 7 and she is about 135cm tall. My wife wanted to get her a Kmart bike and I did not object as it really only gets ridden for "riding purposes" e.g. let's go to the park and ride. We live in Darwin so only for 5 months of the year. So basically minimal use.

A size chart said 24inch/60cm bike and Kmart/bigw/target had nothing. Plus I read here about BSO's and I thought okay let's get a better bike! The $500 mark of proper bike shops is out of the question. However I saw a suitable one in anaconda for $299 and I thought okay the budget can do that -
https://www.anacondastores.com/cycling/ ... 12776-mint

That said, is anaconda the same rubbish as Kmart but 3 times the price because of the perceived superiority?

The other interesting thing is that Kmart's size chart actually says my daughter is a 50cm bike rider, at that size they have a lot of good options. The best being a $99 bike i know she'd love because of how pretty it is. Honestly if it lasts a single year a $99 bike may represent better value that $299 bike that would therefore need to last four years .

Kmart size chart is different than anything else I've seen...

Now yes I could put her daughter on them but ideally it would be a surprise. But we can flex on that.

Lastly my wife does not want to do a second hand bike for her birthday.

[Duck!]

Kids' bikes across the industry, and K-Mart etc's adult bikes are sized according to wheel diameter rather than frame size. When you get to adult bikes with 26" or larger wheels, sizing is determined by frame height, with several different size frames to suit different rider heights. K-Mart etc probably still do this, but they advertise their "bikes" by wheel size.

Anaconda are an OK middle point - considerably better than K-Mart etc rubbish, and not far behind the big-name "proper" bikes in that range. Sure a K-Mart "bike" might only cost 1/3 of the Anaconda bike off the shelf, but you'll more than likely pay the difference later in replacing the schidt original parts with ones that actually work.

[bychosis]

A tall 7yo will probably get onto a 24" wheeled bike OK. My youngest is a little too big for the 24" at 145cm. I *think* 8 was the Transition from 20" wheels to 24"

Check out your local marketplace/gumtree etc. Kids grow out of bikes fast so you can pick up lightly used bikes for peanuts. My most recent 24" purchase was Giant with disc brakes for $150. A little rough, but worth it for the disc brakes for riding in the bush.

Avoid kmart et al because they sell cheap rubbish, known by most cyclists as "bicycle shaped objects" they are poor quality and don't make it easy to ride. If they have gears they are usually difficult to adjust or operate.

[discomute]

Great advice all around. The Anaconda one is locked in. Thanks.

[Mr Purple]

I'd go one step further and say that front suspension in this price bracket and size is a useless, weight adding gimmick.

I did this a couple of years back and bought my daughter a Cannondale Quick 24 - much lighter, no suspension, not much more money.

https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/ ... 51702U20OS