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TECH NEWS
Chris_Hoy_Evans_Cycles121Hoy launches kids’ bike range
Chris Hoy is launching a new range of children’s bikes to add to the already established Hoy Bikes line-up, and he's heading off on a short UK promotional tour.
“The new range of kids’ bikes has been designed to offer great quality, proper little bikes rather than two-wheeled toys,” according to Hoy Bikes. “Each model has been meticulously designed, considering each aspect of the young rider’s needs and is fittingly named after places from Sir Chris’s childhood.”
There are four kids’ bikes in the Hoy range, most of them available in more than one size.
The range kicks off with the £110 Hoy Napier runner bike which is made from butted alloy tubes and comes with a grab rail for you to offer some support.
The Bonaly bikes are designed to go anywhere bike. Three versions are available, with 16in (£230), 20in (£270) and 24in (£320) wheels. The larger two come with 6-speed Shimano gearing.
The Meadowbank is available in 20in (£270), 24in (£320) and 650c (£450) models. All three are designed as track bikes so they’re singlespeed, the larger two coming with drop bars. The 650c model comes with a butted 6061-T6 alloy frame and a full carbon fork.
The Cammo road bike is available in 24in (£400) and 650c (£600) models. Both versions are built around 6061 aluminium frames with alloy forks. The 650c model comes with Shimano 2400 Claris mechs, short-reach Microshift levers, a dual chainset and an 8-speed cassette. The brakes are Tektro R340 dual pivot callipers.
To mark the launch, Chris Hoy himself will be undertaking a short tour of the UK, meeting and riding with fans from 27 to 29 May and giving younger fans the chance to try out his new bikes.
The Hoy Tour will start on Tuesday 27 May with a ride in Brighton and then head to Clapham Common, London, where there will be a large inflatable test track and lots of Hoy demo bikes for children to try out from midday.
On Wednesday 28 May Chris will be in Liverpool for a ride in the morning and then he’ll be at Liverpool One shopping centre in the afternoon.
On Thursday 29 May he’ll be in Glasgow for a ride before heading over to the Tour Series in Edinburgh where the inflatable Hoy test track will be set up on Grassmarket.
Find out more about the Hoy Tour to go http://www.evanscycles.com/pages/hoytour14 or follow @HOYbikes and @Chrishoy on Twitter.
Hoy bikes are available only from Evans Cycles. The full range of kids bikes www.hoybikes.com/kids are available to order now with stock due imminently.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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15 comments
RE CX, and maybe even BMX -
is correct.
From talking it over with friends who have keen-riding children of that age (some who ride in quite hilly areas), a double was welcome since around 8 years onwards they're able to use them. For events or learning where gearing needs to limited the stop-screws can do that. With smaller STIs fitted making the ergonomics work well we didn't see many reasons not to use a double, but I agree the simpler the better in some cases and the 24" MTB is 8-spd with a single ring for that reason.
James, Hoy Bikes Product Manager.
I keep saying it, but I still can't work out why Hoy have specced a double-chainset. There is no need for one at that age. Frog have fallen into the same trap, and to me it is lazy speccing.
Depends on the child and where you live. My daughter is only 5 but already uses all 7 gears on her current bike happily and appropriately. By the time she's old enough for a junior road bike (~8?) I imagine she'll be more than ready for a double chainset. The 110ft of climbing at an average of 6% in our local park might play a part in that though!
Given he started on a BMX it's a surprise there isn't one in the range.
I think with Chris it will be more like a case of "watch this space"
Wouldn't that be the 16in Bonaly in the first picture?
I'm surprised at the lack of a CX bike. I would have thought there's a bigger market for that than for a track bike. I guess, given his background, Hoy has to have a track bike.
I see your point actually. Initially I thought my 4 year old doesn't want to have to learn gears too, despite living on a hill, but this the 16" version is single speed, so I guess fills the need. Now I'm only put off by the fact it's £239.
It's official: kids are the new MAMIL.
Now that child on the balance bike may have a giant head, bless them but I'd wager that it's actually a poorly fitted helmet.
Details, Chris.
No baskets for dollies, no streamers.
epic fail Chris.
Good to see more intelligently-designed kids bikes available, instead of the "feature laden" branded bikes that are too heavy for a child to pedal up a hill. Check out Isla and Frog bikes too.
The road bikes look quite nice, but I think they are missing a trick with speccing them with close clearance dual pivots and not cantis.
I am always interested in competitors to Islabikes but I would have thought most keen kids buying a lightweight racing bike would want one that you can race cyclocross as well as circuit races on.
It would have been nice to see a first stage pedal bike. This really is the end of the market where they're little more than two wheeled toys, and tend to come in two styles; Girls or Boys. There are lots of unisex runner bikes and the larger bikes have a large range. As the father of two girls I don't want everything to be princess pink!
Good point actually - a bike that can be bought with pedals but have them removed for use as a strider is a good idea.
I note from the photograph that Hoy is making the common mistake of holding the bars and saddle. Rather than helping teach the kid to ride, he's holding the child back. When someone holds the saddle, they're in control of the bike and even more so if the have the bars in hand as well.
The trick is to hold the child, not the bike. This way the child learns to control the bike. They learn much faster that way. I taught my two sons to ride and several of their friends as well and I know what works.
I think you posted the same thing earlier so I followed your advice and 10 minutes later my 9 year old step daughter was charging up and down without any support. Downside is that I have to buy her a new bike! Thanks.
Good choice of names, Napier is named after the inventor of logarithms who also has a university named after him.
Cammo, Bonaly and Meadowbank are all places in Embra, with Meadowbank of course being the sports centre for the 1970 and 1986 Commonweath Games.
I think my youngest might like the Cammo tho if he's lucky, he might end up with the Bonaly.