Pinnacle launch new range of kids' bikes

Pinnacle Bikes, the in-house brand of retailer Evans Cycles, have launched an all-new range of 16, 20 and 24in-wheeled kid's bikes with an emphasis on keeping the weight down through the use of butted tubesets and thinner tube walls for the best riding experience.

Head designer James Olsen (who was previously responsible for the Genesis Bikes range) has been part of the Evans Cycles team for 18 months and has taken a good long hard look at their small wheeled bikes and designed the Koto 16in, Ash 20in and Aspen 24in models.

The biggest wheelsize model in this new range is the 24in Aspen (£250). Effort has been made to reduce weight through the use of  double butted 6061 aluminium top and downtubes and thinner wall tubes that saves over 200g than if it was made from heavier plain gauge tubing.

They’ve opted for rigid a chromoly steel fork over a suspension fork, popular at this price, to keep the weight down. They’ve worked on the geometry,  lower bottom brackets, relaxed head angles and higher handlebars to give more confident steering and placing less weight on the hands.

Pinnacle wanted to keep the shifting as simple as possible, and opt for a trigger shifter with a single ring up front and keeping the gear choice to just the rear gears. A SunRace M33 trigger shifting operates a 7-speed SunRace M40 rear derailleur with a 36t single ring up front. Tektro Mini-V brakes and matching brake levers designed for small fingers provide the braking.  The Joytech hubs and Alex Z1000 rims use 32 spokes and they’ve opted for lighter BMX-style Kenda tyres.

The Ash 20in (£230) shares the same butted aluminium frame an aluminium rims and a 7-speed SunRace drivetrain with a wide range 12-28t cassette. An aluminium bar with 30mm rise and 60mm stem, Tektro Mini-V brakes and Kenda Kwick Roller Sport complete the package.

The Koto 16in (£180) uses a butted aluminium frameset with with the same wheels as on the more expensive Aspen, keeping the weight down. A single gear (32x17) keeps riding simple.

The bikes are finished off with the choice of two eye catching colour options; a gloss white with colour flash scheme, and matt-effect two colour contrast – avoiding the stereotypical girl’s and boy’s colours for a fun gender neutral style.

Check out www.evanscycles.com for more details.