Lifestyle

A Closer Look at Canyon’s New Children’s Bikes

We take a closer look at the new range of children's bikes from Canyon

There have been many exciting developments rolling out of the Canyon factory this year. We’ve seen the launch of their women’s specific road bikes, the Endurace and Ultimate which you can read all about here, and we’ve all gotten quite excited about the new Canyon’s children’s bikes from the “Young Heroes” collection.

Earlier this year we headed out the spaceship-like headquarters of Canyon in Koblenz, Germany. It was here that we were able to see the new children’s bike up close and personal for a greater inspection.

In case you haven’t seen them yet, let’s see what bikes are a part of the Young Heroes fleet…

Top: Offspring AL16 – Left: Grand Canyon AL24 – Right: Offspring AL20

There are three models in the collection and they’re ideal for ages 3 years and up. Each model has hydraulic disc brakes and are designed to be ridden off-road for a true mountain bike experience;

Canyon Offspring AL 16: equipped with a 16″ rear and 18″ front wheel. Aimed at riders between 98cm and 110cm tall.

Canyon Offspring AL 20: equipped with a 20″ wheelset and is designed for riders between 110cm and 125cm tall.

Grand Canyon AL 24: equipped with a 24″ wheelset and 65mm of front travel. For riders between 120cm and 153cm tall.

Milena Weber is Canyon’s brand manager for children’s bikes. We caught up with her to find out a little more about the development process and goals Canyon had in mind when creating these little ripper bikes.

According to Milena, it took quite a while to develop the children’s bike range. The bikes were designed from scratch because “like for all Canyon bikes, we try to put in a lot of engineering into each bike because they’re not just any bike. You can see this in our new women’s road range.”

“We didn’t’ just want to scale down an adult’s mountain bike, we wanted to design something specifically for smaller people. On the 16″ sized bike there is an 18″ front wheel which is perfect for smaller kids who are moving on from balance bikes because the standover is really low which offers some security to the child.”

“We want to offer kids the best start in cycling” – Milena Weber, Brand Manager of Canyon children’s bikes

So what did Canyon set out to achieve with the new line of Little Hero bikes? “With many parents already familiar with the Canyon brand, we wanted to remind parents of that child-like excitement of being out on your bike, exploring and having fun. We hope that through the parents, their children will experience that too,” explained Milena.

The children’s brand manager went on to say; “Both children and parents have been equally excited about these bikes and with good reason. Parents always want the best for their child in terms of safety and quality, and the children just love the design because it looks sporty and cool looking.”

So what sets these children’s bikes a part from the rest? Milena talks through the main features of the range which includes a low stand over height on all models and an 18″ front wheel on the smaller bikes. The handlebars are made specifically for kids as they are narrower and the grips are soft any slim for smaller hands.There’s a rubber bumper on the stem for safety and the saddle is small and child-specific as well. To make riding a bike even more simple, the

To make riding a bike even more simple, the small 16″ frame comes with internal hub gearing which auto shifts between two gears using SRAM automatics. Up from that, the 20″ frame comes with 8 gears and up from that again, the 24″ frame comes with front suspension. The introduction of new features between each model size helps a child get to grips with the essentials of riding a bike in easy and manageable stages.

All of the children's bikes come with disc brake tech

Each model comes with a child's specific saddle

Grand Canyon AL 24

“We found that girls had a strong opinion on what they want, but it’s not always for pink stuff” – Milena Weber, Brand Manager of Canyon children’s bikes

What really captivated the masses was the brilliant marketing campaign which accompanied the launch of the children’s bikes earlier this year. The children’s range comes with the tag line “Young Heroes” as Milena explains that Canyon “wanted to show that kids are strong, individual and independent and that they can be just that on a Canyon bike”.

When it came to the striking images used for their kid’s bikes, Canyon wasn’t afraid to deviate from stereotype norms and create something far cooler; “There was no question about it. We didn’t want girls and boys bikes, we wanted a group of kids who play to together like in the real world where gender doesn’t really matter at that age”.

Well, of course, we had to make sure they were suitable for the adult-child too… and they are!

Just like Canyon’s adult bikes, there’s a really helpful measurement tool on their website which the ideal bike for your Young Hero’s.

For more information on Canyon’s new children’s bikes, head over to their website here where you can browse the range and pick out the perfect steed for your little ripper.