Rascal Bikes

Things to know about Rascal Bikes

You may be asking yourself now: Does the world really need yet another manufacturer who makes children's bikes? In this case, the answer is a definite yes!

Like many other manufacturers, the company's founders had the idea to embark on manufacturing their own bikes in 2010 after a fruitless search for bikes for their own children. Producing bicycles that were as lightweight as possible while requiring little maintenance was an important aspect of the development. On the other hand, the idea was not to overload the children's bikes with too much sophisticated technology, that tends to be too complicated for children to use safely anyway, and also to design a frame shape that tolerates riding errors and gives young riders a sense of security. Since retrofitting luggage racks and mudguards is not recommended, the bikes are aimed at rather sporty kids, freedom-loving rascals and off-road youngsters.

Rascal Bikes builds lightweight kid’s bikes

Strictly speaking, there are three specific features that make Rascal bikes particularly easy for kids to use. We've already anticipated the most obvious of these in the headline, but things look even more impressive in numbers. A 14-inch Rascal kid’s bike weighs only 5.5 kilograms. Two inches more add only 100 grams of weight, the 16-inch kid's bike weighs only 5.6 kilos! With each bike size, the bikes get only a few grams heavier, so kids have no difficulty pushing their bike, maneuvering it over the curb, and - most importantly - keeping first time riders balanced.

A belt drive and hub gears make bikes child-friendly

Rascal also takes a completely new approach when it comes to the choice of the drivetrain. The children's bikes have a Gates belt drive, instead of the standard chain and sprockets. Belt drives are by no means new on the market; they have been providing powerful propulsion on city bikes for many years. However, they have never been installed on children's bicycles before, although a belt drive is perfectly suited for the job. It is absolutely simple to use and lightweight, requires (almost) no maintenance and has a long service life without showing signs of wear and tear.

To allow your child to fully concentrate on her/his surroundings and not be distracted by complicated gear shifting decisions, Rascal bikes from a size of 20 inches and up have hub gears. Hub gears are a very good choice for any children's bike because their twist grips can be operated by small hands without letting go of the handlebars. Shifting errors such as going "up" instead of "down" and vice versa can be corrected directly, and without jamming the chain and the completely sealed body of the gearshift is very robust and well protected should they hit the ground. 20 inch bikes have a 3-speed Sturmey-Archer gear shift, 24" and 26" bikes are equipped with a Shimano gear shift with 7 speeds.

Mullet bikes for toddlers

Normally you'll find the terms "mullet bike" or "mixed setup" referring to expensive mountain bikes rather than concerning children's bikes. Here you can mount wheels in two different sizes (a large wheel in the front and a smaller one in the rear), that give the bike very unique riding characteristics. It works similarly with Rascal’s balance bike Punk!, but here the aim is not influencing traction and agility, but rather generating good stability and an optimal seating position for small bike newbies. The larger front wheel is responsible for staying on track, the smaller rear wheel provides a nice upright seating position and makes it easier to climb onto the bike.

Buy Rascal bikes for kids online

In addition to their children's bikes in five cool color options, Rascal offers plenty of accessories like bike bottles and gloves. You can also order accessories that improve your child's safety right here in the Bike Mailorder Online Store. With reflectors, a brightly colored children's bike helmet or a bell, little cyclists are sure to attract the attention of their surroundings!