Kids special: 8 racing bikes for children in the test - Little speedsters: 8 children's bikes in the test

Scene: Kreuzstraße S-Bahn station, far to the south of Munich. The car park next to the tracks is buzzing with activity: racing bikes are being lifted out of cars and made ready to ride. Wheels click into dropouts with a metallic clunk, freewheels tick in neutral, highly compressed air hisses out of floor pumps. Gradually, the car park fills up with cyclists in uniform jerseys. Nothing special on a club ride. But what is different: It's not the adults who are the main protagonists, but the numerous children in the car park, whose laughter can be heard for miles around. It's off to training at the Upper Bavarian RSV Irschenberg, which is dedicated to promoting young talent.

What is the recipe for success?

Richard Dopjans is one of four coaches who, together with head coach Christian Lichtenberg, look after the youngsters at RSV Irschenberg near Miesbach. Between 40 and 50 children and young people train with the Maloja Pushbikers, as the racing team of the Upper Bavarian club is called. And the influx of young talent shows no sign of abating. But what is the recipe for success? When many people are complaining about the lack of young talent? "You simply have to offer the children opportunities," says Lichtenberg, who joined the club as a coach in 2011. "Of course, there was already youth work at RSV before my time, but there was simply a lack of structure," explains the thirty-year-old. Together with his wife Claudia, he then began to work systematically at grassroots level.

You can find the entire children's special with the experience report from the training and all test results in the download area below.

Little speedsters: 8 children's bikes put to the test

What applies to adults also applies to children: the bike must fit the body. In addition to the right size, the ergonomics of the components are particularly important for kids. Have the manufacturers taken this into account when developing their 24- and 26-inch models? We sent a team of young riders out on the test track with eight mini speedsters

We tested these models with the young pilots:

• Frog Bikes Road 67
• Eddy Merckx Petit Enghien 61
• Giant TCX Espoir
• Islabikes Luath 26
• Scott Speedster JR 24
• Specialised Allez Jr.
• Stevens CX JR
• Trek Emonda ALR 650

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