Shyre Hopton 26" Wheel Kids Hybrid Bike

Near-adult wheels, still built for a young rider.

For riders who have outgrown a 24in and are not yet ready for an adult frame. Seven gears, brakes they can reach, and a frame light enough to manage on their own, so they get the speed of a bigger bike without stretching to control it.

Bigger wheels roll over rough ground more easily and hold their speed, so the same effort takes them further. What usually comes with them is weight. At 10.75kg ready to ride the Hopton 26in stays light enough to lift onto a rack or carry up a step, and the reach, the bar width and the brake levers are all still set for a young rider rather than an adult.

What you get

• Shyre Junior Fit on 26in wheels. Shorter cranks than an adult bike, a narrower bar and levers set for their hands. That combination is the whole point: the wheels of a grown-up bike on a frame they can actually control.
• 6061 aluminium frame and forks, 10.75kg ready to ride. Light for a 26in bike, and weighed with the pedals and kickstand on, so it is the figure that actually arrives.
• Shimano 7-speed drivetrain with a thumb shifter. A Tourney TY300 rear mech worked by one shifter on the right, with a low gear for the climbs and enough at the top for a flat run home.
• Tektro V-brakes with short-reach levers. The lever blade sits closer to the bar, so a smaller hand can get right round it and pull hard enough to stop properly.
• Double-wall alloy rims and a sealed-bearing bottom bracket. Double-wall rims stay true through kerb drops far better than single-wall, and sealed bearings keep grit and winter road salt out of the moving parts. This is where a bike either lasts or starts creaking.
• 250mm micro-adjust seatpost with a quick-release clamp. Raise the saddle a few millimetres at a time as they grow, without going to find a tool.
• 26in all-round tyres and a kickstand. Happy on roads, gravel and light trails.

Named after Hopton Woods in south Shropshire, a family favourite for our weekend rides. Forestry England call it the home of mountain biking in Shropshire, and its downhill tracks have been a regional race venue for years.