Black Mountain take adjustable children’s bikes to bigger kids

Children’s bike brand Black Mountain has expanded its collection of adjustable kids’ bikes with 18 and 20″ wheelers which grow with their owners.

>>> Best kids’ bikes: all you need to know

The UK brand launched in 2018 with the Pinto and the Skøg, the 12 and 14″ bikes that could grow to suit children who might usually ride a 14 or 16″, typically aged around five to eight years old.

The collection has grown to accommodate the 18″ Kapel, typically fitting five to seven year olds (110-128cm) and 20″ Hütto, for those around six to eight years old (118-134cm) – depending upon height.

The brand measures in overall height, as opposed to inseam length, to make life easier for parents who can find the latter hard to determine on wriggling children.

The frame heigh and reach can be tinkered with via an easy bolt adjustment, and the aim of the collection is to offer a viable alternative to the compromise of buying a bike for a child to “grow into,” or making multiple new bike purchases.

The bikes are designed for the 14″ Pinto to transition into the 18″ Kapel, and the 16″ Skøg to grow into a 20″ Hütto, meaning bikes can be “skipped” and most parents will only need to purchase two to facilitate the journey from balance bike to teen bike.

Unlike the initial creations, both bikes come with seven speed rear cassettes, paired to a single chainring.

The bikes weigh 8.1kg and 8.3kg respectively, when specced as standard, and can be ridden in balance bike mode for children learning to ride later.

The Hütto is available with caliper brakes and a rigid front end (£449), with disc brakes (£549) and with discs and front suspension (£649). The smaller Kapel comes in at £449.

The bikes come with easy pull Tektro brake levers and skinny 19mm bars that come specced with safety grips designed to avoid injury in a fall.

The ‘Go Low’ custom saddle comes with an inverted seat clamp, allowing the saddle to go extra low whilst an ‘Up Rise’ stem extender can move the handlebars up by 30mm and forward by 20mm to allow space for a growing rider.

SRAM and Shimano 7-speed twist gears aim to make learning to adjust resistance for the hills easier, and the tyres range from Schwalbe Black Jack to Kenda Small Block 8 tyres.