The new Charge Cooker will make you wish you were 7 years old again

Gimmick-free mountain bikes for younger riders

Oli Woodman / Immediate Media Co

Published: August 2, 2016 at 6:00 pm

Just because you're little doesn't mean you don't want to rip up the trails like the big kids (AKA grown-ups). That's why Charge Bikes has released a new range of rugged, mud-ready bikes for kids — the new Charge Cooker 20 and Charge Cooker 24.

This is Charge's first foray into the world of children's bikes, and it looks promising based on what we've seen.

Avoiding gimmicks, Charge has gone for simple design and simple parts. This approach gives smaller riders the same parts that us bigger riders get on our bikes, like decent tyres and disc brakes.

The bikes are perfect for playing in the park or venturing off-road, and we wish there'd been bikes like this around when we were younger!

Available in fierce pink and bright green, both bikes have decals and details like coordinating saddles

There are two bikes in the range: the 20-inch wheel bike available in either fierce pink or bright green, and a 24-inch wheel bike available in blue or silver (colours may vary by territory). The rigid aluminium frame means a low overall weight, which is an important consideration for kids' bikes, especially as many cheaper options out there weigh an absolute tonne.

Wide Kenda tyres should provide good traction, aid stability and help with absorbing uneven terrain — though of course you still need to be able to do skids, and the mechanical disc brakes will help with developing that particular trick.

Shimano 7-speed Tourney gears are coupled with a Shimano Revoshift grip shift and provide a good range of gears for smaller legs.

The Charge Cooker 20 retails at £329.99/US$299.99, and the Charge Cooker 24 retails at £349.99/US$349.99.