Weight 3.75kg
TAKE THE RED PILL.
Our childhood should be one big adventure, and the Big Foot 12 is a statement of intent. It’s designed for those who are committed to their children being more connected to the environment around us than to a device.
It’s an important battle to win early, and so the low slung frame with a saddle height of just 31cms gets you the jumpstart you need. A robust diamond frame and forged drop outs means you’ll not have any hits putting the bike out of action. The elements won’t be a problem either, all our bearings are maintenance free sealed cartridges and our frame, fork, hubs, rims, steerer, stem and handlebars are all aluminium. In fact, other than hardware, the only steel on the bikes are the hardened spokes – a full 20 of them on each wheel to make sure they’ll not buckle at the sight of a curb, a root, or dad for that matter.
But it’s really about feeling as confident on the trails as it is on the pavement. So we’ve 2.25″ balloon tyres that soak up every bump, with knobbly treads whose side walls come alive in the mud and loose to ensure the traction that will get your kids on track and keep them there. Not to mention anatomically designed Ritchey controls with a powerful, light pull rear brake to give that extra braking confidence when the ground under foot looks a little sketchy for those little rubber soles.
Weight 3.4kg
TWO WHEELS. ONE GOAL.
And no, it’s not balance. It’s to encourage our kids to actively connect with the incredible world around them. A life affirming relationship for our children and our planet by simply giving children the very best tools for developing a love of exploring and making them with materials, components and craftsmanship that will see through them, their siblings and their friends.
The low slung frame with a minimum seat height of just 31cms gives them the earliest of starts. It’s classic diamond construction and cold forged drop outs are for strength and will take whatever a growing child, or an older sibling, throws at it. A beautiful brushed finish that means the quality of the tubing and our welds are always there to see and scratches just add to its character. CNC’d aluminium hubs and axles run on sealed cartridge bearings keeping the bike light and friction lighter. 2″ Vee Speedster tyres roll over everything with minimum fuss, providing the comfort and stability young riders need. Internal cabling for a optional rear brake upgrade with custom Ritchey riser bars designed specifically to fit mini V short reach levers. As easy as riding a bike.
THE REAL COST OF VALUE
We use premium parts because without them, we cannot make our balance bikes to perform and last to the standards we set. We only see three reasons to use poor quality materials like mild steel, solid tyres, plastic rims and bushings. The first is that they are cheap. The second is that it’s easy – easy to buy, easy to use, easy to sell. The third is that the bikes will become landfill long before they risk cannibalising future sales. This is not us. We won’t ask you to buy our products but we would ask that if not ours, you buy a quality alternative, either first hand or second, that will not end up in the ground sooner rather than later.
Weight 5.95kg
GO FASTER, HANDLE HARDER, ENJOY MORE.
Put all the engineering packed into our remarkable Seeker 16 to work. Let your kids enjoy finding the edge with a geometry that is stable yet responsive, controllable yet fast. Watch them reap the benefits from the unerring drive and immediate pick up of our four bearing cassette hub as they climb out of the saddle. Envy the lines they stick that you wouldn’t pick thanks to the 2.25 balloon mud tyres that let them coast over bumps and jumps you know’d you’d feel. See their confidence grow with the Ritchey Logic controls and powerful, easy pull short lever V brakes. Let them hammer the trails in whatever conditions the weather throws – and revel in the fact that the bearings in the hubs, the pedals, the bottom bracket and the headset are all sealed cartridges, the greaseless all aluminium drive train and frames just needs a rinse and if they blow on the ride you only have to carry a bike that weighs in at just 5.8kgs.
PERFORMANCE, DURABILITY AND CHEAP, PICK TWO.
Producing a bike that performs to inspire but at a justifiable cost is a balancing act when it may be enjoyed by your child for only a couple of years. We work tirelessly to garner value with every penny we invest and where possible we only invest in value that can be retained. Our finish is brushed aluminium because it carries the scratches and dings beautifully. It’s gender neutral too, so it can be passed on to both boys and girls. We exceptionally rarely have new model years, preferring to refine instead so that when a bike is passed on it’s still current. We invest in weight saving components that others don’t (hollow axles, external cup bottom brackets, CNC’d aluminium hubs, butted tubes, cold forged cranks) as it allows us to use high performance and incredibly durable components that others won’t (cartridge bearings in all moving parts, our forged sliding drop outs, a 4-bearing cassette hub, an all aluminium drive train) and this is how we end up with bikes that are not only market leading by weight and by function, but also promise the durability that mean they can benefit the second or third owner as much as they did the first.
Weight 8.6kg
Seek and ye shall find.
The Seeker 20 is built for broadening horizons. A massive. market leading 11-42 tooth cassette gives the extra gearing needed to make light work of any hills, and a clutch equipped mech to tension the chain to keep it in place on the rough, cutting ‘chain slap’ and the risk of the chain unshipping completely. With a short stay geometry optimised for manoeuvrability and performance controls from Ritchey, you can rest assured your progress is not going to be hampered by even the most fiendish of single track either, as you look to go further and further afield.
A lightweight rigid fork running bump soaking 2.25″ balloon mud tyres provides all the cushioning a young adventurer needs and saves a full 1kg on the weight of a suspension fork. That’s your beans, bacon and camping stove right there. It’s super durable too, it saves you the servicing of a shock and, as it’s made from super strong aluminium, it’s just as robust when those inevitable drops and crashes come along.
Rammed with high end features such Samox narrow Q factor direct mount cranks, narrow wide chainring, external cup bottom bracket, Promax hydraulic disc brakes, 160mm rotors for better modulation – the bike is designed to go the distance with the minimum of fuss, whatever that distance may be.
Weight 9.95kg
SUPERHERO STUFF.
If Marvel decided they needed a new, albeit small-ish, superhero to travel to remote parts of our planet and save the world from a mass extinction, they’d give them one of these. It is front to back spec’d with components designed for adventure: high performance, incredibly durable and, in case the need arises far from home, immediately serviceable.
A superb, lightweight, wide range 1 x 9 system, boasting a 11-46 cassette that gives a whopping, market-topping 418% gear range. The kids could soon get granny in a cape crushing those climbs in far away places. A lightweight but robust aluminium frame and 1 1/8th inch steerer fork to make sure it can absorb those big hits the trails (and curbs) will inevitably throw at you. And a long, low and slack geometry with premium Ritchey controls to give the stability your kid will need to ride them out as well as the bike.(Over and over again).
weight 6.8kg ages 4-6 years
WELL, HELLO THERE.
Say hello to a bike that is extreme in every way. The best performance, capability and configurability in a 16″ yet, it is a bike created for early riders to push the limits of what’s possible, and then do it again.
It’s built around the most impressive robust and lightweight frame set. Triple butted tubing and a CNC’d chain stay yoke, means there are no weak points. Precise wheel and disc alignment every time thanks to 12mm thru axles front and rear. Complete with internal cable routing to make sure everything is out of the way.
For those beginning to hit gaps, protection against casing with double walled tubeless ready rims on CNC’d hubs and straight pull spokes. Helped by a long, low and slack geometry for confidence inspiring stability and short stay, quick handling for when it gets technical.
Assured, efficient power transfer through a narrow q factor crankset with a direct mount narrow wide chainring and finished off with custom Rticthey controls and hydraulic disc brakes with some of the lightest actuation we’ve tested.
This is the best start to hitting the bike parks, but if you do want more, our four bearing cassette hub, 12 x 142mm drop outs, mech hanger and additional routing, mean gears are an easy option – and with our CNC’d yoke, so are 2.6″ tyres for those really riding the rough.