![]() ![]() The steering has been well balanced in all conditions and has led to an increased confidence in ability and particularly speed. She braved the cold weather and rode as much as she could – around the estate, to school, at the skateboard park, the seaside promenade, and anywhere else she and her sister could persuade mum and dad to go! Her first impression was that it went a lot faster than her old bike! Because it’s a single speed bike there are no gears to confuse matters, so she was able to master riding it very quickly.ĭespite the terrible winter, we had this year, she was really keen to get out cycling. She liked the design and the colour scheme (more on that later) and was keen to go out on it immediately. She’s been riding a much heavier “Cherry Blossom” girls bike, and had asked for a new “grown up” bike. The Squish was presented to 6 year old Katherine to review, just before Christmas 2017. Our ‘first impressions of the Squish 18’ article highlighted that we really liked the bike with its funky paintwork and the level of thought that has been put into the design, but now it was time to hand it over to our tester to put it through its paces. However, if other manufacturers follow suit and bring out 18″ wheel bikes, then the tyre manufacturers will likely increase the level of their offering. The one concern we have is whether replacement tyre choice at this size will be limited. The Tandem Group have been producing these own brand “Cadence” tyres since 2013 when they developed the Dawes Academy range, so they’re a tyre designed for a higher spec bike, which is a bonus. On the tyre front, the Squish 18 comes supplied with a set of knobblies that are designed for use on road or trail. The hubs spin freely enough and all in all, look to be a nice set of factory built wheels for a kids bike. However, they come with an alloy rim with cnc machined side walls for a smooth braking surface and a black finish on the spokes to top things off. The 18″ wheels are a funny thing to see on account of their rarity. Both calipers and levers are from Tektro, with the levers being adjustable for reach to take account of differences in kids’ hand sizes. The brakes on the Squish 18 kids bike are supplied by Tektro and feature a standard v-brake system as featured on the majority of kids bikes of this type. The chainset is a child specific item that comes with crank arms that are 114mm long so designed for the shorter legs of younger children. The Squish 18 has been designed to keep things nice and simple, utilising a single speed system that has a 16 tooth sprocket on the back wheel and a 30 tooth chainring at the front. the bottom bracket area and at the welded joints between tubes. More expensive to produce than alternatives, the tubes are thicker at points where strength is needed, e.g. ![]() Squish have put a lot of thought into the design of their frame, having opted to use a triple butted frameset. Our ‘first impressions of the Squish 18 kids bike’ review gives a lot more detail, but here’s a quick recap to get you started. This is a wheel size that tends to be dominated by heavy, steel framed, cheap bikes, so it’s very unusual to see a higher quality bike in this size, which weighs in at just 6.9 kg.Īt £289.99 (price when we got sent the bike in 2017 was £239.99) it’s significantly more expensive than the other heavier and less well specified 18″ wheel bikes on the market, but the Squish range is in the middle to lower half of the price range when compared with other lightweight bikes on a ‘like for like’ wheel size.Ī quick recap on the components on the Squish 18 The Squish 18 kids bike has a 9.5″ frame, which is designed for children with a minimum inside leg of 50cm, which is roughly for ages 5 years and older. This model, the Squish 18, is a single speed bike designed for kids that are not quite ready to make the jump from a single speed 16″ wheel straight to a ‘geared’ 20″ wheel bike. The Squish brand was launched in 2017, as a new range of lightweight kids bikes at a lower price point than some of the more mature brands. Then it got sent out to our eager reviewer Katherine to put the bike through its paces, and this is the follow up article that covers how the Squish 18 got on during the review period. It was the first 18″ wheeled bike to come through the doors at Cycle Sprog, so as you can imagine we were pretty excited to be able to bring you this Squish 18 review!Īt the time we received the bike, we did a detailed first impressions review of the Squish 18, discussing its components and build to give a feel of how it’s put together and whether it represents good value for money. At the tail end of 2017 we received a Squish 18 kids bike to review from Tandem Group Cycles in Birmingham, who are makers of other well known bike brands as Dawes and Claud Butler.
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