Point of peace blog

Good bike for the price. It looks nice and the quality is pretty good. I bought this for my 8 year old daughter and she is quite happy with it. The only problem she got with Pacific Evolution Girls Mountain Bike is that the shifting wheel is hard to turn for her.

Good value for the price. Don’t expect great finishing quality. The packaging being poor, even though ships Fedex, the product had parts (pedals) poking out of the package. The frame had scratches, and the handle was definitely not brand new with defective threading and old sticker / glue of some kind. The pedal’s threading was not smooth so expect to use WD-40 in a few areas. Due to this experience, if you can buy at a store for a good price, I would highly consider that.

Overall assembly is easy, but I wish the pre-assembled frame / rear tire and brakes did not need adjustments which would require opening them, as playing with brakes adjustment can be tricky.

This being ‘called’ a mountain bike, the tires threading ensure that this is not a smooth road bike. The minimum height of the bike from ground to the seat is approx 2 feet 6 inches, and the maximum height adds another 6 inches.

As always, the kid loves it regardless.

Inexpensive 6-speed 20″ girls bike. I purchased this bike for a specific goal – an inexpensive 20″ girls bike with speeds or gears for an almost 8 year old who outgrew a 16″ single speed bike. Use will be for streets & rail trail rather than true mountain biking. I was looking for hand brakes and multi speeds, but not necessarily a derailer bike, as this is. But 20″ 3 and 5 speeds were hard to find. So, despite some low ratings on other Pacific models, and no ratings or evaluations on this one, for under $100 I took a chance. Main reason – I found that Pacific is a sister company to Schwinn. That said, the bike is made in China.

We’ve had it for 3 weeks, so I have can review it for everything but longevity. Its not too bad, but not too good either. Pluses are 6 speeds, cam adjustable seat height, comes with kick stand, attractive design. Basic assembly was easy, but derailler adjustments less so. Minuses are cheap construction (not than an 8 year old would notice) like very visible welds and cheap parts. Manual isn’t model specific. In my case, the shaft for the handlebars was a bear to get into the frame. I would have liked the seat to go a little lower, but my daughter’s growth will fix that in a month or two. But I can’t use the red reflector at the seat height she needs now. Rather than not have a rear reflector, I mounted a reflector on the back of the seat.

The hand index shifter broke while I was trying to get the speeds adjusted. (Out of the box it wouldn’t go to either end of the range). Probably my fault (hint – don’t try changing gears without cranking the pedals). Called the 800# and got the replacement in 4 days. So, customer service seems pretty good (although I was a little scared when they said the shifter was backordered and didn’t have a shipping date).

Took my time this time and got all 6 speeds shifting fine in about 1/2 hour. If you can’t handle pliers, hex wrenches and a phillips screwdriver, don’t get a bike online (and definitely don’t get this one). But if you’re somewhat mechanically inclined and don’t want to shell out more than $250 bucks for a bike your kid will outgrow in a couple years, this one is worth considering.

I’m hoping its built to stand up to kids’ ordinary use and abuse to last while my dauther goes from 8 to 10 or 11. But if it doesn’t, I won’t be out much $$ and I may have bought enough time for her to grow into a 24″ that she’ll have for a while.

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