Btwin Wipe 500 20" kids' BMX review

Full review

The Wipe 500 is the bike to choose when a child wants to start riding BMX at the local pump track or skatepark and you do not yet know whether the enthusiasm will last. Its 487 mm top tube and 165 mm cranks are sized for riders about 1.35 to 1.60 m tall, which is a far better fit than adult-sized 20.5 inch frames that kids struggle to control.

The parts are simple. The frame and fork are steel, the rims are aluminium with 36 spokes, and the 25T chainring with an 11T cog gives a gear that a smaller rider can turn over easily. The handlebar is 680 mm wide with a 60 mm stem, so the cockpit does not feel cramped. Braking is by a rear V-brake, which is quite different from the U-brakes and rotors on the pricier bikes here.

The compromises are weight and componentry. At 13.5 kg it is clearly heavier than the Radio, Kink and Wethepeople bikes, and one-piece cranks are less stiff and harder to upgrade than three-piece chromoly ones. For a child who rides every weekend and starts landing tricks, expect to move up to a lighter freestyle bike in a year or two. Until then, it is good value, and buying from Decathlon makes returns and parts straightforward in Ireland, the UK and the EU.