‘Maximum fun’ – DMR talks through the brand’s first kids’ bikes

DMR has been at the heart of the dirt jump and MTB scene for decades. Head of marketing Mark Noble talks BikeBiz through the launch of the DMR kids’ bikes

This piece first appeared in the May edition of BikeBiz magazine – get your free subscription here

Why is DMR entering the kids bike market? And how long has it been in development?

That’s a good question – so here at DMR we’re all kids at heart, we all love hitting the trails, riding bikes, having a good time with friends out on the singletrack, bike parks and local loops, and we love it – and obviously, younger kids do too.

For a long time we’ve looked at kids’ bikes and thought they just seem to be lacking something – whether that’s in the geometry, or the build quality, or the weight, or spec, how they look, or whether they’ll even last a day at the trails. We felt kids’ bikes need to inspire and feel amazing to ride, so we took a blank sheet of paper and started work on our own range of new bikes a while ago – pre-Covid – and now, they’re ready for launch.

Can you give us a little background on the range?

We wanted to make a whole range of sizes and bikes, to get kids on good bikes right from the start – before they can pedal, so they can learn how to properly balance, steer, and to be able to ride with confidence on all terrain. Whether that’s on the way to pre-school, or out on the trails with parents, pump tracks and BMX trails, we wanted all of these bikes to be fully capable and fun right from the start.

They also needed to look proper – like fully scaled down mountain bikes or trail bikes, so you can tell immediately that they are DMR Bikes. The names even hark back to an original DMR frameset, and the three new models are all called Sidekick bikes.

What are the key features of each product? What makes the range unique?

Two of the bikes feature mullet wheels – even the balance bike has a mullet setup with a 14” and 12” wheelset, the smaller rear wheel for lower standover, and the bigger front wheel for rollover and stable steering. The next size up has 16” rear and 18” front, large volume Vee MTB Tyres, and it’s built for anything – the biggest Sidekick comes with 20” wheels front and rear.

With each size, everything is in proportion: smaller pedals, narrower cranks, thinner handlebars and grips for smaller hands, short stems, shorter brake levers, smaller saddles, and fully-enclosed Hebie chainsets which make them ISO 8098 compliant. We’ve not held back on quality or design here, and yet we’ve managed to hit great price points as well. We haven’t made a boutique £1,000 balance bike here, what we’ve done is much more our style.

Also, it’s really important to take on board that the geometry and sizing of each bike at each size has been carefully considered – slightly slacker seat angles, longer chainstays, lower BBs, perfect reach, fork trail, they’re the perfect kid-friendly confidence-inspiring setups. Plus, as they’re all made from lightweight aluminium throughout, these bikes are light and durable. Maximum fun.

What is the hope for the range?

IBDs have been missing out on decent kids’ bikes forever – our hope is to get these bikes out to market and get kids on quality bikes and down the trails and singletracks as soon as possible.

DMR as a company is of the age where the riders who grew up on V8 pedals and Trailstar frames back in the day are now parents who want to get their kids a DMR bike as well. Our brand has that unique heritage and rider-owned setup that people know we make quality bikes that feel great to ride. We want kids riding these new bikes to become the next trail stars, the next Brendan Fairclough, Deaks or Olly Wilkins – start ‘em young!

What has the early feedback to the range been so far?

We’ve shown previews and production samples to a few people and so far the feedback has been great – people are both surprised and suitably impressed with what we’re bringing out on DMR Bikes, that’s for sure. People just immediately want them for their kids – these bikes look like the real deal, they would look fantastic on the floor of any decent bike shop, and then off to the local riding spots.

A couple of people have queried the lack of gears on the 20” bike, but in reality it’s more important for a kid at that young age to just ride with confidence and fun, rather than worry about what gear they’re in – plus it’s far easier to set up and maintain in the long-term. Feedback has actually been so good we’ve actually brought forward production – and we’re launching all the bikes sooner than we’d originally planned.

When will they be in bike shops?

The bikes were shown to the general public for the first time at The Cycle Show in London, and then they will be in bike shops from July onwards, just in time for school summer holidays and ready for the fun to begin. We can’t wait.

UK RRPs

Sidekick 20” = £630
Sidekick 18”/16” = £530
Sidekick Balance = £210