Mate of mine at work has a 6 year old daughter & he's come to the (correct) deduction that most kids bikes are Heavy. Is there anything on the market that isn't, for her?
Also, a lass at work has a 9 year old son, what could she get him?
Giant Taffy for the girl- the rigid one is a very reasonable weight without being unable to handle a beating. They low top tube makes it easier for a kid to get on and off and it's got proper grown up bits on it, not some cheap tat from who knows where.
For the lass, the Giant MTX. Same bike, just for boys. They do 20 and 24" versions.
Ridgeback mx 24 not too bad
or Isla bikes if yer posh and got £££ to burn
I believe Isla bikes also do 2nd hand bikes where people have part exchanged for a larger model as their child grows. You need to contact them to see what they have.
Seconded the Isla bikes i have 2 a 24 inch and a 26 inch both rigid but the kids love them, lightweight and good spec,
Specialized Hotrocks hae done well with our kids. Most kids bikes - apart from Islabikes don't have a low enough 1st gear - I put a Shimano megarange cassette on which made a massive difference. The standard mech coped fine with this.
Specialized Hotrock for the smaller kit, Ridgeback MX24 for the larger.
That's what we got for our kids. The Hotrock is still quite hefty but a lot better than some of the other brands and it's very tough and quite capable off-road. The MX24 was a lot lighter than I'd expected, although the components used (e.g. BB) haven't proved as durable as those on the Hotrock.
When my son outgrew the Hotrock I built him a small framed 26" wheel bike instead of moving him to the MX24 as he does more off road riding than my daughter did.