Iconic kids bikes from the 1990s

[Arran]

Re: Iconic kids bikes from the 1990s

Townsend Mean Green Machine Formula from the Littlewoods Autumn Winter 1990 / 1991 catalogue. It looks remarkably similar to the Team Playway Mega Force One.

[Arran]

Raleigh Dirt Cross.





A hybrid of a BMX and a mountain bike, with 20 inch wheels and 5 speed Shimano gears, that was sold during the late 1990s. The bike appears to be fitted with suspension forks but they were imitation, and purely a cosmetic feature, despite Raleigh manufacturing kids bikes with functional suspension forks at the time. The frame size was smaller than that of a BMX and designed to accommodate a 6 to 10 year old.

The Dirt Cross was subjected to a prominent marketing campaign by Raleigh, and it was the first kids bike (in Britain) to be advertised using a multimedia application with video clips on interactive public information kiosks located in shopping centres. It was also advertised on TV with a commercial featuring the Nottingham Forest striker Stuart Pearce.

https://youtu.be/VnzjuqcFkt0

Despite all the marketing hype by Raleigh, the bike did not appear to be very popular with kids so sales were quite poor. The reason was that there was no clear market for the Dirt Cross. It was neither a BMX nor a mountain bike, so it was not as good as either of these bikes in the situations that they are optimised for. Raleigh appeared to have come up with a solution without a problem, with little consideration of how kids are actually supposed to use the bike and whether sufficient consumer demand for such a bike exists or not.

[Arran]

Ninja Kokoro.

This was my first bike when I was 5 years old. There seems to be no information about it or the manufacturer anywhere. It appears to be from the early 1990s but it wasn't new when I had it.

It was a very agile and comfortable bike. I could ride it effortlessly for miles.

Kokoro is Japanese word that is often translated as “heart” or “spirit”, but what it really connotes is a person's inner world of mental, emotional and spiritual states.

This is the only picture I can find of the bike that doesn't include me.

[Arran]

Ninja Yama

An unusual feature of this bike is that it had 12 speed gears whereas 5 or 6 speed gears were the norm on bikes with 20 inch wheels.

Yama is Japanese for mountain.

I have been trying to find information about Ninja bikes without any success. Were they a manufacturer or a store’s own brand? All I can say is that they are rare because I have only ever seen two in real life – my own Kokoro and a classmate at primary school owned a Yama.

This is the only picture I can find of the bike.


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