Can anyone recommend a good place to start for a downhill bike for a ten / eleven year old. A friend has asked me to help them find one second hand but I really don’t know much about downhill bikes at all. Any help would be much appreciated.

Pinkbike.

What should I be looking for. any brands or models?

Surely a Kona Stinky 24 is the best option if the 26″ wheels are a bit big? Seen quite a few for sale on ebay over the years. Will probably hold value well too.

I think at 10/11 any bike in good order would do? As long as it’s solid and safe. Unless this 10/11 year old in question is like Seth Sherlock then maybe something of a higher spec would be in order..? 🙂

commencal supreme 24?

Kona stinky 24, Norco B line, Commencal supreme 24, Spesh Big hit grom or YT industries First Play.

The YT is probably the best off the shelf but, would be difficult to find. Then the Commencal but, pretty expensive. All the others need better (air) suspension to be any good.

There is also the lil shredder phenom but, that’s mega bucks.

If the kid is tall, a small adult bike with 24in wheels might be worth considering as it would give more room for growth before having to change again.

Cheers everyone. Plenty to think about there.

Start them off on a Hardtail to learn the basics

Edit: Riley Jenners 24″ wheel DH HT is for sale, not sure how much it is but search BTR abrications on Facebook. I saw it posted on there a couple of days ago. Here some pics of Riley on the bike:
https://www.rootsandrain.com/rider15946/riley-jenner/photos/?p=1

Or go crazy like the parents of one of my tutees…..

13 years old and they just bought him a brand new Santa Cruz V10 🙄

Not only is it far too big for him, but as far as I know he only rides at trail centres.

One of these would make a lot of sense: http://www.btr-fabrications.com/products/ripper/

Start them off on a Hardtail to learn the basics

Good idea. Loads of little 20/24″ jump bikes around, easily up to DH use

You see a lot of Serious Racer Kids doing mini-dhs etc on very small trailbikes rather than full dh bikes, makes a lot of sense since they’re generally smaller and less strong so trying to maneuvre a big bike is hard, and they need the capability much less.

Budget?

Bottom end – an old hardtail (with a single ring/chain device).

Middle – Either a good hardtail with ultra-light components, or a bouncy bike in small size (Demo, Orange 223/224, etc)

Top end – buy a small off-the-shelf DH bike – Saracen Myst; YT Industries; Orange Alpine…

Would the Orange dh bikes work for a little ‘un? I’m 5’10 and (IMO) a good fit on the 15.5, not a small bike.

I found my 222 far too small (15″) and I’m the same height. Just acquired a 17″ 224 frame to replace it.

Hmm. I rode a 17 224 (unEvo) and it felt huge. Ah well, in that case maybe it’s just me- carry on!

Unless he is only going to ride short little tracks, then a HT is a pretty crap option IME. Its one of those stock STW clichés about learning skills, but in real life kids ride DH better, faster and longer on an FS.

If going the adult bike route, deffo something lighter than a proper DH bike. The 24in DH bikes only have 120mm or so travel so anything more (without being too heavy) would be a bonus.

Just my tuppence……

Built my lad a DMR Trailstar 2 years ago as a do anything bike.(£300 all in).

First it was single speed, but this was too much so put a double and bash on with gears, so no issues peddling, brakes are simple discs and a short travel 100mm air fork. Decent bars and stem and thats about it.
He rides trail centres, BMX park, canal paths everything in fact and I think its a brilliant little bike for a youngster as it is bombproof really. I can add a ISCG chain device, fit bigger brakes or a longer fork (Pike) but I’m not sure how a downhill bike would improve his enjoyment unless he decides he really is going to do proper downhills or uplift days?

I’d of thought bike weight might be an issue on a full suss,a customer brought in a stinky 24 last week that he had bought for his 10 year old. It weighed 36lbs and he was struggling to get it moving.

My lad weighed about 40 kg, when they are this light can they really get a long travel fork/shock to work properly on a downhill bike?

BTR offer some great options but big money.

Richard

Didn’t Orange make a really small Patriot, 222/223 or something years ago? I’m sure I’ve seen quite a few small kids riding over the past few years. There’s also the Specialized Big Hit ripper (mega rare though), Commencal Supreme 24, Norco B Line and Kona Stinky 24. Out in the Alps these are all really common, but not that popular over here.

Saying that, at 10 I was riding a full sized adult bike (admittedly it was a Hardtail (being 1989) and that fitted me.

Also consider getting a small trail/enduro/AM bike cheap and “pimping it up” for him with offset bushing, new components, etc. Smaller people often are held back by heavier DH bikes and don’t really need all the extra travel a lot of the time.

My lad’s just turned 12 and rides a Trek Session 8 in small frame.
Loads of stand over clearance and easily short enough.
He’s about 5’2″.
You could look for a small Hecker frame and maybe 24 inch wheels.
Saw a young girl in Leogang on one, looked a good setup. She was a bit smaller than my son, maybe about 10 or 11.

My lad’s just turned 12 and rides a Trek Session 8 in small frame.

Does the std suspension work for him or have you had to replace with air?

In my limited experience of seeing young riders on our local DH trails I’d say get something more XC oriented and modify it accordingly.

Unless he’s very big for his age and heavy then 200mm dual crown forks are going to stick the front end quite high whereas a set of air Sektors or similar will keep the bars at a more manageble height. 140mm odd of air travel at the back should be fine too.

Air fork and shock will help the suspension work better for a lighter rider.

Then focus on some decent brakes and tyres. Even the wheels may not need to be full on DH.

Unless he’s a downhill prodigy in the making then super slack head angles and 150mm bol through back ends aren’t goign to matter a stuff to him. The bike will be lighter and therefore easier to ride and it’ll help him master things by riding properly rather than relying of full skill compensation like us 30 something + riders do.

I’ve seen a few young riders start this way and as they reach mid-teens they progress onto more conventional downhill bikes.

We have a norco b line 24, heavily upgraded and now a nice bike:

We also had a kona stinky 24, built from frame only, turned out lighter than the norco, but is smaller. Now sold sadly.

Some German brands also do kids freeride bikes, not cheap though.

Or just get a 26″ frame and put smaller wheels on it if needed.

I vote for a dirt jump type bike as well.

I put a soft spring in the Boxxers which set the front sag perfectly and a 350 on the rear, which again got the sag spot on.
We mainly ride Leogang and the speed difference from his 4 inch travel Kona Howler setup was massive. So much more confidence because his feet aren’t getting thrown off by braking bumps.
It weighs in around 38 pounds I think.

For more XC type stuff at home (Delamere/Llandegla) he has the Howler built to around 31 pounds with lock suspension etc.

I put a soft spring in the Boxxers which set the front sag perfectly and a 350 on the rear, which again got the sag spot on.

How much does he weigh? I was checking spring weights for my my son and they came in about 150

He’s about 8 stone I think, “big boned”. 🙂

A hardtail. My brother raced youth/junior nationally and hovered in the top 10. He was on a hardtail at that age and moved to a 6 inch freeride/downhill bike at 12.

It will make him a better rider.