Really don't know were to start on this subject. My son want's to ride more than xc, cyclocross and BMX. He is thirteen now and I don't want to stand in the way of how he want's to ride.
Money is an object, he'll have to work towards part of whatever we buy so for now no top end stuff.
He will want to be able to ride this bike, but I assume we are looking at something that can be jumped, dropped? and God knows what else.
Would we be looking at single crown bikes? or downhill jobs?
We'll take it from here.

Hardcore hardtail will be the cheapest option, what's the budget?

What is his idea/defintion of freeride and where does he intend/expect to find said type of riding?

Santa cruz Chamelion?

Lots of kids round my way are on proper trials bikes for messing around on the streets(freeride?)moved on from jump bikes and Spec Big Hits which were the favs for a while.

Friends Rocky Mountain Switch is for sale here;
http://www.ae7.co.uk/ ask for Steve.

Hardcore hardtail will be the cheapest option

have to agree,

seems the best way to get a bike that will do all sorts without breaking the bank.

I have just put this frame and forks up for sale.

The frame has a 21"tt so would be ideal for a 13 year old.

I'm only 5'4" anyway.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-%e2%80%93-db-alpine-split-frame-marzocchi-66sl%e2%80%99s-nc17-post-hope-clamp-%e2%80%93-photies

DMR bikes can be had for very cheap and so far my Trailstar LT has held up to a lot of abuse – I'm about 17 stone and not the smoothest of riders! It's quite a versatile bike as well, mostly used for jumping but I also do a bit of downhill on it and it did XC at the Long Mynd very well, just coulda done with putting a granny ring on!

Frame and FSA Pig headset cost £100 s/h. I think forks are whats gonna cost you the most though, Pikes are probably what you're after and cheapest you'll get those for is about £200 I think.

I wondered about hardtails, so are Ragleys and the like suitable for jumps, shore and drop offs?
Size wise I'm not sure he is 5'10" but light.

id be tempted to build up a 456 with adjustable forks and run that xc and harder stuff then when he stops growing he can buy his own 🙂

You'd probably pick up a Kona coiler quite cheap.

You'd probably pick up a Kona coiler quite cheap

Since Kona stopped making them and switched over to the CoilAir, late model Coilers seem to be holding their value quite well.

what the main functions of the three following; Long travel hardtail, Coilairs bloods etc and DH bikes.

quite tall for a 13 year old. i am in the same position but 2 years older than him, and i really want a long forked hardtail. exactly like chuckys really. Coilers are fairly cheap second hand on ebay, orange bloods are nowhere near as common and quite expensive. could pick up a bighit pretty cheap aswell if he want something more downhill orientated, but the older big hitts were 26 inch front wheel, 24 inch rear.

check this out – http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/7604/Norco_Six1_Bike_2006

brilliant bike for the money & will handle DH, big drops and jumps with ease. weighs about 35lbs. i use mine for xc stuff as well as uplift days and, well pretty much everything. top bike!

An lt hardtail would be pretty shit, fine for riding dead fast into rocks and bumps but thats more dh type stuff. Freeride is jumps, drops etc? In which case id use shorter forks, like 100 – 130mm.

Or if he's doing big drops and north shore type stuff then a full sus might be better like a big hit.

Alot of dh bikes these days have very slack and low geometry which aint ideal at all, so watch what you buy.

What sort of jumps you talking about? Does he want to pedal loads during his riding or just to get up to speed to launch himself?

did you think about asking him what riding he wants to do/try?
at 13 nearly all that he rides will depend on where you are located and where you (or his friends/their parents) are willing to take him.
..and lastly will this be his only bike or will he have an XC, cyclocross and BMX bike too?

personally I'd ignore most bikes recomended on here.

I wouldn't worry about it – you should have seen the bikes we jumped at 13!

Any old steel hardtail will do with some second hand bombers – cheap as chips.

i have a good friend wanting to get rid of a kone stinky for £500 if your intrested ?

I think what we need first is a bike that he can ride at everything. We both have traditional flat barred xc bikes and whilst I'm an old skool mincer he'll do endo turns round switchbacks and stuff, but both are bikes are quite limiting when it comes to drops, jumps and basically anything too pointy downwards.
Are Stifees still a bike to consider?

I'd think about his riding priorities…

i.e. What does he want to spend most of the time doing. for example:

1. Descending (aka DHing)
2. Riding uphill or long distances
3. Drops and trail based jumps
5. Doing DJs
6. Riding park
7. Etc etc etc

If his doesn't want to ride long distances or uphill then it'll change the bike completely, as with something to do Djs on and if he is after a Dh only bike then again this will change what he needs, basically buying something that is specialist in one area will limit what it can do in total.

Personally I'd look for an all round 2nd hand Hardtail. Something like a Soul, Stiffee, Chameleon etc…

I'd doubt it's your bikes that are holding either of you back 😛 , just get him a 40/50mm stem, decent bars (if he hasn't got em already) and a seat QR seatclamp, as he progresses replace anything he breaks with something more suitable.

Once upon a time we all raced DH on our XC bikes, What XC bike has he got anyway? (what size too?)

He'll want to ride up as well as down and be able to do all the normal xc stuff with bags of flair. And something that wont snap if he passes through the play area. I suppose something that will deal with the natural technical stuff.
What I have to remind myself of is that his not likely to pop over to the Alps or nip up to the big parks on his own.
The essentialthing is to get something that won't stiffle his progress.

His XC bike is a XT equiped Dirty jo semi creme (had to buy cheap as he was shooting up) size is 19"
He rides cross on my second frame which is only a 52.

I've got a medium Iron Horse 7point5 for sale. Bashguard and twin ring.

Build him a hardtail with an on-one 456 summer season frame – its £145 for the frame.
Slack angles for downs – and he's young and not on the beer, so fitness will get him up the hills

Dirty Joe's 19" semi sounds too big to be much fun! 😳

look for something with a 21-22" top tube and no bigger than a 17" seat-tube with a 400mm post he'll still be able to ride Xc on it.
if he likes jumping/pumping and carving turns avoid high BBs and long forks. if it's going as fast as possible in a straight line through stuff high BB and long forks will do.

Best advice I can give is to build him up a Cove Stiffee, the one bike that will do everything, however as the budget must be sensible I would go with the 456 summer season with an adjustable fork as the next best thing.

Must be great to have a problem like this with your teenage son!

FWIW, I was going to say a cheap Coiler too, or maybe a Patriot or SX Trail – but the hardtail suggestions are making more sense now.

18".
He maxes out my medium Giant XTC. We will go smaller with something more playfull.
A 456/Summer Season sounds good, the problem is the weight for his build at the moment.

I got my 11yr old a 2004 Marin Rift Zone but he prefers riding my Intense Tazer HT! I think a decent HT would be better. Take more abuse, easier to find and learn good skills on.

My wife weighs 59kg and is 5 foot nowt, she manages pretty well on her 456.Weight is not always a bad thing especially on a go anywhere bike.

HARDTAIL! WITHOUT A DOUBT

At 13, you need dont need the rear suss it just complicates matters and will only break.

I have a charge blender and its sweet as for riding everyting on, did welsh trail centres this weekend and was on the big line at chicksands a couple of weeks ago. my bet would be a hardtail frame, with a few gears on it, prob run single ring at the front. bomb proof wheels and coil forks. And make sure you avoid cable disks on the cheaper bikes they arent really worth the hassle.

@ 5.10 an 18in Pig with a saet of Pikes or windy up n down Revs

I am 6ft and a Pig is magic, cobled it together from my Kona Dawg and old Bonty bits

I'm 5'10" and my Trailstar fits me fine, just requires a longer seatpost for sitting down on. I have a 29" inside leg and like a shorter top tube so it fits nicely. Very confidence inspiring, feels great over jumps and on downhilly bits.

Definitely worth a go I'd say but I'm a bit of a DMR fanboy 😆