With christmas fast approaching (ugh) started thinking about getting the lad his first half decent MTB now he’s just about grown out of his 20″ Carrera. Haven’t got a huge budget, looking to spend in the £250-£300 range but don’t mind going second hand if it means he’ll get a better spec.

Criteria is just a decent hardtail that doesn’t weigh a ton and has disc brakes or is disc brake compatible. Obviously the Isla Bikes Creig 24 looks ideal, but at £699 new and with none to be found second hand it’s a bit out of budget.

Had a quick look at all the offerings from Cube, Trek, Specialized etc but can’t find anything that matches the 24″ Carrera Blast from Halfords for the money.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/kids-bikes/carrera-blast-boys-mountain-bike-2014-24#tab3

At £230 it seems to be a hundred quid cheaper than the similar offerings from other brands, and I’d still be getting something with rim brakes even then.

So any suggestions for other bikes I should be looking for or anything I might have missed? Any reason I shouldn’t go for the Carrera and save a wedge of cash? (Obviously will be getting it in a box and building it myself, goes without saying.)

Give him a gift that’ll blow his socks off

On-One ‘Fun Fatty’ 24″ Wheeled Fat Bike

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOBBYFAT/on-one-fun-fatty-fat-bike

Second hand is a good bet. Got a blast for £70 from eBay last year.

The Specialized Hotrock 24 is £270 and the lighter, better, Hotrock XC 24 is £300 so they’re both within your budget, are better made, probably a lot lighter and will likely hold their value more than the Carrera. Your local Specialized dealer is also likely to employ better mechanics, care about the build and PDI of the bike and might even invite you to drop it back after 6 weeks for a free check over.

Looking at that Carerra, the triple, discs and fork are really going to make it heavy. Does he really need disc brakes ? Kids are light and rim brakes are a lot less weight. Similarly cheap forks are very heavy.

I just got a Scott Scale JR24 for my eldest son who is just turning 8, second hand, not particularly cheap, but well worth it.

I’m amazed at what he can cycle up, as well as the distance he can cover. I think weight is the key issue here, and had I’d been in the UK then the Hoy 24″ model with rigid forks would have been interesting to look at too.

Our two girls both progressed through 24″Specialized Hotrocks, Abigales even did her first trip to Bike Verbier 10 years ago on one. They may cost a bit more but when you take into account there resale value they are well worth the extra cost

Lots of Blasts on ebay, a bit heavier than the posher brands but hold value when you sell them on. Also a bit if scope for pimping it up when they get to a 24″ bike

Saw a very nice Focus kids bike in an LBS the other day – might be worth a look, sure it was below £300

Similarly cheap forks are very heavy

actually the forks on the carrera are not that much heavier than the RST first AIR I replaced them with.

The carrera isn’t a bad bike for the money if a bit heavy. You can take one of the springs out to make the fork compress a bit more but the shifters are god awful so budget to replace them.

If your kid shows a lot of interest in going off road etc then you can mod it into a lighter more functioning bike. I’ve modded lewis over about 18 months and it now weights around 22lb.

Oooooh, I know this one! GT Bump 24 😛 Actually marketed as a 24″ DJ/4X bike but it is very short (20.5″ toptube) so really only suitable for us tiny folk. I’ve replaced the cable disc brakes on mine with SLX jobbies and am running it singlespeed. Forks are pretty basic but removing one of the dual springs and trimming the elastomer which sits inside the remaining spring has me getting all of its whopping 80mm of travel . . . but that’s not the point . . . this thing is waaaay too much fun for little people 😛

Wow cheers for the replies everyone, given me a few more options to look at. I’ve only just managed to convince him that actually, bikes with full suspension at his age aren’t as good as a lighter hardtail despite what kids at school might think, so the disc brakes are the only thing still selling it!

Plus I’ve got eventual plans to fit some bargain Shimano hydraulic disc brakes I got in the CRC PSA that aren’t doing anything, and go to a 1×7/8 setup on it with a topguide and ditch the Gripshift. 2nd hand Carrera Blast looks to be a good shout, will check out the Scott range as well looks like they do a 24″ Voltage junior that could be the ticket.

Another modded Blast here for daughter number 1. Picked up in eBay for 70 quid. Lighter, shorter Spank bars and Stem added, Deore shifters and mechs, Avid BB5’s (to replace the dire Clark’s jobs) and decent tyres. Bargain, and she loves it! 😀

That is a really nice bike Poah!!!

Poah, as a direct consequence of seeing your pics, I’ve just ordered a pair of rocket Rons in 24″ for my lads bike. I’d been meaning to get something with decent off road capability, but couldn’t find much from the usual uk on line shops. Quick google got me to bike discount-.de, they’re on their way, and I thought pretty good value at £36 for the pair. Nice bike!

My lads got a Hotrock24, but according to him that green Carrera up there^^^ is a better ride.
Best advice, lose the heavy fork & stick an Exotic alloy on there, with a nice big tyre.

Tom – they’ve got quite a selection of 24″ tyres. I got some kenda Small block 8’s in 24″ from there. 25 quid for the pair. And great for those 2 dry days in the summer.got some Intense mud tyres for the rest of the year.

Another second hand Blast (£90) updated to 1 x 10 here. Updated brakes (XT), cranks and wheels. Part on the reason was to do all spannering with my son, so he could learn a bit about bikes at the same time.

poah where did you get the fork from [ and cost] as this is the limiting factor on 24 ” bikes

Only seeing 26 er via google

I don’t see rim brakes as a massive problem. My eldest has a hot rock 24 and it appears to use grown up kit – the v brakes are very effective. It does have dis mounts if you get the urge. It also appears to be a v small (13″) 26er frame so it might get upgraded as a junior faux 29er once his legs are a bit longer.. Just needs a fork and wheel swap.

Junkyard – lazarus

poah where did you get the fork from [ and cost] as this is the limiting factor on 24 ” bikes

Only seeing 26 er via google

http://wp.me/p4HYH0-b

ta

I have a 24″ kona Hula you can have – say £70.

Stock apart from conti vertical tyres.
Front forks are crap & it has a few scuffs.

I’m based near Bolton.

There are a few Trek MT220’s on ebay.

My son had one when he moved from 20″.

Cracking little bike and fully adjustable too.

I’m not sure if you are still looking for a bike but I have a Carrera Blast that has barely been used, it still has the rubber tags on the tyres, no chips / rust etc!
If you are interested email me on barham904@gmail.com and I’ll send you some pictures.

I’m after a new bike for my lad, he’s 8 but at 146cm is a bit big for the 24″ offerings knocking about. Any “inbetween” bikes knocking about?