As above,

We are looking at buying my son a descent MTB. He enjoys riding with us and his bmx just doesnt cut the mustard. Been looking at spesh hotrock but not sure if he needs the 20 or 24″ wheeled version. He has a 22 inch inside leg and is exactly 4 ft tall and oif course, still growing.

I’m sure there must be some of you guys had the same/similar dilema. Would you care to share your knowledge or even sell me a bike??

Cheers in advance
Andy

I think it depends what riding he is likely to be doing. If its a bit tech then possibly 20″ (but it wont be for long)if its easy fireroads and stuff then you could get away with a 24″ (but its likely to be a bit big initially).

I’ll be getting my 7-yr old girl an Islabikes Beinn small come spring. She’ll be smaller than your lad so you may prefer the large version.

where are you?

I have a kona hula 24″ wheel that might do the trick that I need to relieve from my garage. I am in BL7.

My daughter is about to turn 8 and her large Isla Beinn looks small now. This summer will be a case of limbo-land between that and a bigger bike I suspect.

+1 for Islabikes. My 7 yr old boys can handle 10 mile xc rides as the bikes are so light weight and twist gears easy to use. Gave them much more confidence on the singletrack too.

I’d say he is a little too short for a 24″ at 4 foot/120cm and needs to be north of 130cm.
Kona, trek, Giant, Cube, Dawes, Ridgeback et al make a Hotrock rival

Another vote for islabikes here great quality and easy to sell once kid has grown out of it. Last one I sold only cost us about £15 a year. Which for a quality bike is pretty good value I reckon.

The Hotrock’s a good bike, the size question depends on your appetite for bike changes – the reality is that if he’s between sizes he’ll be better off on the small one for now, expecially if he’s doing “proper mountain biking” on it, but then you have the expense and frustration of replacing it with something bigger before too long. Alternative is, he has a bike a bit too big for now and might struggle more and not be as enthused by mountain biking as much if he can’t chuck it around in the woods as easy. The Isla route at least seems to guarantee a good return on either a trade-in or second hand value in that case though.

I just bought my 6 year old boy the Orbea MX24 Team
He just about manages the 24 and he 4ft 3″
Chose the Orbea for the rapid fire gear changer as opposed to Islabikes twist grip also the 10 x 1 gears.
The weight of the orbea mx24 team is comparible to Islabikes
But also my lad much preferred the look of the Orbea over the Islabikes.
That said he also liked the Cube kid 240 race which is £100 cheaper than both Islabikes and orbea though it it 3kg heavier.
If he can stretch to a 24 I would get it rather than the 20″

I forgot to mention in my reply that my 7 year old is around 132cm tall. On this basis a decent sized 29″ wheeled bike may be better for your lad.

Carrera blast – great value

Just got my lad a Saracen Rufftrax for his 7th birthday this coming Friday. 20″ wheel but he should be a bit more stable on that….hopefully

bmx

My wee guy is 5 in 2 months and he is on a 20″ Hotrock but he is tall for his age. A 20″ might not last a 7 year old very long.

the reality is that if he’s between sizes he’ll be better off on the small one for now, especially if he’s doing “proper mountain biking” on it, but then you have the expense and frustration of replacing it with something bigger before too long. Alternative is, he has a bike a bit too big for now and might struggle more and not be as enthused by mountain biking as much if he can’t chuck it around in the woods as easy.

This sums it up really, my son was riding a 20″ when he was seven (about the same height). He was still riding at 8/9 and could have ridden it for a bit longer but the components started falling to bits. When he moved to 24″ he was unable to do a lot of the things he could do on the 20″(wheelie, manual, jump etc.) It was just a bit big and it pissed him off, luckily he had a bmx to keep him interested. If your son likes messing around in the woods, riding gravity stuff and getting air, a 20″ would be much better.

This sums it up really, my son was riding a 20″ when he was seven (about the same height). He was still riding at 8/9 and could have ridden it for a bit longer but the components started falling to bits. When he moved to 24″ he was unable to do a lot of the things he could do on the 20″(wheelie, manual, jump etc.) It was just a bit big and it pissed him off, luckily he had a bmx to keep him interested. If your son likes messing around in the woods, riding gravity stuff and getting air, a 20″ would be much better.

That’s a fair point, ok to go bigger if your not doing anything particularly awkward. We tend to do mainly flat trail riding with the odd tight turn here and there so the bigger bike is turning out to be ok. I suspect had we been doing more faster down hill bumpy stuff maybe the smaller 20″ would have been more managable.
We went to 2 different bike shops and had 2 different answers, one said get him the 20″ the other said get the 24″
It comes down to your lads ability and where your likely to be going I suppose.

I have a really excellent condition Felt Q24 that my son has grown out of. Good for 7-11 years I suspect in black and blue. £100 plus post. Email if interested in pics etc :0)

yoeddygrant@hotmail.co.uk

Looking for a review of the Orbea MX24 if scrambledeg happens to see this and would be so kind. I would PM but cannae seem to get it to work!
Really tempted to get one but no-one in Scotland seems to stock them and LBS which does Orbea didn’t seem interested in helping. So is it as good in reality as it looks on paper/screen?

Cheers.

They didn’t have the Islebikes when my son was younger, so 24″ Trek MT220.

Gary fisher pre-caliber 24, light, good geom, long top tube, my boy just about got away with it until 9, now on a trek 4300 13″.

Bought my six and a half year old a 20″ Hotrock for Christmas and it’s just on the large side. Very pleased with it and he loves it. Gets the thumbs up from me.

Specialized Hotrock is a great bike. Well built and light. I have one for both my girls.

Would a small hot rock be small enough for a 9yr old girl?

Looking for a review of the Orbea MX24 if scrambledeg happens to see this and would be so kind. I would PM but cannae seem to get it to work!
Really tempted to get one but no-one in Scotland seems to stock them and LBS which does Orbea didn’t seem interested in helping. So is it as good in reality as it looks on paper/screen?

My 8 year old has a MX24 Team which he got last Spring. It’s a cracking bike – it’s light, it has a fairly long top tube so plenty of growing room and he flies on it. It’s light weight and wide range Deore 10 speed gearing (11-36 SLX cassette) mean he can get up most hills.

It’s like a quality rigid adult bike rather than a kids bike. The only slightly low rent component is the brake levers which feel a bit cheap but everything else is great – eg. Deore 10 speed, decent light weight wheels, dual compound Small Block 8’s, cnc machined bash ring.