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My soon to be 9 year old has really started getting into biking and is loving the FoD. She currently has a Giant Arx (
GIANT-BICYCLES.COM which has been fine up to now. She has been playing on the pump tracks and wants to start learning to jump.
So, do we look for another 24" bike with front suspension and discs or do I look at changing her current front forks for something like a RST first or older 60/80mm air fork? Daughter loves her Arx as it is light and finds it really comfortable to ride
What's the go to 24" bike for shredding the trails?
You’ll get a lot of different answers to this and it depends on what your daughter is going to do, likes doing, how tall she is and how much money you want to spend.
My daughter had a FS Kona Process 24 up until 9, nearly 10, and now she’s on a Canyon Young Hero. Full suspension has definitely been perfect for us, she likes tech stuff, jumping and going quickly whatever the conditions. From a being slightly heavier perspective FS has most definitely not slowed her down, even on long road rides, although sometimes I wish it had :O 🙂
If you are just going for forks and a hardtail, Amber has had Manitou on all her bikes from 20” upwards and they’ve always been faultless and worked brilliantly!
Wait and go 26
Depending on weight most kids sus forks are pretty useless. You can always mullet a small bike though, and drop on a 26" wheel to help absorb bumps a bit
The RST F1rst air fork is good and works. Or see if you can find some older SIDS for 26" wheels, but still use the 24.
We did exactly as you said.
My boy's nine and on a 24" Forme hybrid bike, very similar to that giant. It's light, geared and been great for riding round.
We put a rst first air fork on the front for this summer, with a hydro disc brake and thicker tyres and wider bars, it's still got the canti on the back, but he's not heavy.
He was already giving things a go, but this has transformed his confidence jumping. He's jumping tables, trying some gaps, and basically trying anything.
The bikes not perfect , the front rose and slackened a fair bit, but it's great for him this summer and it's not for ever.
I've got a daughter 18 months older on 26, her bikes too big for him, his is too small for her. I know this won't be a bike for ages but it's making this summer brilliant for him
He does have a little 20" BMX which he uses for pump tracks and BMX tracks, but it's the sus forked bike he always wants for bike parks and mountain biking.
I did similar but found the RST first forks really hard to source. A complete 24” with a better build would be easier to find although a little more expensive.
lookout for a whyte 603 if you want about the smallest 26” hardtail you can get. Picked one up for my son earlier in the year.
Thanks all. I have found a RST fork for around £100 new Which would be a great starter, although would then need to source a new front wheel for disc brake.
@loum That sounds great and exactly what I want to do. Did you go for the 100mm fork?
I think it is but will check later. It was a cheap second hand auction buy so I didn't have much choice, but he loves it.
24 disc wheel was from Wiggles eBay outlet trisportsresort. They've started up again so could be worth a look for the next dump of clearance stuff
The first does have v-brake mounts, or at least the one I got hold of has.