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Over the summer, we swapped our daughter from her very light (superb) Hellion 20 to a notably heavier Kona Process 24. Amber is 8 and 26 kg of mountain biking fury 🙂 :O In consideration of the enthusiasm with which she attacks trails, especially rocky technical stuff, a FS was the obvious choice to make her feel less beaten up. The Kona Process 24 is a pretty awesome bike, although I thought a bit heavy for my pretty small daughter. In consideration of how she rides, I also stuck on some Vee Flow Snap tyres, which are also a little on the robust side!
Anyway, she’s got lots of miles on it now and maybe worth sharing some thoughts. Was the FS worth the weight penalty? Absolutely for Amber, in her words, “this is the best bike ever, if I ever change it, I want this bike, but bigger”. She does notice the weight going up steeper stuff, but her sprinting speed is ridiculous for one so small! Going down, she’s now much more stable, relaxes a lot more on the bike and just lets it flow down the trail. She now boosts and hops roots “without trying” and I don’t feel as terrified that serious injury could be imminent as she rockets down rocky / rooty winter trails. Which is nice! The tyres were definitely a good punt too, as they work in pretty much all conditions. At some point I may get a lighter cassette and wheel set, but apart from a dropper in a few years (when she is big enough) there is pretty much nothing that isn’t working well for her. From a pedal perspective, she uses SDG slaters that I’ve added proper pedal pins to and five tens. Our time spent playing on the trails is golden time and this is another bike that was worth every penny! It’s even nicer that she actually makes me try harder to keep up on some trails now 🙂
Pic from today:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/pyWHuEA2KI3XxIrUlaoPNWikaBXLyU5ipEYZqHdOyED
Ours went FS around 12-13 years of age.
I found the suspension on cheaper bikes just didn't move much. Better tyres that were supple were a bigger 'win' in comfort and control terms.
Can I also ask gently - how is the fit of that full face helmet? It looks rather big, which can cause more issues than protection increase.
The front suspension on the Hellion worked really well and the same front and rear on the Process, it makes a huge difference, she couldn’t do the stuff she does without suspension!
The fit of the helmet is good and yes, I’ve thought long and hard about all the possible issues re size and levers. FS helmets have already saved her face on a number of occasions. She will wear a neck brace for uplift days.
👍
It's amazing how much FS has come on. We used to use old air forks like Sid, Mars and X-fly as anything that came with the bikes didn't move...
Yes, some of Ambers friends have suspension that just doesn’t work. We were lucky enough to still have a rigid 20 for a while when she had her Hellion and the comparison was stark! As she also runs relatively low tyre pressures, she has a lot of compliance, four hours of riding and she feels fresh as a daisy afterwards. 🙂
I found the same by age 6-7 weight isn't AS important.
We actually had 2x 24" one was very light XC HT and the other a heavy Norco.
When he started seriously racing DH he gave up XC (mainly due to being punished for missing a race and placed at the back of the grid)
He did a back to back on both bikes up Penydd and was maybe a minute slower over a 2000' climb (having already done it once) on the FS and next day we did the full Y Wal but he wasn't interested in riding the HT so we just ended up selling the HT.
I found the suspension on cheaper bikes just didn’t move much.
Rear susp was great.. front I rebuilt a SID damper and rebound with a light tune and stuck 2.5WT instead of 5WT and low friction seals.
Worked fine other than being limited to 100mm.
had this with my lad, moved late summer from a Cannondale Cujo 20, probably a little too soon but he handles his new Marin Rift Zone Jr really well. He is coming up 8 and the Cannondale was looking pretty small. The weight, I thought would be an issue but after changing the stock tyres for some Rocket Rons until he gets bigger made a difference on the more pedally rides. The confidence on a bigger, longer bike is well worth it in my eyes and he has plenty of growing to go. He is also managing to do some more technical climbs which has had me by surprise too. Cost, I thought I was being a bit mad with the money but so far it's been worth every penny, at least he's not into schoolboy MX!! or the 3 kids from the same family I saw the other day on Husky electric balance bikes...
Asked when he could have a full face helmet and goggles the other day so any suggestions would be welcome.