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Not long back from taking my 8 year old to Glentress for the first time. He has a mongoose BMX and coped well with the Green , Berm Baby Berm (3 x ), Blue Velvet twice then all the way down to the bottom car park. Only one little off and a skint arm but he loved It big time.
My question is what little mountain bike to get him ?. its going to have to be something possibly second hand as he has only had his BMX for over a month .
Specialised Hot rocks look good as do the little ridgebacks . Any Ideas as a BMX Is not ideal for climbing even the littlest hill all though he gave It a good go.
You need him to sit on them - the differences in geometry are amazing. Our wee specialzed Hotrock 20 is poor - long, high BB, steep seat. The Scott Scale JR 20 on the other hand is ace -shorter, more upright, lower bb, better gearing etc.
Been faffing with a new 24" need and it is the same story.
The Scott
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Big fans of second hand Ridgebacks here - BabyMCTD has a little pink Melody, till she grows into her older brothers old MX16, and MrsMCTD has an MX24 as she is only diddy - all second hand off here or ebay.
[Stock STW Response] Islabikes are very good...designed with small people in mind [/Stock STW Response]
My 7 year old is on a 13" frame 24" specialised rockhopper, that I paid the grand sum of £25 for off here.
There are plenty of brands which do 24" wheel bikes, see what's on your local gumtree. Ridgebacks are excellent though.
Thanks for the Ideas the Scott looks good but noticed that most places that hire kids bikes normally have Ridgebacks so will have a look around. Kind of wish I had bought him a mtb for his birthday rather than a BMX. That said In the Edinburgh area we have a great skatepark , two new indoor facilities and a outdoor track getting refurbed.
My kids are all on 24" wheels. We have a steel framed Spesh Hotrock (v heavy), Trek MT220 (faffy adjustable stem and poor shifters) and Scott Voltage Jr. I'd go for the Scott every time as it's just a great little bike. Seat goes high enough for good pedalling, but very slopy top tube and long seatpost means it can be dropped for jumpy fun.
Try the Bike Station on Causewayside, we got a good little raleigh from there for £30. It can be a bit hit or miss but all the bikes are priced depending on size rather quality so you can get yourself a good bargain. They used to sell on Fridays and Saturdays, not sure what the deal is now, but if it's the same it's worth getting there early.
Geoff thats look like a fine wee bike , Steven Ive got Ryans old bike to drop Into the bikestation so will have a look. Rigid forks would be fine as Blue routes and such like dont need a suspension fork but for him to have gears would be great. I'll do some digging.
On another note great to see Glentress busy with loads of kids enjoying the trails
On another note great to see Glentress busy with loads of kids enjoying the trails
I took the family down today. The Buzzards Nest car park was very busy - pity they can't put some decent loos and a snack van up there.
Your right Geoff Im surprised the FC haven't thought of tendering out a pitch at the Buzzards. There are so many people who park up there and dont the ride the bottom half (Or at least someone draws the short straw and drives back down).
Daughter has a Cube 240. She loves it to bits. Quite light for a kids bike and proper mtb geometry
Recently picked up a Ridgeback MX20 for my lad.
It's heavy, chunky and not a patch on his Islabike Beinn 20 (poor brake levers and inferior braking, dinner-plate 44T chainring) but otherwise he likes it. I'll splash out on an Beinn 24 when he's big enough, it's worth the money.
between a Scott Scale JR 20, Hotrock 20 and Islabike Beinn 20 for my lad.
Scott looking favourite....
I got a bit OCD about this for my 6 yr old earlier this year and decided this was best value vs spec
http://www.mailorderbikes.com/m6b2s285p3621/DIAMONDBACK_Octane_20inch/RS_GB
Pretty much same spec as specialized but £70 cheaper. Needed a washer in between drop outs and cassette but running sweet since he got it.
Paul, are you looking at new bikes or S/H?
def. 24" wheel for him.
for new, Ridgeback MX24s are alright, 24" Scotts are v.nice, hotrocks nice and Carrera's are a bit of a bargain.
S/H you'll get a 24" hotrock for around £100 (but they don't come round all that often) Gumtree/here they're fairly often on Ebay but go for over the odds there IMO.
not really a fan of Islabikes - they are very good and pretyy light but also very XC race inspired and lack of suspension fork will make it harsh if you intend on taking him further afield from the blues around the freeride/buzzards nest. (even the Blue is pretty rough in places - feels worse on smaller wheels)
had an ace day down there today doing the green and all the blues around the freeride with Sophie on the new kiddy seat with a mate who borrowed my trailer for his wee one.