- This topic has 21 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 4 years ago by LLOYDSTEVENS.
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24” kids MTB recommendations
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v8ninetyFull MemberPosted 4 years ago
Anyone got any? Littlest needs a new bike for the imminent Wales holiday and I’m struggling to find one that ticks all the boxes except his older brothers bike.
Boxes that need ticking;
Budget around 350-400 quid
Not a voodoo bakka (bro’s bike; excellent but want different)
Suspension fork (I know, but he really wants one)
Discs
Thumb shifters (why do they always spec twisters on kids bikes 🙄)
Not green
Ideally 1x gearing but not essentialI can change twist shifters to thumbies at a push but I’d rather not as it’s wasteful and costs more.
Cheers!
barrykellettFree MemberPosted 4 years agoDiscs and suspension are pointless whether he wants them or not.
Hoy Bonaly 24″
Great Geometry and light. Goes uphill and downhill better than anything else for the money and for a lot of bikes costing more money.anonoFull MemberPosted 4 years agoMight be a bit above budget, but this
ticks all the boxes.
Use 10OFF to get 10% discount – and there’s also the 2018 model available for £480.
Anonojnr has had one for a couple of years and loves it – not the lightest bike ever, but very capable.
There are others in the range that are a bit cheaper, but you lose the suspension fork.
DaveVanderspekFree MemberPosted 4 years agoMy son has a Cannondale trail 24.
Discs well worth it after you’ve been through the bogs/mud/wet grass followed by a hairy descent.v8ninetyFull MemberPosted 4 years agoDiscs and suspension are pointless whether he wants them or not.
Agree with you re suspension. Disagree with you re discs. Worth it for the minimal maintenance compared to rim brakes, before you even take into account the better performance.
Both are irrelevant though, it’s going to be his bike and he should get a say. I get to pick what OOT, unnecessary tech goes on my bike, why shouldn’t he?
paladinFull MemberPosted 4 years ago+1 for hoy bonaly, although it doesn’t have discs or suspension.
I put a RST F1rst air fork on my lads, nice fork, not very heavy.(I must get around to advertising the fork for sale)
garage-dwellerFull MemberPosted 4 years agoHi. Are you me a month ago?
Eldest has a Bakaa
Youngest doesn’t want big brother’s bikeWe went for a Vitus from CRC at £400. I got the last one in stock a few weeks back but if back in stock it is the best thing I found at that price point with discs and suspension that beats the Bakaa (a bike I’ve recommended loads of times).
Ours is a kind of dark olive green.
It even came with a multi tool and mini pedal spanner.
I also looked at the Ghost Kato 2.4 at the same price point from CRC. Available in not green.
listerFull MemberPosted 4 years agoAir forks work well for small folk. My daughter has a Suntour something-or-other on her Orbea and it’s great.
Depends where you’re riding but her speed and confidence are way up since she got the forks.
Look at the Orbea MX range, great little bikes.
daviekFull MemberPosted 4 years agoDaughter has an Orbea MX trail i think it is and its a cracking bike.
v8ninetyFull MemberPosted 4 years agoSounds like I might be, garage dweller! (I often dwell in a garage too). Thanks all. That Vitus looks spot on, but you had the last one, ya sod! 😉 I’ve put an email back in stock alert request in.
reggiegasketFree MemberPosted 4 years agosuspension is worth it but you need a RST F1rst Air fork, which is a great fork. Plush and tunable.
My youngest has a Cube 240SL with the upgraded RST fork. Great little bike. Not sure if they still do it though, as it’s a few years old now.
barrykellettFree MemberPosted 4 years agov8ninety
Subscriber
Discs and suspension are pointless whether he wants them or not.Agree with you re suspension. Disagree with you re discs. Worth it for the minimal maintenance compared to rim brakes, before you even take into account the better performance.
Both are irrelevant though, it’s going to be his bike and he should get a say. I get to pick what OOT, unnecessary tech goes on my bike, why shouldn’t he?
Yea, ok. Neither are pointless. But good 24″ suspension isn’t cheap and not really in the budget?
Discs are great, but in reality so are decent V-Brakes. I suppose it comes down to how much use it gets. I know my youngster is coming up to 9 years old and already outgrowing her HOY. She would have a good 12 months at most left on it. She doesn’t do rides more than an hour. She rides some decently technical and steep trails. Maybe she just doesn’t have the gung-ho fearlessness of a wee mad boy of the same age but she has coped admirably on the rigid fork and rim brakes.We do have a self build project in progress though with fancy suspension, tubeless, disc brakes and potentially even a carbon seat post… 650b though.
Your lad sounds like he knows his (dads) gear. Mine doesn’t want what she doesnt know much about.
ANYHOW
Would this not fit him? Its only 2″ per wheel!thegeneralistFree MemberPosted 4 years agoDiscs and suspension are pointless
What utter garbage. Really.
The ideal solution is a second hand islabike creig 24″ for £450 quid. Ticks all your boxes apart from the green stipulation, which is properly pointless (IMHO)
v8ninetyFull MemberPosted 4 years agoWould this not fit him? Its only 2″ per wheel!
Can’t see the link, sorry. But if it’s 26” then nope, 24” will be a stretch. He’s eight. Re his wish list, is mainly based on what his older siblings have got, mainly the voodoo bakka, but also his sister’s Ghost powerkid 24 which was got at a really good price for the spec, probably because the market for a highish spec ‘girl specific’ bike is even smaller than the market for a highish spec kids bike, sadly.
thegeneralistFree MemberPosted 4 years agoTotally flummoxed at the notion of letting an eight year old choose their own bike 🙂
Fair enough, if the model you had chosen came in different colours or you had narrowed it down to a couple of options…. but beyond that
“Here’s your new bike kid, hope you like it. Let me know when it’s too small and I’ll get you another”
Actually. Scratch that. I’ll decide when it’s too small.
v8ninetyFull MemberPosted 4 years agoTotally flummoxed at the notion of letting an eight year old choose their own bike 🙂
Haha! It’s not that daft. Discs is my choice, as the person in charge of maintenance, and I’d feel a bit churlish saying “I know you’ve told me specifically that you’d like suspension forks like your brother and sister, but actually the sort of forks available will give you little or no appreciable competitive edge so bad luck son”. And the rest of the requirements are reasonable, surely? Just a pity that Vitus isn’t in stock; it ticks all the boxes.
jameswilliams54Free MemberPosted 4 years agoMy lad is currently on a Orbea MX 20″, I was certain that I’d just by the same 24″ trail version this year, but as noted by garage-dweller the Vitus nucleus 24″ from chain reaction has the same spec but is £150 cheaper.
It sells out within a couple of days of new stock so once I get an stock email supply I’m getting one for sure.
Plus a few upgrades!steve_b77Free MemberPosted 4 years agoDiscs and suspension are pointless whether he wants them or not
That may well be true (in your mind), but the most important thing after getting a bike that fits nicely, is getting one the nipper wants to ride, deviate from what they want and you might as well burn the money.
And let’s be honest, rim brakes look $h!t and aren’t like dads.
I got my lad a Saracen Mantra 24, and to be honest its ace, it’s got hydraulic discs, a proper suntour kids air fork, 1×9 and decent wheels and he fair rags it everywhere when he rides.
If the OP’s little ‘un is riding techy single track the proper air fork like on the Saracen will stop them getting pinged off every rock & root, trust me they really do.
Also colour is very important, we had a perfectly good Frog 20″ wheeled road / CX bike that the eldest was riding, Team Sky edition. The middle one was going to have it, but he didn’t like the colour and refused to ride it, so we sold it, bought the same in black & green and he rides & races it everywhere. Again, get what they want as they wont ride it otherwise.
thegeneralistFree MemberPosted 4 years agoAgain, get what they want as they wont ride it otherwise.
Sorry, don’t agree. You seriously sold a perfectly good bike then bought the same bike but in the colour your kid demanded to have?
Crikey.that sounds ominous. Good luck
v8ninetyFull MemberPosted 4 years agoI think that this discussion has veered away from bike recommendations and into the realms of a supernanny style conversation about parenting techniques! I appreciate that everyone’s different, but I’m happy to let my kids have a bit of a say about what they want from a bike, so long as it’s not ridiculous (to the point of being impractical) or prohibitively expensive. After all, it’s meant to be fun, so the more they are invested in the process the more they, and vicariously I, will enjoy it. I can’t stand spokeydokeys for example, but they aren’t my bikes! 😂😂😂
Good news is I’ve been offered a good condition second hand bike that fulfils ALL of my criteria for a reasonable price as a direct result of this thread, so STW FTW yet again. Cheers all 👍🏼👍🏼
garage-dwellerFull MemberPosted 4 years agoI appreciate that everyone’s different, but I’m happy to let my kids have a bit of a say about what they want from a bike, so long as it’s not ridiculous (to the point of being impractical) or prohibitively expensive. After all, it’s meant to be fun, so the more they are invested in the process the more they, and vicariously I, will enjoy it.
This. I give mine options and information then encourage them to think about what’s important to them. They choose the one they like based on that and learn about compromise and making choices. They are then invested in the decision and the bike. My two love riding their bikes and their engagement in the buying and maintaining bits of bike ownership is part of that. I won’t spend what we can’t afford or something unreasonable.
LLOYDSTEVENSFree MemberPosted 4 years agoAnother thumbs up for the Cannondale 24″ range. I’ve got two girls and find that they go better on a lighter setup without suspension. As soon as the trail goes up the lighter the better. Qwerty Cycles Have the 2020 Range of Kids bikes https://qwertycycles.co.uk/collections/kids-bikes Cujo 24″ is great if you want something more rugged, and the Quick 24″ are on par with IslaBikes.
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