So my 10yo is looking a bit cramped on his 24″ so I just bit the bullet on a Brand-X HT-01 frame to build up over the summer.

Considering his first air fork, so far he’s had awesome Exotic carbon forks. So what’s light/reasonable/good for kids? He’s quite slim so I suspect a standard adult fork with a little air won’t work as well as it should, although I’m sure plenty of people will recommend a 8 year old SID fork. Good luck finding one of those for cheap and in good condition… The RST F1rst gets used on quality kid builds alot, and I think I’ve seen a Spinner fork too.

Any suggestions?

27.5 with a tapered steerer means anything is possible.
A generation or two old rs/fox will be better controlled than anything new bargain bin cheap.
Rockshox have a super light oil, so Sid or Reba.. Reba weighs a touch more.
Or magura durin, fox float, Manitou r7 with light spring.

My dainty 10 year old daughter has a Reba, seems to work OK with 35 psi in it and will grow with her.

All my three boys have SID forks, bought quite cheaply, and tuned by TF for their weight. They work a treat. Light too.

any new air fork tuned for their weight and style.

My 10year old has Fox F120’s on his Trance and they seem good for his weight, he’s also pretty slim despite his dad being a biffer!!

26″ thought so no good if you’re wanting 650b, My daughter has 24″ RST F1rst on her bike and they’ve been great, but I reckon the old Fox’s are better.

There’s an X-fusion Slant on eBay. That’s what I’ve got on my jump bike adjusted down to 100mm.

Bought then in a sale and pleasantly surprised by them. Much cheaper than the big brands and perfectly capable for a kids bike considering how many times I’ve absolutely pole-axed landing ramps.

What is involved in tuning a fork for a kid? I see TF want £100 to service/tune an air fork, is that just different oil or would they be swapping parts?

And wheel size I’ve got a pair of 26″ Crests from my old bike in the garage, so I’ll be building those up. A bargain 26″ fork is pretty much what I’m after.

I found some Fox F100s 26″ on eBay for £120 when I built my daughter’s bike. Working well for her (she’s about 42kg). In retrospect I’d should have gone for some longer forks either in travel or got 27.5″ though as using both 26″ wheels and fork has effectively lowered the front end twice which has resulted in a steeper head angle. My son has the Rst F1rsts on his 24 inch Cannondale, decent forks, the best 24’s that I’ve seen.