Ok so I have narrowed it down to: Orbea MX24 Team or Specialized Riprock 24. This is for a 9 year old boy who is 4’6″ tall and can’t ride a bike! We live on a farm on a hill with lumpy fields. I looked at Islabikes but decided we needed bigger tyres for the terrain. Although we would teach him to ride on a tarmac surface first. I really love the idea of the Specialized Riprock with its fat tyres and it’s supposed to be easy to ride. The Orbea is lighter and doesn’t have a fork, but looks like it might last him longer heightwise – so overall it looks like the better option – but I do love the Riprock which looks – well fun. Any thoughts please? Trying to keep it below £350 (although the Riprock is £375 so could push it to that).

You’re pushing the 24er which is I guess due to their lack of experience but tall 9yr old can’t be far off an adult XS…

I’d buy used on a 24 then you can change it if things work out.

My tallish 7yr old is pushing his medium 24 frame (and will need a full length seatpost very soon) and I can’t see him making it past 8yrs on that bike.

If he’s a complete novice, you absolutely dont need a fork. Plus 350quid price point bike forks are probably about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.
Scott Scale JR PLUS 24
Something like this fits budget but as above.. you’d need to sit him on one to see if the size would work out. I see where you are going though.. smaller wheels/bike size facilitate learning better (within reason). My 7yr old is pretty much out of his 20″ and ready for 24, but with the smaller bike, he’s bags of confidence chucking it into corners with the moto foot out and jumping off stuff. On the next whee/frame size, he’ll be more hindered with his love of ‘getting loose’

Just got my lanky streak of p*** 9 year old a Frog 69 26er. Nearly got an XS Scott aspect but stock was an issue and it was heavy and a bit unnecessary.

He can ride a bike comfortably though, I’d have been include to get him a 24″ wheel if he couldn’t ride already, something without suspension. There’s a Vitus on Wiggle that would do the job nicely for £190.

Have a look for something second hand to see if he even takes to cycling in the first place. If he does then consider something newer and lighter but the way some people go on its a wonder anyone was able to learn to ride at all pre-Islabikes. Kids are bloody spoiled these days.

Anyway I got a Riprock in great used condition on eBay for £120 and my 10yr old daughter loves it. The sprung fork is heavy and useless but it has a lockout at least. I just dismantled the triple chainset so it’s a nifty 1×7 now. Ideal for a kid.

Edit: it’s a Hardrock not a Riprock, apologies.

to see if he even takes to cycling in the first place

and even if they do the choices are pretty huge from road to CX to XC to trail to jump to racing BMX to downhill… and did I miss Enduro?

but the way some people go on its a wonder anyone was able to learn to ride at all pre-Islabikes

You had gears… we had to cycle 50 miles to school, uphill both ways… carrying a loaf of Hovis

Either way though it depends what they want to do …

This is for a 9 year old boy who is 4’6″ tall and can’t ride a bike!

I had a 5yr old … couldn’t ride a bike (just never interested) …
Got a bike… and a week later we cycled down the river a mile
2 weeks later we cycled 10 miles along a canal – then he decided to cycle back… even though his mum had driven out to meet us for lunch at a pub
3 weeks later we cycled from Newlands Corner to Guildford .. planning to call mum and he cycled back (pushed a couple of hills)

… kids will learn and progress VERY quickly if they are interested… my 5yr old was normal fitness (run around a playground) … found something he loved and went on from there. Now he’s riding XC, single track and enduro/downlifts when we can make it… BUT non of that was planned…

We live on a farm on a hill with lumpy fields.

Wow .. I’d build jumps…. but it sounds like the rest of where they live is also hilly so if they go past the farm then weight is likely to matter…

I started off with modest expectations…. given his zero interest in cycling before… I’d figured it would be an achievement to just cycle some of the local cycle paths together…

9 months into his 20″ the bike was the limiting factor and we moved to a 24″ when he was 6 1/2 ish … by this time he’d got confident and we’d decided what we were riding. Swinley is only 25-30 minutes drive so we ride that quite often.

Anyway.. the point really is first bike is a taster… if they take to it and decide WHAT they want to ride then you might be changing bike pretty quickly … if you buy used you’ll hardly lose out at all if anything…

Thanks – great comments and insights. I think he will learn quickly. He’s my partner’s son so only lives with us a third of the time and learning to ride a bike seems to have been missed. He’s keen to have a bike so I guess we’re anxious to get something he’ll enjoy riding and find easy enough.

Seems a 24″ won’t last long then! I was a bit concerned the Riprock looked a bit small possibly. Have been looking for second hand for a while but not much in our (rural) area up to 60 miles away. Certainly none of the ones I was interested in. The odd Islabike (going for about £300 plus) and the occasional Ridgeback MX24. We were thinking about that but I think they’re not so light?

So came back to the idea of something new, easy to ride, that he’d enjoy and easy to learn on – and accept selling in a year or so.

Off to check out the Scott.

You had gears… we had to cycle 50 miles to school, uphill both ways… carrying a loaf of Hovis

Lol! My first bike had 3 gears – small adult raleigh bike and far too big for me but I was riding no hands in a week or so.

Wow. The Scott Scale Jr looks good – has disc brakes? Out of stock so googling it. I had come to the conclusion that the 26″ Islabike Creig was probably the ideal solution – sizewise and terrain-wise – except we’re not rich enough lol.

Seems a 24″ won’t last long then!

you can eek out more use… my kid didn’t so much outgrow his 20 as the capabilities of it…

My thoughts are you need to think beyond the field… as in what’s next…
Someone on here recently stripped a Halfords Blast… (which is identical to the “girls” Luna) .. these can be bought pretty cheap used… but at the price forks are heavy and might soak up bigger bumps… wheels are really heavy etc. but not that much different to many big brand kids bikes

When frame weights were compared (admittedly on luggage scales) the Blast was actually 200g or something lighter….

When I bought the 24 we knew we needed working suspension and disk brakes but that was down to 9 months of progression…. and in the end the frame and forks cost £250 new… but you can buy the forks later if it turns out that way for you… and build wheels etc. but by that time he might be ready to get on a bigger bike and then you have way more choice and know he’s serious.

When my kid moved onto the 24 it was technically “a bit too big” but he’d had 9 mo of bike handling by this point so it didn’t matter much to him compared to working air forks and the advantage of bigger wheels.

We just added to his stable and bought a used FS … this is WAY bigger no way would he have ridden it when he got his original 24…. I’m selling my XC bike to pay for his new bike but I don’t use it much anymore as it’s the wrong bike to ride with him. We paid £650 but I since saw one on ebay for £450… you just need to set your ebay searches and notifications up… but that’s because he’s now riding stuff that’s pushed his XC oriented bike past the limits but I travelled 60 miles to buy that bike and about 100 when I bought mine used (not rural roads but mostly M25 which is much worse!).

Mine just decided he now wants to race BMX as well… last week it was CX… he knows the price of a car-wash… and we have a price for picking and shelling peas, picking beans and tomatoes etc. but suffice to say its a lot of peas he’ll have to pick :evil:.

In the meantime you can watch the “for sale” here and pinkbike and set some ebay watch lists etc. whilst deciding what he like and doesn’t…

Just got a Pinnacle Kauri 26 for my 8yo who is about 4’5. It has a small frame so looks like a kids’ 29er. She doesn’t even have the seat slammed, although I did slam the stem. Big wheels help for bumps.

Comes with WTB nano 2.1s, 1×9 and proper hydro discs (Tektro).

I don’t agree with the idea of fitting skinny tyres to kids bikes. The trails we end up on are either mini trail centre types where the hard skinny tyres would be skittish as hell, or they are natural and rooty, where they’d be bumpy as hell. 2.1s really help. Which reminds me, must convert her bike to tubeless.. 🙂

Just got a Pinnacle Kauri 26 for my 8yo who is about 4’5

That’s my thought…. but the kid has no riding experience at all so I get going for a small frame/wheels until they develop some bike handling skills but given how quickly kids pick these things up they could be on a 26er before very long with way more choice and the advantages of bigger wheels or a bit longer and an adult XS.

One thing I do know is be it bikes or clothes kids will wait until you buy something then have a huge growing spurt. It’s like the toast always landing buttered side down …

My quite tall 9.5 year old is on an XS cube frame with 26″ wheels. I would really be careful about 24″ wheels at that age, the 26s offer a range of advantages and the bikes are no heavier, and he’ll outgrow 24s quickly.

The Orbea is lighter and doesn’t have a fork

i can see why that would be difficult to ride

Mine is on a Whyte T403 but that’s a chunk above your budget i admit.

Another vote for Pinnacle Kauri 26 – fantastic bike for the money!

My daughter says it feels very stable (comparing to the old 20″ thing she has just retired) – hence I assume it would be beneficial for a kid with no riding experience!

Yup – I am thinking about growth spurts! The Pinnacle Kauri 26 doesn’t seem to be stocked any more. My think was the ideal size would be the Creig 26 – but at that price I might as well by a 24″ for £350 or less and sell and then get something bigger.

Any other recommendations for 26″ wheel bikes? I did look at the Islabike Beinn 26 small – but we want big tyres.

I wouldn’t bother with a 24in bike at all. My nephew was on a 13in frame 650b Trek at 9 years old and the seat wasn’t even at it’s lowest. It fitted him perfectly. I sized a girl of similar age on an XS Specialized Myka at the weekend.

The Frog 69 is a nice 26in wheeler.

My kids demanded the union jack model but less garish colours are available

Hazel…. don’t know if this can be fit into your schedule or if its possible in driving distance but you can also hire a bike for short times at trail centres.

I’m leaning with some others that the time they need to be confident on a 24 before moving to a bigger bike might be quite short … our experience was going from a really rubbish Halfords “Fireman Sam” 16″ wheel with stabilisers to without was literally seconds. (It could be that’s exceptional but I really think if the kid is determined and wants to ride and mine was then promised a proper bike that it can be really quick)

It could be if you can take a couple of half days (and drive somewhere) or borrow a 24 for a week he’d be ready for the bigger bike or even just borrow a smaller bike for a week or so.

If it helps, beinn 26 takes 2.1″ tyres, my tall nearly 8 year old girl is on one. You might be better with 26large.

Lewis is a little over 5ft and is just about outgrown his ripcord, I’ll be looking to his him an xs 2018 scout when transition release the MY18 bikes.

The Pinnacle Kauri 26 doesn’t seem to be stocked any more.

It is, we bought one weekend before last. For me Google keeps picking up the 2016 version for some reason but head to the Evans site and type in Kauri you’ll find it.

Thanks all! Lots of good ideas there. Interesting that the Beinn takes 2.1 tyres – that was something I didn’t know – I thought the biggest you could fit were 1.95. I originally emailed Islabikes and they said their 26 small was the right size for him and would last a couple of years (maybe!). Their 24 is smaller than other 24’s. So I reckoned a 24 by another make would be about the same as we weren’t keen on the look of the 26 small. It was the tyres we liked on the Riprock. But it only goes up to a 24″. See what you’re saying – if he’s 4’6″ now he could be 5′ in 6 to 9 months time.

I still thought the Orbea MX24 Team might be an option even if we had to sell it and upgrade in a year’s time. It has 2.1 tyres I think. Also liked the Hoy Bonaly but they reckon you can’t put fatter tyres on that.

Hiring one sounds good – although I think his motivation to ride might be bigger if it was his own bike. Plus going to the Lakes in August and he could use it there. Sizing is tricky isn’t it?!

Got my 10 year old a voodoo nzumbi from Halfords. They do a 13″ and 15″ frame. They’re £435 but theirs always discount to be had at Halfords. Think I paid £325 ish. Well worth a look

I just checked the sizing on the Hoy Bonaly 26″. His feet wouldn’t touch the ground and the standover is a bit high for his inside leg as well. Partner is thinking we should go for a 24″ and accept we might need to sell on in a year.

The Pinnacle Kauri 26 might be ok the standover is lower. It says minimum height 4’8″ – he’s a couple of inches short of that. He’s shot up about 4″ in the last few months but who knows when the next growth spurt will be!

Hiring one sounds good – although I think his motivation to ride might be bigger if it was his own bike.

Make getting his own the motivation 😀

Partner is thinking we should go for a 24″ and accept we might need to sell on in a year.

Honestly I’d buy used..even of its a 2-3 hours drive. then sell on in 3, 6 or 12 months as he’s ready (You’re only losing fuel costs on pickup)

Thanks! Having a rethink here. Ideally we want to get him a good bike that will last 2 or 3 years. 24″ does look a bit small. 26″ is too big. There is xxxx all second hand available within 200 miles. Except a used Islabike 26 small about 60 miles away with a front wheel that isn’t “true”. The Islabike 26 small is the right size for his height and inside leg and do for another 2 years at least. If we fitted 2.1 mountain bike tyres do you think it would do the job for the lumpy fields and hills? Or would be better sticking with a proper mountain bike? Also not sure if a wheel being out of true is an issue – does this mean it might have had a prang? Or need a new wheel?

Cripes Hazel … where are you the outer isles ???

I’ve got lots of watch lists and stuff set-up and find 24″ bikes all the time… even though I’m not looking anymore. Just my subjective experience but I find rural areas are over represented in mountain bikes which makes sense but I see lots in Aberdeenshire or Devon areas etc. and there is definitely a trick to finding bikes.

My watch lists are pretty wide but I’d drive from south of London to Birmingham or Welsh Borders to pick up a bike… if it was the other side of Birmingham I might think twice or ask family …

I bet if you share your location the hive mind of STW will find a few options…

For the Isla bike …. you are likely to get the money back when you sell.. though its not guaranteed and some of the latest kids bikes offerings are as good or better than the normal range Isla’s but haven’t widely caught on so aren’t up for resale. (Orbea seem to have really nailed it since I was buying)

Wheels “out of true” is minor if its really just out of true…. it happens every (off road ) ride to some extent. (£500+ hand built wheels suffer less … whereas factory built wheels will usually suffer more unless you give them an over haul and start from loose spokes) … Someone who knows what they are doing can get a wheel reasonably in tolerance in a few minutes with just a spoke key… so long as the rim itself isn’t bent… “rebuilding” is a bit more involved… but done properly the benefits last a lot longer.

With disc brakes its less of an issue if its just a couple of mm…. but with rim brakes it’s a real pain… especially on kids bikes as the brakes tend to be adjusted with less clearance.

Rigid/hardtail/full suss can and has been debated until the cows come home …
It really depends what they are going to be riding….

Technically you can ride a BMX down lots of stuff…. how enjoyable or comfortable that is might be another question.

Its not big bumps and jumps so much as small bumps and ruts that are (mostly) the issue. (BMX and jump bikes run on smooth tracks but big jumps )

Lumpy fields are likely a pain without front suspension…. you can ride them but the vibration makes it tiring but that really depends what the field is/has been used for. My brother has 5 acres next to the house used for sheep grazing (after the rabbits dig out holes and nibble down to the soil) and that would be horrible…. as would anything that’s been ploughed in the last few years…

On the opposite end full suss is a pain on any sort of road… and most people would lock the front suss if riding anything you can get a normal 2WD car down (or most importantly UP).

If you get the Isla and have some tracks nearby then he will no doubt prefer tracks to bumpy fields… if he has to ride along roads it will be better… if he wants to ride though gnarly woods with rocks and roots it will be worse.

It’s all great … if I lived elsewhere I’d have a different bike and do different riding….
In fact it was one of those kid questions about “if you could have ANY bike what would you have” … we were driving back from Forest of Dean at the time where I’d have at least 160mm travel for downhill and possibly a XC hard tail… but at home where we ride 80% of the time my mid travel FS is the ideal bike and were money no object I’d just have it in carbon…

26″ is too big

The Pinnacle is smaller. Where’s your nearest Evans?

I’m just in the midst of building my 10 year old who 130cm tall a XS Ragley Blue Pig 650b and it fits him perfectly. I was toying with putting 26″ wheels in the frame but after he had a ride on Xs Cube 650b and he had no problems with the wheel size I slapped some 650’s in. I would personally look for a cheap Xs 26″ or 650b bike, there’s plenty on fleabay and other sites.

Thanks! We’re in Upper Teesdale 🙂 DL12 area for ebay. The sheep fields you describe are the terrain exactly, but on a steep hill! So yep I did think maybe it would need to be a “proper” mountain bike. And that in that case it wouldn’t do for roads as well. Apart from initial learning, he is unlikely to riding on roads at all.

Apart from a few heavy mountain bikes I had ruled out, nothing much came up on ebay – nearest was Birmingham or Peterborough I think. London is actually a lot quicker to get to than either of those but costs £130 on the train so kind of defeats the object. Would rather spend the money towards a bike! Cumbria is the closest probably.

I also ruled out the Riprock in the end as apparently it’s not good for mud.

I don’t know if you’ve considered it already but the Genesis Core26 might be worth a look. I picked one up back in April for my 7 year old daughter, an ex-rental from Bothy Bikes in Aviemore, and she’s getting on brilliantly with it. We paid £300 for it but there doesn’t seem to be many second hand ones on the market yet, unfortunately.

Smaller (24″) Genesis Core in Cumbria
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2205829/

A very heavy DOWNHILL bike in Middlesborough (not for pedalling uphill)
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2200797/

All rounder in Doncaster £100
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2086980/

or £95 in Leeds
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2195508/

Bigger 26
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2189862/ (will post for £25)
“Looking for £90 – cost around £400 new.”

eBay 100 miles from your postcode… 24″/26″ a few makes selected…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Bikes/177831?Brand=Carrera%7CCannondale%7CCube%7CDiamondback%7CKona%7CMarin%7CMerida%7COrbea%7CRagley%7CSCOTT%7CSpecialized%7CTrek&Gender=Boys%7CGirls%7CUnisex%2520Children&Type=Mountain%2520Bike&Wheel%2520Size=24%2522%7C26%2522&rt=nc&_stpos=DL12&_sadis=100&LH_PrefLoc=99&_fspt=1

A decent 26er with a small frame would surely be the answer here

4’6″ is a bit marginal….. I make that 137cm …
My kid is 130 cm and firmly in 24er territory (I really wanted him to be big enough) which I might be 7cm shorter but he lives in a bike – he’s super confident .. the OP’s kid has never ridden one…. so i can see why they are looking at a smaller bike.

I’d bet the kid will very quickly pick it up… kids do when they want…. so they may end up swapping the bike in a few months but of they buy used they are not losing out much…and the kid will have grown a bit as well

On the other hand if they learning by riding a bike a bit big across a bumpy field it will make it a lot harder to get confident and a few more falls …

Thanks very much for those links! Off to check them out! Yes you’re right – it’s 137cm – maybe he was 4’5! If it was 135cm. We’re going to re-measure his height and inside leg tomorrow lol! It would be handy if he’d grown a couple of inches. It’ll either be 4’5″ or 4’6″ though.

Partner now reckons he need to ride on roads too – oh great. Sounds like two totally different bikes. Does it definitely need a fork for this terrain?

Fork : Not definitely … and the cheap coiled spring ones (as opposed to more expensive air ones) might not do that much anyway.

I tend to think along your partners lines in that riding the fields might be a good start but then they are likely to want to expand their horizons. If it was me I’d build a track 😀 just shovel a bit of dirt around ..
I keep trying to get my brother to do that with the field next to his house.

We used a single hardtail bike for everything until very recently. By everything I mean riding road to school to downhill at Forest of Dean but mostly in-between riding trails.

Road wasn’t an issue as the bike is light and the forks lock … (Forks weigh 1607g and most steel 24er forks are nearly that weight anyway….) the whole bike (as bought) cost £250 new (you can’t buy these new anymore as Cannondale stopped selling kids bikes in the UK) but the only exceptional thing for that bike was it had a good fork as specced RST F1rst Air (£150 isn depending on exchange rate)

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/f1rst-air-24-mtb-suspension-fork-51499?currency=3&delivery_country=190&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJzLBRC7ARIsAGMkOAn22ZOBQHZ2eZUWQTAK1fdykjM4O8qSPeNbiEqItWu486_dug8yWPcaAt8qEALw_wcB

and it had disk mounts … (but came with V-Brakes)

The bike was usable as it was except for the cranks …. this bit shouldn’t bother you that much but most kids 24″ bikes come with cranks that are way too long simply because the manufacturers can’t bulk buy the correct length cranks … by correct I mean the right size for a kid just big enough to ride a 24 hence this won’t affect you much as your at the top end of 24 not bottom…

As Junior got more serious bits were upgraded … the most expensive being the wheels but changing the wheels dropped about 2kg off the weight of the bike and allowed us to fit disc brakes and allowed us to fit a 10 speed drive chain I had (so it was a big investment but paid off in multiple places)

This was worth it for us because we rode a long way quite fast. We already knew this and how the bike would be used before we bought so that was why we bought that specific frame (well that and it was reduced to £250)

We didn’t know at the time that Jnr was going to get into racing … but as it happens we made a good choice for XC racing… and at a pinch he can go down fairly serious downhill just not as fast

Anyway… I think the whole point is that when we bought his 24 we new pretty much what it would be used for. Jnr had spent 9 months on his 20″ and we went trail riding every weekend at least once… often twice and we knew where we would be doing 80% of the riding.

We recently went for a 2nd bike because he is now bigger, stronger and fitter and can pedal a FS just not as fast as his hard tail and because what we ride is pushing the boundaries for his XC bike.

We did ride the 3 miles to school on the FS and he very quickly noted how much extra energy it takes (LOL going to school is mainly uphill) compared to his XC bike on the semi-paved route we take whereas peddling along more gnarly runs at the trail centre it makes little difference to him and is way more fun on the downhills but there is no way he would race XC on this bike (given the choice) but equally he’d not take his XC bike to do downhill (now he has a choice).

Obviously these are choices you make when you have a kid who “lives on a bike” …. not a first bike for a kid who never rode.

The main points I think are …

You can’t really tell what they will do. if your OH wants to ride with him then where he rides will make a huge difference … in our case it was proximity of the trail centre… but it will also depend what bike you and your partner have…

Riding with your kid can actually be a incredible shared experience … because it’s a shared experience and something you are truly doing together (as opposed to just being in the same place at the same time). I enjoy letting him compete at races but it’s not like actually riding together and the best races are the ones where we go riding afterwards – often with some other parents and kids.

Hopefully this will be a great shared experience for father and son 😀

Unless you are competing or doing extremes a half decent hard tail can be very versatile.

A half decent hard tail can be upgraded but until he settles on what he’s riding and Dad does too I really think just getting a used bike will see you through that. By that time he and your OH will have identified what they do and what needs changing bike-wise and by then you’re then into a bigger bike.

For us we already knew disc brakes and a decent fork … 9 months riding his 20″ decided that but if for example he’d preferred riding fire trails we could have got a 24″ CX bike or rigid like the Genesis or Isla…

We have gone in entirely the opposite direction (almost) it’s just how it all worked out but its been a fabulous experience for us both.

Thanks very much! Digging a track sounds good. OH likes digging stuff 🙂 Not sure if I’d get OH on a bike though – it’s a great idea. Because he grew up here he never rode a bike much due to the terrain and in our day bikes were just bog standard. Might be an idea to get OH on a bike again though! We’re measuring him up tonight.