Well I think I’m going to take a punt and get the Orbea MX 24 Team – they’re so new even the dealers haven’t been sent prices yet. It seems to tick all the boxes –
Sub 10kg inc pedals (lighter than the Beinn 24)
Deore 10sp rapidfire shifter, Deore Shadow mech, Deore 11-36 10sp cassette plus 32 front chainring. I love the fact it doesn’t have gripshift which I personally hate.

That gives a great spread of gearing (more so than the Islabike) for riding most things.

I can get one locally for £350 so less than the Scale 24 JR but a little more than the Beinn 24.

Sorry to ressurect an old thread but maybe better than starting a new one.
Anyway out at Tress yesterday and No1 son wanted his saddle up a bit so we reached the height limit, doh, more money required.
On a Beinn 20 Small so trying to decide where to go next.
Have pretty much come to the conclusion that 24″ wheel suspension forks are not worth the bother but wondering if any of them are actually vaugely lightweight or give reasonable performance.

If not then it’s Beinn 24 vs Orbea MX24 Team, price is much of a muchness but interested by comments on weight as Beinn 24 is specced at 8.82kg whereas I’ve seen quotes of 21lb, or less than 10kg for the Orbea, yet in this thead Orbea quoted as lighter.
Anyone tried the Orbea as it looks to up to the job and I like the idea of 1×10.
Just fancy something a bit different from Isla but maybe they are still the best thing to go for.
Opinions sought, Ta.

Have pretty much come to the conclusion that 24″ wheel suspension forks are not worth the bother but wondering if any of them are actually vaugely lightweight or give reasonable performance.

How about some 26″ forks on a 24″ bike?

Had thought about that but relatively lots of money to get a light one and will rather mess with the geometry of a wee frame. Also would need to buy a front disc as V-mounts would be in the wrong place.

My son had a Beinn 24 – as soon as he got it he was off climbing hills: here we are at the top of Kingley Vale when he was 8 – the main climb was 105m over 2k, which was a big step up for him.

EDIT: here’s my proud post on BikeRadar

He’s now 10 and on a Beinn 26… but he’s using the 24 for garden jumps until I get round to selling it.

If not then it’s Beinn 24 vs Orbea MX24 Team, price is much of a muchness but interested by comments on weight as Beinn 24 is specced at 8.82kg whereas I’ve seen quotes of 21lb, or less than 10kg for the Orbea, yet in this thead Orbea quoted as lighter.

I suspect that once you put offroad tyres onto the Beinn 24 it’ll come up much the same as the Orbea which has a super-light spec with the exception of the Deore cassette that’s a bit of a beast.

I’m going for the Orbea for my son who’s moving up from a Beinn 20. It has a slacker head angle than the Islabike which is a real bonus in the confidence stakes.

HI all

I do a bit of coaching young kids and so here are afew points to consider

1. Weight – less is better they dont have the same power in their legs that we do so lighter bike allows them to go further / faster

2. Gear – to many bikes come with a huge number of gears – firstly can be very confusing secondly often gears can go to big and we see kids trying to grind along in a huge gear not good for their bodies. We often recommend that parents wind in gear stops to limit gears

3. Suspension. yet to find a suspension fork that moves on a kids bike when ridden by kids. so ends up being heavy lump

4. Loads of our kids have Isla bikes, we dont recommend them specificaly, but seem well put together and have good residual.

My 8 year old upgraded from 20 Hotrock to 24 inch Cube in the team colours. It’s awful looking but he likes it. It’s his bike for general riding about on but we regularly visit blue and red routes at Whinlatter, 7 stanes etc too.

About a year on and my observations would be that

1 it’s heavy.
2 it doesn’t need more than a single chainring at the front as he never changes from the middle ring.
3 suspension forks work great for kids too.
4 it would benefit from disc brakes.

In short, if I could go back in time, he’d be on the Islabike Creig 26 I think. Silly money but worth it if your child is going to use it for example at trail centres or proper MTB riding.

I’m surprised no-one has mentioned the brakes yet as this is the biggest problem he has with the Cube. They basically sap confidence as soon as they get wet/muddy and stop working as well normal.
They are fine but discs would encourage far more speed and confidence.

http://btr-fabrications.com/index.php/products/ripper 😀

I put discs on my kids bikes because I had them around and had the time to build the wheels – made a massive confidence difference even at 4/5 especially because of the ability to use 2 or 1 finger braking due to the super adjustability.

May seem expensive to some, but my plan is to upgrade the next bike with the same parts, and hopefully get a better resale on the old bike because of the shiney v’s and rims that haven’t been hammered.

Round & round in circles,

I need help, my boy will be 7 in May. His inside leg measurement is 58cm (1ft 11in) and he is 130cm (4ft 3in) tall.
He needs a new bike, a proper bike. I like to cycle, but I don’t know much about bikes the same as I don’t know much about cars!
I have spent a few days looking at bikes and reading forums and I am frankly, stuck!
Islabikes, Cube, Scott, and now Orbea which look great but I can’t find any official weights for. Islabikes say Bein24 but I think all other manufactures 24″s will be too big for my lad. Not sure about grip shift gear changing either.

Help !!!!

Suspension. yet to find a suspension fork that moves on a kids bike when ridden by kids. so ends up being heavy lump

Retrobike. Manitou Mars. Shock pump. PLUSH. 8)