My Daughter is turning 8 in January and my wife wants to get her a new bike for Christmas, however, she is tall for her age, long legged, and growing fast so I’m loathed to buy a bike she’ll be out of in a year. Do I look for an XS frame 26” hardtail or something in the kids range?

Ideally I’m looking for MTB, 1X, light and purple.

Any solved a similar dilemma?

We used an XS Giant Talon 26”. Good luck finding one. I sold it to a work colleague who is delighted with it. XS frames are pretty rare. Also 8 may be a bit too small for an XS.

Whyte 403 / 405 too small ?

Perhaps I need to measure her firstly but she’ll soon be in short woman territory :). I’m quite tempted to build one but time is likely to be an issue between now and Chrimble.

Any other suggestions?

And if I had to go for a smaller wheeled bike for the 8-12yr old bracket, what’s the go to that’s under £400?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1812114369006935/permalink/2409606819257684/

I’m in exactly the same situation. Daughter just turned 8, taller than every child in the class two years above her and most of that height is in her legs. Already outgrown her 24 incher which is fine over winter with lesser usage but come spring she’ll need a bigger bike. No idea if another kids bike to fit her is desirable or even exists.

Ideally I’d like to go quality second hand, but that never happens so BSO is on the cards…

So I’m watching this thread.

I picked up an old Commencal Normal XS on ebay for my daughter 2-3 years ago. It was in a right state, but with the kindness of strangers on here getting rid of lots of nice bling 26″ bits that they no longer needed, built it up into a lovely 25lb, 1×10 for her. There’s a thread in my posting history called “The bike STW built”, I think.

Stroppy mare rides it once every 8 months, roughly….

So you need a Klein Attitude in purple XS, had one once and would dearly love to find it again!

Made an exceptional children’s bike, paired with Sid World Cups, completed with lightweight wheels and tyres. A 18lb mountain bike.

I’m not sure I could afford to go that retro !!

Frog 69 looks a good shout if 26” is gonna fit bit more than I wanted to pay so perhaps I’ll look for a second hand job. Anyone recommend any alternatives?

If you can find it, the Vitus Nucleus 26.. Got my daughter one this year and is very good. Commencal have one too but can’t remember the name..

Stealth ad => I’m selling a Whyte 403 at the mo. It’s a great bike.

Our 10 year old taller than average daughter still fits a 24″ wheeled kids bike with room to spare. We tried her on a very small 26″ bike in the summer and it was still too big (but not by much). So you definitely need to try her on a 26″ before committing to it. We also have a very tall 7 year old and she only just fits on a 24″ and still prefers riding her 20″ bike. Based on that I would guess your 8 year old is not really ready for a 26″ unless she is exceptionally tall or can tolerate riding a bike that’s really too big for her. I know some can.

Basic rule of thumb is wheel size should be less than or equal to inside leg measurement. My 9 year old is tall for her age but only just big enough for her Carrera Blast24.

Most 26″ bikes even XS sizes have a BB drop designed for 170mm or even 175 cranks which will be way too long. Problem comes when you fit 150-155 cranks you have to put the saddle up an inch and they can’t get their feet anywhere near the ground, you can get round this by putting down sizing wheels until their legs are long enough eg. 26″ wheels in a 650b frame.

Why would you buy a 26″ ?

A XS <insert brand> 26″ is for the same size as XS <insert brand> 27.5″

Most 26″ bikes even XS sizes have a BB drop designed for 170mm or even 175 cranks which will be way too long. Problem comes when you fit 150-155 cranks you have to put the saddle up an inch and they can’t get their feet anywhere near the ground, you can get round this by putting down sizing wheels until their legs are long enough eg. 26″ wheels in a 650b frame

This is what we did and 150mm is probably still too long to transition off a 24, Jnr is using 142mm cranks at the moment on 26″ wheels on a XS 27.5 frame… though nothing to do with standover* which seems a pointless measurement in MTB’s anyway (other than as a general indication of bike size)… however it makes a huge difference to pedalling (and not causing permanent damage to his knees and hips using oversized cranks).

*I really don’t get the big deal with anyone but a complete beginner, putting both feet down anywhere “not flat” is a recipe for disaster anyway.

Got my lad a secondhand 26″ Hoy Bonaly details here https://www.evanscycles.com/hoy-bonaly-26-inch-wheel-disc-2020-kids-bike-EV306435

Fully rigid but with some fatter tyres to soak up the bumps it seems to work well. At 10kg it’s light enough for him to get up the hills.

My 9 year old is tall for her age but only just big enough for her Carrera Blast24.

Blimey, my 8yo is average for her age and has been on a 24″ Blast for a year now.

My just-turned-11yo is average for his height and is now riding a small Brand-X HT-01 hardtail after looking a bit cramped on his 24″ Blast.

With 26″ wheels and 150mm cranks he is happy as can be.

I suggest heading to a bike shop and sitting on some bikes, then you can see if she looks comical on a small sized adult bike. The trigger for us was when our son rode around on my wife’s medium MTB: the saddle was a bit high but the reach was fine and finding a low frame was fairly easy.

*I really don’t get the big deal with anyone but a complete beginner, putting both feet down anywhere “not flat” is a recipe for disaster anyway.

Sigh. My mam steadfastly refuses to use the front brake, at all, ever, on her folding shopper that she mithered me to buy for her because she’s convinced she’ll be ejected over the bars like something out of a James Bond film and has the seat low enough to get both feet as near as flat as possible on the ground. Doesn’t ride it much cos ‘it’s uncomfortable and hurts my knees’ and ‘the brakes aren’t very good’… I just gave up. Some people you just can’t reach.

I suggest heading to a bike shop and sitting on some bikes, then you can see if she looks comical on a small sized adult bike.

When I was weighing this up POAH (not seem him for a while) suggested just let the 27.5 tyres down to see what the 26 will look like… worked pretty spot on.

Blimey, my 8yo is average for her age and has been on a 24″ Blast for a year now.

Admittedly my 9yo was waiting for nearly a year for me to find a secondhand 26er for an elder sibling.

I think your kid looks like short of standover clearance. Although the angles look less steep than my 9yo’s bike, are the rigid forks shorter than the original forks? Thinking of doing this mod to lighten the bike.

Those forks are comparable to the original forks. If you want some rigid forks good for 24″ bikes then I’m actually selling some on eBay right now at https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/eXotic-Carbon-Rigid-Bike-Fork-for-24-wheel-with-disc-brakes/163899059150. I also have the same forks in 26″ as in the photo if you need a 5cm longer fork.

I’m gonna measure her up and sit her on some options. Perhaps I’m being tight in my “bypass 24” thinking. The 24” blast above looked ace.