Have you tried an e-bike? I know a lot of riders with chronic injuries who have managed to stay active and positive by switching to e-MTBs. An e-bike allows you to get out and enjoy the countryside, and with the assist they are much kinder to your knees especially uphill. You still need to be careful about setting up your riding position as an e-bike won’t help if you get shoulder/neck pains – and you do have to be careful not to get over-excited, as climbing on an e-MTB gives you even more opportunity to head downhill with all the risks that entails.

If buying new a Vitus Nucleus is a great bike… I have tagged the more expensive VRS as the VRs are sold out in size S, but at 30% off they are relatively affordable even if you budget for Brand-X Ascend dropper post.

I run a School MTB Club and we bought a VR as a ‘loaner/demo’ and it has proved very popular, especially as we got a dropper post for it. Weight is reasonable, geo is great, forks work, brakes are good, Box 8 speed drivetrain is surprisingly good (VRS has Deore 10 speed which is even better) and they come with really good tyres.

*disclosure, I work for Wiggle/CRC and we own Vitus so (a) I was able to get us a good deal, and (b) you may consider e biased. But the Nucleus is an award winning bike and 30% off is definitely a good deal.

For many years I have used an Ultrafire torches from Dealextreme or Lightmalls. For a budget introduction to night riding they can’t be beaten, but they do require some faffing.

My most recent XM-L2 501b torches which I got from Lightmalls cost about £8. These run on 18650 cells – which I got free from old laptops but you can get good quality ones from ‘Torchy’ on eBay. They attach to your lid with the rubber ‘lockblock’ mounts (about £2,50). You also need a charger… you can get one for £5 but as I have lots of 18650 torches I splashed out on better quality one for about £25.

These are not very refined lights, and I find you need to wrap the cells with electrical tape for a better fit, and I use neodymium magnets to lengthen the cells also for a better fit (the unprotected cells from laptops are a bit short)… the cells need to be really snug as the mode change is effected by interrupting the current with a clicky-clicky tail switch, so your cell moving when you land a drop may also trigger a mode change, and your light switching to SOS-strobe mode is not something you want in the middle of a technical section!

Once you have a charger each light plus mounts is around £10 which is pretty unbeatable. The emitter matters – XM-L2 or XPL are good, the older XML a bit less so – and the ‘brightness bin’ matters e.g. a T6 is not as bright as a U2 etc. Even more important is the driver, and there you don’t really know what you are getting unfortunately… but my old XML-T6 were fine and the XM-L2s are great. On full power you get about 1hr at about 900 lumens, but more importantly the MID mode on mine gives about 2.5hrs at 400+ lumens so with bar_lid you can ride around using MID and then switch to HI for the tech sections. Best of all you can carry spare 18650s and swap cells if they run down… so a 4 hour night ride is easy enough to manage. After-sales on cheap chinese torches is non-existent but a whole new light is less than £10.

As a comparison I now have an Exposure Zenith (similar to a Diablo but with a bigger battery) which is lighter and much brighter, needs no messing, and has a lovely mount… and Exposure’s after sales service is fantastic. For me the Zenith offers a level of performance that the cheap torches can’t touch… and I would be happy with a Diablo especially as you can get some good deals on the Diablo. I would not get a Joystick – if I am paying a huge amount more I want ‘brighter’ and the Joystick just isn’t much brighter. As far as run times are concerned an 18650 torch is limited only by how many cells you can carry, but anything which is a sealed unit needs to last for your whole ride (hence a Zenith with a 5000 mAh battery).

You could also look at mini ‘plus’ bikes like the Vitus 20+ (and 24+) as well as the Specialized Riprock. These are very trail friendly with MTB geometry and much bigger tyres, so they ride very well off road. They are also an intermediate size, so a Vitus 20+ is bigger than a Vitus 20 but smaller than a Vitus 24.

The downside is that these are tougher off-road bikes, so heavier than the more ‘hybrid’ style Islas, Frogs, standard Vitus kids etc… but definitely worth a look.

It’s also well worth looking at CycleSprog (website and Facebook) as they are an excellent resource for all things related to riding with kids, and they have lots of reviews of different bikes.

I’d fire up the Wiggle ‘Live Chat’ and ask them.

There’s also the Vitus Nucleus 24 and 26 – the 24 looks to be the right size
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-nucleus-24-youth-bike-2020/rp-prod181444

CycleSprogs review of the 26 – CycleSprog is a great resource for riding with kids

Vitus Nucleus 26 kids hardtail mountain bike – first impressions

A US round-up of Kids 24″ hardtails

24″ Front Suspension Bikes

@scottfitz I’d not seen that video – and I’m in it!

Here’s the very first test of the Red Trail rock steps:

Voodoo Bizango https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/voodoo-bizango

Look at XS and S bikes – but personally I’d also maybe look at some of the compact/womens bikes as these typically come in smaller sizes and with a shock tune for lighter riders.

For example the Whyte 604 compact comes in XS and S with the crossover at 5’1″ while the Whyte 603 starts with an S for riders of 5’2″. Similarly the Vitus Nucleus VRW comes in XS (4’8″-4’11”) and S (4’11”-5’6″) while the men’s VR starts at S (5’3″-5’7″).

Vitus Nucleus 24 – not sure when the new 2020 version will be in stock
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-nucleus-24-youth-bike-2020/rp-prod181444

Nukeproof Cub Scout 24 – again new so not yet in stock
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-cub-scout-24-sport-kids-bike-2020/rp-prod186249
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-cub-scout-24-race-kids-bike-2020/rp-prod186242

Depends if you want to pay for suspension, though… at that age they may be better off with a rigid bike with decent high volume tyres (which take the edge off the bumps) as these should be lighter/cheaper.

Mini Mules are great – several kids in our MTB Club now have them. My son has been using his for 5 years… though now he’s 17 years old and 6′ tall it does look a bit odd!

I’ve been using these for 4 years – and I’m about to replace them with another pair as I’ve just about worn them out now.
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/mavic-crossmax-elite-mountain-bike-shoe/

Because roads are often rough and potholed, and some of us are too old to be comfortable in an aero-tuck. It’s a bit like choosing to drive an SUV, but without the downside of becoming a planet-hating, road hogging, numpty,

I’ve used Torchy for smaller cells – and they have been excellent. I get all my 18650s from old laptops… usually only one of a set needs to be discarded. The ones I’ve kept are still good after 6+ years of use. As they are unprotected they are slightly short so I use small magnets as spacers, as well as a loop of electrical tape to give them a snug fit.

I have a couple of 501b XM-L2 torches similar to this one… they were under £8 when I got them. They usually claim 1000 or so lumens, but this one says 1770 which is not even theoretically possible.

My torches run at about 2.5 amps on HI and a very handy 0.9 amps on MED which should give about 800 lumens on HI and just under 400 lumens on MED (according to https://flashlightwiki.com/Cree#XM-L2). Having tested these torches couple of different 900 lumen lights (e.g. Cateye) the numbers seems about right, though the more expensive lights have more pleasing beams.

You do have to buy mounts (about £2) and a charger for the 18650s, but you can use old laptop cells which are ‘free’… though the shorter unprotected 18650s realy need a spacer magnet to keep them snug.

https://gb.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf-501b-cree-xm-l2-5-modes-led-flashlight-torch-1-18650?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxpnSgI6h5gIVSrDtCh374w66EAQYAiABEgJq1fD_BwE

Those bigger ramps look awesome, but you can have a lot of useful fun on a small bit of wood and a couple of bricks (now replaced with something a little bigger and more solid!). The smaller stuff is very handy for timing your ‘push-scoop-and-spring’

Very interesting! I’d love to know how these ride – @Scienceofficer that looks great, and the short cranks should counter the lower BB with the smaller wheels, but what did your boy make of it, and did he need anything changed from the original build?

The Southdowns Bunkhouse https://www.southdownsbunkhouse.co.uk/ looks lovely and is well located – UK Cycling Events used to run MTB sportives from Amberley so there are great routes from there. Personally, I’d avoid heading East on the SDW unless you like big climbs as your warm-up is Amberley Mount: one of the toughest climbs on the SDW!

Houghton Forest (Whiteways) is a great place to ride and is only 2k West from Houghton Village… though most of it is closed right now as they are clearing trees. Hopefully it will all be open by March-April. There are plenty of locals who can show you round – you could try the MTB Fanatics FB group, for example.

The YH is at Truleigh Hill… I’m not sure what the riding is like there other than out-and-back on the SDW.

Reflective ankle straps work really well – I use WOWOWs that I got from Halfords some years back. You can still get them – the ones that wrap themselves are better than toe-clip style or velcro ones e.g. https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/branded-bicycle-parts/wowow/wowow-reflective-band/

You can also stick reflective tape on Helmets and bike frames to make you and your bike more visible: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/stick-on-reflective-strips/?sku=101819597

@Sui I’m pretty sure they sold out almost as soon as we got them in… as did the Vitus Nucleus 24. The Vitus kids bikes have been very well received – the designers are really passionate about what they do.

Personally I’m really pleased there are so many good kids bikes available these days – and I think we owe a lot of that to Isla Rowntree.

CycleSprog has a wealth of info on kids bikes e.g. http://www.cyclesprog.co.uk/bikes/mountain-bikes-for-kids/best-kids-26-wheel-mountain-bikes-2/

For ‘light’ MTB duty a rigid MTB will be a good cheap and light option… I’d second molgrips recommendation of the Pinnacle Kauri: one of the girls at our School MTB Club has one and it’s a very well thought out bit of kit, well up to Blue Trails and XC MTB riding.

https://youtu.be/fmRyEub4yIo (Isla 24, Pinnacle, then some sort of Univega)

If you do want to go down the hardtail route then it’s a bit more of a minefield as cheap suspension is worse than no suspension. My recommendations here would be the Vitus Nucleus 26* (when it’s back in for Xmas – I hope) and the Whyte 403, bit of which we have in our Club.

* I work for WiggleCRC and Vitus is one of our Brands – but I think they have nailed the affordable kid’s hardtail with the Nucleus 26.

The dhb MTB Trail Hooded Softshell is a great bit of kit. I have the second one they ever sold (I work for Wiggle/CRC which is how I know (-: )

Welcome to the Sentier owners club!

I’ve been using a Decathlon MTB jacket for several years, and it’s really good for the £50 asking price… the main zip is not that great, but it is very waterproof, seems breathable enough and has massive vents for cooling, has great cuffs for the winter, and it also packs up reasonably small so you can stow it if need be.

The current version is https://www.decathlon.co.uk/st900-waterproof-membrane-mountain-bike-jacket-grey-id_8546224.html

The Superstar plastics are very good and are £10 from On One… I would check and possibly threadlock the pins though – https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/PESSELP/superstar-el-plastique-flat-pedal

I’ve just got a Ravemen CR900 for commuting – it’s basically an single cell (guess 18650) torch with a decent XM-L2 emitter, but it has a beam-cut-off which seems to work pretty well – I’ll know for sure when the lights change and it’s proper dark on my way home.

I went for a’road-only’ light rather than the dual beam PR* models – I’ll keep my MTB lights separate as the whole point is to have something that won’t accidentally blind the oncoming traffic (on the road).

As far as pedal reflectors go, the law needs updating… I have WOWOW ankle reflector bands which perform the same function, are very cheap, and won’t get smashed by pedal strikes.

The Vitus Nucleus is a great bike. (disclaimer: I work for WiggleCRC so I can’t claim to be entirely unbiased, but read the reviews!).

Alternatives to check out:
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/boardman-mht-8-6-mountain-bike-blue
https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15904153/calibre-line-20-mountain-bike-15904153
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-hoodoo-mens-mountain-bike-16-18-20-22-frames

The Whyte 403 is a lovely bike… if you are going to step up from a rigid bike to a hardtail then it’s a great choice. The Islabikes hardtails are awesome, but very pricey indeed (£899 now). They have just added a Creig 20 to the 24, 26 and 27. If you want a cheaper air-fork hardtail then the Vitus 24 (and Vitus 26) are much more affordable.

For Info:
(1) I work for Wiggle – and the Vitus bikes are ‘ours’… but I do think they are excellent, and I’ve had many conversations with the designers about what makes a great kids bike.
(2) I run a kids MTB Club with 50 riders 7-15, so I’ve seen the Creig, Whyte and the Vitus 26 in action (but not yet a Vitus 24).

I commute with a Lezyne Strip Drive which I’ve been using for 3 years, year-round, often commuting on gravel and mud sections (and no mudguards). It’s still good as new – and I just wash it off under the tap when it’s dirty and needs charging.

Good shifters and cables make a huge difference to kids as their thumbs are nowhere near as strong as an adults’. My son struggled to use the Deore shifters on his XS Rockhopper, but to me they were fine… but his enjoyment of the bike was transformed when I upgraded to XT shifters and better cables. The XT shifters were noticeably lighter to use – so much so I upgraded my bike as well!

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vitus-nucleus-26-kids-mountain-bike-2019-altus/ if it comes back in stock in time!
The Whyte 403 is a lovely bike.
See also:

The best kids mountain bikes under £500 with 26″ and 27.5″ wheel size

and if you are feeling flush:

Best kids 26″ wheel mountain bikes

The best kids 27.5″ wheel mountain bikes – 2020

I also have an X-Tools Hanger Alignment tool, and it’s helped me fix three bikes so far.

As far as I know all the Southern Enduro races now have a U14 category… and they get to race the same stages as everyone else. Even the QECP Day and Night Enduro had juniors racing the full course – in the dark!

We have 3 Brand-X Ascends on different bikes… the oldest 2 are nearly 2 years old. All are still nice and smooth.

There is lots of useful information on kid’s bikes, and plenty of reviews (often by kids) on http://www.cyclesprog.co.uk/

SH Islas are not cheap, but when you sell on you will likely get a big chunk of your outlay back, and they are great bikes.

The other one that always does for me is Old Winchester Hill, but perhaps I’m tackling it wrong. I always end up having to turn 90deg left up a steep incline with a step at the bottom.

That is the proper route (“the Gunbarrel”) and it is pretty brutal. There is an alternate route north of Exton along the road I think, but it’s not really the SDW proper. The section from Winchester to QE is generally pretty mellow so the Gunbarrel and then the climb back up Salt Hill opposite the Sustainability Centre come as a bit of a shock!

‘Epic’ doesn’t quite do it justice… that’s a hugely impressive achievement. Respect!

I’d be a bit wary of Day 2… the route from Truleigh to Eastbourne has a lot of climbing, so 75 miles out-and-back will be a tough day and may well take you 10 hours. Truleigh to Eastbourne on its own is on a par with the whole Winchester to Truleigh section.

If you’ve not ridden with him before then you should make sure he knows how to brake safely, and how to come to a stop. I run a school MTB Club (7-15s) and before we take any kids off on an adventure we get to know them on our own small skills loop… I’ve had kids who basically drag their feet and aim for the nearest bush to stop! So start off easy. You’ll soon find out what they can and can’t do, but always find out in a ‘low consequence’ environment!

Cycling is awesome for kids who may struggle in class… it’s a great joy for me to be able to tell parents how focused and well behaved their kids are when it’s something they don’t often hear.

Also take a look at the Nukeproof Digger and Saracen Levarg