XS FS AM for 14yr old...

felix.london

I'm after an Alpine-capable AM-but-leaning-towards-Enduro type bike in an XS size for my (soon-to-be) 14yr old daughter

Willing to sacrifice climbing ability for more stability on the local DH trails but can't be too heavy and needs gearing to do some long climbs too (prob 2x9 or 2x10 I guess) so any mini-DH/FR bikes are out

She's definitely outgrown her Spesh Hotrock so took her out on some DH trails the other week on a little 24" FR bike we rented and she loved it although this thing was kitted out with 203mm rotors and weighed as much as a small car.

Used fully built or just some frame (new or used) ideas would be helpful

Thanks.

rockmonkeysc

Commencal & Kona both do XS freeride bikes, they are the two most popular in the rippers category in downhill races
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/40428/Kon ... -Bike.html
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... tAodzS8Anw
I think Orange do a 14" Five which may be more suitable for the climbing but smaller bikes will be less stable than an adult size bike so not sure it will be much good on DH trails.

cooldad

I think you missed the bit about no mini DH/FR. Those are both a bit chunky.
I got my son a Marin FS a few years ago in about 13". Reasonably light and superb for generaL rough stuff.

felix.london

Single ring set-ups just aint gonna cut it on any climbs 'round us. Need a 22/36 up front I reckon (I'd prob swap out the 36t for a 34 or 32)

Also - I'm a bit wary of small wheels on the really rough stuff - wont it just feel even rougher?

paul.skibum

How tall is she anyway? And Weight?

Plenty of 14/15 yr olds are taller than me!

felix.london

paul.skibum wrote:

How tall is she anyway? And Weight?

Plenty of 14/15 yr olds are taller than me!

Probably knocking around 5ft by now and I guess about 35-40kg

felix.london

cooldad wrote:

I think you missed the bit about no mini DH/FR. Those are both a bit chunky.
I got my son a Marin FS a few years ago in about 13". Reasonably light and superb for generaL rough stuff.

I don't see any Full sussers on their website smaller than a Small

cooldad

Maybe it was a small, but he was under 5' at the time, and about that weight. Proper 26" wheels, just a small frame.
Crashed it a lot but learnt a lot.

felix.london

cooldad wrote:

Maybe it was a small, but he was under 5' at the time, and about that weight. Proper 26" wheels, just a small frame.
Crashed it a lot but learnt a lot.

That sounds like what I'm after.