MTB for my 8 year old son

Nomad2

Hi,
I'm looking for some advice on buying the next bike for my son. He currently has a 20" Scott Voltage which he has gotten great service from both on paths and also on singletrack which he absolutely loves. I also have a 5 year old son who is ready to move up to the 20 inch bike. He is tearing up the trails as keen as anything, the only thing lacking is gears to get up hills. Both have done 30km rides on paths. My wife and I are keen riders and we ride every weekend.

My 8 year old is probably a few months off fitting a 24 inch bike. As I am looking at 24 inch bikes in the meantime, a couple have stood out. One is the Giant XTC Jr 1 disc. It looks pretty well equipped compared to others at a similar price point. But then there's the weight. It's apparently 13.8kg which seems a lot. I noticed the Felt Q24 disc was 13.1kg but more expensive. The Q24 (v-brakes) is 12.6. Then there's the Byk 510 mtb which is 12kg. It's a bit more expensive than the Giant, but the question is, how much value to place on weight saving versus having disc brakes?

I'd like to get a bike that will help my son do longer rides as well as off-road rides and one that will help him to keep up a goodish pace (within reason). I know there are also things like the Giant XTC lite but this seems too big an outlay and given the punishment the Scott Voltage has had to survive I wonder if a bike like that would survive it.

I posed these questions on another forum and just got the advice to skip the 24 inch stage altogether as kids grow out of them too quick. This may be sound advice but I'm still keen to keep the momentum going in their interest in riding. Would be keen to hear any advice people may have on any of the above.

thanks

Alan

Steve-XcT

I don't rate the Giant Jr. (And I ride a Giant) useless forks and nothing on the bike you won't want to change. If you check out Giant Italy then they have a really nice Giant Jnr. (If you search on eBay and include EU sellers you will find this being sold by Cremoli of similar (I'm in an airport on my phone so forgive the vague details)

I agree with the above that the Merida is actually best of the bunch and the one least in need of everything ripping off.....

POAH has done a fantastic job on a carerra blast and for some reason the Luna seems much cheaper on eBay used??? It's identical so far as I can tell except a girls ....

You can buy a really nice frame (poison bikes again see eBay ) and build or find a donor bike like the carerra or find something you don't want to rip apart from go ....

If you want to spend a grand up front you can have it all .... But who wants to do that with something that will be outgrown

bartimaeus

My normal recommendation would be to stick with a rigid bike (Islabike, Frog) as they are so much lighter than anything with suspension... and most kids suspension is pretty poor. I run kids MTB rides at a local school, and for now the 'best' bikes are all dad-built XS 26" with air forks or rigids... though one of our lot has a Decathlon Rockrider with an air fork - too big for an 8 year old though.

However:

(1) The Specialized Riprock looks a really fun bike and while not light is not ludicrously heavy, and with big fat tyres run at low pressure there should be masses of grip as well as a decent ride quality. I've only seen them in the shop, though, and not out on the trail. I REALLY want one of the kids to try one!

(2) The Orbea MX kids range also look pretty good. The basic ones are light and rigid - as is the expensive 24"... but the 26" bikes also look promising. Again I've only seen these in the local Orbea shop, not out on the trails.

(3) Dawes new Academy range aren't cheap, but look great on paper (http://dawescycles.com/product/academy-24-mtb/)... all have air forks and are lightweight e.g. the 24" in 10.8kg (but £550 - still a lot cheaper than an Islabike HT).

Nomad2

Steve-XcT wrote:

I don't rate the Giant Jr. (And I ride a Giant) useless forks and nothing on the bike you won't want to change. If you check out Giant Italy then they have a really nice Giant Jnr. (If you search on eBay and include EU sellers you will find this being sold by Cremoli of similar (I'm in an airport on my phone so forgive the vague details)

I agree with the above that the Merida is actually best of the bunch and the one least in need of everything ripping off.....

POAH has done a fantastic job on a carerra blast and for some reason the Luna seems much cheaper on eBay used??? It's identical so far as I can tell except a girls ....

You can buy a really nice frame (poison bikes again see eBay ) and build or find a donor bike like the carerra or find something you don't want to rip apart from go ....

If you want to spend a grand up front you can have it all .... But who wants to do that with something that will be outgrown

Thanks. Here in Australia Giant do have the XTC SL Jr 24 which I think is the one you are referring to. Looked at the Italy site and appeared to be the same. Looks nice with the hydraulic discs and better gears, but the one I saw in a shop had the same tyres as the cheaper version and the specs show some steel components, plus its $825 AUD.

Nomad2

oxoman wrote:

I looked at loads of bikes for my 10yr old and it was either 24" or stretch him even longer on his old 20" bike which he didn't want to get rid of and go to a 26" bike once he grew a bit. Looked at isla bikes,frog bikes, trek, giant, felt, carrera you name it we looked in the end he has got a merida matts jr24 champion hardtail with 10 speed Deore gearing and single up front. He absolutely loves it, has done cannock, Sherwood,hicks loads of local natural trails and shortly llandegla and brenin trail centres. Very light compared with others was even lighter than his old 20"giant. Merida May not be the most known name on the block but they build a lot of other manufacturers bikes and own a big chunk of specialized.

I agree with your sentiment toward Merida. My wife and I both have Merida hardtails with XT components and we love them. Only problem with the Jr24 champion is the lack of multiple chainrings. Whilst I appreciate the simplicity and weight savings and suitability for dirt, I still want a bike my son can ride at a reasonable pace on paths/roads. My son, whilst he loves the lowish gearing on his current bike for on the trails, gets upset when he can't keep up with his friends who are on bikes with taller gearing. It's hard to find a bike to do everything I guess...

Nomad2

oxoman wrote:

Nomad, I wouldn't worry about the speed off road, my youngest is quite capable of keeping up on most downhill sections with me without spinning out. He only struggles occasionally on really steep uphill sections. Certainly doesn't miss having a double or triple chainset. Should point out he is fairly fit, rides road bikes as well and loves going fast. Will probably get him a double chainset on his next mtb when he goes to a 26" wheeled bike, purely because of the increased weight and harder riding.

I understand your point. I guess if I bought a road bike for my son I wouldn't be so worried about the extra chain rings on an mtb either. I guess I'm hoping to do both with the one bike.

Steve-XcT

Nomad2 wrote:

oxoman wrote:

I looked at loads of bikes for my 10yr old and it was either 24" or stretch him even longer on his old 20" bike which he didn't want to get rid of and go to a 26" bike once he grew a bit. Looked at isla bikes,frog bikes, trek, giant, felt, carrera you name it we looked in the end he has got a merida matts jr24 champion hardtail with 10 speed Deore gearing and single up front. He absolutely loves it, has done cannock, Sherwood,hicks loads of local natural trails and shortly llandegla and brenin trail centres. Very light compared with others was even lighter than his old 20"giant. Merida May not be the most known name on the block but they build a lot of other manufacturers bikes and own a big chunk of specialized.

I agree with your sentiment toward Merida. My wife and I both have Merida hardtails with XT components and we love them. Only problem with the Jr24 champion is the lack of multiple chainrings. Whilst I appreciate the simplicity and weight savings and suitability for dirt, I still want a bike my son can ride at a reasonable pace on paths/roads. My son, whilst he loves the lowish gearing on his current bike for on the trails, gets upset when he can't keep up with his friends who are on bikes with taller gearing. It's hard to find a bike to do everything I guess...

My feelings are that the "perfect bike" doesn't exist in a shop ....
I'm unsure personally if disc brakes would ever be required .... my experience of SE England UK trails in Winter is you are riding through sloppy but sticky mud with grit .... and its annoying having the rim brakes when you the wheel gets slightly out of true. Your mileage may vary ..... (as they say) .... I'd guess trails in the Blue Mountains would be similar to what we ride in terms of the mud and grit ... for example.... as we are "blessed with a wet climate" ... and where I live no big hills like Wales where it drains away....

So that said ... your restrictions as I see it are (frame wise disc or not) then the rear hub and BB/chaining .... BIGGEST is Cassette vs Freewheel unless you want to build your own wheels.... as then your stuck on the 6-7 speed freewheels or go to the cassette and then you have 7,8,9,10 .... where the 10 will also probably need a different chain-ring the 7 possibly a spacer but you can do 7-9 all on the same 3/32nd chain....

One way or another the trick seems to be buying the one that you need to change the least!
My thoughts a forks are EITHER rigid or air..... non of the 24" spring forks seem to have the option of changing springs as the kid grows and are pretty poor anyway!

JimReyes

20" Scott Voltage is good , But if you want to buy a new one than ,Camber Grom would be the good option for your son. It features a lightweight M5 aluminum chassis with real Fox and RockShox suspension components. The Grom rolls on 24-inch wheels, and can easily be converted to 26-inch wheels as your little ripper grows into a full sized trail shredder. SRAM handles the drivetrain with a simple, rugged 1 x 10-speed X5/X7 system. I hope you will get good one in last.

Steve-XcT

Nomad2 wrote:

oxoman wrote:

Nomad, I wouldn't worry about the speed off road, my youngest is quite capable of keeping up on most downhill sections with me without spinning out. He only struggles occasionally on really steep uphill sections. Certainly doesn't miss having a double or triple chainset. Should point out he is fairly fit, rides road bikes as well and loves going fast. Will probably get him a double chainset on his next mtb when he goes to a 26" wheeled bike, purely because of the increased weight and harder riding.

I understand your point. I guess if I bought a road bike for my son I wouldn't be so worried about the extra chain rings on an mtb either. I guess I'm hoping to do both with the one bike.

Multiple options spring to mind here ...
Cheapest is get a second chainring ... 34-36T ... It's literally a 5 minute job to change. (hardly more hassle than taking the wheels on and off) (I bought a 30 and 34 when Superstar had a half price sale ... at GBP 15 each)

Second is a bit more expensive and that's a second rear wheel with a road cassette ... but then you might still want the larger front ring.

3rd is .... buy a "best you can get 24er" with air forks .... pull the entire drive train off for offroad and buy a "spares or parts" frame.
Put everything you ripped off (maybe leave off a granny ring) on the £/$ 20 frame.