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26" or Junior Mountain Bike for 9 year old?! Decisions!

GriffterUKGriffterUK Posts: 13
edited March 2017 in Family & kids cycling forum
Hi All,

I'm looking to get a Mountain Bike (or possibly a hybrid) for my 9 year old son - who is about 142cm tall and has significantly outgrown his kids bike.

I've had differing advice between LBS, Halfords, and Tredz - some suggesting a Junior bike, others suggesting a 26" MTB (with a smaller frame etc).

I'm looking at spending around £250 - and would like it to be lightweight to give him some confidence on some rookie trails etc, and of course his #1 priority must be blue or maybe black!

If he sticks with the biking I'll be happy to replace it with a better more expensive one in the future but just looking for something half decent that will last say 2 years.

I've read that the islabikes are great - but at £500+ they are out of the question.
Then on the lower end the cheap nasty apollo range from Halfords look naff.

I'm thinking something along the lines of
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Dawes-XC18-HT-M ... _76900.htm

But I am no expert, and any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks all,

Griffter

Posts

  • oxomanoxoman Posts: 8,827
    I went through this dilemma a couple of years ago and ended up getting mine a £300 plus Merida Matts Dakar Champion with 24" wheels 10 speed gears and he loved it. Sadly he shot up height wise and didn't get what i thought was VFM out of the better bike. In a way i wish i had gone 2nd hand and got him a 26" small framed bike at the time, I recently got him small framed Boardman comp which will last him for a few years and if he dose sprout i can always swap the running gear to a bigger frame. Personally i'd be looking at a decent lightweight 26" second hardtail, loads around going cheapish as people jump onto the 27,5 and 29er band wagon.
    Too many bikes according to Mrs O.
  • GriffterUKGriffterUK Posts: 13
    oxoman wrote:
    I went through this dilemma a couple of years ago and ended up getting mine a £300 plus Merida Matts Dakar Champion with 24" wheels 10 speed gears and he loved it. Sadly he shot up height wise and didn't get what i thought was VFM out of the better bike. In a way i wish i had gone 2nd hand and got him a 26" small framed bike at the time, I recently got him small framed Boardman comp which will last him for a few years and if he dose sprout i can always swap the running gear to a bigger frame. Personally i'd be looking at a decent lightweight 26" second hardtail, loads around going cheapish as people jump onto the 27,5 and 29er band wagon.

    Thanks oxoman - I'll keep an eye out for a 2nd hand one.
  • GriffterUKGriffterUK Posts: 13
    I've also been looking at the discount bike shops where you can have them delivered un-assembled and have to put it together yourself:

    http://www.discountbicycles.co.uk/biz/p ... 65a1f18478

    Any opinions on the above bike and whether or not it would be difficult to assemble?

    Thanks all.
  • oxomanoxoman Posts: 8,827
    It's very low end and you could do alot better 2nd hand. Suspect it will be heavy as well. Not really what you want to inspire kids to get better on trail centres
    Too many bikes according to Mrs O.
  • GriffterUKGriffterUK Posts: 13
    Yeah you make a good point regarding weight.
    This following has great reviews and is light (although it is only 24" so how long it will last until he outgrows it is debatable):

    http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Frog-62-24w-201 ... _75474.htm
  • oviovi Posts: 396
    I will be getting my 10 year old daughter a 16" http://www.diamondback.co.uk/MTB/Product/?pc=1&pt=10&pg=18178 adults bike. She is 5'0" with a 28" inside leg measurement and the bike is fine after a test ride.
  • Steve-XcTSteve-XcT Posts: 267
    Lots of choices but if your are debating hybrid vs MTB and thinking to upgrade if they show interest it might no matter much.
    The only real reason to go 26" wheels (or bigger) is for a full suspension bike and there are plenty of adult jump bikes with 24" wheels so a larger 24 would probably work for long enough

    In your price bracket there are no kids 26" bikes.... (they exist but not in that price range) so an adult XS 27.5 would be same size-wise as they shift the geometry ... XS 29" just look silly to me. That said there are plenty of bargain 26ers on ebay... if you can find a XS and if your lad will ride a "womens bike".... (My 7yr old rides a "girls" bike)

    If you get a 26er for a decent price you can resell later ...

    Another alternative is you can LEASE a £2300 bike for £29/month (min 2 months) ... which sounds a lot but if you did this for 3-4 months might bridge a gap....

    http://hopeacademyuk.com/bikes/26-academy
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