Single chain ring bike for a 10yr old

-=MarkJ=-
-=MarkJ=- Posts: 10
edited August 2013 in MTB beginners
Hi,

I'm about to try and get my son (and myself) into mountain biking and I'm really struggling finding the right bike. I know that an article on this site and others around the web say fit and weight are the most important factors at this stage but I think its a bit more complicated for my lad. For a start at 149cm he's also a bit of an in-between size as far as i can tell. XS adult bikes apparently fit as do 24".

The Islabikes Creig 26 would be perfect but that's well out of my budget. You see my lads autistic so I want to make it as simple to operate and as enjoyable as possible for him to safely get a bit of speed up on the blueruns or similar. He would struggle and get frustrated with 2 lots of gear levers and having to push this and click that, so a single grip shift would best I think. I would also like adjustable suspension for him because tbh i want it to be as safe and stable at speed as my own bike would be - its only fair eh?

I thought the following spec would help him no end:

single chain ring
high ratio cassette
grip shift
v brakes are fine
adjustable front fork
6005 alu is fine

I might be asking the impossible here, but has anyone got any idea of a bike around £200-350 that gets close to this spec? (what i spend on this will dictate the budget for my own bike!)

Many thanks in advance

Mark

Comments

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    I think you'de be best placed getting a reasonable bike and then covert to what you want, swap on SS front and gripshift and sell on the bits you don't need (or keep to convert back before selling), wouldn't cost much sourcing off ebay.

    Carrera blast 24" is a reasonable 24" bike.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • cheers mate, I'd thought along those lines myself, dunno if my skills are up there yet but i think i'll go do a bit of research see what i need to do exactly,

    thanks for reply

    Mark