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Friend of mine has set me a task to find a decent full sus bike for his 14 year old. He's about 5 feet 9 inches, so a medium size will be ok for now and a year or three from now.
So, what's good value around the £900 mark? 100mm to 150mm travel, but 120 is probably the sweet spot. Forest of Dean riding, plus going down 'the jumps' with his mates.
GO!
If its new then you might struggle but there are a few about like at Decathlon [url= http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-91-2013-mountain-bike-black-id_8213074.html ]http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-91-2013-mountain-bike-black-id_8213074.html[/url]
Or this doesn't look too bad [url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_810755_langId_-1_categoryId_165499 ]Carrera Banshee [/url]
Having said all that look on Pauls Cycles where they have Mongoose Salvo's, Cannondale Rz 120's, Cube XMS's, Giant Anthem's and Trance's all around the £900 mark.
Giant Trance or the Mongoose Salvo would be my choice on the basis of versatility.
At that price he'd be better with a HT, plus far more suited for jumping and the like.
HT surely...
if i was 14 this would appeal to me....heck i'm 41 and it appeals to me!!
[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=75660 ]linky[/url]
A mate of mine has one of those Banshees. It's massive, it's very heavy and I'd be surprised if a 14 yr old could get any use out of it.
I'd say hooligan hardtail would be the way to go. Does it have to be new?
Build one! Out of second hand parts, you can get decent full sus frames off here for around £200.
Whathaveisaidnow - Member
HT surely...if i was 14 this would appeal to me....heck i'm 41 and it appeals to me!!
linky
Thats a goodun.
Ride IO (old Southerndownhill forum) is good for second hand stuff, but descriptions can be a bit looser on there....
Rickos I've had the rockrider 9.1 for 2 years and its a great bike esp for the money well specd and rides really well
Yep Rickos, don't let the general snobbery against cheaper full suss put you off 😉
more than his budget, but not by much - [url= http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Camber-Comp-3718-30-0.html ]Specialized Camber Comp[/url]
Has he ridden much before? If not, definitely a hardtail, will learn a lot more, plus as said, better for jumps, wheelies, and skids.
You don't use a full sus for going down the jumps. He needs a hardtail.
That Nukeproof is the dogs! #wantone
I should have known STW would be all "You don't want a full sus, you want a hardtail you do."
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Anyway, he rides regularly off road on proper off road stuff and has outgrown his hardtail. This will be that mythical one bike to do everything, but 'down the jumps' is only a small part of his riding. Some is on road with his Mum, some is proper off road in the woods and some is round Verderers, etc. Nowt wrong with the lad wanting a full sus bike and he'd be gutted if he was given a hardtail just because we all think it's better for him. He loves Kona for some reason...
Anyway, thanks for the ideas - may well go down the 2nd hand route but with a brand new Deore groupset from one of the German sites.
Get a second hand frame, hope wheels, fox forks and finishing kit. Then get a groupset from one of the german sites (i got an slx one for £180) and some shimano deore brakes off rose bikes.
Should work out at less than £900, my build with the above was around £700.
a medium to last 3 years ??
i would certainly have a look at his dad/brothers etc to see how tall they are. he will still have a couple of growth spirts left yet. he could reach 6ft by 16 easily.
its hard to call the size at that age when you want the bike to last.
some mediums are a small in some brands and some are a large etc. so definatly look at that also.
do you go for a bike that fits now and wont fit in a years time, or buy a slightly bigger bike now, so he grows into it.
hmmmm
A medium should last 3 years, and anyway if you get a second hand frame, then if you have to sell it to get something bigger, you don't lose much on it.
Bought my lad a 5 year old Orange 5 pro and stuck a short stem and inline post on it, great bike and will fit him for ages....
You don't want the bike to last, you want it to fit him now. Do it right and you'll only need to change the frame when he reaches 6 foot at [s]16[/s] 15 😉
It's false economy to get a bike a kid will grow into, as he won't enjoy riding it if it's too big, and it's the first few months that will seal the deal in terms of attitude to riding it. I built my lad a 16" mmmbop for his 13th birthday, but was 5'9" at the time. Needless to say it was ragged plenty. He's reached 6 foot now and has swapped the frame for this:
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Teaching him to swap the bits to the new frame himself was a great pleasure
Have a look at Santa Cruz 4x or other full sus 4x frames can build into nice xc hack bikes, pretty versatile. If I was 14 again I'd want the beefed up frame over skinny xc frames even if it was a lot heavier.
Just reviving this thread to show what we did in the end.
Kona Dawg frame and some other bits from eBay, raided my parts bin and then bought some new stuff and we've got a pretty good bike for around £800. Best bargain were the Bonty Rhythm Elite wheels for £100 delivered from eBay.
Typical teenager decided that an orange and green chain guide was a 'cool' idea!
[url= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2850/9171096049_5ee151bf72_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/rick2/9171096049/ ]Tom's bike[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/rick2/ ]Rick T.[/url], on Flickr
Nice looking bike. I bet the lad's happy.