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Daughter currently 9, she's riding a Vitus 24+.
It's been a great bike, I'll keep her on it over winter and maybe move her on in spring.
We rented a full suss whilst on holiday (polygon siskiu 24) which she loved and now she's obsessed with the idea of getting a full suss.
I'm not necessarily convinced she needs FS, but don't mind if it keeps her interested and she uses it. I think it's time for front suspension at least.
Need to build a list of bikes to be looking at.... What else should I look out for? Polygon siskiu, canyon young hero, Marin rift zone etc. Or vitus nucleus 26, nukeproof cub scout?
What have you had your 10yr olds on!? What else can I chuck into a regular search on eBay? Open to new or used, not really got a budget as such, but the beautiful transition ripcord I saw at biketrek Ings was taking the piss a bit at £2700!!
Would something like an old cotic bfe in small be a goer, or too heavy?
Always good to have an excuse to talk kids on bikes and post up pictures of cool kids bikes!
What about running some 24" wheels in a 26" frame? An old xc bike for light weight? Santa Cruz blur perhaps?
Lots of people I know have used old Orange 5s with 26 wheels and a selection of anglesets, offset shock bushings and or different length forks for their kids. I expect they can be picked up reasonably cheap nowadays, even the newer ones with tapered head tubes.
They also happened to be quite light bikes that could be thoroughly thrashed and rode really well.
My 10 year old has a scott spark 700 future pro that’s really nice.
27.5 wheels and more than capable for everything that she does.
she won’t stop growing so we will probably need to replace it in the new year.
At 10 (4'10") my son went from a Vitus 24 to an XS 27.5" full suspension. (Jamis Dakar)
Initially thought it would be too big and cumbersome but found it too be totally the opposite and he's now a very competent rider.
2 years later (5'3") he's outgrown it and moved onto a small frame mullet 29/27.5 set up. Just got back from the Alps and he's absolutely flying.
Picture is him at Saalbach last year.on the Jamis. 
Apologies for the plug, but the Jamis is for sale in the classifieds.
Just measured her this morning, she's 4'8 so could be about the right sort of height next spring.
I assumed that the jump from 24 straight to 27.5 would mean a too big, unwieldy bike. Was thinking 26 would be the logical step.
@hoff was the jamis significantly longer/bigger/heavier or was he straight on it, no problems!?
My daughter's 24 is 24+, but she does struggle with rough ground still, I think the better rolling of a bigger wheel will make a huge difference so she can carry speed a bit better.
My pad went from 24 to 27.5 at age 11 absolutely fine. Kids don’t care as long as it looks cool. They’re growing so fast nothing is going to fit perfectly for long.
I'd recommend going straight to 27.5. Just keep an eye on seat tube length (and avoid overly kinked seat tube that can't run droppers properly) and standover stats.
Thump was on a Kona Fire Mountain at 10. They are still available with 26" wheels for the small sizes.
My lanky 8 year old went straight from 20" to 27.5" and while the 27.5 is only just fitting now, it'll be perfect by next summer. I don't think it's that big of a jump really. He's on a Giant Talon, 27.5" in the XS size.
Was thinking 26 would be the logical step.
If you want to try a 26" Stumpie carbon with lots of bling kit then my missus' old 15.5" is needing got rid of fur a reasonable price
(Manchester)
It did look odd when he first sat on it. He got used to it pretty much straight away. We kept his Vitus just in case, that looked way too small when he sat back on it and never got ridden again.
Within days/weeks he was happily tackling trails in the FOD/Lakes that he'd found challenging before. Had a great week in the Alps a few months later.
Agree with the dropper post comment, fitting one made a notable difference. Had to restrict the travel to start with.
He wanted a Marin (Matt Jones fan!) this time around but couldn't find any sensibly priced, small 27.5ers (in any brand). Was worried a 29" wheel might be too big, happy to be proven wrong again.
Like others have said, kids adapt very quickly... grown-ups overthink things!
Just hope he doesn't outgrow this one too quickly.
If your after a new bike "Kids Racing" have a range of Hupp bikes.
Hupp Cc.
Both mine (now 11 and 13) are on 14" Kona's from the late 90's/early 00's. The older one has almost outgrown it after over 2 years.
Picked up second hand. Upgraded from my parts bin and swapped to 1x, dropping 1.5kg off one of the bikes!
If full suss is required, look for an XS 00's bike. Maybe Kona, specialized. Giant etc. id stock with a 26er as wheels. Tyres etc are all lighter which makes a bigger difference the smaller you are.
I'm currently hunting for a medium 2008ish specialized epic to convert to a gravel bike....
Dropped you a message, my son's xs 26" Giant Cypher is about to be for sale, might suit your needs quite well. But otherwise, in a big fan of older 26" bikes for kids - good value and not too massive!
My son is turning 10 in a couple of weeks. Went from a Vitus 24+ to a Rockhopper Comp in XS. 27.5 wheels, Deore throughout. Picked it up second hand and its a great bike.
He and I are well happy with it. First trip to Bike Park Wales last week and the bike was ace.
My standard answer is Marin Hawk Hill junior - takes 24 or 26" wheels and is perfect. Now called Rift Zone Jr or something, but it's the same.
My 12 year old (151cm) is on a xs Marin Rift Zone 27.5" and it works well, but took me ages to find. That would be just about rideable at 142cm, but it's going to be quite a perch and I think the wheels are too big for them to effectively ride.
P.S. I can't remember where you are in the UK, but if you're near Wirral you're welcome to have a whirl on our Marin (or we have a Giant Anthem in small on 26" which is also used by a 151cm 10 year old).
We went
8-10 ish Kona Stinky 2-4 (much lightened)
10-11 ish Orange Five Diva 26 (basically a XS)
11-12 ish Orange Alpine 160 26 Small
13-14 ish Bird Aether 27.5 Large
My eldest is short for his age, was about 4' 9" when I found an extra-small Bird Aeris on pinkbike.- £600 was worth a punt. Chucked some spare 26" wheels on it and he was away. It really brought on his riding having a "proper" bike and the weight doesn't seem to have bothered him. Now he's approaching 5' I'm thinking he's ready for 27.5", at least on the front.