My boy is about to turn 9 and is just shy of 150cm
hes currently riding a nukeproof Cub Scout 24 but is keen to get a full suss
he wants to ride bike parks but still use it for xc and bikepacking
any thoughts on size/wheel size?
I’ve been looking for a decent spec 26” but not found anything yet, so started looking at newer 27.5”
any thoughts on particularly good bikes to keep an eye out for?
cheers
Watching this with interest - in a very similar position!
Hmm keep an eye out second hand. I picked up a 2015 BMC Fourstroke FS03 in XS size - she's 5-2 but that's with a 100mm Reverb fitted. Way too small for me and it's a 29er but it's very light for an alloy XC bike - I can raise the saddle, but it's quite short on reach - something like that may work.
A few months ago I was in a similar situation looking for FlyingOx Jr. I found an extra small Bird Aeris mk1.5 on pinkbike for a bargain price, swapped the 27.5" wheels for some 26" I had at the back of the shed and he's absolutely loving it.
Only thing is he weighs about as much as half a bag of crisps so both fork and shock are running almost atmospheric pressure to get him some bounce. He'll grow into it though and we've got the 27.5 wheels ready for when he gets taller.
These are meant to be good I think:
We’ve just got a Canyon Neuron Young Hero for our 10 year old daughter, fantastic bike and it doesn’t half shift 🙂 I started a thread about it…
Jamis Dakar.
Got one for my 11 year old. Similar height to your child.
It's got 27.5 wheels and xS frame.
Millets, blqcks etc were knocking them out for 700 (reduced from 1600) the other week.
Thanks
i have been looking for secondhand but seems like there might be some new bargains about
I’ve got an xs 26” giant anthem with SIDs that I built up (on a second hand frame) when my lad was that age. Just got it back from my nephew now he’s outgrown it too.
Happy to pass on to a forum member for £150. Will need to collect from near Burton on Trent.
I also have a Moda road bike for that age range I’ll sell for £75 (or £200 for both).
I got two Marin Rift Zones in 27.5/XS flavour, when my two were at that stage. They did everything on them, from Mini DH races, to big rides in the Cairngorms and everything in between. I ended up getting a couple of OneUp 100mm droppers in them, dropping the travel down to 80mm once they were big enough, as that is a game changer to reducing faff when out riding.
We got ours in an end of season sale (back when that was a thing), so might be some around now.
I dawdled too long on an XS Orange Five - one of the last 26" wheeled ones - for my 10 year old. Currently building an NS Bikes Clash Jr (hardtail) for him with some Revs etc. Looks like an absolute ripper of a bike! Will probably keep an eye open for something with some bounce although the rate his older brother is growing, he'll be needing something bigger than his S sized Alpine 160 soon so the 10 year old can grow into that!
The difficult thing, is not getting carried away and looking at the sort of bikes I like!! <br />he would be happy with anything but I can’t help looking at mini versions of bikes I’d ride😂
Ahem..........
Just a helpful link to my sale ad...!
https://singletrackmag.com/advert/fs-bike-for-8-12yr-old-giant-cypher-xs-frame-with-26-wheels/
