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A bike reshuffle is due in the Oddie household.
Youngest has outgrown his Isla Beinn 20 small, which means he'll get the older borther Isla Beinn 20 Large.
Which means the 9 year old will need a new bike...
He's getting to the stage now where a suspension fork actually might make sense.
Having done a decent trawl of the internet I have found Commencal Meta HT, Whyte 403, Islabikes creig 24, Cube Kid 240 SL, Orbea MX Trail and Saracen Mantra 2.4, Trek Superfly 26.
All are 24in wheels aside from the Whyte and Trek.
They range from 500 to 750quid. I could happily get one of the cheaper models and spend the difference on a few choice upgrades.
I have pretty much dismissed the Cube due to the horrendously steep head angle.
Anyone got a kid on any of the above? Anything I have missed?
Islabike Crieg 24 pro? http://www.islabikes.co.uk/products/bikes/item/creig-24-pro-series
We have just bought the Whyte 403 for the 8yo.
So far I'm impressed and the lad got round the red at llandegla this weekend.
He found the climb at the start much tougher though after riding the Beinn up it in the past. Point it down though and confidence he got from it is great.
Looks very big, but when he's riding it it looks right, helps that he is used to shifting his weight around on a bike.
When funds allow the gripshift is going and I may look at building up lighter wheels...
Islabike Crieg 24 pro? http://www.islabikes.co.uk/products/bikes/item/creig-24-pro-series
If I had £1500 for a kids bike he's be getting the Trek Full-Susser...
I've just bought my now 8yo a Frog 62, we've been on Islabikes up until now. It feels lighter than the spec suggests, its cheaper than Islabikes at £305 delivers, comes with proper rather than grip shift shifters, also comes with simple (as in 3 bolts all around) to fit guards and 2 sets - on/off road tyres - & a five year warranty.
He loves it, it works well and he'll be able to ride/race on it until at least 12. At this age he doesn't need FS, a fork or disks.
Very impressed, well done Frog.
We're in the same situation and I keep going back to the Orbea, it looks good and is lighter than the Saracen.
It also has proper shifters rather than bullshite gripshift -a real pet hate of mine on kids bikes. Price is already coming down to just over £400 on some websites. I'd like to have a real look at one but no one round here has them in.
My daughter is quite dinky so I think 26 wheels will just be too big.
The Cube make me feel ill when I look at it...
We got the Orbea MX team 24" wheeled version and its a great bike.
My lad is too light for a fork to be of any use at the moment.
I swapped the stem for a shorter one - as the reach was abit too much.
Everything works well. I think the brakes may get upgraded at some point to some better v-brakes.
But that's about all. No need on disc's at the moment.
My 9 year old has a Genesis Core 24...it's a cracking little bike. They have changed it this year to rigid forks.
We just got a Hoy bonaly for my 6 year old, very impressive, don't think we'll be going back to iskabike!
[url= http://spawncycles.com/ca/bikes/spawn-cycles-shojo-239 ]Shipping would bust the budget, but killer bike with a proper air fork[/url]
Or for slacker, Kotori frame with d-hanger dropouts and add your own parts!
My daughter got this for her 10th Birthday Trek Cali SL 27.5 great bike with decent brakes and suspension
[url= https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/500/32083790742_3c62d2c971_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/500/32083790742_3c62d2c971_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/QT8PcU ]14237629_10154543614346474_4536908233922575951_n-2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/nzrich/ ]Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ns-bikes-clash-jr-24-kids-bike-2017/rp-prod150399
I got 2016 version of this £400..its ok.. good geometry... but needs severe upgrades to get it to a decent spec...ive gone a R1 brakes, 10speed narrow wide 30T...11-36 cassette, 600 bars(680 way too big for a kid)...now looking for forks(2.8Kg!!)...much lighter 100mm forks needed...
that whyte 403 is a bargain!!
Would definitely suggest trying them out. The whyte looks nice but will the wheels feel big?
Check out the forks. Lots on kids bikes are useless & heavy.
My kids are just growing out of their Hoy Bonaly 24s which were great. We added an RST Fork for Alps / BPW stuff (from bike-discount) and disc brakes would have been good but there wasn't much about a few years ago.
A mate is about to advertise a hardly used, lime green Isla Beinn 24. Think it's 12 months old and used about 10 times.
Will be well priced so could leave lots of upgrade cash spare.
How tall a 9 year old?
All ours were on 26" about then, but they're a tall(ish) clan. We saw friends kids grow through 24" really quickly, so I bough one small 24" Kona - and indeed all ours grew through it daft quick...
We had Beinn 26 with boings forks (great geometry, cost was parts plus £40 depreciation for three kids), 13" Trek 4800 with 'zocci Superfly forks and old skool 8sp XTR from retrobike (short reach, heavier wheels, the fork was teh awesome) and still have Specialized Hardrock Womens is XS flava, with Fox forks, SLX brakes and Mavic Crossmax plus wheels (best geometry, larger in reach and stack than the others, but has lasted them better as they grow.
All cost £2-300 second hand.
The Specialized will be for sale before easter.
How tall a 9 year old?
Not particularly...he is distinctly average when compared to his classmates and rugby team mates.
Worst case scenario, if he has a growth spurt we'll move him up and his brother up again. I'd rather have bikes that fit than stretching him out on something too big.
Current favourites are the Whyte (but would want him to try one for size before buying) or the Orbea which certainly looks a little smaller.
Both would get drivetrain upgrades from new and the whyte would get a flat bar too (why spec a riser bar on that bike? Daft)
My 8 yr old has been on 26" wheels for the last 6 months. Make a significant difference to rolling/ease of travelling over rough terrain. He's on a beinn26, next bike will be 13" "adult" hardtail built up from parts, probably when he's about nine and a half. I wouldn't go twenty four inch at nine years old.
I built this up for my 10 year old daughter last year from an eBay 13" frame and some parts from the shed. She gets 'nuff' respect from the local youth who didn't believe that it wasn't her dad's bike (unsure how tall they thought I must be!).
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/project-bike-for-10-year-old-daughter-complete
26" wheels are fine for anyone at circa 140cm - my 9 year old son can ride it OK but has to drop the saddle right down and I think he's still better on his Beinn 24. She's closer to 150cm now and it's the perfect size for her and much lighter than most kids bikes (£500 wheelset probably helps...).
Was great fun building it together - she enjoyed getting oily and now has a pretty good idea of how it all works.
Pinnacle Kauri is a nice 26er that's designed like a 29er for small people. No boing though, and doesn't seem to have space for one:
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We just got a Hoy bonaly for my 6 year old, very impressive, don't think we'll be going back to iskabike!
Just got my shortish 7 year old son on a Hoy Bonaly 24, he's loving it 😀
Proper shifters, unlike the twist grips on the Islabikes and a great paint scheme.
My kids both still prefer gripshift, especially when it's cold and they have gloves on or have numb thumbs.
That Pinnacle Kauri has a touch of the Jones/Stooge about it.
Though imagine how high the bars will be vs the seat with the saddle at a less skyscrapery height.
BillOddie - Member
That Pinnacle Kauri has a touch of the Jones/Stooge about it.Though imagine how high the bars will be vs the seat with the saddle at a less skyscrapery height.
That's definitely an issue when my 9 year old (tallish) son rides the Rockhopper I built above. He has to have the saddle almost all the way down and it puts him in a real sit up and beg position, even with flat bars. Since those photos we moved the spacers all above the stem to get the bars lower and it's now fine for my tall and leggy 11 year old who probably has the seat up 100mm higher than him.
Though imagine how high the bars will be vs the seat with the saddle at a less skyscrapery height
Yeah. Thinking about it for her next bike but would need to see it sat on. There's some leeway to slam and flip that stem.
However when you look at the Hoy and the Pinnacle 26ers next to each other on Evans sites, the bar heights are identical, it's just the low standover that makes it look high. So with a long enough seatpost you could get the same positions. The Jamis for example with suspension has an even higher front end - as you'd expect.
But it's rigid only by the look of it. Might be an issue, not sure.
Dude...
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That norco weighs over 31lbs.
This looks a decent option:
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Pretty much the same weight as Islabikes, 150quid cheaper...
Scope to get the bars lower getting the spacers lower and swapping the bars to flat bars...
I would always spend your full budget on the bike, rather than spend less and look to upgrade (unless you know you've got good bits in the parts bin ready to fit). You'll get better value and there is much less need to fiddle with kids bike specs then there used to be - so many are good out of the box now.
Assuming you want something to go properly off road (and assuming your 9 year old sizes up right) then I'd look at the Whyte 403 and the Islabike Creig 26 first, depending on spending appetite. They look pretty comparable in specs, but the Islabike shaves weight throughout to end up a couple of pounds lighter. The Islabike finishing will be good too and it's better sized than the Whyte - 165mm cranks will almost certainly feel very long to the rider, the 140mm on the Creig is a much better size. The Whyte is a touch slacker in the head tube, which might be important depending on what sort of riding they're doing. At £350 cheaper than the 405, the 403 looks a bargain, but you'd spend a hell of a lot more than that if you tried to upgrade the 403 to match it. The Creig sits neatly between the two - you get what you pay for really.
As some have said - be really careful of the stack. A lot of manufacturers focus lots of effort on getting a low standover and seem to ignore the front end. Super-short, low stems and flat bars can do quite a bit to bring hand down and back enough, but you don't want to be fighting a losing battle. My eldest has ben on the 26" trek full-sus since he just turned 10 (and he's not tall be any means) - fitted really well once the bars were proper slammed 😉 (only pic I could find to show it!)
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If Dawes really have hit those weights with the Academy bikes then that's very impressive. The specs look pretty good too.
A decent non-suspension option might be the Scott Scale RC Junior 24.
https://www.scott-sports.com/gb/en/products/249805043/SCOTT-Scale-RC-JR-24-disc-Bike
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Shame that Dawes is bloody purple!
Also Jacob thinks Islabikes are for "little kids" too, which is interesting...too many gnar Enduro videos been watched on Pinkbike maybe? Who knows.
Orbea have sold all their MX 24 bikes for this year and aren't getting any more in until next year! Gutted...
Orbea have sold all their MX 24 bikes for this year and aren't getting any more in until next year! Gutted...
Not surprised by this as there wasn't much stock around when I was looking.
Jacob ended up with a Saracen Mantra 2.4. He seems pleased with it...
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Billoddie,
How tall is your lad on the Saracen?
Toying with one for my daughter.
Cheers
He's a distinctly average nearly 9 year old, IIRC 130cm-ish, except for his stumpy legs and longer than average body.
I did have to get a shorter post for the saracen as it comes with a 330mm that won't drop all the way down.
It looks good, how is the weight of the Saracen?
It's little things like it being 9 speed instead of 10 and Promax brakes instead of Shimano that don't compare favourably to the Orbea.
But then, the Orbea now doesn't exist now so I suppose I'm not comparing like with like. A 10 speed cassette and shifter wouldn't break the bank I suppose. My daughter does like her twiddly little gears!
Shameless plug of Scott Voltage Jr in the classifieds.--->
Weight of the Mantra 2.4 is 11kg exactly.
Shameless plugging of a Frog 62 as well >>>>
[url= http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3285&p=1227519&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Kids%20Bikes&gclid=CjwKEAiArbrFBRDL4Oiz97GP2nISJAAmJMFagpCS1SDTKXYkJdKQIZ2Ig6iIQnmkT49uubuomvSzVRoCBC7w_wcB ]Ooh, 24+ kids bike![/url]
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My 7 year old had outgrown his Beinn 20 Large and although we've been dedicated Isla fans, the options in the 24" wheel seemed rather limited (I'm not a stockbroker so the Creig 24 pro was out). We ended up with the Orbea MX24 disc - nice little bike but stock wheelset is heavy giving a quite disappointing overall weight. Currently either going to change the wheels for Crest 24 wheelset which Superstar are doing for £270 or looking at these at sub 1500g for the set: [url= http://www.cyclocross-store.de/en/wheelsets/wheelset-kids-24-inch/gunsha-mtb-1600-kids-disc ]Gunsha 24 kids disc wheelset[/url]
Rigid fork at the moment but after riding the Forest of Dean for the last couple of days he looks almost ready for some suspension on the front - probably the RST F1RST 24. Reckon we'll end up with same spec as the Creig 24 Pro for half the money. Seen someone else on here buy a Carrera Blast, respray it and upgrade the bits - looked very nice indeed.
i had trouble getting hold of an Orbea mx24 as well. I ended up googling it and phoning every shop in the results until i found one that had one in stock.
I'm glad i did now, its a lovely bike and my son loves it. And 50% of the cost of the islabike 🙂
I have a new Pinnacle Kauri in a box in the garage for my son who turns 9 in April. He's at the taller end for his age and a 24 just seems too small. Glad some others find that bike a good choice. He's excited about it!
The Kauri is a great bike. Only one we could find to suit my short and partly disabled wife. And it will soon be gaining some XT wheels and carbon bars. And it isn't exactly heavy in the first place.
Interesting stuff. My eldest has been on a Beinn24 for about a year and appears to be ready to outgrow it. This was last september:
On the same ride, he started asking about bikes with suspension after watching someone glide down a rocky bit, and if they came in his size. Problem is he's bird-boned and weighs approximately nothing. Well, 20kg if that, so I'd be worried that nothing would actually work for him and he'd be better off on lightweight plus-size tyres. That Scott could be a good starter if built with better kit.
Currently in the process of sorting my daughter's first 26" wheeled bike. Bought a lardy Commencal Normal off eBay and with the help of some lovely folk off here we are busy replacing things to shave the weight. There's a great frame under there somewhere. She's quite enjoying the daily arrival of parcels, but leaves the fettling to me and her brother.
Did the same with her brother for his first 26". Inbred frame and the contents of my spares box. Great Dad and Lad times in the garage.
After being solid islabike fans since aged 2, we've gone for a 403 rather than creig 26. I think the creig 24 is still the best at that point.
I've a 10yr old who like red runs, and is ok with drops etc, but not at jumping level ( a bit like me..)
A lot of the creig 26s i've seen have modified from ends with thumb shifters replacing grip shift and shorter stem and wider bars.
The 405 is just too much money and £50 for new cassette etc, we hired one from glentress, and it's an amazing bike, but not worth £1K..
The islabike would have great residual value, but the whyte seems better value.
The creig is describes as for 'gnarly singletrack' on website, but the whyte looks like it handles rock descents better?
In the end the whyte felt like a great small version of an adult bike, while the creig felt like a kids bike trying to grow up a little to fast, but falling short?
If the creig had more travel, and a more 'MTB' front end, I'd buy it, but it's limitations and whyte 403s imposing presence made the difference. Tiso price for 403 is 599 (-5% discount with OE card)
I'd recommend the travel to glentress to try a 405 if undecided...really helped me. I was convinced I wouldn't like it, and it wouldn't suit my son, but it was surprisingly good...