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Looking for a new mtb for my daughter as she’s outgrown the 20” bike she got as a hand-me-down from her brother. She’s a petite 9 year old and still struggles with the brakes. Not because of the reach but because they’re tough to pull hard enough to get the bike to stop.
I want to take her on some ‘proper’ off road riding so I’m thinking/hoping that a disc brake will be easier for her little hands to operate because they don’t take as much effort to operate. Is this correct?
Also, is there a good reason to get a girl specific mtb, apart from colour? Is a lower top tube necessary on an mtb?
My daughter is 7 and 130cm high and us on an orbea mx 24. I think they are called laufy now. Not tye lightest at about 10kg but comes with proper brakes and deore 10speed. I think the wheels are the big weight issue.
Brakes are deore as well I think and have small ish levers and seem to work ok. Sl
I think they are called laufy now
They still do the MX24, the Laufey is higher end.
I just treated my 6yo to the MX20 disc, its a lovely little bike, I'm quite jealous 😉
Also, is there a good reason to get a girl specific mtb, apart from colour?
????
Get her a bike that fits. Statistically, if you measure enough women have slightly shorter legs as a ratio of torso but the variability is way way less than within genders.
Some women might have a SLIGHTLY different COG if they have big hips and small breasts ... some women might be lighter and others heavier... some might need a wider seat
However although I'm not an expert those differences are not usually there until a lot older.
Cube do a decent 24" hardtail
After years of trying to flog girl/woman shaped bikes Specialuzed have finally admitted that that it’s a load of bull****.
Buy a bike that fits and then customise it for her with the coloured components that she wants (pedals, grips, bars, etc). Most kids bikes have a lot of room to improve them.
Early riders are good bikes.
The Voodoo Bakka (Halfords) seems very good value for money... much lighter fork than those usually specced, 9 speed Altus drivetrain (easy to upgrade to something lighter) and has mechanical disc brakes.
It seems a bargain at £320, we’ve recently ordered one for junior RRR (nearly 7yrs old, about 127cm )
Is it not down to the quality of the brakes and setup. I've seen plenty of utter rubbish brakes and setup on plenty of kids bikes.
Islabikes with V brakes have always been very good on the ones we've had. They are on disc brakes now.
Isla Beinn 24 will fit MTB tyres and is a bit smaller than the Creig 24 which is the MTB. Both excellent bikes. 2nd hand the Beinns are going for £350+ at the moment.
We are going to upgrade Lola to 24 after xmas and I am really liking the early rider range at the moment we are looking at the Seeker 24.
@superscale20 Yes! That Early Rider looks awesome with the bare metal frame. I wanted to get something with suspension forks. The Hellion 24 looks amazing but it's big money! The Mrs would remove my man parts if she found I'd spent this much!
@mrl Now the Orbea Laufey 24 H2O looks almost perfect! I'd have to remove the red stickers, grips and the bit on the seat, if possible, and replace with a colour of her preference. Problem is they are out of stock everywhere.
I think the mx24 team disc 2020/19 is the same as the laufey h30. See if you can find one of those in stock?
Have you seen any bikes available? It’s pretty grim out there. I had a bike on order for my eldest & it went from May > July > January before I cancelled & managed to get the last cube acid in the LBS.
I think that the Commencal Ramones is still in stock - it says 'pre-order' on the website but ours turned up around a week after ordering.
Looks very nice but is tucked in the loft until the big day so haven't got a ride report yet.
24" Ramones due in stock in the next few days. I've one ordered for my 8 yr old Girl (In teal!!) and it's replacing a 20" Ramones that's been great. A different kind of beast to a Frog or Isla bike in that they are built burlier, but I found that with my girl, she was much more confident on the Commencal than I ever imagined - she looks for stuff to jump off!