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Offspring has grown out of her 20" Hope Academy and wasn't using it enough to warrant leasing a bigger bike, so I'm now scouring second-hand ads and deals for something that doesn't cost a fortune.
We do ride offroad in the woods during the summer and also commute to school, which is a mix of park, road and bridleway. She's a bit of a rake so not after anything made of scaffolding. In my eyes suspension is also not needed - for what we do I'd rather stick some bigger tyres on.
I was looking at second-hand Spesh Riprocks (not keen on suss fork) and the Vitus 24+ on CRC looks good, if quite a bit more than I want to pay.
Any other ideas what I should be looking for?
Neil - have a look for second hand Saracen Mantra 24, my 2 had them and they were ace.
Seem to be a few on the Bay of Es.
Those Saracens were nice if you can find one.
The BMC Two strokes aren't cheap but do look good and fit your remit.
I really need to find this a new home if it would fit the bill. Cheap. Nice (but old) bits (inc custom Pace fork). Weight OK, but not super light. Main downside is that it's not got big standover clearance.
Vitus Nucleus 24 for my daughter. The forks are pretty good (air, and not too heavy), although the 24+ looks a good option if you'd rather not have one.
I've got an Orbea MX24 for sale!
Aluminium, rigid fork, V brakes, small block 8s.
Matt black with yellow and silver details. Good condition with the odd scratch.
DM me for details if you are interested.
Cannondale Cujo24 was good for my lad, mini fat bike sort of thing, pretty light for what it is. Seem to be going fairly cheap these days.
i would recommend the orbea mx24 as well. son is nearly grown out of his but not yet.
I have a 'Dadbuilt' Carrera Blast for sale. Completely rebuilt with lightweight parts - 24" Air Fork etc. Also resprayed albeit now showing signs of two child owners! Looking for £250.
2nd for a vitus Nucleus. proper mtb. good brakes, tyres, comfortable, fairly light.
Early Rider Hellion 24
In case it helps, here's the thread when I asked the same (but mine was sprinkled with a bit of "how the hell do I find ANY bike" as it was mid-lockdown);
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/what-24-wheel-bike-for-an-8-yr-old-and-how-to-find-one/
What's your budget? I've got an Orbea MX24 that my daugther has outgrown and ought to sell. It's the baby blue with grey/pink accents, a bouncy fork but the best bit is I've added a colour matched SDG Junior kit in pink so it looks fab.
It's a good weight even with the pretty low spec fork and rides really nicely (or so I'm led told).
I've got two in the shed both outgrown just got put to one side in covid.
A Voodoo Bakaa and a Vitus Nucleus.
Both nice bikes (Vitus a bit nicer) and I have a wider range 9sp cassette and chain that would fit at least one of them (it may still be on whichever bike I bought it for).
I think the Vitus might need an o ring sorting in the forks as they occasionally suck down. I've replaced one in the past iirc.
Drop me a PM if either of interest.
I was going to start a similar topic. V2.0 is outgrowing his frog 20”. I liked the look of the Woom off 5 but €€€ and hard to find. I’m perplexed at how kids bikes can be 12kg yet I can ride an adults bike that is less.
Will be watching this topic.
I’m undecided between the Vitus 24+ and the Nucleus 24 for my son, he’s a tall 6 year old (size of an 8 year old I’m told) and is 7 in 3 weeks so it’s new bike time.
I prefer the concept of the 24+ because of the simplicity and it being lighter than the nucleus, but the nucleus has a cassette and freehub instead of a 7 speed freewheel.
Nucleus is also currently cheaper which is nice, but he doesn’t need suspension forks so I wonder if it’s a step too far.
I’ll probably just flip a coin when I get around to ordering but they both look superb to be fair.
Scott Scale 24+ disc was perfect for my lad. Light and rolls for days but I put a mega range freewheel on it and 2.6 tyres and it climbed well too. Rigid, but slack.
Thanks all. That's a good lunchtime of research coming up.
All that are offering bikes - I'll drop you a line. Budget is probably around £200 unless there's a really good reason (hydro brakes / really good weight / nice paint job 😉 ) – any more and I'd be seriously considering the Vitus 24 Kids Bike on Wiggle.
"...but the nucleus has a cassette and freehub instead of a 7 speed freewheel."
Didn't notice that. Shows I've not read the spec properly.
if anyone is looking at the Vitus 24+ (lovely bikes) then there is also this:
Kids Cujo 24 Plus | 7 to 12 Bikes | Cannondale
Currently £375 direct from Cannondale down from £500
Cujo's have a much lower BB than other kids bikes, especially in the 24" wheel. makes it much easier to get balance of saddle height for pedalling and foot on the ground.
My son has a Whyte 303 which has been a great progression bike, although they might still be above £200 second hand.
He has pretty much outgrown it now so starting to look at 26" wheel options to replace it so I need to knuckle down and find something sharpish as one of his pals wants the Whyte..
Big smiles after he got it....
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These are the specs....
To add to the list, I've a Commencal Ramones 24 about to go on sale. A lot like the Cujo 24 but was actually purchasable 2.5 years ago.
@Yetiman that’s good to read. That’s currently top of my list for a replacement for him.
My daughter has this - she is only just 7, but 135cm tall... got two as local shop was doing 20% off some time back - my sisters lad had the other.
Since this pick did change the gears (original SRAM X4) for:
Acolyte | microSHIFT - short cage - shifter is very light to use, and the super short mech is very out of the way.