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Mini sinatra will be 11 in Oct and is pretty average size. She needs to move onto 26in wheels, ideally hardtail and not too heavy. She enjoys her riding but not mad keen so can't justify mega bucks. It will be handed down to her brother in a few years. I can't be arsed to build something up.
So, who recommends what?
Whyte t403 for me.
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-nzumbi-mountain-bike-26-wheel
Brilliant bikes. I've upgraded the wheels & forks but only because I had a load of 26" stuff spare.
I'd go scouring gumtree, ebay, classifieds etc for a small hardrock or carerra Vulcan, something cheapish, with an aluminium frame and disc mounts, bin most of the parts, hunt down some rigid forks or maybe some old SIDs perhaps? Lightweight 26" wheels shouldn't cost much now, cheap discs: Deore or Clarks M2.
Drivetrain wise I'd look at what widerange 11-40ish cassette you can source from the far east and go 1x9 or 1x10, it doesn't need to cost loads...
There's loads of options once they're 26er sized, I'm saving some old wheels already in anticipation...
I’d go scouring gumtree, ebay, classifieds etc for a small hardrock or carerra Vulcan, something cheapish, with an aluminium frame and disc mounts, bin most of the parts, hunt down some rigid forks or maybe some old SIDs perhaps? Lightweight 26″ wheels shouldn’t cost much now, cheap discs: Deore or Clarks M2.
Drivetrain wise I’d look at what widerange 11-40ish cassette you can source from the far east and go 1×9 or 1×10, it doesn’t need to cost loads…
classic reading the OP fail
Fair enough, I just read the "not too heavy" and "not mega bucks" part...
Just go find a used beinn 26, you'll pretty much get your money back in the end...
New Beinn 27, my 8 year old (tall for age) rides the 26.
Either a used isla or frog, as said above, you'll get your money back.
Sorry cookiea. I was being a bell end, as I share the op's pain. There seems to be a huge gap in the market for little lightweight 26 inch mtbs.
Also. Don't believe all the hype about Isla resale value. I've only managed to sell one of the 5 we bought. Can't shift two of them at all at all.
Middle_oab's 15' Specialized FSR will be for sale as soon as I can sort him a M/18" 27.5" boingy bike...
For £350 (Reba, Fox RP23, Avid Juicy 7, Deores and Crossmax SL, but not the lumi grips he loves...)
There seems to be a huge gap in the market for little lightweight 26 inch mtbs.
You're not wrong. I've ended up putting together a small brand X HT-01 together with some new, but mostly 2nd hand stuff, including old stans Crests, a Manitou Nixon and some re-conned xt brakes.
I got my 11yr old a 14inch voodoo soukri. Not the lightest and is 27.5 inch but a great wee bike. Looked for a 26 inch bike but couldn't find one we liked so just went 27.5, maybe a bit big but they are having a blast on it.
Unless you get a kid specific 26" it won't be any smaller than a modern bike.
An XS is still an XS...although what XS means might differ across manufacturers.
Getting light 26" specific stuff is increasingly hard... there are a few bargains but they are becoming harder to find.
If you limit yourself to 26" straight steerer and QR for example there isn't much if anything as the lighter stuff got phased out earlier than heavier DJ or DH. (I ride a 26 as well and Jnr has a 26" fork that was one of the last 2015 SID's and even then I ended up fitting a external HS to fit a tapered fork!
Over the lifetime of the bike (with younger sibling) it will only get harder to find forks and tyres etc.
Orbea MX range are good bikes. well the 20" and 24" are anyway. Nice and light with a good standover and not too pricey. Nice range of colours too!
But if the OP's daughter is not going to be ragging it in the alps i'd just get down to halfords and check out the Voodoo Nzumbi.
mattoutandabout - I'd be interested in that spesh fsr when you get round to selling it. Can you post a pic?
£320 before 10% BC discount, plus comes with £15 of free accessories, if you "click and collect."
I'd have loved a bike with those sort of specs when I was that age... ~34 years ago in 1984! 😮 😆
To Vodoo looks like a winner. Unfortunately the Halfords site autoloads videos with music, and I'm sat in a Board meeting pretending to be interested. Video just kicked out full volume in the middle of the meeting.
My 11yo’s a bit leggy.
He started on a Spec Hardrock 26” and then managed to fit a Jones Diamond with 27.5” wheels. It was a shame to sell it when he was growing soooo quickly :0)
Don’t believe all the hype about Isla resale value. I’ve only managed to sell one of the 5 we bought. Can’t shift two of them at all at all.
Genuinly amazed at that!! Have you put them on ebay with some decent photos? The two that I have sold went for more than I bought them for.
A pal looking into this just now - Giant ATX2 £300 from £375
Genuinly amazed at that!! Have you put them on ebay with some decent photos? The two that I have sold went for more than I bought them for.
I think the niche for Isla probably burst or slowly deflated as more real bikes came onto the market and Isla disappeared into their own marketing.
Back when it was a BSO or Islabike the general purpose bike was leaps ahead but Isla were typically British polite about the competition... and said things like Kids don't need suspension, and kids don't need disc brakes and kids need grip shift. (Personally i thought not buying a bike for the shifters is a bit weird when they cost £10 each... but plenty of people bought Frog's for example because of Isla's religious insistence on grip shift)
They made the mediocre into high end mediocre a bit like an adult hybrid might be high end but still not "good" at anything specific... while other companies did cheaper higher end mediocre and others did more targeted bikes. There are now better road bikes and better XC or trail bikes and better DH bikes... if someone really cares and if they don't there are cheaper mediocre do-it-all bikes.
They then ended up playing catch-up and at the same time going against what they had been saying for years and being undercut by cheaper bikes in the do-it-all market.
Have mailed about an Orange Diva.