loop_out Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 My 11 year old son, who is 5 foot tall on the dot, is currently on a 24 inch bike. I think the bike is holding him back at this point, which frankly makes him a less than an ideal riding partner (apparently rides with you kids are supposed to be no-drop rides). I am starting to get tired of sneaking out for rides when he's not paying attention, so I decided to get him a new bike. After not seeing anything good on the used market, I am thinking real hard about a small Rockhopper with 27.5 wheels. I am thinking about the "Elite" model to get an air sprung fork and tubeless ready setup. That puts me at around $1000, which seems like lot to be spending on an 11 year old's bike. If anyone has gone through a similar recent transition, what size frame and wheels did you go with? I would also appreciate it if anyone wants to share experiences with particular bikes for a similar aged/sized kid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I suggest you just start dropping him. He'll learn to adapt quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 yeah, bikes are difficult to find everywhere right now. that sucks, but a larger bike would do a lot of good in this situation. sounds like a 13" frame older bike with 26" wheels would be great. I also wish this was available for you- https://www.frogbikes.com/Mountain-Bike-Frog-MTB-72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 (edited) My daughter raced nica on 15.5" 29er when she was 13. Also same height as your kid. She had a 24" hotrock and with the 29 began finishing in the top 5 vs bottom 5. IMHO don't buy anything new right now, especially a small low level bike. Bike prices are currently stupid. Edited September 8, 2020 by ATXZJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 9 minutes ago, ATXZJ said: My daughter raced nica on 15.5" 29er when she was 13. Also same height as your kid. She had a 24" hotrock and with the 29 began finishing in the top 5 vs bottom 5. IMHO don't buy anything new right now, especially a small low level bike. Bike prices are currently stupid. Same for my son. The Hotrock and HardRock he had were so heavy when he rode them stock that it was a hindrance. I bought him a used 29er Trek from another NICA racer. It is pretty lightweight and it was a bit bigger than him at the time (also about 5' tall) but he did well with it. It's OK going a bit bigger on the bike as long as it's not a heavy bike. I've looked at what's available online right now and it seems like it's either $6-8k bikes or $500-1k bikes right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsloan Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 The short answer is no, that’s not too much to spend on an 11yo’s bike. Not when it has “grown up” sized wheels.At that size you can start getting bikes that they will ride for a good while and not grow out of in 2 years. Then when they do, you can sell them to other people than just parents shopping for kids bikes. The bigger wheel size will really help them with their stability and help them keep up with you.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4fun Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Air fork, with clutch derailleur, 26” wheels. https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/us/en/vitus-nucleus-26-youth-hardtail-bike-2021/rp-prod195902 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cafeend Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 My boy is 13 now and is pushing 5'5" so he has outgrown the 24 stage and rides my 27.5When he was younger though and riding and racing in TMBRA we went the cheap route with 24s off CL and then the Frankenbikes id cobble together.They were allright. But yea you get what you pay for..I had the cash at one point and bought him a Trailcraft. They are a kids boutique bike out of Colorado. Www.trailcraftcycles.comVery nice rides and I'd suggest taking a look at their site because they have a wide array of options and info.The Trailcraft made an amazing difference in his riding skills. His desire to ride and the type of riding he did.And yea 1k plus isn't alot Worth looking into.Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBaron Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I wish I had a little more time to do a bigger writeup. But my youngest is 11 and we've been on this same track as everyone else for a while now. My little dude has shown a quality aptitude for riding so I've tried to keep him more in the "sweet spot' for bike size and fit. He's currently 4'10" and is fitting just right on an XS 26" Giant XTC that I've custom built with some pretty nice stuff: SID fork, Stan's crest wheel set, 1x 10 Sram with XT disc brakes. The step up from 25" to 26" was really good for him and I think he's prolly 1 yr away from a move up to 27.5". This photo was taken about 2 weeks ago on Monarch Crest Trail in CO standing at about 12k ft. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loop_out Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 Thanks for all the helpful comments and suggestions. Looks like I will be visiting local bike shops very soon to check out what's left in their inventory for me to blow up my budget. Please don't tell my wife. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/d/austin-2019-kona-cinder-cone/7193076583.html https://konaworld.com/archive/2019/cinder_cone.cfm Not a bad deal. I'd offer $850-$900 and see if they take it. We basically bought the same frame with different components for my youngest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loop_out Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 (edited) Just to close the loop on this, we ended up picking up a nice 27.5 bike in a small size for my son. Watching him progress on his new bike the past 6 weeks or so has been awesome. He regularly asks to go ride and wants to session stuff until he can clear them. I wish I had moved him to bigger wheels earlier. Edited October 22, 2020 by loop_out 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyt Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 On 9/8/2020 at 11:14 AM, loop_out said: My 11 year old son, who is 5 foot tall on the dot, is currently on a 24 inch bike. I think the bike is holding him back at this point, which frankly makes him a less than an ideal riding partner (apparently rides with you kids are supposed to be no-drop rides). I am starting to get tired of sneaking out for rides when he's not paying attention, so I decided to get him a new bike. After not seeing anything good on the used market, I am thinking real hard about a small Rockhopper with 27.5 wheels. I am thinking about the "Elite" model to get an air sprung fork and tubeless ready setup. That puts me at around $1000, which seems like lot to be spending on an 11 year old's bike. If anyone has gone through a similar recent transition, what size frame and wheels did you go with? I would also appreciate it if anyone wants to share experiences with particular bikes for a similar aged/sized kid. I just bought my son a trailcraft frame which is $1300 alone. So I dont know if $1000 is too much for a kids bike. Im willing to spend that much because two kids will end up riding it. I personally would try to buy a used bike as you get a lot more bank for the buck. A small 27.5 full suspension would be good. My daughter is 5' 4' at 12 and has long arms and legs so can ride an adult medium 29er. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cafeend Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 2 hours ago, crazyt said: I just bought my son a trailcraft frame which is $1300 alone. So I dont know if $1000 is too much for a kids bike. Im willing to spend that much because two kids will end up riding it. I personally would try to buy a used bike as you get a lot more bank for the buck. A small 27.5 full suspension would be good. My daughter is 5' 4' at 12 and has long arms and legs so can ride an adult medium 29er. Trailcrafts are so sweet! I had bought my boy one and have since sold it when he out grew but what a great bike and totally upped his game and enjoyment (and mine) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanerpvt Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I am planning on getting my 9yo son a Rocky Mountain Reaper 26, but also looked at the Trailcraft Maxwell 26. I like the crank arm length of the Trailcraft (which you CAN purchase separate), but overall think they are similar builds with the Reaper being $500 cheaper & coming stock w/ a dropper post. In 2020, norco made a Sight JR. 27.5 that would fit my son’s height (5’8”), but it doesn’t seem to be available for 2021. Is there something I am missing about the Trailcraft? Will the Rocky be just as good with the projected life of the bike at 2 years max? Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanerpvt Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Another option would be to go ahead and get the Reaper 27.5. Although he is about an 1-1/2+ too short by the size chart....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyt Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, Shanerpvt said: I am planning on getting my 9yo son a Rocky Mountain Reaper 26, but also looked at the Trailcraft Maxwell 26. I like the crank arm length of the Trailcraft (which you CAN purchase separate), but overall think they are similar builds with the Reaper being $500 cheaper & coming stock w/ a dropper post. In 2020, norco made a Sight JR. 27.5 that would fit my son’s height (5’8”), but it doesn’t seem to be available for 2021. Is there something I am missing about the Trailcraft? Will the Rocky be just as good with the projected life of the bike at 2 years max? Thoughts? I was mainly focused on weight. I bought the trailcraft frame because as far as I can tell the rocky mountain is a complete bike only. I think the trailcraft frame was 2.4kg. I already built a crest 24" wheelset. I personally would look to buy a used 26" full suspension from the late 2000s or early 2010s. They are great bikes, completely worked out geometry, and have high end parts. Here is a pinkbike search https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?location=*-*-*&page=2&category=75&framesize=1,2,3,10,4,5,6,7,8,13,14,15,9,11,12,17,18,20,21,22&wheelsize=8 Edited October 24, 2020 by crazyt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.